March 15, 2000
Career Climber

Tips for Publishers on Hiring Internet Marketing Staff

SUMMARY: No summary available.
It's invariable. These days everybody we meet pops the question, "Do you know any Internet marketers we could hire?" Nope. We don't. Haven't you heard, it's negative unemployment here in Internet marketing-land? And even if we knew someone, most publishers, who are infamous for paying marketers less than the professional average and almost never offer equity to employees, don't stand a chance of attracting them.

That said, are you willing to settle for someone less experienced?

Maryann Klees, Marketing Manager for Alexander Hamilton Institute a B-to-B publisher offers MarketingSherpa readers the following tips from her just-concluded, successful search for an Internet marketing coordinator:

* Even a fairly small publisher should have an Internet-marketing-specific staffer these days. What with handling emailed newsletters, testing an email marketing program, tracking the competition, selling content piecemeal (aka "by the drink") and researching and coordinating other opportunities, there's too much stuff for your regular marketing staff to handle. Plus, they probably aren't qualified.

* Check the listings for similar jobs at MonsterBoard.com to get an idea of how to word your classified ad for a marketer.

* Ads in small local papers may work better than big city papers. Maryann's ad in the tiny Bergen Record garnered a far better response than her ad in the Star Ledger, a major local paper.

* If you are not willing to pay $50-$65k don't expect to be able to hire someone with much (if any) professional Internet marketing experience.

* Consider hiring someone who is a serious Internet hobbyist even if their professional record isn't related. You'll give them a chance to break into professional Internet marketing while taking advantage of their expertise. The person Maryann hired had been an AOL chat group host and created and promoted some great Web sites all as a strictly after-work hobby. Maryann says, "If they're already inclined, you can teach your marketing and sales approach and your business model, easier than you can teach someone to go on Internet and research and know how search engines work, etc."

* Look for personality types who are "willing to walk the gray area," inventive and good at dealing with interruptions and quickly changing priorities well without lots of supervision. They also have to be a great research hound and very good at getting along with other people -- both your internal staff and potential Web partners.

* Expect to screen out a lot of unqualified applicants including people who only want to do Web site design and people with zero related experience hoping you'll train them on the Internet such as one of Maryann's applicants who said, "I work at Macy's right now, but I'm interested in the Internet."

Looking for higher-level candidates?

OK so you're desperate, you need a top Internet marketer and you are willing to pay the going rate (i.e. over 50k for 2+ years of related experience, on up) PLUS equity or a really sweet cash bonus. Here's ContentBiz.com's handy guide:

* San Francisco-Area: good luck. There are so many dot coms fighting for marketers that the bottom of the barrel has already been scraped and then some. Your best bet is to pay Ken Davis of the Silicon Valley marketers club, 4Marketeers, $150 to send out an emailed job announcement for you to his list of more than 1,500 marketers. http://www.4marketeers.com

* New York: dry laugh. Ever seen how many frantic Internet-marketer-employer wanna-bes are posting ads in Silicon Alley Daily? Your best bet is to place a free ad in AIM's job hotline that a lot of New Yorkers read. Warning: they only accept ads for jobs over $60k. Go to http://www.interactivehq.com

* DC: Tough but not impossible. First place a free ad with Netpreneur's ActionList Job Hotline at http://www.netpreneur.org. Then when you've given up there, take the easy road and call Julie Perlmutter at The Creative Network at 202.265.1522. She knows more than 1,000 DC area marketers who might work for you ... with the right persuasion. Yes, a headhunting fee is involved.

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