Marketing is a competitive department to work for within the publishing industry, whether that be at an entry or senior level. Knowing what skills are most in demand can help you identify whether you would be a good fit for a marketing role and what companies are looking for in prospective marketing employees.
Surprisingly, you may not need to have a publishing background to be eligible for a marketing job within the industry. Having experience in entertainment, media, consumer brands or other creative industries is also very desirable. Therefore, the skills outlined below are transferable between industries and can be gained at any level.
Here are five in-demand skills:
- Creativity
- Commercial awareness
- Digitally fluent
- Excellent communication
- Collaborative mindset
Bonus:
- For more senior marketing roles, having leadership skills is essential
Creativity
Being a creative thinker means being able to bring fresh and original ideas to a marketing campaign. Creativity involves being a strong researcher who can combine out-of-the-box thinking with data-led ideas, making impactful and insightful contributions to any project. This skill is key in a marketing position, enabling you to write engaging promotional copy, develop an innovative marketing strategy that targets new audiences and identify social media trends that can be utilised for a campaign.
A creative thinker is excited by big ideas that can translate campaigns into consumer engagement and sales. The ability to tell a story shouldn’t be underestimated in a marketer’s wheelhouse; it is a unique skill specific to your department that can have a wide impact on the commercial side of the business.
Commercial awareness
Having a strong commercial awareness of the book trade is of utmost importance. When pitching an author or acquisition to the sales team, marketers must have a clear vision for its success and impact, while remaining ambitious to reach as many key audiences as possible. This relies on a thorough knowledge of the trade, enabling decision-making to be based on both a strong instinct and well-researched ideas.
Similarly, commercial awareness allows marketers to be strong strategists. Throughout a campaign, you should consistently assess ways to maximise its visibility, identifying untapped gaps in the market and measuring the impact this title is having on targeted audiences. This could be measured in social media engagement, SEO, sales and publicity interest. No matter the seniority level, a strong commercial awareness within your role will influence the marketing strategy of the entire department.
Digitally fluent
As digital publishing grows in popularity, so too does the desire for digitally fluent marketers. Being digitally fluent means both the ability to use the correct technology and interpret the data metrics to maximise a campaign’s presence in the digital sphere. This could look like using social media to engage consumers, raising an author’s digital profile, SEO research or conducting campaign reporting to optimise its performance.
Digital fluency may also include the use of AI. Some publishers encourage its internal use for generating ideas, proofing marketing copy and assisting with both campaign timelines and budgets. Of course, AI should not replace creativity, but it may be used alongside a marketer’s strong ideas to optimise productivity. Showing your competence in this area also demonstrates your ability to adapt in changing environments, with a can-do and technical mindset.
Excellent communication
Written and verbal communication skills are essential within marketing roles. You will be talking to people both internal and external to your company, so tailoring your responses is extremely important. This could include authors, outsourced publicity teams, external stakeholders and internal departments. For example, a marketing executive may be explaining the process of a publishing campaign to a debut author, liaising with reviewers of print or digital titles or discussing brand alignment with a publicity team. The success of a campaign will rely on positive relationships with all of these associates.
Collaborative mindset
Having a collaborative mindset means that you co-generate ideas, are open to feedback and work well alongside your team to create the highest quality material for any project. Marketing is an extremely collaborative department, so team members are often working with sales, publicity, editorial and design to acquire a title and deliver a campaign. As a marketing manager, you may be pitching to acquire a title, presenting your marketing strategy to wider teams and negotiating both budget and deadlines with the rest of your team.
Bonus: Leadership experience
For senior roles, having leadership experience in pioneering engaging and successful campaigns, either within publishing or in an adjacent industry, will be key. Leadership skills means taking initiative, being able to manage a team and taking accountability when things go wrong on your watch. This is a skill that takes practice and needs to have tangible, demonstrable experience behind it.
Are you interested in marketing jobs within publishing?
On Jobs in Books, we have a wide range of marketing roles from across the publishing industry, at a range of seniority levels.
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