From content to CMO: how Jess Cook made the leap (and built her first budget from scratch)

I decided I wanted to take that skill set of storytelling content creation and I've been doing SaaS content marketing ever since.

On this episode of the XF5 podcast, I speak with Jess Cook. Jess Cook is the head of marketing at Vector. Previously she was the head of content at multiple brands like Lasso island and Fastly. And in this episode we talk about her transition from being a content leader to a marketing leader.

When it came to larger strategy, marketing strategy in general, it was much harder for me to have a say and I wanted to be the one to call the shots.

We talk about how she made her first hire ever and the things she looked for.

Do what you know and what you're good at, what you were hired for, but also know where, like your capabilities kind of end and where you'll need someone to fill in those gaps.

We talk about what big bet she's making from a content perspective and specifically the bet she's making on YouTube. And then we also talked about how she made her first marketing budget and what that process was like.

Oh, where do I even start? Right where I ultimately kind of went to was knowing what our goal is this year. How am I going to back into that number?

If you're somebody who wants to learn more about content strategy, running a marketing team, or especially as a first time hydromarketer, this is a great episode for you.