The Diary of a 5-month-old Marketer

A typical 5-month-old Baby:

• Needs 14-16 hours’ sleep a day (including 2-3 daytime naps)
• Can lift, hold, and shake an object
• Makes complex vocal sounds such as “blowing raspberries”

Me, a 5-month-old Marketer:

• Would very much enjoy 2- 3 daytime naps
• Find myself using terms like ‘persona pain points’ and ‘impressive CTR’ like a real grown-up marketer
• Have submitted 20 award submissions over 9 categories in recognition of the amazing work the Sharper team are doing
• Spent an afternoon researching ASMR videos for legitimate campaign research. (Highly recommend lemon meringue pie for anyone who’s interested)
• Committed hours to coming up with names, alter-egos, and character traits for a band of superheroes (and got paid to do so). No, seriously.

This blog is for anyone like me navigating the madness of starting in a new industry. Or perhaps for anyone who is the complete opposite and can’t remember/imagine what it’s like in those daunting first few months.

And if you have an interest/involvement with B2B Marketing, bonus.

Every day’s a School Day

The most valuable thing I have learnt so far in my time at Sharper, is what I call ‘the silent P in B2B’.

When you use the term ‘business to business’, what exactly do you think ‘business’ means? Because it isn’t the office building, the registered tax number, or the company logo.

B2B is people from one business interacting with people from another business. It’s always, all about the people.

So on this note, I (a creative-writing loving theatre graduate), could go on for hours about the importance of creativity, storytelling, human connection, blah blah blah…

But this blog isn’t a ‘How to Write Better Content’ guide. So instead, if you’re interested, hit up one of the Sharper team and ask about their coolest, most creative campaign they’ve worked on this year. 😊 And/or get your hands on a copy of Everybody Writes by Ann Handley, I really can’t recommend it enough.

But for this blog, I’m delving into something which (very much to my surprise), I’m finding comfort and enjoyment in:

Metrics.

I didn’t expect to get pleasure from watching how something is performing, working out why, and making seemingly insignificantly small changes…but if Email 3 performs better than Email 2, dammit I want to know why!

Review, rethink, renew, repeat 😉

Yeah, I can be told ‘using a short punchy subject line will get you better open rates’, but I’m far more likely to live and die by that rule if I’ve seen its impact on my own email campaign that I’ve worked hard on.

‘So, what’s Sharper like?’

Anyone who visits the Sharper website will know we pride ourselves on bringing our clients the fresh ideas & firepower they need by offering ‘clever strategic thinking, wonderfully creative campaigns, and practical MarTech expertise’…. Now I’m pleased to say I fully back this claim and think it’s exactly what we deliver for our clients.

But as someone with the inside scoop, I’d say that what makes Sharper special is not necessarily what we do, but how we do it. It’s our approach and tone of voice.

Our unique style runs through everything, from the copy used in campaigns, to the way we pitch/report to clients. There’s a familiarity that meets professionalism, humour that meets credibility, and the backing of years’ combined experience behind every aspect of our delivery.

I’m not claiming to have nailed it just yet, but I’m working on it…watch this space!

A reality check…

This blog has been undeniably chirpy. And as it should be, I’ve been welcomed into a brilliant team, work for great clients, and I’m loving the work I’m doing.

But much like a classic ‘Instagram vs Reality’ post from a size 6 fitness queen revealing her 1.5 tiny belly rolls to make us all feel better, I should point out that starting a new job, let alone a new career in a new industry isn’t 100% perfect.

I’ve spent hours re-doing and undoing work that I’d worked really hard on and have had to put my hands up and admit I was confused/struggling more than I would really like.

Some days I genuinely enjoy the challenge, appreciate the rate that I’m learning, and feel proud of how far I’ve already come.

Other days…not so much.

My advice for anyone in the same boat? Dunno, I’ll let you know when I figure it out!

All I can say for now is to absorb as many learning opportunities as possible. And remember that you wouldn’t expect a 5-month-old baby to manage anything more than raspberry blowing…so maybe stop being so hard on your 5-month-old professional self.

See baby photo as evidence of the cheap tricks I’ve learnt to get people clicking.

Think you can roll with a team like Sharper? You know what to do…