So you want to work in content marketing

August 31, 2020 by YY Leave a Comment

Who am I to tell you about content marketing?

I am no veteran in the field.

No impressive track record of running successful campaigns for famous brands. No team under me. Not a single publication under my belt (save for my blog posts?) or industry accolade.

I got my first content marketing job at a small digital agency in 2016. I had zero marketing experiences or marketing qualifications. In fact, I was lost in life, had no idea what career I wanted, and didn’t even know what content marketing was. I got the job on the basis of strong writing skills.

It was a bloody struggle to build a content marketing career. I cut my teeth in the agency world. Long hours, fast pace, many demands to meet, and worst of all, the office politics. Since I left agency land, I’ve worked in a scrappy little start-up and now, a global corporation.

I’m no “thought leader”. But I am a hard-boiled practitioner who worked my way up.

Why am I writing about content marketing?

Thank you, people of Reddit Singapore, for the inspiration.

There have been some recurring themes that got my attention. People talking about how miserable they are in their current jobs and wanting out. People feeling scared about the ongoing pandemic and worried about their futures. People asking about jobs that are in demand and how to get in.

I can relate to these themes.

This year, I was fortunate to find a content marketing job at a global tech company, amidst the pandemic. Content marketing and other digital marketing roles are definitely still in demand. Over the years, I’ve advised folks on how to get started in content marketing. Now, I am consolidating my knowledge and experiences into a blog post. This is my way of giving back to the content marketing field.

You don’t need a marketing degree to work in content marketing
There are no formal certifications to become a content marketer
Content marketing is not just about writing (part 1)
Content marketing is not just about writing (part 2)
How do you get started in content marketing when you have zero experience?
What other non-writing skills do you need to be a good content marketer?
There are several ways you can progress in your content marketing career
What are some useful content marketing resources and groups?

One more thing: advice is autobiographical. Take what I say not as The Truth, but as a point of reference.

1. You don’t need a marketing degree to work in content marketing

This also applies to many other digital marketing roles.

My degree has nothing to do with marketing. My ex-colleague, who ran marketing campaigns, did have a marketing degree. But he said that most of the things he learnt were not useful and different from marketing in practice.

Digital marketing is a dynamic field. New technologies come and go, and techniques can get outdated fast. Most of the things you learn in a classroom will probably be outdated by the time you graduate a few years later.

In a way, digital marketing is like web development and software development. You get into the field by doing things, proving your skills, and constant learning.

2. There are no formal certifications to become a content marketer

In project management, there’s the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. In accountancy, there’s the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification.

But there is no formal certification recognised by the “content marketing industry” and demanded by organisations worldwide.

If you are new to content marketing, you can do some content marketing courses. Understand what content marketing is all about, how it fits into the digital marketing ecosystem, and see if it interests you. Most courses issue certificates at the end.

But these certifications are usually not job requirements. Almost anyone can take a content marketing course and pass it. It is not enough to claim that you know about content marketing, you need to demonstrate content marketing skills. I discuss more about proving skills in point five.

3. Content marketing is not just about writing (part 1)

Content marketing job ads often call for strong writing skills. In fact, many people who are new to content marketing start as content writers.

But it’s not enough to write impeccably.

I once spoke to a bloke who was curious about content marketing. He had taught English and participated in poetry competitions. I had to emphasise that good content in content marketing is not about literary value. Nope, content needs to be relevant and helpful to the people you want to reach.

Let’s say you’re an insurance company. You know that there are people who want to find out more about insurance or have a problem that insurance can solve. Here’s how you can engage these folks via content marketing:

Write a series of blog posts on insurance for beginners. What is insurance, the main types, how to choose, things to look out for when buying etc. You can also publish an eBook on “what (target group) needs to know about insurance”. Perhaps launch an email newsletter that features the stories of people who use your insurance products.

The aim of the blog posts, eBook, and email newsletter isn’t to hard-sell. Instead, you want to educate people on insurance and how they can benefit from it.

Content marketing is about putting out consistent, useful, and reliable information on your subject of expertise. Over time, people are more likely to trust your brand and consider you when they have to make a purchase.

It’s crucial to understand your target audience well. What are their problems, needs, and desires? Why are you in the best position to help? Then you can craft effective content that resonates with people.

I’d go as far to say: when it comes to content marketing, it’s more important to be a good marketer than a good writer.

4. Content marketing is not just about writing (part 2)

I focus a lot on written content in this blog post as this is the type that I am most familiar with. Also, some of the most common types of content are text-based. Think eBooks, blog posts, email newsletters, and more.

But to be clear, content marketing isn’t limited to written content. Some ideas are best explained or reinforced via other media, like images, audio, or videos.

You don’t have to produce multimedia content by yourself. If you are a content writer, learn to work with video creators, podcast producers, and designers to communicate ideas. At the more senior levels, you’ll need to know how to manage the production of a variety of content deliverables.

You’ll also want to become familiar with one or more distribution channels. It’s not enough to produce awesome content. No, you’ve got to distribute it to the people who would be interested in it. So, get familiar with channels like social media and email.

5. How do you get started in content marketing when you have zero experience?

I got my first content marketing job by demonstrating that I had strong writing skills. I think I wrote a strong cover letter that got the hiring manager’s attention. My “portfolio” then was a bunch of random stuff that I had written. Like, a media pitch and an article I wrote for a public relations newsletter.

Some people join freelance gig sites like Upwork and take up content writing jobs. I hear that these sites are very competitive nowadays though. Several writers have said that Upwork is even rejecting writer applications, because there are too many.

Another way is to pitch to agencies. Write a damn good email pitch that sells your writing services. Having worked in agencies, I know many of them outsource writing jobs that they can’t handle in-house to freelancers (who sometimes outsource these jobs to other writers…)

Finally, set up a blog. Blogging has been incredibly useful for me. In a way, my blog is like a portfolio that demonstrates my ideas, personality, and writing skills. I always include my blog in my job applications. Hiring managers do check it out and tell me what they think of it.

6. What other skills do you need to be a content marketer, besides writing?

Content marketing is part of the wider digital marketing ecosystem. Some useful digital skills that you can learn are:

Search engine optimisation a.k.a SEO (so that your content will rank high on Google)
Google Analytics (so that you know how well your content performs)
Social media (so that you can distribute your content to existing followers and attract new followers)
Email marketing (so that you can deliver content straight into your subscribers’ inboxes)
HTML (so that when you upload content to content management systems, and it looks weird in visual mode, you can always go to the HTML editor to fix it)

People skills are important too. A content marketer never works in silos. So, be a reliable team player, deliver good work on time, and don’t be an asshole.

Finally, as you level up in your content marketing career, you will need strong project management skills.

7. There are several ways you can progress in your content marketing career

You can choose the specialist route, or the manager route.

Specialists are content writers who have niches. Your niche can be industry-focused, such as finance, health, or technology. You can also specialise in a type of content. I know of a guy who specialises in writing case studies.

The manager route is the one that I am currently on. I am in charge of the company blog. I plan the editorial calendar, manage writers, edit their work, and publish blog posts. I don’t write blog posts, but I do write email newsletter content.

Content strategist is probably most high-level content marketing role. Content strategists have a broad range of digital marketing skills. They plan and execute content marketing campaigns end-to-end, as well as measure and report the results. Content strategists often have to manage teams as well as various stakeholders.

8. What are some useful content marketing resources and groups?

When it comes to honing my writing skills, I recommend this Facebook group called The Cult of Copy. Colin Theriot, a veteran copywriter, is the guy behind The Cult of Copy. Colin and the group members discuss persuasion techniques, writing effective copy, the business of copywriting, and more. The best thing that I gained from The Cult of Copy is Colin’s “Viking Velociraptor” formula for copywriting. I have used this super versatile formula to write landing pages, blog posts, emails, ad copy, and more. Best US$13 that I have ever spent 🙂

Side note: If you’re wondering about the difference between content writing and copywriting, this blog post explains it well. Content writing aims to educate and raise awareness about a topic. Copywriting aims to get the reader to take a specific action. I focus a lot on content marketing in this blog post, but copywriting is important too, especially if you write a lot of direct-response mailers and web pages.

Another Facebook group that I recommend is The Copywriting Club. Contrary to the name, this group is not for copywriters only. Content marketers of all levels and anyone who is interested in marketing are welcome. This group is a little more beginner friendly than The Cult of Copy. The folks in The Copywriting Club are super helpful and willing to share their knowledge, so don’t be shy about seeking feedback in there.

Finally, when it comes to websites:

Copyblogger: explains concepts in an easy to understand way. Also, good resources on writing headlines
Yoast: excellent resources on SEO and how to incorporate SEO into your writing effectively
AHREFS: their blogging for business course is free and super comprehensive

Concluding thoughts

It’s funny to think that a few years ago, I hadn’t even heard of content marketing. Somehow, I got into the field, stuck with it despite various crap that happened, and built a content marketing career

One thing that kept me going as a content marketer is that I work with words every day. I genuinely like writing and editing. In a way, I am paid to do something that I enjoy.

If you’ve read this far, I hope this blog post has helped you understand how to get started in content marketing. One final tip:

No matter what your job is, know your strengths and passions, and keep building on them.

Feel free to leave a comment or question if you’d like to learn more about working in content marketing! 🙂

Google Analytics for data noobs (Equinet Academy workshop review)

May 20, 2018 by YY 1 Comment

Digital and web analytics (Google Analytics) course at Equinet Academy — *Photo courtesy of the Equinet Academy folks*

The most useless feedback a copywriter (or any creative) can get is this:

“I don’t like it.”

That, and any other feedback that involves feelings and personal tastes. The most memorable was when a colleague snapped, “The intern writes better than you.”

I was tired of the subjectivity and egos. There had to be a more objective and quantifiable way to evaluate my copy.

So, I started exploring the world of analytics. Measurements, numbers, graphs, etc. It’s a bewildering world for someone with a creative background like me.

But I had to learn. I look forward to the day I can counter feedback like “this sounds boring” with “but look at the results we got from it: 50% increase in signups!”

How do you argue with something that brings in customers or makes money?

***

Earlier this year, my friend Dylan invited me to join a Google Analytics workshop at the digital marketing academy he runs.

(Side note: I learned how to build this website from Dylan’s other course, on WordPress website creation)

Google Analytics is one of the most popular and widely used web analytics tools. I wanted to learn it so that I could measure the success of my copy. But when I tried studying it on my own, I got stuck. There are so many parts to it and I didn’t know where to begin.

So when Dylan invited me to learn from an expert, I happily took up the opportunity. This time, I would get the hang of the basics!

Here are three big tips I learnt from the workshop, about getting the best out of Google Analytics:

Figure out what you want to know

Do it first, before you do any analytics.

Because there is an overwhelming amount of data you can get out of Google Analytics. For instance, do you want to

Learn more about your audience?
Know which channel is the biggest source of web traffic?
Understand how well your content or campaigns perform?

We marketers often make one of these two mistakes when it comes to analytics. Some folks don’t measure the effectiveness of their marketing (or measure too little). Others don’t know what to focus on, so they measure everything “just in case”, and compile reams of data into a gargantuan report.

The solution, said our trainer Zhong Li, is to be clear on which data you need and why. Then, learn the steps to getting the info you want.

Is sitting for the Google Analytics certification exam worth the effort? Zhong Li said the certificate would be most useful if your job primarily involves crunching data. Then you’ll need to know the ins and outs of Google Analytics. But if you just want to track the effectiveness of your marketing, certification is not necessary.

Understand your metrics

Say, you want to know what the most popular content (in terms of performance) on your website is.
Where do you find that information and what metrics should you measure?

In Google Analytics, there are five main reporting sections:

5 main Google Analytics reports

If you want to know what your most popular content is, go to the behaviour section, which tells you about how people use your website. Then zoom in on relevant metrics like bounce rates, page view sessions, and conversions.

Metrics by themselves don’t tell you much; you need to interpret them according to your goals.
Take bounce rate for instance. That’s the percentage of people who visit a web page but don’t explore other parts of your website.

Is a bounce rate of 80% good or bad?

It depends on the purpose of your page.

If your page is an educational article, or one of those long-scroll homepages, then a high bounce rate is not bad per se. It could be that most visitors can find all the information they need in one page.

But if your page is a product page, and visitors “bounce” instead of clicking to the next stage of the checkout process, then there might be a problem. Maybe the copy or user experience is lacking. Maybe the offer is not a good fit for the audience.

Test, test, and test

Ramit Sethi, the guy behind I Will Teach You To Be Rich, and his team recently offered their first discount in eight years. They figured that since price was one of the biggest objections to purchase, why not offer a discount? The team rolled out a carefully planned promotion aimed at people on their email list.

It was an unexpected flop.

Ramit speculated that it could be due to timing, attractiveness of the promotion, or poor fit with the audience. He isn’t 100% sure. But kudos to Ramit and his team for their willingness to test the discount, even though they thought it made sense.

Don’t assume that something will (or will not) work. Put it out there and see how the audience reacts.
Start with the numbers you get from your Google Analytics. Check the conversions section to see if you’ve hit the numbers you want.

Another useful section to visit is the behaviour flow report. This report is a visual representation of how visitors navigate your website. It’s great for identifying which pages are the most visited, so you can prioritise them when making changes to your website.

“What gets measured gets improved”

That’s what Peter Drucker, the renowned management consultant, said.

Today, thanks to a variety of free and paid analytics tools, data is widely available. So, there are no excuses to know whether something works or not.

That applies to creatives too. The most successful copywriters that I know of are not the most poetic writers. They are the ones who have a deep understanding of marketing and persuasion, and can use their knowledge to generate measurable improvements.

I learned Google Analytics because I care about the results I get. There’s much I still have to learn about analytics, but for now, I am glad to say that Google Analytics doesn’t scare me anymore!

Is the Future of Marketing a “Video First” One?

August 6, 2017 by YY Leave a Comment

The rising popularity of video marketing

Step aside, infographics. Step aside, mobile apps. Video is the latest darling of the marketing world.

Video marketing is nothing new of course. People have been using video to broadcast their messages since 2005, when YouTube went live. What’s different now is that video is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s something marketers can no longer afford to ignore, because more people want more videos.

Says who? Says a lot of big-name observers researching video consumption trends across various digital platforms:

Online videos will account for more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2020 (CISCO, 2016)
55% of people consume videos thoroughly — the highest amount of all types of content (HubSpot, 2016)
A Facebook video receives, on average, 135% more organic reach than a Facebook photo (Socialbakers, 2015)

Y’know who else loves video? Facebook. In 2016, the tech titan declared that it was “becoming video first“. Now its algorithm favours video content, particularly live video.

***

“What does this mean for the written word?” a fellow marketer friend mused recently. As avid writers, we wondered if there was still a place for copywriters and content writers in a “video first” world.

That’s what I want to explore in this post. I was also inspired to blog about video by some recent first-hand experiences with video at work. Not much, just some video editing, a couple of video production courses, and research into the secret behind successful marketing videos. These gave me plenty of food for thought on video as an alternative medium for storytelling and content marketing.

What’s So Great About Videos Anyway?

Audiovisual experiences.

Text requires imagination to “see” the story, photos can be static, but when you watch a video, everything unfolds before you.

Ingredients for baking

Say, you want to learn how to bake something difficult, like Castella cake.

Which mode of learning do you prefer: read a recipe (all text), use a step-by-step picture guide, or watch a baking video?

An all text recipe works best when the steps are described in accurate detail. Even so, newbies might still find some instructions confusing. An example: “When you stop the mixer and lift the whisk attachment, the mixture should fall in ribbons.” How do eggy ribbons look like? Thick or thin? What sort of consistency?

A step-by-step picture guide lets you see eggy ribbons falling off a whisk attachment. But without some animation, it’s hard to tell what kind of consistency you should aim for.

A baking video makes things even clearer. As the baker whisks, you can see the batter change properties. The colour goes from canary yellow to creamy white. The volume quadruples. When the baker stops to lift his whisk every now and then, you can see the consistency change over time. Finally, he is done, and he lifts his whisk for the last time to show silky ribbons of batter falling off. Ah, now that’s what you’re supposed to work towards!

Screenshot from Castella cake video recipe

In short, video content has more visual appeal and is easier to digest. Video is therefore an ideal medium for explaining how something works or illustrating complicated concepts.

Build (A Video), And They Will Come?

Video offers a wealth of potential. Plus, the appetite for video is strong. So should marketers jump into video and produce less of other content types?

Not so fast.

There are, in fact, a couple of good reasons to “proceed with caution” when it comes to marketing with videos:

Cost

That’s one of the biggest drawbacks. Every successful, well-loved, and popular (to the tune of a few million views) video I’ve watched has good production quality. No shakiness, grainy visuals, muffled dialogues, etc. Those videos may not be full-on cinematic, but they are at least professional. You want professional? Prepare to pay more.

Screenshot from Dollar Shave Club video

Here’s one of the most famous video ads in recent times. Dollar Shave Club announced its launch with this witty video, starring its CEO Michael Dubin, about why “our blades are f***ing great”. The video was an overwhelming success. Some 12,000 people signed up for Dollar Shave Club’s service in the first 48 hours after the video’s debut.

Dubin spent US$4,500 to make that one-and-a-half minute video. Something as well-polished as this would cost most companies US$50,000, but Dubin was able to keep costs down as he had the right connections. Now, how many companies or marketing departments have budget of US$4,500 — US$50,000? In comparison, you can get an experienced content writer to produce a quality article for a few hundred dollars or less.

Competition

Let’s assume that Cisco’s prediction that online videos will account for more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2020 is correct.

That’s to say that videos will become very common in the future.

So, how can your video stand out from the crowd of competitor videos, cute cat videos, videos of people doing wacky shit while drunk, etc?

If you want to build your marketing on video, then you need to keep your creative juices flowing all the time. You’ll also need to develop a distinct tone and style for your videos. That’s how Dollar Shave Club continued to succeed with video marketing, even after its smashing launch.

Or, if it’s not possible to keep thinking of fresh and innovative video ideas all the time, just “pay to play”. I won’t be surprised if sponsored/promoted videos become more common, even a necessity. That’s what’s happening with Facebook marketing now; organic reach is so hard that spending money to “boost” posts is difficult to avoid. It might soon be the same for YouTube and other popular video platforms.

How Can Writers (Or Any Content Creators) Stay Relevant?

I wrote this blog post from the point of view of a writer trying to understand the rising popularity of video as a storytelling and content marketing medium. Should writers like me worry about becoming less relevant?

It turned out that there are no easy answers. I can see that video has its strengths and good potential, but it’s not clear if video will indeed be king, as heavy costs and competition are real drawbacks. Another possibility to consider: some other content type (augmented reality and virtual reality?) could dethrone video as the darling of the consumer and marketing worlds.

So, how do writers, video producers, and content creators move forward from here?

I think we shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with other media. I enjoy writing, but having exposure to video opened my eyes to new possibilities for storytelling. Writing is great, but could it be more powerful if I combine it with moving visuals? That’s what one of my writing heroes, copywriting coach Colin Theriot, does. A big part of Colin’s marketing is writing snappy nuggets of wisdom for his community of followers on Facebook (or “the cult”, as he calls us!). But he also delivers knowledge through live videos and webinars that delve deep into the issues he touches on in his writing. Everything he creates is so useful that folks either come back for more, or recommend him to their friends.

Even better: what if we could dabble in a variety of media, compare and contrast different storytelling approaches, and produce something original? Oh yes, it can and has been done. In 2012, The Guardian challenged a group of famous writers to come up with 140-character novels a.k.a “Twitter fiction”. Here’s what they came up with, and here’s my favourite, by Jeffrey Archer:

It’s a miracle he survived,” said the doctor. “It was God’s will,” said Mrs Schicklgruber. “What will you call him?” “Adolf,” she replied.

I’d love to see these guys come up with ad-length videos of their novels. Or tell a story using a series of five Instagram posts.

Or maybe I’d be the one to pull it off, someday 😉

Image sources: Cooking With Dog, Dollar Shave Club, Markus Spiske@Pexels

Why Blogging Is Harder Than You Think

June 27, 2017 by YY Leave a Comment

Why blogging is harder than you think

Who the hell am I to critique other people’s blogs anyway?

I am hardly a well-established or famous blogger. I don’t have a track record of building and launching big-name blogs. I’ve never judged blogs at competitions before.

But blogging is a big part of my life. I’ve produced and supervised the production of numerous blog posts for clients in various industries. I’ve been blogging since I was a teen. I enjoy reading blogs, especially blogs written by people I like and respect.

So, while I’m no expert, I’m certainly what they call a practitioner.

***

Blogs are one of the most common and popular ways to do content marketing. They are not complicated to set up, and are one of the cheapest content marketing assets to create at scale. Almost anyone can launch and run a blog.

Or can they?

The problem with many blogs is that they are not as effective as they should be. To get followers and traffic, you need to put a lot of effort, thought, and commitment into your blog. Even more so if you want your blog to stand out from the competition!

But most folks don’t realise how hard it can be. So they do it wrong, then they wonder why they don’t get the engagement they want. The poor blog often ends up joining so many others in the digital graveyard.

I’ll start by talking about three common blogging mistakes I’ve observed. Mistakes that I, too, have been guilty of at one point or another in my blogging history. Then I’ll talk about the secret sauce that elevates “better” blogs to the ranks of the “best” blogs.

Mistake #1: “Dead” Blogs

“Dead” as in a glaring lack of updates. There’re blogs that were last updated a few years ago. Some get updates once every few months. Others begin with a flurry of posts, and then stop altogether after some time.

“Dead” company blogs are common. I’ve even seen the blogs of content marketing service providers meet this fate. The irony!

Going “dead” tends to happen after a marketing campaign ends. Everyone is serious about using the blog to attract traffic/boost SEO rankings/increase brand awareness at first. Once the team hits their KPIs, blog updates dwindle to zero.

Here’s what to do about a “dead” blog if you have one:

Axe it. Having one on your website screams “Yo look at this web project that I don’t give a damn about anymore!”
Repurpose blog posts that are still useful or relevant into eBooks
Set up landing pages to download those eBooks. Or house them under a “resources library” section of your website

Mistake #2: Lack of Promotion

If a tree falls in the digital world and no one hears, it never happened.

You don’t set up a blog, write a bunch of blog posts, and hope your target audience beat a path to your homepage. No one will notice the birth of one more website in the Wild Wild Web! No matter how groundbreaking your blog content!

Content creation is one half of content marketing. The other half is reaching out to your desired readers and promoting your blog. Try:

Announcing new blog posts on social media
Including a snippet of the blog post and a link in an e-newsletter
Letting people know your blog exists by putting links in all your online profiles

Mistake #3: Ignoring User Experience (UX)

Three words: walls of text.

Remember, writing for the web is different from writing for print publications. Folks on the web have short attention spans and tend to scan through content. If they see long essays without anything to break up the text, they might get put off from reading. Don’t forget that long blog posts look even longer when viewed on mobile than on desktop!

Not to say that blog posts should be short. The key is to think about how to keep the reader engaged throughout your blog posts, no matter how long they might be.

Here’s an excellent 1,000+ words long article on the rising popularity of Ultra-HD video formats. Notice the use of high quality visuals, subtle animation, and thoughtful information architecture. What could have been a long essay on a “boring” topic comes to life thanks to these elements.

To improve the UX of blog posts:

Break up text with visuals, videos, graphs, bullet lists, numbered lists, etc.
Consider turning a section of the blog post into an infographic
Ensure that your blog is mobile responsive

From Better Blog to Best Blog

WordPress is a very popular Content Marketing System (CMS) that many content marketers are familiar with.

I can think of more common mistakes aside from these top three. Like, not using data analytics to track blog performance. Or not following search engine optimisation (SEO) principles.

But a lot of these are about getting (important) basics right. Having solid basics will get you this far at best:

A decent stream of traffic
A few star blog posts ranking high on the search engine results pages
Satisfactory call-to-action conversions
Some backlinks from other websites

That’s already better than the average blog in the World Wide Web! But what if you want more; you want your blog to stand out from competition?

Looking at some of the most successful and popular blogs out there, it all boils down to:

Expertise + Personality

Expertise is having solid substance and credibility. You’ve got the experience. You’ve got the skills and knowledge. You’ve been in the trenches. You’ve gone through trials and tribulations to get to where you are today.

Personality is imbuing your blog with your unique character and truth. Have your own “voice”, motifs, or storytelling style. The “truth” part is much harder to nail. It involves being genuine, introspective, and unafraid to talk about flaws and failures.

One blogger that displays excellent expertise+personality is James Altucher. James is an author, speaker, chess master, former hedge fund manager, and entrepreneur. With impressive accomplishments in each field. Yet, he is painfully open about his many failures (lost millions of dollars, failed relationships, getting fired) and what people can learn from them.

Blogging is Not Easy

Sure, blogs are simple and cheap to set up. But they are high on commitment. It takes effort to blog on a regular basis, promote after publishing, and ensure good user experiences. Plus all the extra effort needed to make your blog stand out from the rest!

I think it helps to ask yourself from the start, why do I blog? Having enthusiasm and some clear guiding principles will keep you going in the long haul. But don’t overthink. It’s better to start, and then iterate along the way.

In case you’re wondering, here are my reasons for blogging, which I talked about in my very first blog post. They haven’t changed. I work towards becoming a better blogger and writer, every day.

Image sources: Pexels

Content Marketer, Content Writer, Copywriter

May 30, 2017 by YY Leave a Comment

Different kinds of content marketing job titles

Up until recently, I told people who asked about my job that I was a content marketer.

Then I realised that I was really more of a content writer + copywriter. With a bit more experience in the former. Now I want to gain more expertise in the latter.

Let me explain.

***

“If someone wanted to hire a person who has the kind of writing-for-digital-marketing-platforms skills that you have, what search terms would he or she use?” asked my friend E.

To my embarrassment, I was not too sure. “Well, I’ve been working in content marketing, and ‘content marketer’ was my official job title … ” I replied. Damn. Why did I just go along with ‘content marketer’, without clarifying if anyone recognised it? I could have done a simple keyword research to check on the viability of the job title I used!

Right then and there, we did a Google search for ‘content marketer Singapore’ to see what sort of results turned up. Within the first three pages of search results, the exact phrase ‘content marketer’ shows up only twice. Two results out of 35.

“Looks like it’s not a commonly used term in Singapore” said E. “Let’s confirm with Google Trends.” Here’s what Google Trends told us about search interest in ‘content marketer’ in Singapore:

Google Trends search results for 'content marketers' (Singapore)

“Well. There seems to be negligible interest in ‘content marketers’. Are there any other roles in content marketing that are similar to the work you do?” asked E. “Content writer? Copywriter? Whenever I search for content marketing-related jobs on LinkedIn, these two tend to turn up” I suggested. We compared interest in ‘content writer’ versus ‘copywriter’ versus ‘content marketer’ in Singapore, using Google Trends:

Google Trends search results for 'content marketer', 'content writer', and 'copywriter' (Singapore)

We then expanded the comparison to include worldwide interest (because the Singapore market is pretty small):

Google Trends search results for 'content marketer', 'content writer', and 'copywriter' (worldwide)

“Here’re the takeaways from our little experiment” E said “First, forget calling yourself a ‘content marketer’. That may be the job title you used at your old workplace, but it won’t work when you pitch your skills directly to people. There’s too little interest in hiring a ‘content marketer’! Second, decide if you’re more of a content writer, copywriter, or both. Third, you might want to do more copywriting, since interest in it is the highest.”

***

I thought of all the content marketing work I’ve done so far. All the blog posts, eBooks, landing pages, thank you pages, email newsletters, lead nurture emails, drip emails, social media copies, social media ads, and infographics that I wrote.

I also clarified the differences between content writing and copywriting. In short, content writing aims to generate interest and awareness, while copywriting aims to sell.

It turned out that I have experience in both content writing and copywriting, albeit a bit more experience in content writing. Now I know what to tell folks who ask me what I do for a living.

As for E’s suggestion to do more copywriting, why not? I have always been fascinated with the arts of persuasion and selling, which I feel are two of the most underrated life skills. I say underrated because many people find persuasion and selling icky so they don’t bother with learning how to do them well. That’s a shame. I believe these are two key ingredients in any successful hustle, so I want to get better at persuasion and selling through the power of words.

Oh, and there’s a big demand for excellent copywriters? I’m on board!

***

I wrote this post to share a few lessons for folks who are interested in working in content marketing, or writing for the web. In sum:

1) Understand the different roles and responsibilities. The problem with calling myself a ‘content marketer’ is that the term is too broad; it just means that I ‘do’ content marketing. But there are different jobs within content marketing e.g. Chief Content Officer, Content Strategist, Editor, Writer. Be specific!

2) Use a job title that is clear and meaningful. Different organisations have different titles for the same job junction. My kind of role is sometimes called “content marketing executive”, “content services executive”, “content executive”, “content specialist”, or even “digital content architect”. But titles are just titles. People care most about what you can do for them, so when marketing yourself, choose a job title that reflects what you actually do or the value you bring. In the words of UX expert Steve Krug, “don’t make (people) think!”.

3) Know whether your skills are marketable. A simple Google Trends search can yield loads of info about search interest trends. In the end, it doesn’t matter what you know, or what job title you hold. What matters is whether what your skills and expertise are relevant, helpful, and valuable enough that people are willing to pay you to do. There are so many technological and digital developments underway. You can cling on to what you know, or adapt and grow.

So, over to you, my reader: what do you do?

Image source: TeroVesalainen @Pixabay

How I Broke Into Content Marketing (And Kept At It)

March 29, 2017 by YY 2 Comments

Tools of the content marketing trade

I’m a content marketer. It’s one of those jobs that did not exist until recently, when all kinds of tech and digital disruptions happened.

Maybe you want to get a job in the booming digital field. Maybe you love marketing. Maybe you want to do both. I can’t tell you much about other digital marketing jobs like SEO Specialist or Big Data Analyst or Web Developer, but I can talk about content marketing.

Note! I don’t speak from the point of view of a hiring manager or a veteran. I speak from the perspective of someone who went in as a (almost-complete) noob, learnt about content marketing mostly on the job, and recently progressed to another content marketing job at a new place.

I Had Zero Marketing Knowledge

Or any marketing or business-related qualifications.

No relevant work experiences either. My previous full-time job was civil servant at a government ministry, where I helped implement public policy.

But I did have strong English skills and I was able to demonstrate them.

What happened was that I saw a job ad for “content marketing executive” at a local digital agency when I visited a job portal for recent graduates. The ad called for someone with good writing skills and I remember thinking “I have those, I need to clinch this job!” Never mind that I did not even know what content marketing was. I sent over my resume along with a punchy cover letter explaining why I qualified. The hiring manager replied a couple of hours later asking for more details. Then I had to do a written test, followed by an interview with the hiring manager, and finally, an interview with the big boss. Throughout the entire process, there was an emphasis on strong language and writing skills. The marketing stuff would be learnt along the way, so it was not so important to have marketing qualifications and experiences (whew!).

I clinched the job.

I Learnt Mostly On The Job

There was some initial training in business writing. I had to learn to stop writing in my normal long-winded style and adopt a more concise and direct way of communicating. Great! (But, I still think most businesses could do with more personality, warmth, and flair in their communications).

There was an e-learning course on inbound marketing I had to complete too. I learnt that marketing is undergoing a big shift from the “traditional” product-centric way of doing things (telemarketing! ads in the papers!) to an approach that focused more on customers and their needs. Content marketing plays a major part in the new way of doing things. The big idea was to produce content that prospective customers would find useful and relevant, distribute said content to them via digital channels, and then spur them into taking action.

Okay.

All these only started making sense when I got involved in marketing campaign projects. On the job was how I learnt to write a variety of marketing collateral or “content”: blog posts, eBooks, social media posts, landing pages, thank you pages, emails, infographics, and more. On the job was how I learnt to write for various industries: enterprise resource planning, office providers, decorative laminates, to name a few. On the job was how I learnt how to work with other people in a digital project team: designers, project managers, account managers, freelancers, are the usual guys.

We were all learning. The agency was new to the digital marketing business too (its foundations lay in web design and development). So it was up to us keep up with digital trends, ask for training, apply our knowledge, and do things better each time we got a new client. Iterate, iterate, iterate.

That’s what it’s like to work in digital marketing. Dynamic. Fast-paced. The learning (and relearning) never stops.

Experience is Good, But You Need a Spark of Passion Too

How to work in content marketing

I left that agency after a little more than a year. It was time to move on.

This time, I was back on the job market with more concrete experiences and knowledge, plus a strong portfolio of written works. But I’m sure other candidates have these too, or even better. For a job like content marketing, you’re often competing with the likes of journalists, editors, publishers, public relations folks, and people with marketing communications backgrounds.

I think the way to stand out and impress is to demonstrate genuine interest and an eagerness to keep learning. I realised these when I was interviewing for my new content marketing role. The role was with a slightly bigger but more well-established agency. I found it natural and easy to speak about digital trends (not just related to content marketing), the art and science of effective writing, and how I envisioned growing in my field. I didn’t come in with the details fully-formed in my mind already. But as I spoke, all these came flowing out from a deep well within.

Today, I Continue to Hone My Craft

I now work at an agency with over a decade’s worth of experience in business-to-business (B2B) content marketing and public relations.

One of the best things about working in my current agency is that the crafts of writing and communication are respected and emphasised. On one hand, this means that quality standards are higher and the work is more challenging. On the other, there are more learning opportunities here. I am in the company of some very experienced content marketers, industry veterans, and writers who are willing to share their knowledge.

So, If You Want to be a Content Marketer, Then …

Make sure you have solid language skills. That’s basic and non-negotiable. Demonstrate your language chops with a portfolio of written works. Ideally, your portfolio should cover a variety of topics and content types (long form like eBooks and short form like social media copies).

But remember that content is not just about writing. Content marketing also encompasses non-written content like videos and infographics, so if you have experiences producing these, great! Successful content marketing is ultimately about telling a compelling story, and that means being able to keep readers hooked and engaged till the end. Check out this amazing long-form article on the growing popularity of Ultra High Definition video formats. Sounds boring? Wait till you see how the authors use clever animation and gorgeous visuals to make their story come alive!

Do you need a background in marketing? Depends. Some companies might insist that you come in with some marketing experiences already, others might be more willing to train you from scratch. But you should at least be a “consumer”. That is, be familiar with digital platforms and publications. Read blogs and talk about your favourites. Definitely have some experience with social media. Buy stuff from e-commerce stores. I was once asked during an interview to give my opinion on Buzzfeed and its effectiveness as a content marketing platform.

Here’s one of the best advice out there on breaking into content marketing or any digital-related job, from an industry veteran:

The best way to excel in a digital marketing role is to get your hands dirty. Try digital marketing tasks in your personal life before you ask for a job in the industry.”

Walk the talk. DIY, and even better if you could demonstrate good results. Someone I know who’s worked in content marketing for many years advised seeking a mentor who can guide you in finding and growing your niche(s).

——

Whew, this post turned out way longer than I initially intended! I was in a state of “flow” when writing this >_<

So I’ll leave you with these. Some things I do now that I’ve gone past the noob stage and am trying to “turn pro“:

Keep an open mind
Practise being creative with writing and storytelling
Learn new complementary skills

Oh, and as always when it comes to working in a dynamic field like digital, iterate! Iterate! Iterate!

Image source: Startup Stock Photos @ Pexels, 27707 @ Pixabay