Starting a career in marketing and communications comes with a steep learning curve. Some lessons are obvious, but others take years to fully appreciate. If I could go back and give my younger self some advice, these would be the top ten things I wish I had known.
- Good design matters more than you think. People judge content in milliseconds, and bad visuals will sink great messaging before it has a chance. Learn the basics of design, typography, and spacing. Even if you're not a designer, your feedback will be sharper.
- Your gut is usually right. If something feels off - whether it’s a creative concept, messaging, or a campaign strategy - it probably is. Trust your instincts and push for a better solution.
- Clear beats clever every time. A sharp, concise message will always outperform something witty but vague. If people have to think too hard to understand your point, you've lost them.
- The best idea in the room doesn’t always win. Office politics, personal preferences, and risk aversion can derail even the strongest strategy. Learn to sell your ideas as well as you develop them.
- You are not the audience. What you like doesn’t matter. What your boss likes doesn’t matter. What your board likes doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what resonates with the people you're trying to reach.
- Data is your best defense. Opinions are easy to argue; numbers are harder to ignore. Track results, measure impact, and use data to back up your recommendations.
- The 'cool' new platform isn't always worth your time. Trends come and go, but your strategy should be built on channels where your audience actually engages, not where the hype is.
- If you're explaining, you're dying. If people need extra context or a follow-up email to understand it your theory of change, or your call to action, you're doin' it wrong.
- Repetition is not redundancy. Marketers and their fundraising colleagues often get bored with messaging and brand graphics long before an audience even registers it. If a campaign feels old to you, it’s probably just starting to work.
- Your job is persuasion, not decoration. Marketing isn’t about making things look pretty, it’s about driving action. If it doesn’t move people to think, feel, or do something, it’s just noise.
Marketing and communications is a messy, unpredictable ride, but that’s what makes it exciting. You’ll have wins, losses, and plenty of moments where you question everything. Stick with it. When done right, this work has real impact: shaping conversations, changing minds, and making a difference. Enjoy the chaos.
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Nonprofit Photography Expert | Specialist in Impactful Photo Shoot Strategy & Execution | Advocate for Ethical & Authentic Visual Storytelling | Creative Disruptor | Founder of Lens for Change
1 天前Morgan Roth, this is a great list! "Good design matters more than you think" really stood out to me, and I love that you listed it first (not sure if that was intentional or not, but it warmed my heart to see it there!). I’ve seen firsthand how visuals can make or break a message, and that extends beyond design to authentic photography as well. A powerful image can grab attention in an instant and reinforce messaging before a single word is read. And I know from our past conversations that you're a big advocate for this as well! I also couldn’t agree more with "Your job is persuasion, not decoration." So many orgs see MarComm as just making things look good, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about packaging content in a way that moves people to take action—a skill that’s often underestimated but absolutely critical. Thanks for sharing these insights!