11 Skills To Be Successful In A Content Marketing Career

11 Skills To Be Successful In A Content Marketing Career â€Å"What are you ever going to do with that?† That’s the usual response I’d get when people would ask what my college degree was in (it was art and art history). There would be a prolonged moment of silence and then that question. I don’t know if that prolonged moment of silence was in honor of the memory of what they thought was now-gone employability.  I can promise you that as I got older and there was more distance from my college graduation, I fretted less. Because in the ensuing years, I learned that the answer to that question was: quite a lot. Sometimes a skill is not just a skill. Thats what youll discover as you work toward a successful content marketing career. 11 Skills That Will Make You Successful In A Content #Marketing Career via @JulieNeidlinger Your Content Marketing Skills Add Up To A Lot Getting your art degree, it turns out, doesn’t only make you a prime candidate for being a professional artist, but it also spawns the ability to defend your work in front of a room of critics. You know the skill of B.S. (yes, it’s a real skill) and can create something out of nothing. As a content marketer, you're holding onto skill sets that go beyond â€Å"simply† being a content marketer. So, the next time someone asks you what you do as a content marketer, rest assured you have some solid answers. 1. You Write, Which Many People Cannot Do This skill is huge. Don’t ever undersell yourself as a content marketer, because your ability to write is paramount. Oddly,  writing  every day makes me forget that not everyone is a writer. I assume everyone is writing constantly and am shocked when I come across someone struggling with their writing. Reading long posts and comments on Facebook, for example, is stunning at times. I’m not interested in correcting grammar or making people feel embarrassed (many bizarre words and typo errors can be blamed on type assist on mobile devices), but I am genuinely surprised. In the past 5 years, the ability to write has noticeably declined among college students. #mindblownIn the past five years, the ability to write- which also includes vocabulary, grammar, and analysis- has noticeably declined among college students. 26% of college graduates  have deficient writing skills. That’s college graduates, we’re talking about. It’s easy to think writing great copy is just about stringing together the right words, but there is a huge analysis factor. Good writers have to be able to analyze their own ideas  and the ideas of others. Writing also involves communicating persuasively as well as clearly. Too often, good writing is seen as something that is clever rather than clear. Snappy and clever is fine, but not at the sake of clarity. And, of course, good writing is done in a way where you inform people while making every reader, no matter their skill and knowledge level, feel welcome. The fact that content marketers, out of necessity, are constantly writing means they are always in a state of practice. The sheer amount of times you put pen to paper (or word to screen) means that you are exercising your writing muscles and brain cells. Perhaps this is why I am surprised by the lack of writing skills I come across in others: They simply do not write every day. Your ability to write puts you at an extreme advantage in this world. Improve Your Skill: How To Write Content That Sells: The Anatomy In A 6-Figure Post How To Write Awesome Blog Posts With The Science Of Appeal How To Write For Your Intended Audience 2. You Create Under Pressure And With Others In a content marketing career, you're frequently at the mercy of the winds of trends, breaking news, and ever-changing technology. That means you get used to creating under some level of pressure. There’s no letting up, no break- because your audience is just one yawn away from leaving you (or so you think). You never know who will say what to you on social media, and you have to figure out a response in the moment that is both appropriate and genuine. Unless you’re a solo content marketer, you’re also pretty good at working with others. You delegate duties, plan timelines, and brainstorm. You have the ability to hit the ground running and think on your feet- with or without a team at any given moment. Improve Your Skill: How To Save Time Writing Blog Posts How To Rock A Content Development Process That Will Save You Tons Of Time 3. You Handle Criticism And Critique Criticism and critique are not the same thing.  Both can be valuable. As a content marketer, you know how to handle both criticism or critique, whether that means knowing how or when to respond, or if you should respond at all. You can identify what you should take seriously and which battles to fight. You know how to participate in amicable disagreement, or you knowing when to avoid it entirely.