Latest / The Marketing Career Podcast with Fexingo: Marketing Jobs, Skills, and Career Growth / How Mid-Career Marketers Use the Career Side Project for Strategic Impact
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about something that came up in a conversation I had last week with a senior brand manager at a large CPG company. She told me she got promoted to VP of digital strategy — not because of her day job, but because of a side project she started two years ago. Luna: A side project? Like, a hobby that turned into a career move? Or something more deliberate? Lucas: More deliberate. She launched a niche newsletter called ‘Shelf Impact’ — it covered how brands are redesigning packaging for e-commerce. She wrote it weekly, grew it to about five thousand subscribers in six months, and then used it as proof of her digital expertise when the VP role opened up. Luna: So she wasn't just doing it for fun. She had a thesis — that packaging for online is different from in-store — and she built an audience around it. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the angle I want to drill into today. A side project can be one of the most powerful career moves a mid-career marketer makes — but only if it's strategic. Not a random blog or an abandoned Instagram account. It needs to fill a specific skill gap or demonstrate a capability your current job doesn't let you show. Luna: So the first step is figuring out what gap you're trying to fill. How did she land on packaging for e-commerce? Lucas: She did a skills audit — we've talked about that in past episodes. She realized her company valued digital, but she had no hands-on experience with e-commerce content or audience building. Her day job was all about traditional retail. So she designed the newsletter to teach herself those exact skills: writing for online, growing an email list, analyzing open rates, even basic SEO. Luna: So the project itself becomes a learning vehicle. I love that. What's the biggest mistake marketers make when they try this? Lucas: Two things. First, they pick a topic they're passionate about but that has no connection to their career goals. Like, a data analyst starting a podcast about vintage guitars. Fine as a hobby, but it won't get you a promotion in analytics. Second, they don't set milestones. They just start and hope something happens. Luna: Right. So you need a clear target. For her, it was five thousand subscribers in six months. What would you recommend as a starting milestone for someone listening right now? Lucas: I'd say pick a metric that matters for the role you want. If you're a brand manager aiming for a digital marketing director position, maybe it's growing a social account to ten thousand followers in a quarter, or publishing twelve deep-dive posts on LinkedIn that get over five hundred reactions each. The specific number depends on your industry, but it needs to be ambitious enough to prove you can build something from scratch. Luna: And then you have to be able to talk about it in interviews. I've seen people do side projects but then not frame them well on their resume. They list it as ‘Freelance Newsletter Editor’ instead of ‘Built audience of 5,000 engaged subscribers in 6 months, driving 20% open rate and 3% click-through rate.’ The numbers tell the story. Lucas: Exactly. The CPG brand manager I mentioned — when she interviewed for the VP role, she brought a one-page summary of the newsletter's growth, the key insights she learned about e-commerce packaging, and how that applied to the company's strategy. She didn't just say ‘I have a newsletter.’ She showed a direct line from her side project to the value she'd bring to the role. Luna: So the project has to be framed as applied learning, not just a hobby. I'm curious — what about the time commitment? Mid-career marketers are already busy. How do you avoid burnout? Lucas: That's the biggest barrier. But the trick is to start small and be consistent. She committed to one newsletter per week — about two hours of work. She blocked Sunday mornings. And she used templates and repurposed content from her day job research, so it wasn't starting from zero every time. The key is to treat it like a work project, not a passion project. Set a scope, a deadline, and a deliverable. Luna: And if you realize after a month that it's not working — maybe you're not getting traction — do you pivot or quit? Lucas: Pivot. But first, define what ‘not working’ means. If your goal is to learn a skill, you might be learning even if growth is slow. The CPG brand manager initially wanted to do a podcast, but after three episodes she realized it took too long to edit and she wasn't building an audience. So she switched to a newsletter, which played to her writing strengths. That's smart — iterate, don't abandon. Luna: That's a good point. The project itself is a learning process. And if you document that process — like, what you tried, what didn't work, what you learned — that's even more valuable in an interview. Lucas: Absolutely. One more thing: the side project should be public. It doesn't have to be huge, but it should be discoverable. If someone Googles you, they should find it. That's how she got noticed by the VP who eventually hired her — he came across her newsletter when researching e-commerce trends. Luna: So the project acts as a career beacon. I think this is one of the most actionable things we've talked about. If someone wants to start today, what's the first concrete step? Lucas: Write down one skill gap between where you are and where you want to be. Then brainstorm three possible side project ideas that would force you to practice that skill. Pick the one you could start with the least friction — maybe a LinkedIn newsletter, a YouTube channel, or a Substack. Then set a three-month milestone: X subscribers, X posts, X views. And commit to it publicly, so you're accountable. Luna: And if you do it well, you might end up like that brand manager — turning a side project into a VP role. Lucas, if this episode sparked something for you, the listener — if it was worth a coffee — you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's what keeps this podcast ad-free and focused on real career strategies. Lucas: Yeah, we really appreciate that. A small gesture goes a long way in keeping these conversations going. And honestly, if you build that side project, you might end up buying us a coffee with your promotion bonus. Luna: Ha, exactly. Alright, back to the strategy — one thing I want to add: once you have the side project, you have to use it in your performance reviews and career conversations. Don't wait for someone to find it. Bring it up proactively. Say, ‘I've been developing this skill outside of work and here's how it applies to our team's goals.’ Lucas: That's a great point. The side project only works if you integrate it into your narrative. Otherwise, it's just a fun thing you do on weekends. So to wrap up: pick a gap, build a public project, set measurable milestones, and talk about it strategically. That's how you turn a side project into a career accelerator. Luna: And we'll put links to some resources on how to start a newsletter or a content project in the show notes. Thanks for listening, and good luck building your side project.