It's been three months since I started my content marketing adventure and it's been a blast! From writing blog posts to planning social media campaigns and building an audience, I've never felt more at home in a job. As a trainee marketer, I get to test new ideas every day and I've embraced the challenge to learn and grow as an employee and a person.

Feels like I've condensed five years of learning into the last three months, but I haven't approached things like a bull in a China shop— I've dived in with both feet but tried to soak up as much information as possible along the way. Overall, it's been a fantastic experience— I've learned so many things about myself, about the industry, and about what it takes to successfully create content for other people.

The team at 10K60 are incredible people and I learn something from each of them every single day. I've had to make some challenging decisions recently, and their support has been invaluable.

Productive machine

I find myself getting lost in my work, becoming a productive machine. I love picking up new skills and learning as much as I can about my new profession. I am a machine. I am a robot. I am a device. I can feel it when I'm in the zone and the work is flowing through me, like water from a mighty river.

The pressure may be intense at times, but it's a good kind of pressure. I feel like I'm on top of my game and rising above anything that I may have encountered at jobs from yesteryear. 

One thing’s for sure, I've learned so much, so quickly — and I'm still just in the 'getting to know you' stage with the team, barely scratching the surface of what this job has to offer. 

Speaking the lingo 

8:30 a.m. I have approximately 200 messages in my inbox. Social media prompts and marketing briefs are popping up faster than the time it takes to go through all the emails on my iPhone.

There are moments of calm before the storm though, before these ticking time bombs start to define my day. 

What do you do when you come into the office every morning? Do you eat a banana, drink some coffee…or play Wordle? Yes, Wordle is what we all do here. Right after we've finished updating our Twitter bios and replying to the chain of emails with song lyrics in the subject line. Isn't that what everyone does first thing in the morning? 

It's a battle to see who can figure out that day's word first and, as I'm competitive, I always like to be the first to complete. 

It goes without saying, I love words and languages. I speak English, of course, can hold a decent conversation in Spanish and I can sign a few things in sign language—and not just insults!

Content marketing in many ways is like a foreign language. If you want to be understood and engage your audience in a language they understand, you need to speak to them, not at them — and avoid unfamiliar terms.

This way you break down barriers and create a more positive dialogue that will make interactions feel more natural. Copy should be conversational ideally, it’s also easier for readers to digest information when it’s broken up into shorter sentences and paragraphs. 

Clarity is key, and don’t fill your copy with jargon. Speak to your customers like they're the only people that matter in the world. This is the most basic level of emotional intelligence affecting relationship building and persuasion skills. It makes or breaks your brand experience with customers.

It's fair to say my new job has challenged me to figure out language and terminology I wouldn't have had a clue about a few short months ago, like 'vanity metrics', 'NFTs’ and ‘the metaverse’. 

The challenge is knowing how to communicate these terms in an easy-to-understand manner whilst keeping your message on-point and entertaining. After all, who wants to read a dry and boring blog post full of jargon?

Penny dropped

Content is the oxygen that keeps your business alive and kicking. The main goal is to improve customer engagement with your brand, and ultimately drive traffic to your product or service. But with all the choice out there, how do you ensure your content stands out? That’s what I’ve been thinking long and hard about this week. 

Ultimately, the aim of Content Marketing has to be to grab people's attention.

You may have great content but if you can't grab your target market by the horns and give them a good reason to stop by, even the most poetic work will go to waste.

If you want to grow your audience , you need to stop pushing your own agenda and start using YOUR customers’ needs to fuel your content creation and grab their attention.

So, the penny dropped, the secret to engagement is simply to provide value. If you want to keep readers coming back for more of your content, secure that sale, or build your reputation as an authoritative source, then you need to do one thing — provide value. This means focusing on their problems and showing you have the solutions they need, not just giving them the hard sell.

Marathon not a sprint‍

Here's the thing: content marketing is a journey. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And you know what? It's okay if you're on your third or fourth post and you haven't hit viral gold yet. You haven't even gotten to the meat of your real story — the part where you changed some lives, made some money, launched something incredible into the market, or had that single defining moment when everything changed.

One thing that's quickly hit home; content is the most crucial part of a brand’s marketing strategy. It's the backbone of any campaign.  

Now, I know that sounds like some typical marketing bullshit—'content is king’, and all that jazz, but it’s true.

The concept of content marketing is actually very simple: you create compelling and interesting content about your brand, which prompts users to want something from you in return— whether it's a sale or wanting to know more about your product or business. 

To create content that hits the mark, you need to get under the skin of your audience: stalk them. Follow them. Even hire a private eye if you have to. It’s vital to know what makes them tick. I’ve made it my mission to get up close and personal with all my client’s customers this month.

On that note…

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KazD - Content Marketer in Training