The Guide to Finding a Remote Marketing Job

Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.

Bestselling author, expert marketer, and blogger Seth Godin gave this insightful quote about the purpose of marketing.

If your passions line up with this purpose and you are a great storyteller that can sharpen the voice of a brand to turn audiences into customers, then marketing may be a profession you want to look at whether you are just starting or looking to make a career change.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing managers have a median salary of $132,620 per year and were estimated to experience 10 percent job growth from 2016 to 2026. While you may not be stepping into a managerial position, marketing jobs overall are known to bring in solid salaries—depending on the company—and opportunities for advancement.

What Makes Marketing Jobs Ideal for Remote Work?

Not only can you flex your creative muscle, but you can also do so working from home. Just one look at a remote work job site and you will find many marketing and digital marketing-related positions available. So, what makes marketing ideal for remote work? Check out the reasons below.

  • It's knowledge work – At its core, knowledge work is much easier to do away from the office. You have all the tools you need to be successful: laptop or desktop, marketing software, a platform to work with team members, and your creativity. Being in the office is not required for success.

  • A variety of job-type options – You can be a full-time marketing manager, a part-time social media specialist, or a freelance content creator. Because marketing is knowledge work, the amount of time and tasks assigned related to marketing jobs can be customized to fit your schedule, which is ideal for a flexible work life.

Grainne, a writer, and content marketing manager, was approached by a remote company after working as a freelancer.

After about a year of freelancing fulltime for a number of clients, I was approached by Buckets.co to work on their content and social. I focused primarily on Buckets for the next three years, and I definitely became a huge remote work advocate during that time!

You never know where your next remote marketing job opportunity may come from. So, be strategic in how you use job-type to win over employers.

  • Collaboration is still possible – Marketing does require collaboration, and today's tools make this more straightforward than ever. From Slack to Trello, and everything in between you can share documents, work on projects with other team members at the same time, or set up a quick meeting. The nature of marketing work does not require you to meet physically with colleagues.

  • Increased creativity and innovation – There are times when the traditional office can be stifling and lack the atmosphere to spur new ideas. Studies have shown that being away from the office can increase productivity and focus, which can lead to increased creativity and innovation in the long run. Marketing requires professionals to embrace new ideas and create processes to facilitate them. Ultimately, remote work is ideal for this.

  • Not limited by time zone – This has been mentioned in other articles. However, it is worth repeating. A remote marketing job allows you to work with remote teams all around the world, whether in the United States, Canada, Europe, or other countries. While consistent collaboration is needed, instant communication is not always required, so remote marketing jobs make it easier to work with professionals in different time zones.

Different Types of Remote Marketing Jobs

Before you begin to prepare the resume or begin your search, it helps to know the type of remote marketing position you fit into. This will allow you to tailor your resume, cover letter, and search to the type of position you are the best fit for. So, take a look at the various types of remote marketing jobs, salaries (taken from Glassdoor), and related skills.

Digital marketing

Digital marketers are professionals that manage online-based marketing campaigns. Their sole goal is to use digital tools to increase conversions: whether it be increasing revenue, or encouraging higher brand awareness. These individuals can also be digital marketing specialists or take on a senior-level role as a digital marketing manager.

The average salary for a digital marketing professional is $60,714. Having experience with content writing, SEO, managing social media, and PPC campaigns are skills you should have to stand out.

Marketing specialist

Even though these professionals are specialists when it comes to market research and consumer trends, they are expected to have a general knowledge of a lot of successful marketing concepts. Marketing specialists are expected to take consumer trends and become aware of changing consumer tastes to create marketing campaigns.

The average salary of a marketing specialist is $50,528. At the heart of any marketing specialist job is attention to detail, creativity, and strategy. It is also great to have experience with taking market research and turning the findings into actionable goals and campaigns.

Marketing manager

Marketing managers oversee and manage the promotion of a company and its brand, as well as their product or service. They also manage staff, and will likely be tasked with handling budgets, overseeing the execution of campaigns, and attracting new customers as well as encouraging lead generation.

In addition to marketing managers, product marketing managers, and content marketing managers are also popular senior-level marketing manager positions.

Their average salary is $81,078, and project management skills, attention to deadlines, experience managing a budget, and success with online marketing are skills employers are searching for.

Marketing analyst

If you have the skill for marketing but are more into numbers than creativity, then a marketing analyst position is right for you. These individuals handle the metrics side of marketing. From monitoring sales funnels to keeping an eye on KPIs, these professionals manage the quantitative side of marketing.

The average salary of a marketing analyst is $60,823. It is helpful to be familiar with analytics software like Google Analytics or Tableau, have an understanding of SEO and KPI tracking, and have experience in monitoring and evaluating statistics.

Marketing coordinator

Many times, a marketing coordinator position is the combination of a marketing analyst and marketing manager. These individuals are adept at conducting research, implementing marketing campaigns, creating reports, and supporting marketing managers and analysts.

Their average salary is $47,793, and experience with organization, marketing campaign execution, analytics monitoring, departmental collaborations, and content writing are helpful to have when seeking these positions.

Specific Marketing Roles

While many marketers can be a generalist and have a wide variety of talents, some popular marketing-related professions are more specialized. Here are a few that are excellent for remote marketing positions:

Social media marketer

These are professionals who help manage the social media presence of companies. They create social media campaigns, interact with customers on platforms, and research audiences to create marketing content that appeals to these groups. Their average salary is $81,078, and applicants should have experience working with social media platforms, designing and implementing social media campaigns, and using platforms to drive customer engagement.

Email marketer

Email marketing is still an efficient way to reach customers and entice them to interact with brands. An email marketer is going to be an expert in making this happen. They will create email templates, develop email messages, and create email-related campaigns to connect email messaging to business goals.

These individuals will also come up with ways to use email to enhance a company's brand messaging or overall reach. The average salary of an email marketer is $50,528, and applicants should have experience in email campaign creation, content writing, analytics tracking, and some coding.

Content marketer

As stated by Bill Gates, "Content is king." This has become even more of a fact in recent years. Content is how companies interact with their customers, and producing relevant online materials is crucial to developing brand awareness. So, a content marketer is someone who supports the marketing efforts of their company by providing timely content.

This could be in the form of blogs, web copy, case studies, infographics, video, or a variety of other types of content with the sole purpose of driving awareness and conversions. A content marketing manager typically makes $81,078. These individuals should have a creative eye for what attracts consumers and have stellar writing skills.

How to Stand out on the Resume and Cover Letter

While remote marketing jobs are plentiful, there is much competition. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure you stand out from the pack. Here are ways you can enhance the resume and cover letter to increase your chances of being hired.

  • Highlight your achievements – Did your marketing campaign increase conversions? Have you helped a company optimize its email newsletter? Be sure to discuss the quantitative accomplishments of your marketing skills and highlight how it helped companies you have worked with. Use the resume to list these, and the cover letter to go more in-depth (pick two or three that are relevant to the description).

  • Showcase your experience with business development – Marketing is necessary for business growth. Employers are hiring you to help them take their business to the next level. So, be sure to exhibit how your marketing efforts led to growth.

If you can connect your methods to how much money you made—or saved for the—company, then include it. Also, be sure to highlight any time you have used the following skills:

  • Digital marketing
  • Creating marketing strategies
  • Marketing automation
  • PPC marketing
  • SEO
  • Marketing operations

Employers are starting to recognize the impact these skills can have on their company, so be sure to highlight any experience you have with them.

  • Pay attention to keywords – If an employer is using specific keywords or phrases frequently, add them into your resume and cover letter. Today, many employers are using software to sift through resumes, so ensure yours makes the cut by including the right corresponding keywords.

Also, be sure to stay diligent. It may take a while to land a position, but keep trying. It took content marketer, Vaishali, a little over a year to land a remote marketing job. However, she didn't give up and found a great remote work company to work for:

I did a few certifications and also earned a distance MBA degree. Meanwhile, I was applying for remote jobs. I kept trying my luck for over a year and a half, and one day, I received a reply from my current employer, Time Doctor. After some discussions and verification, I received the confirmation. That's when I actually started working remotely full time.

So, if the job search is taking a little longer than possible, don't be discouraged. Continue to apply, and even use the time to improve your skills or gain certifications.

Job Posting and Job Listing Resources for remote positions

General Job Boards

Freelance and Contract Work-Based Job Sites

Tips for Networking

Landing a remote marketing job is all about ensuring that as many people know you are looking as possible. That is why it is crucial to establish as many professional relationships as you can. Here are some tips for using networking to your advantage.

  • Fill in your contacts – All family, friends, former classmates, and previous co-workers should know that you are looking for work. Also, be sure to specify that you are looking for remote work.

Leon, a former journalist, found his unique remote work position through a contact he had met along the way:

Working remotely came completely out of the blue for me. I was a journalist working long hours at The Telegraph in London. Then one day, I was offered a new job by one of my contacts that combined one of my big passions, choosing my own hours and a complete change in career."

  • Join Facebook remote job groups - Facebook groups are an excellent way to meet potential remote marketing employers or network with those who have connections to remote companies.

Not everyone wants to post a job on general job boards and posting sites, so take a look at these groups where employers needing immediate help will often post jobs:

Note: While we do our best to research and post legitimate jobs, postings, and groups, we always advise you to do your own additional research to ensure jobs, websites, and groups are above board.

  • Attend digital marketing conferences – Conferences are another great way to meet employers and network with other remote marketing professionals. Most major cities have them. Also, these meetings are likely to have career fairs throughout the event, so this is another solid way to meet employers.

  • Attend digital marketing workshops and classes – Your instructor may have a boutique marketing agency they need help with, or a contact at one of these events knows someone that just left a remote position. Workshops and classes are a great way to put yourself around other people in the industry that most likely know someone who could hire you. Visit these sites for digital marketing-related events in your area:

Final Thoughts

Remote marketing jobs are out there, but with a monthly number of over 4,000 searches a month, these jobs are not always easy to come by. So, here are a few things to remember as you go about your search:

  • Play up your remote work, project management, and marketing campaign experience.

  • Discuss any experience working on—or leading—a marketing team, mainly if this has occurred with a remote company.

  • Be sure to stay current on all marketing-related trends. Technological innovations and changing consumer tastes creates constant change in the marketing industry. So, keep tabs on any news regarding online marketing, content marketing, public relations, lead generation, demand generation, social media marketing, email marketing, and marketing strategy trends.

  • Consider getting in the door with an entry-level position like a marketing associate or marketing assistant. You can also look for work with a startup or small business. Both paths may make it easier to start your remote marketing career as upper-level, and corporate-based jobs are highly sought after.

  • Become familiar with standard communication and collaboration tools. If you are not sure of the widely-used remote work-related tools in your industry, be sure to check out the RemoteHabits tools site for a complete list of software and apps to be aware of as a remote worker.

Here are a few examples of some of the tools our RemoteHabits marketing interviewees use on a day-to-day basis:

Again, Slackbot reminds me of what I need to do. But WebDevStudios also relies on project management software like Trello and Basecamp to keep things organized. I rely on Google Sheets in Google Drive to keep my content organized and insert deadlines. I use these sheets for our company editorial calendar as well as for the freelance content I publish on the side. – Laura Coronado, communications specialist

Taylor Coil, a marketing director also listed her favorite go-to tools.

In terms of software, I love Asana and 15five. These tools are also part of Tortuga's project and goal management stack. Both are vital for mapping out my weekly tasks.

As always, finding a remote work position is not easy, but finally landing one can bring you the flexibility you have looked for in your work. So, don't be discouraged if it takes a little while.

Take the tips above, consistently check out the RemoteHabits job board as well as the others listed above, and take a look at how others found their remote work positions by reading our interviews. All of these tactics can help put you on the path to finding your ideal remote marketing position.



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Posted on July 07, 2019
in Uncategorized

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