An interview with Vanessa Sammut
An interview with Vanessa Sammut
And "where did you get your drivers licence, a Kinder Surprise?"
Mehdeeka is for solo marketers working in the B2B, SaaS, startup, and tech spaces. Check out the previous issue on recycling marketing leads. Help me grow Mehdeeka by sharing it with a friend or colleague!
I’m sure you’re already well aware of this, but the first week of the last quarter of the year has already passed us by. It still feels like March, but nonetheless, here we are!
For a lot of us this means new budgets, new OKRs, and a tiny bit of breathing space before we’re neck deep in more projects.
To help with all of that, I’ve got some great inspiration and wisdom from the one and only Vanessa Sammut of Assembly Payments!
Up until May this year, Vanessa was sailing solo at Assembly, but has since welcomed a team member (living the dream!) She’s got over a decade of experience for marketing strategy in both the startup and corporate worlds.
I really love Vanessa’s answers and got sucked into them, so without futher ado, I’ll let her take over.
Kayla: As a solo marketer, how do you balance your workload between areas you're good at and enjoy vs areas you're less confident in or don't enjoy?
Vanessa: I find that striking a balance starts with knowing how to manage multiple priorities for different stakeholders, otherwise the inevitable result is a workload that is bursting at the seams. It can be hard to juggle everything simultaneously when my job has so many different facets.
The answer to reaching the optimal balance doesn’t always lie in me dedicating my energies to the areas that I am good at or enjoy. It is mostly about embracing personal growth and recognising the potential of those in my team and supporting them so they can also learn and grow.
Due to the complexity of certain projects I often have to step outside my comfort zone and upskill. Working in a fast growing start up means that time constraints are an ever present reality. With only myself and another marketeer on the team I often have to choose between going hands-on and getting a job done myself, or mentoring someone through a process while I tackle the next big challenge. This allows them to shine and develop, while I can extend my knowledge and capabilities into new areas.
K: How do you balance all the things that need to be done in general? What do you outsource and why?
V: Recognising internal capabilities, potential and people’s capacity is generally the key. There are occasions where due to team overcapacity the only way to get things done is to outsource. This naturally works best when working with a trusted, reliable partner.
I’m also always looking for new ways in which my two-person team can do more, and do it better by refining internal processes, introducing new marketing tools and making sure there is always constant learning. If I don’t have the skills in-house, where it makes sense to, I will make the necessary preparations so the team can upskill, while in the meantime plugging that gap with outsourcing.
Awareness of the potential for growth and development within the team is also important for identifying what attributes will be required from new joiners.
K: You told me you like content marketing, can you elaborate on why?
V: You asked me to choose my favourite area of marketing - this is quite possibly the toughest question you could have asked me. I honestly do not think there is a single part of marketing that I don't actually enjoy or take interest in, and that’s lucky because more often than not marketing strategy, tactics and activities don’t happen in silo from one another. Content marketing is the perfect example - I love it because it intersects with so many marketing channels and disciplines.
Good content marketing starts with a good content strategy.
For an effective strategy you need to have a full grasp of who your audience is, what stage of the purchasing journey they're in and what they want, and need, from your communication at every stage.
Whether your end goal is to sell a product, or promote a brand or concept, understanding how you can deliver value to those consuming your content is fundamental. Without that understanding no-one will engage with it no matter how well produced it is. You also need to have clearly defined core values for your business, product or personal brand - Your core values are tied to your audience’s needs and both jointly embody the purpose of your content.
Then comes format, and in a world dominated by digital we are spoilt with options - short and long format articles, blog posts, ebooks, videos, audio, infographics, the list goes on. They can all help you convey a myriad of things - brand story, information, thought leadership and more. However none of that content is complete without the right marketing tactics to help you reach your audience, be it traditional or digital, such as PR, paid media, SEO and social media.
K: How do you stay creative with content? Where do you go for general inspiration and creative stimulation?
V: I ask a lot of questions and consume a lot of content. I recently completed my MBA, throughout which all I did was read, question, critically analyse and write. Prior to starting the MBA all my knowledge came from books, events, exhibitions and public lectures. Now that I finally have the time for all of that again, I can pick and choose what topics to focus on with more freedom. My time is filling up pretty quickly, I’m obsessed with all things psychology, philosophy, technology, politics, history and business - they all provide inspiration and creative stimulation at different times, in different ways.
I am also naturally quite curious and inspiration sometimes comes from deconstructing and examining why other content may have been written or produced in a particular way. And last but definitely not least, I am fortunate to have a solid network of friends and family who have many different, and very cool, interests and the things they’re passionate about also inspire me and give me insight.
K: What tips do you have for other solo marketers who are (amongst many other things) doing content marketing, but may not love it or feel confident about their abilities?
V: There’s so many ways to tackle gaining confidence with content marketing and since it is such a powerful asset they’re all worth a shot.
My advice would be - If you’re stuck always start with your objectives. Content marketing is creative true, but it also contains a high degree of planning. Begin by asking: What is your end goal? Why do you need to create this content? Are you wanting to drive site traffic, increase sales, raise brand awareness? Align your goals with the SMART framework, otherwise you’ll have no idea how to gauge success or what to improve if the outcome isn’t what you planned for. Ask yourself, who is your content for? Get curious about your intended audience - what are their triggers, what are they passionate about, what do they dislike and what do they need help with? The topic ideas will start flowing from there.
Also understand what could be causing you to feel disconnected with content marketing. If it’s topic knowledge that you are lacking in, get hungry and curious, speak to the topic experts. If it’s writing skills, start practicing with different styles and measure the results based on feedback. Feedback could be anecdotal or metrics-based such as blog post visits, goal conversions, likes and shares. Take the feedback on board and keep perfecting.
Finding the time to practice and the brain space to get creative can be challenging when juggling a trillion priorities. If that’s the case, find good content writers you can outsource to and learn from, while you hone your skills and find your niche. Additionally, start to build a skilled team around you, be it of in-house talent or external partners. Creating and launching a content marketing campaign is a comprehensive task, and having a trusted team of collaborators who you can rely on and bounce ideas with is incredibly beneficial.
Clicks of the week
Ok this “VILF” campaign gave me a good chuckle and impressed me. I can only imagine the fun that the OK Cupid team had putting this together.
Here is a recount of other OK Cupid product experiments. I remember reading the original blog post and being super interested in what they were doing, but it has since been deleted.
One of my teammates at Perkbox recommended Elder Island to me, I find their music really good to work to - it’s not too interruptive but you can still bop your head along to it.
This past weekend I went to see Van Gogh Alive. I’m really into ~fine art~ and going to an exhibition for the first time since February was cathartic. On one hand, I don’t think it’s worth $59/ticket, but it is still very good and I do recommend it, especially if you need an art hit.
Last but not least, the "where did you get your drivers licence, a Kinder Surprise?" is a line from an anthology of short stories I just finished reading, Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Australian author Elizabeth Tan. If you ever played the game Neko Atsume, reading the book is worth it just for the final story which features the game pretty heavily.
Coming up next week
Five emotions to tug on in B2B marketing and sales messaging. Cash is queen after all!