My Advice to New Marketers

So you want to get into marketing? Here’s what I tell anybody who wants to start out:

1) Just Dive In; Gain Momentum:

Marketing isn't just one thing. It's brand strategy, digital ads, content creation, analytics, and a ton more. Don't stress about picking a niche right away. Your first goal? Get a role (internship or entry-level) where you can touch as many aspects of the business or team as you can. 

My own path started in customer support, then I literally cold-called my way into music marketing. That kind of hands-on exposure teaches you things no online course ever will.

2) Key “Technical Skills” and Concepts:

2a) Analytics & Measurement: This is the bedrock. You need to understand what's working and why.

• Tools to master: Google Analytics, Excel/Google Sheets.

• Key metrics:

  • Impressions & Reach: How many eyeballs your campaigns are getting.

  • Click-Through Rate (CTR): Are your ads/content compelling enough to get clicks?

  • Conversion Rate (CVR): Are those clicks turning into sign-ups or sales?

  • Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): How much revenue are you generating for every dollar spent on ads?

  • Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The total value a customer brings over time.

  • Retention & Churn: Are you keeping your customers around?

• Resources:

  • Google Analytics Academy

  • HubSpot Analytics Courses

  • Marketing Analytics: A Practical Guide to Real Marketing Science (book)

2b) Digital Advertising & Acquisition: This is where you drive traffic and leads.

• Platforms to learn: Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram), TikTok Ads, Google Ads.

• Core concepts: Audience targeting, budgeting, creative testing, and performance reporting.

• Resources:

  • Meta Blueprint

  • TikTok Learning Center

  • Paid Attention (book)

2c) Content & Social Strategy: Creating compelling stuff and getting it seen.

• Key understanding: Content calendars, persuasive copywriting, platform-specific best practices, and engagement metrics.

• Resources:

  • HubSpot Content Marketing Course

  • Sprout Social Copywriting Resources

  • Everybody Writes (book)

2d) Brand & Storytelling: Defining who you are and why people should care.

• What to learn: Positioning, crafting strong value propositions, defining tone of voice, and building compelling brand narratives.

• Resources:

  • LinkedIn Learning: Brand Strategy Courses

  • Building a StoryBrand (book)

  • Made to Stick (book)

3) Learn by Doing:

Don't just read about it. Apply it. Run this play. It’s fun - I still do it from time to time to stay sharp.

1. Pick a brand you admire:

   • Analytics: Guesstimate their website traffic, social engagement, and even ad efficiency.

   • Advertising: Study their paid ads. What are their calls to action? Where are they running them?

   • Content: Map out their posting schedule, content themes, and overall tone of voice.

   • Storytelling: Try to write a one-sentence positioning statement for them. What's their unique selling point?

2. Create your own hypothetical brand:

   • Develop a basic ad plan.

   • Draft a content calendar.

   • Write a positioning statement and tagline.

   • Define your success metrics (impressions, CTR, CVR, ROAS, LTV).

   
   

This exercise forces you to move from theory to actual execution. It's invaluable.

4) Embrace Constant Change

Marketing is ALWAYS evolving. I've personally jumped from Pandora to Twitch to Amazon Music, and now I'm building Field Vision. Each time, new tools, new systems, new strategies emerge. Things I didn’t know. So, stay curious. Test new platforms and tools monthly. Just dive in and play around. Treat your ideas as  hypothesis. Change one variable at a time, and rigorously measure the results. Document what you tried, what worked, and what needs adjusting.

This mindset keeps you sharp, gives you great stories to tell in interviews, and ensures you'll be adaptable when the next big shift happens.

Hope this helps anyone looking to break into the field!