Connect with your audience by covering the topics they care about the most.
Plan out a network of interlinked blogs that answer related questions and help each
other rank.
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Find topics and outlines catered to your business.
Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are predicted to spend nearly $119 billion on content marketing by the end of 2021 (Forrester). And while some of that cash is going into technology and advertising, the vast majority of that spend is going right into the pockets of individuals who have the content marketing skills CMOs need. Make no mistake: content marketing jobs are some of the most secure, valued, and rewarding careers for creatives or technical professionals looking to work in a fast-paced, impactful role.
With remote jobs quickly becoming the norm for industries like content marketing, there’s never been a better time to explore a career in professional storytelling. If you’ve thought about entering this field, you may have some big questions that need answered. Is content writing a good career? What skills does a content manager need? How much can I earn with a content marketing job?
Answers to all these questions and more lie ahead.
To get a clearer understanding of the many different responsibilities that fall under the “content marketing” umbrella, it’s helpful to take a close look at some of the most common content marketing job titles. Depending on the size of a brand’s marketing budget, their content marketing team may have different people in each of these roles, or just a few of the most important ones. Additionally, it’s common for CMOs to hire some content marketing positions internally while working with agencies to round out the team—so you could find yourself doing any of these jobs internally or at an agency serving many brands.
Sometimes labeled as “Content Marketing Specialist,” the Content Marketer job title is a catch-all for the many creative and technical aspects of content marketing. When a brand hires for a Content Marketer position, they’re typically looking for someone with writing skills along with experience with the many platforms where the brand publishes content. These include the website, social media profiles, email marketing software, and more. Content Marketers drive strategy, content creation, promotion, and review of marketing analytics—and they often hire and manage freelancers or agencies to fill in any gaps in their own skill set.
One of the most technical jobs on our list, an SEO Specialist is focused strictly on making a brand’s owned digital properties as search-engine friendly as possible. This work has implications for the creatives on the team, as SEO Specialists will be primarily responsible for analyzing search engine data and other sources of consumer information in order to prioritize topics for new content pieces. Additionally, an SEO Specialist will also keep a close eye on technical aspects of the brand’s website, including page load times, URL slugs, interlinking, and meta descriptions.
Not every Copywriter works in content marketing—there are Copywriters who focus on product descriptions, brochures, advertisements, and other marketing tactics—but Copywriters are the core of any successful content marketing team. Content writing jobs require Copywriters with an innate ability to write in the brand’s voice and to incorporate not just information, but effective emotion and entertainment value into written content pieces. A big part of a content marketing Copywriter’s job is to do research and interview subject matter experts to gather usable material to write about in blog posts, emails, social media posts, whitepapers, case studies, video scripts, and more.
Art and copy. They go together like peanut butter and jelly, and in the world of content marketing, that means there’s a huge need for visual content to accompany the written materials produced by Copywriters. Graphic Designers who work in content marketing spend a lot of their time developing graphics to be used on blog posts, social posts, and in emails. They are responsible for laying out long-form written pieces like whitepapers and how-to guides, and often providing graphic assets for use in video production.
For many brands, video is a critical element in their content marketing mix. It’s no wonder why; video is by far the most popular format for content on popular social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And with Google-owned YouTube playing a central role in modern SEO, a steady flow of accessible and engaging video content is a must for brands with the budget to pay for it. Digital Video Producers (and other, similar titles) work to plan, shoot, edit, and publish video content for brands. They may employ the help of videographers or editors according to their own skillset, but often will be responsible for video production from top to bottom.
The Content Strategist keeps a 30,000-foot view of a brand’s entire content marketing strategy. That means they decide which platforms to operate on, how much content to publish and at what cadence, and the overall themes and formats of each content marketing campaign. It’s the Content Strategist who takes the customer insights from the SEO Specialist and uses them to construct interconnected webs of content for creatives to develop and publish. Content Strategists also spend a lot of time reviewing analytics to learn what content is connecting with audiences and what opportunities to prioritize in the future.
Job descriptions for a Content Marketing Manager can vary widely. In most cases, a Content Marketing Manager is someone who works in a management role; they manage the other members of a content marketing team and lead them in their campaigns. But equally common is the title of “Content Manager,” which might not actually have a managerial element to it. A Content Manager job description is more likely to involve the management of content marketing tasks, not professionals; this can often mean a Content Manager salary is lower than a Content Marketing Manager salary, even if the titles look similar.
Much like Copywriters, Creative Directors commonly work for a variety of different marketing agencies and departments. But the ultimate career path of a Content Marketing creative will eventually lead to a Creative Director role of some kind. Where a Content Marketing Manager is all about managing the operations of the entire team, a Creative Director is responsible for the overall creative direction of content produced. They’ll oversee the establishment of brand guidelines, lead the charge in developing creative approaches to the themes and topics decided upon by Content Strategists, and coach creatives to deliver the work needed to make a content marketing campaign sizzle.
Is Content Marketing a Good Career?The short answer: Yes! With so many different career paths in content marketing, it’s tempting to look for a catch—but demand for content marketing talent is only expected to increase over time. Need proof? Just look at the industry itself. The content marketing industry is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3% in the coming years. In 2018, it was worth a collective $36 billion. By 2026? It’s expected to hit $107 billion (Globe Newswire). All that to say that on paper, content marketing is a stable and secure career for anybody looking to work in the industry for years to come.
So what about the day-to-day experience? If you reviewed the job description list above and found a role that matches your talents and passions, there’s a great chance you’ll find fulfillment and success in the field of content marketing. For many creatives who studied liberal arts disciplines like creative writing, art, or video production, content marketing represents one of the single most accessible employment opportunities available today.
There are drawbacks, however. If you’re someone who doesn’t work well with structure placed on your creative work, you might find yourself feeling trapped by the many considerations and requirements from your supervisors and peers. If you get bored easily, it might make more sense to pursue a career with a content marketing agency where you’ll work with many different brands rather than a single company with a single subject matter.
Another key element of content marketing is the transparency of performance. In the digital age, it’s possible to get complete clarity on the costs and return on investment different marketing tactics bring. Content marketing is a creative and often energizing field, but it’s subject to budgets that are often decided by the success of your work. If you struggle working under pressure, content marketing might not be for you. If, however, you’re serious about doing great work that has a clear impact on your company’s growth, you may have found your dream career.
Can you live a comfortable life with a content marketer salary? Though content marketing jobs’ salary ranges can vary, even entry-level employees in this field can make considerably more than the nationwide median income of $35,997. From the low-level content writer salary all the way to higher-level positions like Creative Director, content marketing pays well—and offers plenty of room for growth. (All salary information from PayScale)
Keep in mind that these are just the median numbers; taking the Content Marketer role as just one example, PayScale puts a range of $36,000 to $80,000 for salaries across the country. Actual salary will depend on experience level and geography. Companies based in major cities will likely pay more than those based in other areas with a lower cost of living. In today’s remote work world, content marketing professionals can use geography to their advantage, however. Look outside your local area for opportunities that can pay more and may not even require a move.
If you’re convinced that content marketing is the right career path for you, the next step is to break in. Like many roles in marketing, Content Marketers don’t necessarily have to have a specific college degree to get a high-paying job. Creative roles like Copywriter or Graphic Designer may require a degree in a related field, and if you’re hoping for a management or strategy position, it might help to pursue a degree related to marketing. Here are some commonly required or preferred degrees you’ll encounter as you search for a content marketing job:
If you are currently in college or considering enrolling, look for opportunities to add hands-on experience to your resume. Many schools now offer certificates or minors in specialized fields like digital marketing, content marketing, or user experience that can help separate you from other candidates.
More than anything, it’s critical to start working on your skills now if you want a content marketing job. No matter the kind of role you want to play, there are both technical and creative content marketer skills that will help you land (and thrive in) these positions, including:
Especially if you have your sights set on content marketing manager jobs, it’s critical that you display aptitude in many (or even all) of these content manager skills. The more elements of content marketing you can handle or at least understand, the higher your chances of being trusted with positions managing other content marketing professionals.
For a quick way to begin brushing up, consider one of the many online content marketing training options available. HubSpot offers a free Content Marketing Certification Course that will give you a certification you can place on your resume while educating you about content planning and creation best practices—all in just one day. Coursera also hosts a number of digital courses that can give you a broad overview of the field or help you dive deeper into specific topics like content strategy, SEO, social media marketing, and more.
The highest-performing content marketers always have their fingers on the pulse of their brand’s online audiences. At the core of every content marketing job is the need to better understand what challenges your audiences are facing, how they talk about those challenges online, and where they go to find answers. Of equal importance is the ability to constantly improve by paying close attention to how those audiences react to content across a variety of digital platforms on their way towards making a purchase decision.
Enter DemandJump, the content marketer’s ultimate secret weapon. Whether you’re working in a content strategy role, in copywriting, SEO, or any other content marketing job, DemandJump’s powerful platform offers the insights you need to meet your audiences online with the kind of content they’re looking for.
Our Consumer Insights provide a complete picture of your audiences’ complete customer journeys as they first search for solutions to their problems and eventually choose to buy—from you or from a competitor. Learn what topics to focus on and how to speak the language of your best customers so your content outperforms the competition every time. And once your content is out in the wild, map a full customer experience from platform to platform with our powerful cross-channel analytics tools.
We know the work of content marketers is never ending, and that’s why we built DemandJump from the ground up to make content marketing jobs easier than ever before. All the data you need, none of the fluff you don’t. Ready to see it for yourself? Try it FREE and unlock your potential as a content marketer today.
