This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
The Changing Job Market
At a global level, the overall job market looks promising. According to the World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2025,”1 by 2030, AI and other technologies will displace 92 million existing jobs but will create 170 million jobs. An increase of 78 million new jobs is great news.
Then why does the job market feel so difficult for marketers right now?
Economic pressures and AI advancements have been fueling a volatile job market the past few years.
According to LinkedIn’s “2024 Global Marketing Jobs Outlook” report,2 widespread layoffs impacted many marketers, and “job postings fell 42 percent in 2023 compared to 2022.” Although LinkedIn reported a 76 percent increase in marketing job postings from 2023 to 2024, it’s important to note that these reflect job listings and not necessarily roles that were actually filled. A percentage of postings are never intended to be filled, or may be completely fake, but they are created to collect résumés or the illusion of company growth.
So if your career ride has had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster these past few years, you’re definitely not alone. We’ve been there too, along with colleagues across marketing roles—from copywriters to chief marketing officers (CMOs).
According to a 2025 survey by Superpath, a career resource for content marketers, the job market is still tough. In Superpath’s “Content Marketing Salary Report” updated for 2025, more than 40 percent of respondents believe the current content marketing job market is “weak” or “very weak.”3 Although only 13 percent of content marketers surveyed reported they were laid off in 2024, as opposed to 16 percent in 2023, content marketers are dealing with layoffs. AI is a high contributor.
As marketers, we get anxious hearing stories about AI replacing human jobs. Klarna, a Swedish financial services company, reported that AI has saved the company about $10 million in annual savings, partly through using AI tools to replace human efforts for graphic design, social media, translation, and production.5 Klarna’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, said that “AI may help the company reduce headcount from 4000 to 2000 employees” by heavily using AI in marketing and customer service.6 Wow, that’s concerning.
Our goal in sharing AI’s potential impact on marketing jobs isn’t to cause panic, but to encourage awareness and preparation. This book will help you become an AI marketing strategist so you can level up in your career. To help you understand what the future of content marketing could look like and how you can better prepare, let’s review salaries, valuable skills, and freelance opportunities.
Content Marketing Salaries
Keep in mind that salaries vary depending on multiple factors, such as geographical location, years of experience, job title, and market conditions. You can use sites like LinkedIn or Indeed to research open job postings and see current salary ranges for various content marketing positions. We think knowing industry averages helps with personal benchmarking and salary negotiations; however, before asking for a higher salary in a job offer or promotion, we highly recommend doing your own research. That said, the Superpath salary report shows the average annual income of the content marketers surveyed by regional location (Figure 1.1) and by job title (Figure 1.2). The data in these figures gives you a starting point to determine the salary range you can expect.
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FIGURE 1.1 Income by location, “Content Marketing Salary Report,” by Superpath
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FIGURE 1.2 Income by job title, “Content Marketing Salary Report,” by Superpath
For our U.S. audience, we want to clarify that the average salary of $132K for content marketers seems a bit high. Superpath’s income data includes people who supplement their income with freelance work, and it also includes executive roles; that’s why we’ve included average annual income broken down by job title.
For our non-U.S. audience, be aware that 61 percent of the content marketers surveyed in Superpath’s report are based in the U.S., which means the average income by job title is more heavily influenced by U.S. salary data.
We think income by job skill is interesting too (Figure 1.3). Marketers have become more specialized over the years. Many companies are looking for specific disciplines or expertise.
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FIGURE 1.3 Income by skill, “Content Marketing Salary Report,” by Superpath
At a small company or startup, a content marketing generalist or individual contributor wears many hats. A generalist often writes and publishes content on the company’s blog, social media, email newsletter, and other marketing channels.
In larger companies, there can be a head of content marketing who directs the strategy and brand storytelling and collaborates with leaders of other teams, such as brand, creative, SEO, email, paid media, and analytics. In corporations with multiple brands, there may be a dedicated content marketing leader for each brand or group of brands. Content marketers, who may report to the content leader or a channel leader, are responsible for producing or publishing content for channels like social media or email. These marketers need to become fluent in AI tools that help them create or execute more of that content faster. Your value as a content marketer, however, isn’t solely in knowing how to use AI tools. AI demands a complementary set of skills from content marketers—regardless of your job title or channel focus.
Next-Level Skills
Certainly, understanding AI strategy in content marketing is essential. However, as you’ll learn in Chapter 7, “Marketing Operations and Automation,” AI falls short in some areas. Human oversight is necessary. Now with the technological advancements of AI, it’s time to level up your soft skills.
In “TheFuture of Jobs Report 2025,” the World Economic Forum lists the core skills employers consider essential for their workforce, and a majority of the top 10 emphasize the importance of critical thinking, communication, and adaptability.7 This makes sense in the age of AI, when humans should be using their cognitive abilities to complement and enhance the capabilities of AI. These soft skills become even more valuable as AI takes over routine tasks, highlighting the need for marketers to focus on areas that require complex decision-making and human insight.
Employers may offer courses or stipends for educational training. Reach out to your human resources or learning and development team to learn about your options. Some employers may provide reimbursement to learning platforms like Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, or Udemy. Or you can explore these on your own.
Unfortunately, most companies have not caught up on AI training for employees. According to the Marketing AI Institute’s “2025 State of AI Report,” 62 percent of marketing and business professionals surveyed said the lack of education and training is the top barrier to adopting AI in their marketing.
It’s up to us, as marketing employees or contractors, to educate ourselves. In addition to reading books, consider AI marketing certifications for a hands-on learning experience (we’ve listed several in Appendix A, “Tools and Resources,” and you’ll find a plethora of options online). Academic institutions are starting to offer AI marketing certifications to professionals and integrate AI courses into marketing degree curricula. We suggest searching for job listings for your specialty area (SEO, social media, email) or role function (copywriter, graphic designer, ecommerce manager) to see which AI tools employers mention most often. Some offer certifications specific to their tool, which can help you in a competitive job market.
We see another way for marketers to develop an AI education: freelance.
Freelance Opportunities
Whether a side gig or a stopover on the way to full-time work, try freelance work. It’s not a bad idea to have a side hustle that requires AI, especially if your current employer doesn’t have an AI policy that prohibits it. This is one way to get hands-on AI experience. We’ve spoken with several colleagues who are employed but aren’t allowed to use AI at work. They worry about having an AI skills gap if they are laid off or have to start looking for their next job. It’s a valid concern. Stay ahead of the curve by preparing now.
If you want to freelance, first review your employer agreement for any restrictions. Then check out the marketing services other content marketers offer in Superpath’s chart, which breaks down income by contractor and full-time employee (FTE) classifications (Figure 1.4).
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FIGURE 1.4 Income by responsibility, “Content Marketing Salary Report,” by Superpath
We’re happy to see writing as an opportunity for freelance work because we personally know talented writers who’ve been hit hard in this job market, particularly with the rise of AI writing tools, and writers are usually on the lower end of the content marketing pay scale. The same can be said for creative marketers such as graphic designers, photographers, and video producers, who aren’t included in Superpath’s chart.
The freelance market is competitive, as noted by Superpath CEO Jimmy Daly, who explains this market is typically top-heavy, meaning only a small group of individuals make a lot of money (seven out of 74 freelancers reported making more than $200,000 in the Superpath report). But at least freelancing can be a good way to supplement your income. We’re not recommending you quit your day job without savings, but freelancing can be a valuable way to earn extra income while developing your AI skills. It could even be a launchpad to becoming a solopreneur or starting your own marketing agency.
It’s a compelling time to freelance or launch a small business now that AI can assist with so many business tasks, giving solopreneurs the kind of support that used to require a team. We won’t dive into business opportunities in this book, but researching the current labor shortages in your area may be worth the time investment. For example, there’s a growing demand in many places for health, education, or home services like landscaping or cleaning. Or you could start a personal project that you’re excited about. You’ll benefit by using your AI content marketing skills in your own business or a fun hobby.
