industry career guide

$73,000. According to The Creative Group, that’s the average salary of a content strategist in today’s market. And, if you’re working in a bigger market, the map below shows us that this number can climb as high as $100,000. But you’re not just getting in this industry because you’re attracted to the high salary potential and strong benefits. You’re getting in it because you love telling stories. You’re doing it because you understand the power that great content can have on people. Above all, you’re doing it because you want to build a rewarding career for yourself where you can use your skills to impact the lives of others. The salary is just the icing on the cake. And while you’ve wanted to get into this industry for awhile, you’re just not quite sure how to do it. What do you do if you don’t have any experience? Who hires content strategists? How many jobs are available? Where can I build the skills needed to become a desirable candidate? The answers to these questions, and more, lie within the sections below. Let’s dive in. Content Strategy Career Guide 101: Why You Need a Growth Mindset to Succeed The first thing you need to understand about starting a career as a content strategist is that it’s essential that you develop a growth mindset from the start. Stanford professor and renowned psychology expert Carol Dweck defines someone with a growth mindset as: “An individual who believes their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others).” Someone with a fixed mindset, on the other hand, would be an individual who believes that their talents are innate gifts and cannot necessarily be improved upon. The world of content marketing changes frequently. What was considered “great” content in 2010 certainly isn’t the same as what it is today. For this reason, deciding to become a content strategist means also deciding that you’re willing to improve, grow, innovate, and change as the industry demands. While that doesn’t mean that you should simply follow in the footsteps of others in the industry, it does mean that you have to be willing to grow and develop your skills along the way. Before you move forward, I strongly encourage you to make the decision to develop the growth mindset that will allow you to prosper as you move through your career as a content strategist. 9 Key Skills Needed to Become a Top Notch Content Strategist As you begin your career as a content strategist, here are a few of the main traits that you’ll need to succeed. 1. Content Strategy Fundamentals The ability to develop a Content Differentiation Factor (CDF), set content goals, and understand how to create high-ROI content are all important foundational pieces. 2. Develop Audience Personas Audience personas form the basis for who content will be written for and about. 3. Develop Content Marketing Funnels By understanding which type of content should be created for each type of the marketing lifecycle or sales funnel, you can increase the effectiveness and conversion rates of a content marketing campaign. 4. Keyword Research and SEO Knowledge A focus on long-tail keywords and SEO helps ensure that your content marketing strategy maximizes its long term ROI potential. 5. Create and/or Manage Creation of Authority Content With so much content being created today, you need to know how to put together content that separates itself from pack. 6. Content Promotion Understanding how to successfully promote content is arguably just as important as your ability to help create it. 7. Develop an Editorial Calendar Building a content calendar helps to ensure structure and efficiency throughout a content marketing campaign. 8. Track Content Marketing ROI The goal of any marketing campaign is to maximize ROI. In order to determine the ROI of your strategy, you need to know which metrics to track and how to track them. 9. Set Up and Manage a Content Budget Understanding how to maximize content strategy budget will put you in a position to increase ROI potential for the companies and clients you work with.   In total, these are summed up in the graphic we developed for my online course, the Content Strategy & Marketing Course curriculum. (See above.) If you’re just getting started, this list might look intimidating. After all, how are you supposed to find the necessary resources to develop all of the above traits before even starting your career? Keep reading. How to Develop the Necessary Traits to Start Your Content Strategist Career If you were to attempt to scour the web to find the resources needed to develop the traits outlined above, you’d likely be looking at a learning period of 12-24 months. How do I know? Because, in the past, I was a self-taught content strategist. And not only did I take over a year to attempt to learn these things on my own, but I had a very minimal understanding of each concept even after that prolonged period. That all changed after 7 years of day in, day out, learning and applying myself to the field of content marketing and content strategy, and finally making my way to the top of my industry through a ton of self-taught content marketing. But, once you develop the necessary traits, how do you actually go about getting a job in the industry? Let’s find out. 3 Different Ways to Work as a Content Strategist One of the most exciting things about working in content strategy is that there are several different ways to build your career. And, the salary of a Content Strategist is holding steady across every major U.S. city: Image Source Let’s take a look at some of the main options at your disposal: 1. Companies Hiring In-House Content Strategists Take a quick look at job boards like Indeed and Glassdoor and you’ll find that there are thousands of companies looking to hire in-house content strategists. 7,716 Content Strategist jobs are currently posted on Glassdoor The salaries are great, … Read more