Life as a marketing executive

Lydia Cronin gives us an insight into her role as a marketing executive:

How did you get into marketing?

I studied English Literature & Politics at Durham University and in my second year I was looking for internships in marketing or editorial roles. I applied for loads of opportunities and was offered a Digital Marketing internship at a startup. Working in such a small team was great as I was really hands on straight away and learnt a huge amount during my three month internship. This experience and the technical knowledge of Google Analytics, social media advertising, reporting and more really helped me in my future applications. I was also an Editorial Intern at Penguin Random House which I loved, and from this experience I wanted to find a role that brought together the analytical side of marketing I loved with the world of publishing. Once I graduated, I got a Marketing Executive role where I worked on conferences and magazines in the financial sector, before I moved to my current role as a Marketing Executive for an independent publisher.

Looking for a role as a marketing executive? Search for marketing jobs here.

I’m a marketing executive at an independent publishing house in London. My duties cover the full range of the marketing mix, with some additional elements thrown in that come with the publishing industry. This includes:

creating and optimising email campaigns;
scheduling our content and industry news on our social media channels;
writing press releases;
managing press and association relationships;
exhibiting at industry conferences;
optimising digital campaigns;
designing adverts;
and working on central marketing projects assisting with website development and constantly looking for new opportunities and ways to improve.

Relationship management is a significant part of my role and also one of my favourite elements. Central to our business as a publisher is our authors, and a typical day will involve following up any author queries, working on articles and videos with our authors, securing speaking and press opportunities for authors, as well as anything else that comes in – this keeps things fresh and exciting! I am also responsible for managing relationships with magazine editors, industry experts, event organisers and professional associations who I’ll be in regular contact with throughout a typical day.

So what does a typical day as a marketing executive look like?

8:40

Arrive at work, grab some breakfast and a coffee so I’m ready to talk to other people.

9:00

Respond to any emails that came in overnight. I work with freelancers and authors based in the US, so there can often be a lot waiting for me in the morning. I’ll get any quick tasks that have come in done first thing. This usually involves sending review copies of our latest books to journalists, finalising arrangements with conference organisers for upcoming events, proofing and editing email campaigns, and answering queries from authors on my list. We get press alerts from Vuelio twice a day – if my books or authors have got any new coverage I’ll get this scheduled across our social media channels.

10:30

I’ll have a catch up with the Commissioning and Development Editors on my list. In this meeting, we update each other on any new information about authors, industry trends and have a look over book proposals.

11:00

More coffee! I’ll then open up my Trello board to see what ongoing tasks I can make a dent in today. I have my board sorted into high, mid and low priority lists. Working with events and against a publication schedule means this is a great tool as I can add notes and deadlines to each task.

12:30

I’ll head out for lunch, usually sit in the park to make the most of what remains of summer and go for a walk around Shoreditch listening to a podcast. At the moment, I’m hooked on The Teacher’s Pet, a true crime podcast from The Australian.

13:30

Fresh back from my lunch break I’ll get into a data project. This will usually be analysing sales reports to present to a publishing partner or senior management in a strategy meeting. I became fascinated with data off the back of my first marketing internship, so I love this part of my job and find the results really interesting. We’re making great steps forward in how we’re tracking our online campaigns, which gives me even more information to play with.

15:00

The 3pm slump strikes again. Time for another cup of coffee and to switch to doing something creative to make sure I stay productive. I try to work on press releases during this time, or work with our designer on adverts that we’re developing.

16:00

I’ll have a catch up with our Marketing Director. This is where I can get feedback on the catalogue I’m working on, tweak copy for a new email campaign or advert and pitch new events or opportunities I think we would benefit from being involved in. It’s also the time to find out what areas I can be developing in and talk through some new relationships I’m looking to build with professional associations.

17:00

I finish up at the office and depending on the day I’ll either be heading to book launch, going out for dinner and drinks or going to the gym.

What sort of qualities does a person need for this role?

For this role, you need to be a people person, highly organised with excellent time management and attention to detail, and willing to go the extra mile. It’s no good to stop at ‘that’s not in my job description’ as we’re an independent publisher all pushing on to the same goal. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have learnt so much from those around me and have come on significantly as a marketer in a short time here. This is a great role for anyone that wants to be an all-round marketer, produce new ideas and work independently.

What advice would you give to someone looking to move towards a marketing executive role?

Don’t assume a marketing role will just be writing social media posts and posting pretty pictures. Getting a grasp and interest in data and analytics will both be really beneficial for your progression and ensure that you enjoy the crucial aspects of marketing that aren’t on the creative side before you start pursuing a marketing role. Check out the Google Analytics Academy beginner course for a taster. I also think it’s worth speaking to people who work in an agency and those who work in-house to figure out what’s best for you – or better yet, intern in both settings to get a real feel for what environment works for you and build up experience you can put on your CV.

Connect with Lydia on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter!