A well-written digital marketing cover letter is an essential part of your job application process. So essential in fact, that 72% of recruiters expect a cover letter, even if it’s ‘optional’. And even worse, if a cover letter is required and you apply without one, only 13% of recruiters will consider your application!
So whether you’re just starting out in your digital marketing career, or an experienced marketer, looking for a new role and brushing up on your digital marketing cover letter techniques, we’ve got the guide, examples, and templates to help you secure the next step in your career.
The purpose of a cover letter is to provide additional information alongside your digital marketing CV. A cover letter should provide more information on the specific points of your CV that will detail why you’re a great fit for the job you’re applying for.
While a CV will highlight the best bits of your career, the cover letter will develop your points further, and relate them to the job you’re applying for. After all, a recruiter or hiring manager is less interested in what you did at your previous job, and more interested in what you can do for their business.
Some of the questions your cover letter should answer are:
Your cover letter should follow the usual structure of a letter: Introduction, body, conclusion.
Additional details to include would be your name and ways to contact you such as email and phone number. You may also choose to add optional information like your location and a website if you have one.
Your introduction should address the hiring manager, recruiter, or decision maker who will receive your application. If it isn’t on the job advert, you may have to look online to find this information. This information may be on Linkedin or the company website, although it isn’t always possible to find in certainty.
Your introductory paragraph should introduce yourself, specify the position you’re applying for, and give a brief summary of your skills. Your aim should be to clearly state your intentions while grabbing the readers interest. You don’t always have a long time to grab attention, so it’s a good idea to get straight to the point.
The main body of your letter should explain why you are applying for the job, and why they should want you to be applying. Discuss your relevant skills and experience, and relate those to the job opportunity at hand.
Skills and experience to include should be things such as: specific skills, marketing strategies, social media platforms and digital marketing tools you have used. It should also include examples of your accomplishments that are the most relevant to the job at hand.
The skills, experience, and accomplishments you include in a cover letter should all address specific requirements of the role. If a job advert is asking for experience working with Amazon Ads, you would talk about your experience running Pay-Per-Click ads, your amazon ads certification, and explain why this makes you their ideal candidate.
Alongside being a fit for the role requirements, the cover letter should convey your enthusiasm for the role and the company. Discuss what excites you about the position, the exposure you’ll receive or the work that the company has done before that you are impressed by.
Every good letter needs a strong sign off. End your cover letter by reiterating your interest, thanking the recruiter for their time, and inviting them to get in touch and discuss your application further. At the end of the day, the purpose of your cover letter is to get a reply from your application.
As we’ve mentioned, your cover letter should be individually tailored to the job you’re applying for. This includes being addressed to the hiring manager who will read it (if possible), focussing on the experience you have that best aligns with the job requirements, and what excites you about the job and company.
Digital marketing is a popular and growing career, which means job opportunities are highly competitive. When there are often hundreds of applicants, you want to stand out for good reasons. And showing that you’re interested in the role and have done your research on the company, is a great way to show that you really want the job.
Technical ability is often the biggest factor for why someone doesn’t make it to the interview stage. So while you should save the specific tools and software you have experience with for your CV, it’s worth highlighting the one or two that the job advert asks for.
Only 36% of recruiters consider cover letters useful for gauging if someone is a cultural fit. The majority of recruitment professionals will use time in the interview process to find out if you would be a good fit for the business based on your values and personality.
You might be tempted to mention that successful social media campaign you created. The one which got tons of engagement and followers for your company’s Instagram. But is it relevant for the non-social-media job you’re applying for?
Successes like these are great to include in your CV, as they show you as a competent and successful employee. But if they aren’t relevant to the job you’re applying for, it’s a waste of words and space that you could spend talking about more relevant skills and experience.
At best, the hiring manager will ignore these parts of the cover letter that aren’t relevant. At worst, they will think you haven’t really bothered to read the job application you’re applying for.
While it may not make or break your job application, having grammatical or spelling mistakes in your cover letter can harm your chances of making it to an interview: Especially if you’re applying for a writing based role as an SEO or Copywriter.
So take the time to proofread your digital marketing cover letter and make sure there aren’t any mistakes. Run it through a spellchecker, or an editor app such as Hemingway Editor. Or even better, have someone else look over it for you. A fresh pair of eyes may spot mistakes that you don’t even realise you are making.
One of the biggest mistakes we see here at Herd, is applicants focusing solely on themselves and their own work. Which obviously makes sense, because a cover letter is designed to talk about your skills and experience.
But it shouldn’t be your sole focus. Because you want to also show that you understand the role that you’re applying for. So while you absolutely should brag about yourself and how great you have been in your previous jobs, you should also show interest in how great you are going to be for them.
Any time you talk about your accomplishments, relate it to a requirement in the job description. Spell out for the hiring manager exactly why you’re the most qualified person for the job.
Here are some examples for you to use for your own digital marketing cover letter. One for you graduate digital marketers, and one for someone with a few years of experience.
Dear Mr. Hiring Manager,
I am writing to express my interest in the Graduate Digital Marketing Executive position. From my degree in Marketing I have gained skills in audience demographic research, data analysis, and content writing. I am confident in my ability to use these skills to support your clients, and I will make a valuable addition to the XYZ Company team.
I gained a 2:1 in my degree, gaining skills in identifying target markets and the planning and optimising of paid advertising. And in my recent volunteer work for ABC charity, I successfully launched their paid social advertising efforts with an advertising campaign run across Facebook and Instagram. It’s these skills in social media marketing that will be most valuable for XYZ’s clients.
Your passion for developing graduates into effective digital marketers is clear through your social media, and is something I really admire and look forward to being a part of. What really stands out is your emphasis on professional development and collaboration, two core skills I learned from my degree.
I look forward to hearing from you, and discussing how my skills and passion for digital marketing will make me an effective part of your team. Thank you for taking the team to read my application.
Sincerely,
{Your Name}
Dear Mr. Hiring Manager,
I am writing to express my interest in the Digital Marketing Manager position. I have 2 years of experience as a Digital Marketing Executive; executing e-mail marketing campaigns, writing content for websites and various social media channels. I am confident in my ability to use these skills to support your clients, and will make a valuable addition to the XYZ Company team.
While working at ABC Company, I was responsible for increasing the businesses audience across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts. I grew the follower base by 30% across all channels, whilst doubling the reach across the most valuable audience demographics. I was also responsible for SEO and the company website, and increased organic traffic by 150%. It’s these skills in social media management and content writing that will be most valuable for XYZ Company.
Your recent social media rebrand was something that really stood out to me. The shift in language and tone to appeal really makes the brand more relatable to a younger audience and your target demographic. I’m passionate about developing my marketing skills and XYZ will be the perfect place to continue my growth.
I look forward to speaking with you further about how my skills and experience will make me an effective part of your team, and the ideas I have for growing XYZ Company. Thank you for considering my application.
Sincerely,
{Your Name}
When all finished and properly polished, your cover letter should look something like this:
Of course there’s no rule saying you “must” add graphics or textures to your cover letter. But having a visually appealing cover letter is a great way to stand out from the sea of applications.
You can find additional resources to help your job search, with our guide to digital marketing CVs, and our guide on how to write a digital marketing portfolio.
But once your digital marketing cover letter and CV are up-to-date, now is the time to start brushing up on your digital marketing interview questions. Click here for our comprehensive digital marketing interview guide.
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