From Content Manager ($67k) to Marketing Director ($110k) in Just Three Years

Welcome to another post in the $100k Club series. You can see the full series here. This is "My Morning Routine" for content marketing folks making six figures. The goal is to shed light on the skills and habits that enable people to achieve lucrative jobs and help get more people in this club.

These will be anonymous and updated regularly. If you make more than $100k/year and want to contribute, email me.

For more info on content marketing salaries, check out our salary report.

If you'd like to see more info on salary by job title, check out these resources: Content Marketing Manager Salary, Content Strategist Salary, Head of Content Salary, and Content Director Salary.

Want to talk about career growth? Come join our 1,400+ strong Slack group.

What was your first full-time job in content? What was the salary?

My first full-time job in content was at an AI-focused start up in Toronto. I was making $67,000. The content performed so well that we went on to raise $13.1 million dollars and we grew the company. I moved into the Head of Marketing role from there!

How much do you earn today? What's your job title?

I earn $110,000 plus bonuses, equity, four weeks paid vacation and benefits. The title is Director of Marketing and I am running a small team.

What's the single biggest salary jump you've made? (either from job-hopping or a promotion/raise)

My biggest salary jump was from $67,500 to $90,000.

• 2015: Marketing and Communications Manager at $42,000
• 2017: Content Marketing Manager at $67,500
• 2018: Head of Marketing at $90,000
• 2019: Director of Marketing at $110,000 (where I am at today!)

What is your most valuable skill?

Thanks to a background in PR and Content Marketing, I think my most valuable skill resides in my content production, management and distribution.

I usually work in startups and I excel at building strong content partnerships that help us get credibility, fast. Identifying and capitalizing on partnerships and content opportunities is where I thrive.

Also, I always aim to offer content for free. Education and resources should be available and accessible to everyone. This is how I build trust with prospective and current customers.

What's the best book you've ever read on writing, marketing, sales, business or productivity? (Feel free to suggest more than one!)

This one is a read that may seem overdone or over-recommended, but my life changed when I read 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. My perspective on myself, my work and how I interact with others shifted. Once I applied these learnings to my life, I felt that my career took a different form and I've achieved some stellar milestones.

I also am very much of the Atomic Habits cult, with the principle of getting 1% better everyday. James Clear offers a great variety of real-world examples where the strategies discussed are put into practice with visible results.

Have you had a career mentor/coach? If so, how did you find them and what have you learned from them?

I do finally have one, after years of seeking one out. I actually am in the process of finding different mentors for different aspects of my life and the goals I want to achieve.

Right now, the only mentor I have is focused on building up my personal brand and helping me work through some impostor syndrome. I'm looking to the future for someone who can help me hone in on my marketing ops side, and another that will help me finesse and level up on my positioning and strategy side.

Everyone has different skillsets and I believe that each will bring such a different perspective and learnings to my life.

What skills or habits help you thrive at work?

Time management, perseverance. I work in startups and I have started a few of my own businesses. I am a hobbyist at heart and often am juggling several endeavours and a full-time job at once.

At work, I am thrown into situations where I'm the sole marketer, running and testing campaigns solo. That alone comes with a prerequisite of having superior time management skills, but also resilience to keep going and to keep trying.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to join the $100k club?

Keep going. Never undersell yourself or undervalue your own worth. I used to be scared of asking for what I was due, or negotiating a salary that I wanted, but now I go into any negotiation and ask for 30% more than I am currently making. It is *very* fear-inducing! I may hear no, but I always like to remember that a negotiation is just the starting point. I like that adage: if you're not uncomfortable, you're not growing. And I have lots of plans to grow above and beyond the 100k club :)

Also, as a Woman of Colour in tech, I've had to learn to stop explaining or trying to justify my hourly or project rate for freelance. I have to remember that a man in my position would not feel the need to.

What is your gender and ethnicity? Where do you live? (optional)

I'm a South Asian (Indian) female living in Toronto, Canada.

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