10 Ways to Become a Successful Marketing Professional

Marketing is the lifeblood of any startup – without it, the company will be sure to sink. So for entrepreneurs looking to boost their productivity with simple tricks, I set out to find answers.

I recently asked some of the smartest and most experienced marketing people I know for their No. 1 marketing hack. While all provided extremely effective solutions, I was amazed at how simple some of them were.

As far as job potential is concerned, the world of marketing has much to offer. Furthermore, it is a field that continues to grow by the day, and more and more companies become wise to the fact that having an in-house marketing professional is one of the most efficient ways to develop and boost their brand. When a business has a well-developed brand, then its chances of bringing in new clients and customers drastically increase.

While there are plenty of job opportunities for qualified marketing professionals, the competition for such positions shouldn’t be underestimated. If you hope to become a successful marketing professional, you will need to set yourself apart from the crowd by developing a strong skill set. Here are ten ways to help you get started on the road to becoming a successful marketing professional.

1. Learn to Utilize Data

While the word “data” probably calls to mind images of scientists and technical analysts, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of learning to mine and utilize data in marketing. With the ever-advancing nature of technology comes more ways in which businesses can gather and analyze data for marketing purposes. 

Successful marketing professionals have caught on to this fact and are spending more time developing a love for data. Because there is a lot to learn on the subject, you might consider some higher education to help you determine the best ways to gather and use data for marketing. 

2. Love What You Are Doing

I always keep this at the top.

If you don’t love what you do, you can never become successful.

If you are just doing it for money, then there is no difference between you and a marketing company employee who is bored as hell at his job and hates it.

Yet he keeps on doing it as it’s paying his bills. In affiliate marketing, it’s essential to love what you are doing. Otherwise, you won’t be able to come up with new ideas and marketing angles, which are essential to success as an affiliate marketer.

3. SEO

Poach your competitors' mentions. "Create a Google Alert for your competitors' brand names. Find out where they are being mentioned and in what context. Then, see if there are opportunities to be mentioned alongside them. Many times journalists and editors will write about one brand and be open to including a similar brand for parity."

4. Become a Storyteller

Every great marketer is a great storyteller at heart. When you are developing your marketing strategies for a particular company, you essentially need to develop a narrative to use in the marketing materials that you publish. A narrative gives potential clients something to relate to and to gain a better understanding of what the business actually does.

The average attention span of potential customers, particularly when it comes to online users, is incredibly short. The point of building a narrative around a company is to attract and hold the attention of potential clients long enough for them to be convinced to enlist the services or purchase the product of the company you are promoting. Good storytellers can accomplish this while appealing to the customer on an emotional level. 

5. Develop Your Time Management Skills

In the world of business, time management is an important skill to have. This is particularly true for the marketing professional as well. Your ability to be a successful marketer will hinge on your ability to create a realistic but favorable timeline and stick to it. For this reason, you need to embrace and utilize the power of the deadline.

Those who practice sound time management skills have learned how to rid themselves of unnecessary distractions and to prioritize goals appropriately. To master time management, you need to do a bit of self-reflection. You must understand the type of work environment in which you perform to the best of your abilities and what things cause you to procrastinate from accomplishing what needs to be done.

6. Be Consistent

Never let failures get you down or hinder your path to success. Failures are what make you successful. So instead of giving up, get up again and try figuring out where you went wrong and correct yourself.

Personally, for all my students, this is the most important phase. After teaching them about everything, I leave them on their own to see if they can find out their mistakes and correct them. Those that try and be consistent finally come up with a solution and those who can’t be consistent get left behind and lose track of their path.

This can link back to if you love what you are doing, you will definitely come up with some sort of solution and fix your problem. Instead of just giving up.

7. Public relations

Don't brag, give real value. "The greatest secret in media and public relations right now is that the press (and your potential customers) are most interested in the value-added information that will help them succeed in a given area—not in hearing promotional information from you. By thinking of your readers' needs first—not your own self-interests—you will receive business traction and audience engagement beyond your dreams."

8. Know Your Limits

Another trait that is universal to most successful business professionals is the insight necessary to know what your personal limits are. It is all good and well to set amazing goals and to keep your standards for your own performance high, but it will all come to nothing if you don’t have the actual skills and experience that those goals and standards require.

Successful marketing professional has enough self-awareness to know where their limits are. They also have the humility to ask for help in the areas where they might fall short. 

Because the nature of prospective clients is continuously developing, the quality of marketing is likewise growing. For this reason, you need to get into the habit of continually trying to learn and expand your skillset. There are always more tips and tricks to learn about the art of marketing, so you should start to think of yourself as a perpetual student of sorts. Use the self-awareness you have to help guide you to those areas where you need to develop and learn more.

9. Advertising

Explore pay-per-click advertising. Google isn't the only show in town when it comes to pay-per-click advertising.

"Google has the most volume when it comes to their ad network. But they're far from the only option. Bing provides great results for businesses targeting the baby boomer generation. You can also look into Google Search Partner Networks for other opportunities for higher ROI."

10. Learn to Listen

Listening is a critical skill that every master marketer needs to have. As the developer of content, you might be used to being the primary voice in a conversation. While having confidence in your own voice is essential, it is probably more important to have the ability to listen. 

To run a successful campaign, you need to listen attentively to the wishes of the business you are promoting as well as the needs of the customers you are aiming your marketing at. There may be instances when those two things don’t perfectly align. In such cases, it is your job to find a way to bring them into alignment. You cannot successfully accomplish this unless you have a complete understanding of what both sides are looking for. Such an understanding can only be gained by listening to the needs of both sides.