Most coaches won’t tell you this. But I think you deserve to know it before you spend a cent.

Anyone can call themselves a coach. There is no governing body, no required qualification, no minimum standard of practice. Some people complete a weekend course, build a website, and are open for business by Monday. Others do not even do that, they assume that because they have experience in a field, they are automatically qualified to coach in it. No training. No understanding of what coaching actually is. Just a belief that experience alone is enough.

It’s not.

That is the reality of the industry I work in. And I’ve seen first-hand what bad actors in this industry do to people who were simply trying to get support - people who were vulnerable, trusting, and deserved far better. It makes me angry. Which is why I am writing this, so you know what to watch out for before you commit.

One of the most common conversations I have with marketers goes something like this.

They tell me about a campaign they drove end-to-end. A cross-functional project they pulled together when no one else would. A junior team member they informally mentored through a difficult period. A stakeholder situation they navigated when it could easily have gone sideways. A strategic recommendation they made that changed the direction of a programme.

And then they say: "But I'm not really a leader. I don't manage anyone."

Every time, I want to stop them right there.

Because what they've just described - the influencing, the connecting, the deciding, the developing, the navigating - is leadership. Not a version of leadership that doesn't quite count. Actual leadership. The kind that moves organisations forward and makes other people's work better.

The title is an administrative designation. The leadership is already happening.

More senior marketers are leaving traditional employment than at any point in recent memory. Some are burned out. Some have been made redundant. Some have simply reached a point where they want more — more autonomy, more variety, more control over the work they do and who they do it for.

If you're one of them, you've probably started researching your options. And somewhere along the way, you've encountered two terms that sound similar but mean very different things: freelance and fractional.

Getting this distinction right matters. Choosing the wrong model — or jumping in without understanding what each one actually requires — is one of the most common mistakes I see marketers make when going independent.

So let's break it down.

There's a gap that doesn't get talked about enough in marketing careers. The gap between being a very good senior marketer and becoming a genuine marketing leader.

It's not a skills gap, exactly. Most marketers who are ready to lead already have more than enough technical expertise. It's something harder to name - a shift in how you see your role, how you show up in rooms, how you make decisions, and how you influence people who don't report to you.

That shift doesn't happen automatically with a new title. It has to be intentional. And understanding what it actually requires - not the polished version you read in job descriptions, but the real version - is the first step.

Here's a stat that should make every marketer sit up: people who negotiate their salary earn an average of 18.83% more than those who accept the first offer. Some secure increases of up to 100%.

And yet, most marketers don't negotiate.

Not because they don't know they should. Not because the market doesn't support it. But because asking for more money requires something that doesn't come naturally to a lot of us: the unwavering belief that we are worth it.

This post is about building that belief, and then backing it up with a strategy that actually works.

There's a version of burnout that arrives dramatically, you wake up one day and simply can't do it anymore. But for most marketers, it doesn't happen like that.

It creeps in. A little more tired than usual. A little less excited by work you used to love. Powering through anyway, because there's always another deadline, another campaign, another stakeholder who needs something yesterday. You tell yourself you'll rest after this quarter. After this launch. After this year.

I've been there. And what I know now, that I didn't fully understand then, is that the warning signs were there long before I acknowledged them. I just kept performing over the top of them.

If any of this sounds familiar, this post is for you.

You've built campaigns that landed. You've led teams, shaped strategy, navigated reorgs, and probably done three jobs at once - all while making it look seamless. On paper, you're doing great.

So why does it still feel like something's missing?

If you're a marketer who's stuck, restless, or quietly wondering whether there's a better version of your career out there, career coaching might be exactly what you need. But it's probably not what you think it is.

Eighty-five percent.

That's the share of marketers who said they've experienced imposter syndrome in Marketing Week's 2026 Career & Salary Survey of 2,350 marketing professionals. And for half of them, it's got worse in the past twelve months.

This isn't a confidence problem. It's not something you can fix with a better morning routine or a LinkedIn post about being "vulnerable." And it's almost certainly not unique to you, even if it feels that way at 11pm when you're second-guessing the strategy deck you're presenting tomorrow.

What it is, increasingly, is an industry problem. Marketing is changing faster than most professionals can comfortably absorb and when the ground keeps shifting beneath you, even the most experienced marketers start to wonder whether they're keeping up, or just keeping up appearances.

So let's talk about what's actually going on. And more importantly, what to do about it.

Microsoft recently launched a new AI Performance report inside Bing Webmaster Tools (BWT). While Bing might feel like the "other" search engine, it is currently the only platform providing a backstage pass to how AI systems - like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT - actually see and recommend your brand.

Confidence at work isn’t about being the loudest person in the room.

Many marketers and leaders I work with are capable, experienced, and thoughtful - and still find themselves second-guessing decisions, holding back in meetings, or quietly questioning whether they’re doing enough.

I’ve always been a big advocate for celebrating wins, even the small ones.

And even though I didn’t achieve all my (overly ambitious) goals in 2025, I still had a huge amount of growth and achievements to celebrate.

One minute you’re planning a webinar for a super technical audience. Next, you’re in a tense meeting about the sales pipeline. Then you’re rewriting your entire content plan because the product roadmap just shifted. Again.

What I learned about attention, differentiation, and daring to do something different in B2B marketing

When I was leading marketing for a B2B SaaS company in the HR tech space, we were preparing for the biggest industry event of the year in the UK. You know the type—endless exhibition stands, a blur of branded stress balls and lanyards, and more cupcakes and champagne than you could shake a stick at.

And don’t get me wrong—cupcakes and champagne work. Especially at this event, where most of the attendees were women. But we didn’t just want traffic to our stand. We wanted qualified leads. We wanted people who were actually interested in seeing our product in action.

And, honestly, we wanted to be remembered.

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen - over and over again - is this:

We assume everyone thinks the same way we do.

Maybe you found a feature intuitive. A message crystal clear. A process simple.
So you assume your customers - or your team, or your audience - will feel the same.

But they don’t.
And when we operate from that assumption, things break. Engagement lags. Adoption stalls. Growth doesn’t come.

If you’re a marketer working across multiple countries, you’ve probably seen a couple of things happen over the past week:

1. In some countries, your product or service just became more expensive

2. And, in some countries, the cost of marketing activities has increased

And this isn’t about tariffs, this is about how a sudden change in exchange rates can present both challenges and opportunities for global businesses.

If you’re living and breathing your product every day, it’s easy to assume your customers and prospects just get it. But here’s the reality—they don’t.

In B2B (especially in SaaS), education isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the backbone of effective marketing. The more you teach, the more trust you build, and the easier it is for potential customers to see why they need you.

Feeling stuck for content ideas? You’re not alone! It happens to the best of us. But here’s the good news, your audience is looking for valuable, engaging content. Sometimes, all you need is a fresh perspective (and maybe a strong coffee). So, if you’re in the midst of a creative block, here are some ideas that should help create a spark.

Long-term marketing strategies are the foundation of sustainable growth. Unlike short-term tactics that drive immediate results, long-term strategies build brand awareness, authority, and customer loyalty over months and years.

When you need quick results - more leads, more clicks, or more sales right now - short-term marketing strategies are your best friend. These tactics are designed to drive immediate action, making them a go-to for scale-ups looking to fuel growth fast.

Search is changing, and if you’re in the B2B space, this shift could have a huge impact on how your business shows up online.

AI-driven search engines are designed to give people answers that feel more like a conversation rather than just a list of links. They understand intent, focus on relevance, and predict what a user might be looking for before they even ask.