Introduce yourself:
Hi, I’m Charles, and I’m the Digital Marketing Executive at Chaptr.
What do you do?
At Chaptr, I am responsible for the internal marketing of Chaptr as well as providing marketing services to clients. Whereas some places have internal marketing teams and client marketing teams, I basically do both.
In terms of those services, we started out doing SEO for Chaptr and our clients, and have now expanded into other aspects of digital marketing, including content, advertising, campaigns, etc. It’s all happened quite quickly.
How did you find Chaptr?
By fluke! I was working at a startup in the South West of England, and although it was a fun experience, I felt that I had more potential that could be utilised somewhere else. So I looked on LinkedIn and went outside of my default search criteria, and this role appeared!
The role itself tickled my ambition and presented me with an opportunity to have a direct impact on the fate of a business, which struck chords with my inner entrepreneur.
What attracted you to Chaptr?
I always felt an agency might be a good fit, I had experience working with some in previous roles and felt that the mix of projects and interests would be good for my temperament. Chaptr as an agency has a distinctive design style which I found attractive, and the work they produce is credible and award-winning. I felt like they matched my sensibilities in terms of aesthetic and work.
What was the interview process like?
Overall the experience was good, the first step was a phone call with the studio manager and a member of the advisory team. This was fairly basic stuff, a competency check etc, however, they were very friendly and gave a great impression of the business.
After that stage, I was invited down to see the studio and meet the directors Joe and Matt. This was a pleasant conversation in a local cafè, and the questions were more about working together and the specifics of building a marketing department at Chaptr, which were interesting questions to talk about, and to see if we were a good fit for each other.
What were your main goals going in?
Since I was tasked with building a digital marketing service from scratch, I had very clear goals about what needed to happen in terms of work. There needed to be an offering that clients would want, that we could deliver, and that would get results. Not easy.
In terms of personal goals, I wanted to prove to myself I could foster that inner entrepreneur and build something at Chaptr. I also wanted to improve my work so that it met Chaptr’s high-quality standards.
What’s been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge has been coping with a large amount of change in a short space of time. I went from living with two other people in my hometown to living on my own in a new city, as well as going from a marketing team in a startup, to being solely responsible for marketing in a new organisation. It was a lot of opportunity and challenge at the same time.
What have you learned?
I’ve learnt that I can handle pressure and deliver, which I needed to know. My attention to detail has improved, and I’ve learnt to treat everything as an opportunity, either as potential personal growth or of tangible benefit to the business.
I’ve also learnt about the benefits of being in a company culture that isn’t just empty words. When the people who lead care as much or more than you do, that does resonate all the way through the team.
What’s your day-to-day like?
It varies, there are a couple of big clients who always need some attention, but then there are smaller client tasks and projects to work on, combined with the digital marketing needs of Chaptr itself.
Some days I’m working on reports or keyword research for SEO clients, and other days I’m scoping out campaigns for our international clients and writing blogs for Chaptr. There are a lot of different things going on.
What opportunities are available to you?
I’m always surprised about the level of autonomy and trust Chaptr has given me, the general rule is “If it’s your idea, and it’s a good idea, then do it.” As such, we’ve gone from just offering just SEO, to offering creative partnerships and campaigns for some of our biggest clients, all within 12 months. If you have the ambition, and the right mindset, there is no ceiling.
What is the support like?
It’s no exaggeration to say that without the team, and Joe and Matt, the last 12 months could have gone very poorly. Everyone has stepped up to help me when needed, to make me feel welcome, listen to me rant, or just offered suggestions when we’ve been discussing problems. No one has ever said “not my problem”, and we have never refused a challenge.
What do you like most about working at Chaptr?
The team. Whether you’ve had a bad day or won an amazing new project, everyone is there and together. We are all moving in the same direction and we have each other’s back. They’re a funny bunch too, which helps.
How does Chaptr differ from everywhere else you’ve worked?
The actual adherence to a culture. It’s clichè to say your company cares about x,y,z and politics isn’t a thing, so it’s quite odd for me to feel confident saying that at Chaptr they care about those things, and when Chaptr cares about something, then something gets done whether it’s seemingly trivial, or the largest decision the company has made.
Where do you see the Digital Marketing team in the next 12 months?
A lot has been established in the first 12 months, and now we are looking at expanding the marketing team, which seems crazy to me considering there was no dedicated marketing team 12 months ago. We are working with bigger clients, doing more strategy, and more campaigns. It’s going to be a big year.
Why was Chaptr a good career move for you?
It was the step I needed to take. I thought that I had more to offer with my skills and mindset and it was great to have someone else see that potential and give me an opportunity to make it happen. I’ve matured a lot over 12 months and am eager to see what the future holds.
What’s the song you’d have on repeat?
This tends to change every couple of hours. On my original application, I said “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones. Today? It would probably be “All The Same” by Real Estate. The outro seems to go on forever anyway, but it’s wonderful all the same.