Must-Have Traits to Succeed as a Content Marketing Pro
After just five years in the field of content marketing, I’m certainly no “expert”, but I have had the fortune to listen to and learn from many amazing content marketing minds including superiors, speakers, and industry influencers. From this experience, I’ve learned that the most successful content marketing managers possess an interesting blend of personality traits that contribute to their long term success in the field. Ready to find out what those are? Read on!
1. Curiosity
Chronically curious minds tend to thrive in content marketing. The field requires consistent effort to stay in the know and at the top in terms of understanding your target audience and implementing the latest and most effective tactics. Wil Reynolds, Founder of Seer Interactive says “Ask ‘why?’ 5 times every time your manager asks you to do something” He asks this of content marketers not in an effort to annoy content managers across the globe, but in an effort to stress the importance of really knowing the “why” of every piece of content. Why will consumers care? Why will they want to convert? Why will this further establish your brand as an expert in the field?
2. Ability to Fail Gracefully
Failure is inevitable no matter who you are or how successful you will eventually become. This holds especially true in the world of content marketing.In the words of one of my favorite mentors, Paul Phifer, Director of Content Strategy at BestSatelliteProviders. One of the biggest ways that a successful content marketer differentiates themselves from an unsuccessful content marketer is the propensity to fail.
Recognizing the fact that failure is a natural component in content marketing is a foundational quality found in anyone that has contributed to a materially impacting content marketing campaign, and that is one of the most important catalysts in learning how to be successful in traffic generation”.
3. Quirk
There are few topics out there that have yet to be covered by an online article. So how do you make your content compelling despite the fact it’s more than likely been covered elsewhere before? You get creative and make yours entertaining!If you can’t do it first, you have to do it better.
First and foremost, you should aim to make your piece more informative and thorough than others, however, its entertainment value will determine whether or not people actually want to read it. Quirk is essential to creating highly entertaining content. Marketers who aren’t afraid to be silly in life and at work are often times the ones who come up with the coolest, most engaging content.
4. Persistence
“Most content doesn’t work, find your unicorns” urges Larry Kim Founder and CTO of Wordstream as he explains that 4% of content drives 50% of a blog’s traffic. This is what makes persistence so key to the success of a content marketing specialist. Perhaps the piece of content you thought would be gold failed to deliver ideal results – keep going! The more, quality content you produce, the better you’ll get at finding out what sells with your target audience and how you can help it sell (e.g. new social channels, outreach, paid ads, etc.
5. Willingness to Take Risks
Great content marketers must be willing to constantly learn and take risks in their work. As wisely put by Michelle Loeb from Insight 180, “If you want to see results you need to think big; you need to pursue your ideas even if that means crossing some lines you may not have considered crossing initially.” Sticking to what “should” work or seems popular for the moment while neglecting the ideas you’re truly passionate about will never lead you to groundbreaking success.
6. Eagerness to Learn
Whether you’re a content marketer with 10 years of experience under your belt, or a budding newcomer fresh out of college, your eagerness to learn will be a strong indicator of your future success in the field. This is because content marketing as a practice is constantly evolving, meaning its practitioners must constantly adapt or fall flat.Ultimately, your potential for success in the content marketing field will rely heavily on how passionate you are about what you do.
The personality traits you possess will determine just how passionate you can be about the uniquely challenging concept of creating and promoting awesome content. In the wise words of Gary Vaynerchuk, “Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless”. If you’re a curious, quirky, persistent marketer with a willingness to fail, take risks, and learn from others, chances are you’ll have the passion to fuel a successful career in the content marketing field!
