I nearly quit marketing (but didn’t)

Before leaving my in-house role to go freelance, I genuinely considered retraining.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to work in marketing anymore, which feels strange to admit after more than 20 years. So, I sat down with friends and over copious amounts of prosecco we explored just about every career option imaginable.

But every conversation led me back to the same place.

I realised I wasn’t looking for a different career. I was simply looking for a different way of doing the one I already loved.

When I thought about what I enjoy most, it became pretty obvious…

I love seeing the numbers move

People often assume marketers are all creative thinkers. Some absolutely are, but I’ve always been drawn to the commercial side.

There’s something very satisfying about watching enquiries increase after a campaign, following a lead all the way through to sale, or opening a dashboard and seeing clear evidence that something has worked.

Marketing isn’t just about making things look good, it’s a key player in business growth.

I love making complicated things simple

One of my favourite challenges is untangling complexity.

So many organisations tell me their offer is “too complicated” to explain simply, justifying the use of jargon or a million words to explain something. In reality, that’s usually a sign the messaging needs more work. There’s a sense of satisfaction when complicated messaging you’ve been battling with for a while suddenly comes together.

I love that I’m always learning

Marketing never stands still. Customer expectations evolve, search behaviour changes, new technology appears, and AI is changing how we all work.

Keeping up can be challenging, but it’s also one of the reasons I’ve never found marketing boring. There’s always something new to learn, test, or improve, and I’ve been enjoying having more time to focus on this recently.

I love working with people

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed is that marketing sits at the heart of an organisation.

One day I’m talking to senior leaders about strategy, the next I’m working with sales, customer service, subject experts, developers or designers. You end up understanding how the whole organisation fits together.

Yes, it can mean being pulled in lots of different directions, but it also means you’re involved in the conversations that really matter.

I love the variety

No two weeks are ever the same.

One day I’m defining a brand position, the next I’m creating content, analysing performance data, improving processes, or planning a campaign.

Lately I’ve been leading brand positioning work before turning that strategy into website content. For me, that’s the perfect combination. I enjoy thinking strategically, but I also like rolling my sleeves up and making it happen.

Marketing isn’t always easy. Projects can be messy, stakeholders don’t always agree, campaigns don’t always go to plan, and deadlines have a habit of arriving all at once.

But that’s also what keeps it interesting.

So no, I won’t be launching a brand new career any time soon. Although the prosecco-fuelled research was very enjoyable, sometimes you just need to take a step back to remember why you love what you do.