And Carrie On

I started this blog 100 posts ago as a way to reclaim my identity after taking a new job and also finishing my doctorate. It was a piece of advice from Liz Gross and others that I needed to keep writing.

I never set out with a content strategy, desired outcomes, or anything more than a desire to write about things that mattered to me. Fast forward, and I have learned so much over the last two and a half years and had so many opportunities because of my writing.

To celebrate 100 posts, I want to revisit my top 5 all time posts and also share a little about what I’ve learned along the way!

Top Five Posts

1. New Budget = Conference Season – This post talked about the value of continuing to learn by attending conferences and how to get the most out of the conference. It includes my favorite 2-2-1 approach.
2. Four Challenges Universities Face – This post looked at some of the challenges identified in my dissertation that universities will face and how universities and MarComm offices might address them.
3. Differentiation Matters for Colleges – This post explored how to think about differentiation on a college campus. I shared what are a few key ways to think about differentiation.
4. Let’s Talk: Crucial Conversations – This post shared strategies of how to have those difficult conversations and why they are so important. I also covered a model I use for these that works fairly well, though they’re still hard conversations.
5. Essential Free MarComm Tools and Communities for Budget-Conscious Professionals – This post offered a variety of no additional cost resources for MarComm professionals to help them grow their skills and find community. This post has become an annual tradition each July.

Five Things I’ve Learned As a Thought Leader

1. Learning Never Stops – After finishing my doctorate, I was burned out. It took a year before I could bring myself to pick up a book and read it. However, writing and getting to know people in this space has reignited my love of learning. I now regularly find myself in a book (from someone I know!), reading research, or digging into something that I’m curious about. Often times, those thoughts become blog conversations, but more importantly, they help me hone my craft as a MarComm leader. I’ve said before that you can’t lead others if you’re not being developed, and getting to write has helped me better live that value.
2. Be Be Consistent – If you’re going to do this work, consistency is critical. My first post had four views, and I’m pretty sure my mom and father-in-law were two of them. However, by crafting a weekly post for about four months, I began to see traction and others started taking note. Had I initially been wanting to be a thought leader in the space, I think I would have gotten frustrated at how long it took. Because I was focused on my own story, I did not pay any attention to the initial metrics to realize how few people were there at first. That said, if your desire is to be a thought leader, it takes a good bit of work before people start to see it. Stay the course.
3. Try New Things – New is scary, and it still is. However, through my writing I’ve gotten to explore a variety of new things. Sometimes it’s writing about an incredibly vulnerable topic, it’s publishing my research in an academic context, it’s trying to be better at a a new tool (definitely applies to AI), or it’s sharing my story in a new way. All of the new things, have helped me get better as a professional and to know what I like and don’t like. Those experiences have helped me say yes to the things I like and provide opportunities for others in the spaces for the things that aren’t for me.
4. Planned Flexibility – Somewhere through the process of writing each week, I realized that sitting down on Saturday or Sunday morning and deciding what to write wasn’t working anymore. I realized, much like we do in our jobs, I needed a content strategy and a content plan. So, I now keep about a six month rolling content plan, which focuses on marketing, leadership, and other higher education topics. Then, I also give myself a week off each month. As the month gets closer, I can adjust the week off based on my schedule. That one week off has been key to making sure I don’t get burned out in writing and still find the joy.
5. Community Matters – Through this work, I’ve gained a network of MarComm leaders from across the country. These are people who inspire me, challenge me, but also support me. As a CMO, the work can be terribly isolating. I didn’t know that at first, and I’m so grateful that writing and sharing on LinkedIn has helped forge real connections with other MarComm leaders that I can engage on the hard and challenging days to offer support, insight, or just a listening ear.

Cheers to the Next 100

This was the first one hundred posts, and it was such a fun journey. I’m feeling nostalgic, but can’t wait to see what we’ll uncover together in the next 100 posts. Cheers! and Carrie On!

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