Today, in the “content era,” many companies are aware of the need to create valuable content for their customers. If you have a track record of creating a lot of high-quality content, you will get a bonus point for any marketing job you apply to. If creating content appeals to you, start creating videos, articles, podcasts, etc. It is okay to leverage the same content across a few different media. You can write an article on a topic, then shoot a video about it, then record a podcast on it.
Remember that shooting a video or recording a podcast isn’t just about reading your article aloud. Even if you write in a conversational tone, the language you use in a podcast or video will be different.
Also remember that video is visual. If all you’re planning to do is record yourself talking, skip the video. Unless you are extremely charismatic or good-looking, people expect to see more in a video than just your face. Include interesting screenshots or images of what you’re talking about, or make a video tutorial that records what you’re doing.
Getting your articles published
Part of positioning yourself as a content creator is publishing articles in reputable publications, such as leading magazines and blogs. It’s not easy to do. But if you can get an article published in a major publication, your position as an expert will take a quantum leap, and you can expect a significant increase in your perceived value as a potential employee.
The way to do this is to identify a relevant publication and get a sense of what they write about and how: the length of the articles, formats, and tone (conversational or formal). You can pitch an idea to the editors before you’ve written about it. However, it’s easier to pitch a finished article for online media.
Note: A relevant publication is not necessarily one that’s your favorite, but one that your potential employers read. This could be a publication related to marketing, to a particular industry, to management and business, or to lifestyles and hobbies.
Here are a few lists of trade magazines you can try to get an article into.
- Yahoo Directory of Business Trade Magazines
- WebWire: Trade Publications by Industry
- Webbiquity: Advertising and Marketing Trade Publications
Some tips on how to write for trade magazines (and get paid for it!) may be found here.
What to write about
Writing about marketing is obviously great if you’re trying to get a job in marketing. As I mentioned, if you’re looking to work in a specific industry, try to publish in a magazine that is read by executives in that industry. For example, say you want to move to find a job in the natural resources industry in Canada. You could try to publish an article in a trade magazine about energy, such as Oilweek: Canada’s Oil and Gas Authority. (I just found this now using Google. I trust that if this is the industry you’re aiming at, you will do a better search.)
If you do decide to write about marketing, here are some topics you can write about. Make sure you are specific and to the point, bringing something new to the table.
- Analytics
- B2B marketing strategy
- B2C marketing strategy
- Branding
- Competitive analysis
- Copywriting
- E-commerce
- Email campaigns
- Event planning
- Facebook (or Google, or other) advertising
- Marketing an app
- Marketing automation
- Positioning
- Product naming
- Sales funnel optimization
- Social media strategies
- Trade shows
- Upselling and cross-selling
This is way more helpful than anihnytg else I’ve looked at.