You’re underpaid for the advertising and marketing work you carry out.
That’s the sentiment of entrepreneurs surveyed for CMI’s 2025 Profession Outlook: Content material and Advertising and marketing Professionals (registration required).
How a lot are entrepreneurs underpaid? About 20%.
That’s some huge cash, on condition that the survey finds entrepreneurs within the U.S. common $108,380 per 12 months, which is 3% lower than the earlier 12 months.
So how do you get that 20%? Properly, one of the best recommendation to get an enormous enhance like that’s to change jobs. Few corporations pays you 20% extra in 2025 than they did in 2024 for a similar work.
However that doesn’t imply you need to settle for what you’re incomes now. You possibly can take steps now. How will you ask for and get a sensible enhance? Do your analysis. Prep the case and current it successfully.
Do exterior analysis
Simply as you do to your content material advertising and marketing, it is best to analysis {the marketplace}. What do others in comparable roles in comparable industries earn?
Happily, you reside in an period of pay transparency legal guidelines and a world economic system. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, and lots of cities, together with New York Metropolis, require corporations to publish wage ranges of their job postings. In some circumstances, huge corporations now embrace wage ranges in all their postings, most likely to make sure compliance with any potential regulation.
Search job postings on LinkedIn, trade job boards, and employment websites to be taught what compensation is being provided. Through the use of job postings, you may also higher perceive whether or not your obligations match, or are no less than much like, what the employer is requesting within the job posting.
From right here, you possibly can transfer on to wage benchmark experiences. Although extra common than particular person job postings, they supply some cumulative, credible analysis.
As talked about, CMI analysis finds that the typical U.S. marketer earns $108,380 per 12 months. However when configured for main city facilities, akin to Boston and San Francisco, and all different places, the numbers differ. The typical fee in main city facilities is $122,265, whereas different places have a mean pay of $93,737.
When breaking down the salaries into roles, extra variations seem. Administrators and above earn a mean of $146,901, whereas the typical for managers is $102,914, and particular person roles earn a mean of $89,455.
Another choice is to make use of the wage instrument from the recruiting company Inventive Circle. When you choose a job title and site, the instrument reveals each the typical pay and the specified wage, based mostly on what candidates say they need. All the info comes from Inventive Circle’s purchasers and job candidates.
Prepare internally
In fact, arguing it is best to get a elevate as a result of everyone else makes more cash received’t get you wherever.
You have to get particular about your work scenario and ask these questions:
Is my employer doing effectively? CMI’s analysis finds that 33% of entrepreneurs say their corporations have laid individuals off within the final 12 months. If that’s you, a elevate isn’t seemingly until your function has considerably expanded. Nevertheless, in the event you’re within the majority that hasn’t seen a layoff, a elevate could possibly be doable.
How is content material and advertising and marketing affecting the enterprise? The larger the affect of content material and advertising and marketing on the underside line, the higher case you seemingly could make for a elevate.
With the macro components recognized, it is best to now replicate in your function and work.
Nikola Baldikov, CEO and founding father of Inbound Running a blog, says it’s all about exhibiting the distinction you’ve made.
Begin with clear examples of your achievements backed by measurable outcomes. “These are the sorts of wins that join your work straight with the corporate’s success. It’s necessary to spotlight your dedication to drive outcomes,” Nikola says.
I recommend each worker create a bullet record. On this doc, you paste constructive suggestions, metrics, and outcomes out of your work while you get them. That manner, everytime you’re able to argue for a wage enhance (or replace your resume), you possibly can pull crucial and related bullets into your formal request.
Nikola notes that you just shouldn’t overlook to look to the long run in your plea. Element the brand new instruments or abilities, akin to AI, that you just’ve realized and present how they will help enhance efficiency and convey extra worth to your function.
With that exterior, inner, and private analysis, you’re nearly able to make the ask. But it surely’s useful in the event you’ve already executed this subsequent thought.
Construct a bench of supporters
Steve Rose, a product supervisor and former vp at Intent, affords a tip that will help you put together your case: “Aggressively domesticate your assist base. Having another person advocate for you possibly can go a great distance towards demonstrating your worth.”
However don’t wait till the final minute. “Construct these ties proactively over time,” Steve says. “In the event that they’re comfy, ask one or two of them to ship an announcement to your boss about your progress and enchancment.”
Or if that appears too daunting, ask individuals with whom you’re employed to supply suggestions in your LinkedIn profile and pull what you want later to your wage request.
Put together for the dialog
Don’t make the ask for private causes; put the highlight on the worth you’ve added to the enterprise, says Jay Egger, senior supervisor at SBG Funding.
“Additionally, perceive that always your direct supervisor isn’t the one one making the choice, so the objective must be to make it simpler for them to promote the choice,” Jay says.
Even a well-researched request can really feel nerve-racking, so rehearse the dialog. “Most individuals tremble at approaching their boss a couple of wage increase, says Vaibhav Kakkar, CEO of Digital Internet Options. He affords this immediate to get you began:
“As you’re conscious, I simply completed my (X) 12 months with (group). I’m wanting to proceed working towards the corporate’s objectives in my present place and develop my duties. On that foundation, let’s discuss my pay.”
Don’t let the employer make a proposal; make a particular request based mostly in your analysis. Be practical. When you’ve got the identical obligations, a 3% elevate is typical. “Something over 5% is outstanding,” Vaibhav says.
In case your duties have expanded or the circumstances have modified (e.g., a job with minimal journey turns into a job with 50% journey), a better fee of 10% to twenty% may be doable, he says.
For those who retain the identical function and obligations however your analysis factors to a large hole between the typical normal trade fee and your compensation, plan for a extra in depth dialog. The trade hole seemingly exists for different roles, too. A big change in your wage seemingly would lead your employer to wish to deal with different underpaid positions as effectively.
Simply bear in mind to not make the request all in regards to the previous and even the present scenario. “Share your imaginative and prescient for the way you’ll proceed to ship outcomes, whether or not it’s contemporary concepts for campaigns or new methods to tackle larger duty. Displaying that you just’re targeted on the corporate’s future is a good way to strengthen your case,” Nikola says.
Additionally, know that your supervisor is unlikely to approve your request throughout your preliminary dialog. They could must revisit their finances, replicate on what you’ve shared, or have a dialog with their boss.
So, on the finish of the dialog, set follow-up expectations, says Adam Crossling, advertising and marketing and new enterprise director at Zenzero.
Acknowledge you perceive the supervisor seemingly can’t approve your request proper that minute. Then, point out that you just’ll verify in every week or two later. It’s yet one more manner you possibly can lead the method moderately than take a sit-back-and-hope technique.
Successful the elevate and planning for the choice
Allison Gagliardi, authorized content material director at PaperStreet Internet Design, has a profitable historical past in asking for wage bumps. At two earlier employers, she requested for 10% raises throughout her annual evaluations and acquired them.
How did she do it? She wrote a letter outlining her compensation request and listed her accomplishments to this point in a bullet format. She signed the letter — with an precise pen – and put it in a two-pocket folder. Within the different pocket, she included emails/letters from purchasers and colleagues singing her praises. “It’s proof they only can’t argue with,” Allison says.
Alllison advises all entrepreneurs requesting wage will increase to have a response prepared if the reply isn’t any. Ask for added paid break day, recommend a bonus for reaching a particular benchmark, get permission to carry a pet into the workplace on sure days, or ask for a standing desk, an improved title, a unbroken training plan, and even management of the AC unit in your division (sure, for actual).
Prepare for subsequent time
For those who don’t get the elevate (and even in the event you do), Anthony Miyazaki, professor of selling at Florida Worldwide College, affords three issues to do (or preserve doing) to ask for greater compensation, get promoted, or get employed.
Ramp up your coaching in shopper psychology. Perceive how and when various kinds of persuasive appeals will work to nudge an viewers in a sure route.
Join your work to advertising and marketing key efficiency indicators. You have to perceive advertising and marketing analytics and their function in figuring out the worth of selling efforts akin to advert campaigns and content material creation.
Mix your data of selling analytics and your human capability to create persuasive content material to current convincing arguments, together with compelling information visualizations, to decision-makers.
What do you assume? Is now a very good time to ask for a elevate? How do you persuade your superiors? Tell us on social.
Up to date from a November 2022 article.
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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising and marketing Institute