One thing I’ve learned covering marketing for nearly three decades is that every day is a new adventure. That’s one reason I love it—and a big reason that we’re giving you an inside look at how a number of your peers spend a typical day, if there is such a thing, in the cover story, “A Day in the Life of Marketing.” How do stories like this come together? Here’s a look at my day today to find out.
9:45 p.m. yesterday Check my schedule for tomorrow. As much as I love surprises, remembering an 8 a.m. meeting across town at 7:45 a.m. is not a pleasant one.
5:15 a.m. Exercise and a round of fetch in the park with my dog charge me up. There’s nothing like watching a dog’s unbound enthusiasm and perseverance to put life into perspective.
7:15 a.m. Read as many of The New York Times‘ news briefs on my iPhone as I can cram in before my subway line heads underground.
8 a.m. Breakfast at my desk, with a side of email.
8:20 a.m. Catch up with news editor Al Urbanski. He needs to review a volumunous report from the Postal Regulatory Commission for an analysis article, but still churn out the day’s daily news; so, we discuss which news briefs he plans to prioritize.
8:25 a.m. Dive into editing Elyse Dupré’s section of the “Day in the Life” article. My rule: Edit everything at least twice; you’ll always catch something new on the additional read(s).
9:30 a.m. Time to dash upstairs for our weekly events meeting. With our Social Media Virtual Event and 40 Under 40 awards coming up, most of the conversation revolves around our plans for promoting them.
We end early, so I complete several to-do’s from the meeting, which include scheduling time with Marketing Director Jackie Amato and Perry Simpson, our digital content coordinator, to plan how we’ll integrate the content and social strategies for 40 Under 40. While I’m online I check email and refer several PR people to the appropriate writers for articles they’re interested in.
This sparks me to make sure all the articles for the September and October issues are assigned and the print and website deadlines are up-to-date. Then I check my calendar for the vendor briefing I have later, and visit LinkedIn and the company’s website to prep for the call. That reminds me to review my notes from two recent vendor briefings and add story ideas to our ideas list. And that prompts me to email Tracey Harilall, our circulation director, to request a list of readers I can invite to breakfast for a focus group. I’m planning several so I want to get them scheduled.
1:17 p.m. I come up for air, and lunch.
2:05 p.m. Back to editing Elyse’s article; round two. When I’m done, I’m inspired to write my section of “Day in the Life,” but before I get past the intro Keith O’Brien, our group’s VP, digital, asks for a quick final review of our
refreshed tag list for our CMS. We’re in the process of a site redesign aimed at improving our user experience, and this will enhance search and navigation.
3:30 p.m. Get an update on the latest from vendor Dynamic Signal. Briefings keep me up-to-date on new technologies and strategies. Sure, one meeting is one vendor’s perspective, but have several per week and trends surface.
4 p.m. One more round of email, which includes scheduling calls for three panel discussions I’m moderating at upcoming events. I wrap the day editing a case study scheduled to post the next day on our site—pausing only to review and approve our daily newsletter.
5:45 p.m. While my computer shuts down I download my personal email to my iPhone so I can catch up on industry newsletters on the subway ride home. Then I move a stack of folders with print pages to proof onto my keyboard—top priority for tomorrow.
