How to Grow as a Marketer: 5 Non-intuitive Ways to Grow Your Marketing Career & Business
Building your career is only the first step of your marketing journey. You need to continue to grow as a marketer if you want to succeed and make an impact in this field. So, what can you do to grow…
Building your career is only the first step of your marketing journey. You need to continue to grow as a marketer if you want to succeed and make an impact in this field. So, what can you do to grow your marketing career?
In the fast-paced world of marketing, where competition is fierce and trends are constantly evolving, standing out and advancing your career requires a fresh and unconventional approach. It also helps to keep sharpening specific skills, like our playbook on social video marketing strategy. Let's dive into the expert tips to grow as a marketer by taking non-intuitive ways.
Reading a marketing book changes nothing until one idea from it changes what you do this week.
How to grow your marketing career
A while back, our CEO and Head of Strategy, Ari Krzyzek, shared her experience and lessons she has learned over a decade to grow as a marketer, and now we're sharing them with you.
You won't get vague advice and tips that leave you confused about how to even start. These five things are easily doable even if you have limited marketing experience.
Read powerful marketing books
Books are the easiest way to start learning to grow your marketing career. There are so many titles from great authors out there. You can always start with books from your favorite writers. Or simply check out readers' reviews on Amazon and Goodreads to figure out which ones are worth buying and reading.
If you're still unsure, though, check out some of our book recommendations:
- Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller
- The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier
- Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Brad Kowitz
- The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, and Stand Out from the Crowd by Allan Dib
- Revenue Growth Engine: How to Align Sales & Marketing to Accelerate Growth by Darrell Amy
On a similar note, if you're thinking of leveraging a website for marketing, you can also check out our best-selling book, Made to Sell: Creating Websites that Convert, written by our co-founders.
How to do it
- Pick your next title from the reader-ranked Goodreads marketing shelf instead of guessing.
- Skim Derek Sivers' free notes on it first to confirm it is worth your hours.
- As you read, log one concrete action per chapter, not just highlights.
- Block a weekly hour to apply one of those actions to a live campaign.
See a worked example
As an example, a solo founder might commit to one marketing book a month, start with The 1-Page Marketing Plan, and turn each chapter into a single action they test that week, so the book changes what they do rather than just what they highlight.
Tools to use
The Goodreads marketing shelf to pick a reader-ranked next read, and Derek Sivers' book notes to preview one before you buy.
Steal our AI prompt
I just finished [paste the book title plus 3-5 key ideas or your own notes]. My business is [describe what you sell and who you sell to]. Turn these ideas into a 3-step action plan I can apply to my marketing this month, and give me one specific first task under each step.
Boost your effectiveness using marketing tools
This is especially important if you're a small business owner who does almost everything yourself.
To grow your marketing career along with marketing your business, use the following tools and see how they help you work smart, not hard.
Project management tools
It's easy to drown in the sea of to-do lists. That's why many companies use project management tools such as Trello, Jira, Plutio, and others. At Chykalophia, we love using ClickUp.
Customer relationship management (CRM)
CRM helps you automate and structure your sales funnel. Some widely-used CRMs you can try are HubSpot, Salesmate, or Keap.
Analytics
Marketing and analytics are inseparable. Make sure you track how your marketing campaigns and efforts are performing with analytics from Google, social media, or other platforms you use.
How to do it
- Move every campaign and to-do into one ClickUp board so nothing lives only in your head.
- Put every inbound lead into HubSpot's free CRM with a simple stage pipeline.
- Set up one weekly Google Analytics report on the three metrics you actually act on.
- Block 30 minutes each Monday to review all three in a single pass.
See a worked example
As an example, a one-person marketing team might move every scattered to-do into ClickUp, drop every inbound lead into HubSpot's free CRM, and check a single Google Analytics report each Monday, so nothing slips through the gaps between tools.
Tools to use
ClickUp for free project management, HubSpot's free CRM to structure your funnel, and Google Analytics to see how campaigns perform.
Steal our AI prompt
I run marketing for [describe your business and team size]. My current tools are [paste what you use now]. Recommend a lean stack across project management, CRM, and analytics, explain in one line what each tool is for, and tell me the first thing to set up in each.
Volunteer at events that interest you
Volunteering at events allows you to connect with people you would never meet otherwise, grow your network, and learn from the speakers without buying tickets. However, make sure to only choose events you're interested in, so you get to meet like-minded people and learn things you really want to improve on.
How to do it
- Search Meetup and Eventbrite for marketing or creative events near you in the next 60 days.
- Shortlist only the ones whose topic you genuinely want to learn.
- Email each organizer offering to volunteer (check-in, AV, or social) for a free seat.
- Set one goal per event: three real conversations, not a stack of business cards.
See a worked example
As an example, if a local marketing conference is out of budget, you might email the organizer offering to staff the registration desk in exchange for a free pass, which puts you next to every attendee as they walk in.
Tools to use
Meetup and Eventbrite to find local marketing events, then approach the organizers about volunteering.
Steal our AI prompt
I want to volunteer at marketing or creative events near [describe your city]. Draft a short, friendly outreach email I can send to an event organizer offering to volunteer in exchange for attending, and list four volunteer roles that would put me near the speakers or attendees.
Try to join communities, even if you're introverted
As you build, grow, and scale your business, we suggest joining communities. Yes, we know, the thought of joining a community for the first time can be horrifying, especially for introverts who are more comfortable with smaller groups. But there are ways around that.
First, find a smaller community that doesn't overwhelm you. Second, pick a community where at least one friend or acquaintance is already a member, so you can tag along on your first meetup. You can also find related communities through the events you volunteer at.
For your reference, here are some of the communities that our CEO finds immensely helpful to grow as a marketer all these years:
How to do it
- Join one low-pressure space first: Superpath's free content, an Online Geniuses Slack, or your local AMA chapter.
- Lurk for a week to learn the norms before you post.
- Make your first contribution a helpful answer to someone else's question.
- Send one member whose work you admire a specific, genuine note.
See a worked example
As an example, an introverted marketer might start by lurking in a free Slack community like Online Geniuses for a week, then answer one question they genuinely know the answer to, instead of trying to work a whole room at once.
Tools to use
Superpath for a low-pressure content-marketing community, Online Geniuses for a large marketer Slack, and the American Marketing Association to find your local chapter.
Steal our AI prompt
I am an introverted marketer who wants to join an online community without feeling overwhelmed. My focus is [describe your niche, for example B2B content or local services]. Suggest how to choose the right community, write me a low-key introduction post, and give me three easy ways to contribute in my first month.
Learn from your trusted inner circle and mentor (if any)
Being part of events and communities will lead you to a circle that you can really trust. They come from the same or similar industries and have similar interests, so you can learn from each other and count on their insights whenever you have a problem.
And who knows? You might even find a mentor from these events, communities, or circles to help you grow your marketing career.
How to do it
- Write down the one problem you are most stuck on right now.
- Book a free session on ADPList or request a SCORE mentor matched to that problem.
- Send the mentor your specific question and context before the call.
- Close each session by agreeing on one action and a date to report back.
See a worked example
As an example, you might book a free 30-minute call on ADPList with a mentor who is two steps ahead of you, come with one specific question about your current campaign, and leave with a next action instead of general advice.
Tools to use
ADPList to book free mentor sessions, SCORE for free ongoing US business mentoring, and GrowthMentor for unlimited calls with vetted growth mentors.
Steal our AI prompt
I want to get the most from a mentor call about [describe the marketing challenge you are facing]. Help me write a five-line pre-call brief (my context, what I have tried, my specific question) and give me five sharp questions to ask so I leave with clear next steps.
More insights to grow as a marketer
If you want to learn more about marketing and how to grow your marketing career, do check out our CEO's full interview with Authority Magazine here.
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