If you graduated in English, journalism, or comms, you might feel underpaid and underappreciated in your job.

You may see your “math” people friends making more.

Unfortunately, we weren't really told how to get a content job after graduating, unless you did a traditional comms program like PR or Advertising.

So, at best, you think your options are:

• Copywriter at a creative agency
• Journalist at a media company
• Public relations person (also agency life)
• Editor at a media or publishing company
• English teacher

Or, you know, you could always write a book.

My path looked like this:

1. Intern at a big name agency
2. Junior copywriter at a local agency
3. Promoted from junior to a regular copywriter
4. Left (burnt out) and took a general marketing job on an island doing social media for a fishing pier and restaurant
5. Took a content writer job at a regional business bank
6. Promoted to content strategist (was also a general marketer)
7. Moved to FT freelance during COVID and got active on LinkedIn. Decided to post an observation or learning about content marketing every day. Also learned more about SEO.
8. Received inbound job interviews from my increased LinkedIn visibility
9. Accepted a managing editor role at a B2B marketplace/tech startup
10. Moved to a new role as head of content at a B2B startup tech company
11. Moved to director of content & community at another B2B tech startup
12. Moved to a B2C tech startup as director of content & community again
13. Just made another career move. Excited to share more details next week.

That's my full career history spanning a full decade. Within that time, I've been able to 4X my annual income since my first job which, admittedly, was very low.

The best part? I no longer take on additional freelance writing work. I can focus on my one job and make enough to feel secure without the safety blanket of freelancing.

There were two major factors that led to the biggest jumps:

1. LinkedIn
2. Breaking into tech

Plenty has been written about LinkedIn and how to network there. Like all social media, the opportunity to grow fast there fades with time. But it's still relatively untapped compared to other social platforms. Plus, it’s career-focused. So, providing evidence that you have professional skills directly translates to income in a way that other social media exposure doesn’t.

In this article, I'll focus more on how to break into tech as a “word” person.

Why pursue content marketing at a tech company?

The main reason: Smart tech companies understand the value of content. Well, they understand the value of marketing and have come to realize content is a large chunk of that. Therefore, they will invest more in content to fuel their marketing engine than other sectors.

Here’s what I wish I knew when I started in content and how I pivoted into startup tech.

Skills you need to get a content job at a tech startup

The hardest part is getting that first tech job. Tech companies like to hire people who have a track record of building, selling, or marketing software. In lieu of that, you can and should connect with people in tech or startups. Here’s what else you need to get a good content job in tech:

A network: Share and connect on LinkedIn

Consuming tech content and writing about tech (this means researching the industry first), marketing, and content insights on LinkedIn helps position you as a passionate expert while simultaneously building your expertise and showing your writing skills. If you're an effective writer, you'll spark discussions with other content marketers and tech employees.

Curiosity: Take advantage of free education

The next best thing you can do is absorb. Listen to all the tech and marketing podcasts. Take a free SEO course from SEMRush or Ahrefs. Join content marketing communities like Superpath.

Taste: You should know what good content looks like

You could also think about this as an editorial eye. Think Meryl Streep’s Miranda character in The Devil Wears Prada. Are you decisive and confident enough to know when and how to make cuts? To decide which content to prioritize? This is often where many writers struggle, but it’s what will help you move from writer or content marketer to managing editor or content strategist later.

Work ethic: Know the ins and outs of tech, your industry and marketing

The best content marketers I know aren’t always the best writers. They often know they may not have what it takes to write a best seller or get a job at the New York Times. Instead, they lean into their strengths. They know average communication skills combined with above-average persuasive writing chops can make them elite in content marketing. The best content marketers I’ve worked with are good writers who are most driven by results and hungry to learn.

Pivoting into content marketing

AI presents a big opportunity for content marketers. And tech companies will pay a premium for your skills if you know how to apply them to solve their problems. The tricky part is identifying and presenting your transferable skills effectively.

However, job descriptions (JDs) present plenty of clues on how to appeal to the language of a company and industry.

In fact, I spoke to Teal customer Ashleigh Duggan and learned that she used Teal in a way I hadn’t considered. She was pivoting from non-profit work to tech customer support and used our job description match feature to analyze the language of the JD and match it not only in her resume, but also in her interviews. That’s how she got her first job in tech (since then, she was promoted twice in a year and used Teal to land her next tech job).

The case for learning AI to break into tech as a writer

Within content marketing, there are several different niches, from writing customer stories and sales enablement content to SEO blog articles to social media. AI is adding another wrinkle that, while scaring some writers, presents a fantastic opportunity for writers looking to break into the tech world.

Tech startups value efficiency above all else. They need to be scrappy to survive and that means squeezing as much value as possible out of every effort and minute of time. Whether you like it or not, ChatGPT and Claude can help you write faster. At the minimum they can help you cluster and organize your thoughts for quicker outlines. From there, you can use it to help you write the more informational parts of an article, so you can focus more on the research, fact-checking, expert quotes, visuals, and intro. ChatGPT is an easy (and free) place to play around with AI for any writing task and refine your prompting skills. I would especially recommend this route to technical writers who specialize in precise and direct language.

Taking the first step into tech writing

How much you know about an industry and how to solve a company’s problem are key. Startups could care less about your education or even work experience. They want people who are fast learners and workers. They need people who know how to come in and make an impact. So, prioritize networking and research.

Once you’ve done all that, check out these content resources:

• Superpath: Content marketing community with inexpensive content templates and paid community to overcome the learning curve.
• Content Logistics: Note: I used to host this but recently passed it over and still join as an occasional guest. I built it to act as a crash course on all aspects of content marketing for B2B tech companies.
• Distribution First: A friend of mine runs this newsletter. It’s a good place to start to understand how to get more out of every piece of content (something tech startups really value).
• AI Copywriting Pro: I’ve been following Brooks for a while and am confident he knows his stuff. Recently subscribed to this newsletter and found his AI use cases for copywriters helpful.
• Landing Pages: Eddie Shleyner might be the biggest copywriter in B2B SaaS (software as a service). His newsletter and micro-courses are fantastic and free. I’ve also purchased his landing page course and it’s definitely worth the cost.

Again, getting that first job in a new industry or department is never easy, but this is how I did it. Setting aside time every day to learn a new skill and practicing that new skill in public can go a long way. Every employer likes people who take action. Plus, articulating how you think and what you’ve done help associate your name with the type of work you want.

If you want to make money as a word person, show people how good you are with words. Then, double down. Continue to pick up practical (in this case, marketing and tech) word skills.