A Day in the Life of a Marketing Manager | Lockdown Edition

This title makes me think of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Sadly, this is not as cool as that. This is a Day in the Life of a Marketing Manager: Lockdown Edition.

We’ve been in lockdown now for…well, who’s counting. That’s just depressing. But it’s been months!

For the last few months, I’ve been working at my parent’s dining table, sitting on a leather chair that is not orthopedically good in any way. Craning my neck constantly to look down at a laptop, after I used to work in an air-conditioned, high-rise office in an orthopaedic chair with two screens and coffee within walking distance. Luckily the coffee situation hasn’t changed.

Now,  I’m back in my flat in London. Still sitting at a dining room table, but luckily on a slightly more cushioned velvet chair. Methinks I need to invest in some office furniture.

And this is a typical day for a marketing manager.

Day in the Life of a Marketing Manager

The Morning

8:15 am – I’m awake. I usually wake up at about 7:30ish but I don’t get out of bed until 8:15 am. I’m lazy like that. I go for a shower, wash my teeth, put my make-up on and get dressed. I find that, especially in lockdown, getting dressed as if I were going out and seeing people puts me in a strong mindset for work. Even if the people who will see me are seeing me through a dirty lens and jumpy wi-fi.

9:00 am – I get to work. Some mornings I have a 9 am meeting and other times I have one at 9:30 am. Usually, I have a coffee and I’m answering emails until my first meeting of the day. I prefer morning meetings to afternoon ones, as I feel my most productive and energised in the morning. Meetings also help me to prioritise my to-do list and get the most important jobs done first.

10:30 am – Usually by 10:30 am I’m quite peckish and in need of another drink. Time for a bottle of water and a breakfast bar. I don’t tend to eat breakfast – I know, bad Ellie! – until much later in the morning.

There are always more meetings around this time. It could be an editorial meeting, a marketing catch-up with an editor, or the Head of PR to talk about plans for upcoming titles. Sometimes I take part in training sessions on finance or schedule a chat with my fellow marketers across HarperCollins to discuss best practices during the lockdown.

The Afternoon

12:00 pm – By noon I’m usually bossing my to-do list. I want to have over half of it done by lunch, so at 12pm I generally do a big push of ticking things off.

Items on my to-do list are extremely interchangeable and exciting! Tasks can include anything from designing new assets for authors, scheduling social media posts, emailing an author about a virtual event, writing a marketing plan, or monitoring advertising online.

Having a to-do written down is imperative to me, and I’m forever treating myself to a new notebook or pad to make it look aesthetically pleasing. If you need a boost, I suggest you check out different supplies for your office until you find something you like.

12:30 pm – Lunchtime! Now I’m back at my flat I’m finding it harder to move away from work, as I can’t just go upstairs as I did at my parent’s house. I tend to move from my dining table to the sofa, but they’re literally a metre apart.

Obviously, I also go and cook some food. Sometimes it’s a salad, and other times it’s scrambled eggs on toast. Whatever I fancy. Normally I’ll sit and eat whilst watching something on my phone – currently, it’s Masterchef! – or I’ll read a bit of a book. Sometimes I’ll just clean the flat. Anything but look at the computer screen.

1:30 pm – Back to work! There is always a meeting at 2 pm. Post-lunch meetings are very popular. This is usually a big meeting for the team to catch up on anything from new authors, reviewing submissions or a marketing catch-up with the Director of Marketing. It’s always an important meeting, so it’s good to have had some screen rest and some lunch.

3:00 pm – The 3 o’clock slump hits. No matter if I’m in an office or working from home, there is always a slump at 3 pm. I get up and go for a walk – usually just around the flat to get my steps in for the day (I aim to walk 8k steps per day – I only ever really hit 5k though!). It’s also time to refill my water bottle and potentially get another snack.

I like to review my to-do list at this point and tick off any outstanding tasks and decide what can be moved to the next day. It’s rare for me to complete my entire to-do list in one day. I always move things around for ease, based on priorities and what comes in throughout the working day. Emails are constant! I probably get about 200 emails per day. Emails can be from authors, staff, outside partners, designers, bloggers, reviewers, and many more! They’re endless.

5:00 pm – We’re approaching the end of the working day and I’m winding down. I write my to-do list out for the next day so that it’s ready for when I’m most productive at 9 am to just jump in. I answer outstanding emails that need to be answered on that day and I update my team with anything I need from them or need to share with them.

5:30 pm – It’s the end of the day! My screen goes down and I leave my desk. Without fail, I stop working at 5:30 pm – unless I have an event I have to attend or a social evening with the team. Setting yourself structure is very important when working from home, and I refuse to over-work just because my office is in my living room.

From there I get my dinner, I change into my comfiest clothes, and generally just chill on the sofa. I’m not quite ready to go out and about after work, just yet. I spent 4 months in a shielding household and it’s proving a tough habit to break. Soon though, I hope to go and see friends after work or at least go for a walk to the local park or even just to the shops.

So that is the typical day in the life of a marketing manager: lockdown edition.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments below, or via Twitter at @ElliePilcher95. I’m always happy to talk about my job and publishing.

For further resources on publishing see the careers section of my blog, for resources and tips.

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