Hello hello 👋🏽,

Welcome to the 11th edition of Marketers Help Marketers!

You know those friends who send you random links with a simple "thought you'd like this"?

Well, my friend Abhi is that friend. But better.

Last week, he forwarded me a newsletter with this message: "You should write about this, it's a great concept and more people need to hear about it. Possst."

(Yes, he actually typed "Possst" with three s's.)

I clicked the link, started reading, and immediately knew he was right.

The newsletter was about a career concept that's been staring us all in the face. But somehow, no one talks about it openly.

Useful vs. Valuable.

It hit me like a ton of bricks because I've seen this play out countless times.

Talented marketers stuck in the same roles for years, while others with similar skills zoom ahead.

The difference is -

One group stays useful. The other becomes valuable.

Today, we're diving deep into this distinction. Because understanding it might be the one of most important career lessons you will learn.

Shout-out to Abhi for always bringing me the best gems from the internet. 🙌🏽

(And if you want that original newsletter, just reply and I'll send it your way.)

For many marketers, something shifts when you hit a 3-5 year mark in your career.

You’ve mastered the tools, you know how to execute.

You’re that person who gets shit done.

Bottom line: you become darn useful.

But you also feel that your career has hit a plateau, promotions and exciting projects always seem to go to others.

That's the thing about being useful.

It might get you more tasks, maybe a shoutout in your company Slack, but it rarely gets you promoted or pay raises.

Meanwhile, valuable marketers get promoted, poached, and rewarded.

The difference isn't always obvious. But it's everything.

Let’s break it down simply.

Let me give you some more examples:

Useful marketer says: "I optimized our email open rates by 15%"

Valuable marketer says: "I identified why our email strategy wasn't driving revenue. Then I restructured our entire lifecycle marketing approach."

Useful marketer says: Executes the social media calendar perfectly

Valuable marketer says: Questions whether social media is the right channel. Recommends shifting budget to higher-ROI activities.

Useful marketer says: Responds quickly to requests from sales and product teams

Valuable marketer says: Anticipates their needs. Brings solutions before they even ask.

You see the difference?

One is executing. The other is thinking strategically.

Marketing is a field that reinvents itself every few years.

Remember when social media management was a niche skill?

Now, AI can generate content, analyze data, and automate campaigns.

The "useful" tasks are becoming easier to replicate, either by other people with a bit of training or by technology.

Useful marketers panic because their specific skills become outdated.

While valuable marketers adapt, they've built judgment and relationships that go beyond any single tool or tactic.

The ability to be valuable is a timeless skill.

It's your insurance against industry disruption.

It’s about repositioning how you work and how you communicate that work.

✨ Start with your current role

• Which of your tasks could be automated or delegated?

• What problems does your team face that no one's solving?

• How can you free up time for higher-level thinking?

Answering and solving these questions will help redirect your approach to working and thinking to become more valuable.

Always remember to talk about the impact and not the task. (This remains the hill I will die on :D)

✨ Learn and master "Walk the halls"

I loved this concept when my podcast guest, Robbert van der Pluijm, shared it. 

Being valuable isn't just about doing your work in a silo; it's about connecting it to the broader business.

• Useful marketers wait for requests from sales, product, or leadership.

• Valuable marketers anticipate their needs. They "walk the halls" (physically or virtually), talk to stakeholders, understand their challenges, and bring solutions before they're even asked.

This builds trust and positions you as a strategic partner, not just an order-taker.

✨ Climb the problem-solving ladder

Every marketer falls somewhere on this ladder.

You need to assess where you operate most of the time and aim to be at level 3/4.

Most marketers get stuck at Level 1 or 2.

The real career growth happens at Levels 3 and 4.

✨ Become AI-proof (not AI-resistant)

Use AI to become more useful at tasks.

Let it write your first drafts, analyze your data, and automate your reports.

This frees up your time to focus on being valuable.

AI can't replicate human judgment, build relationships with the sales team, or have the strategic insight to know when not to run a campaign.

That’s where your true, long-term value lies.

✨ Use “Above pay grade” thinking

Some of you liked my edition on this earlier, so I am going to tie it in:

Useful = doing your current job well

Valuable = already thinking like your boss’s boss

When promotion time comes, valuable people have already proven they can handle the next level.

✨ Build your judgment muscle

AI can make anyone useful at basic marketing tasks.

However, it can't replace strategic thinking, judgment, and relationship-building.

• Ask "why" before "how" when given new projects

• Connect your work to business outcomes, not just marketing metrics

• Question assumptions about what you should be doing

✨ Document your strategic thinking

Get into the habit and culture of reflection at an individual and a team level.

• Share the reasoning behind your decisions

• Write post-mortems that include lessons learned

• Create frameworks others can use

The shift from useful to valuable isn't just about career advancement.

It's about building resilience in an industry that's constantly evolving.

Marketing has evolved more in the past 5 years than in the previous 20 and will continue to do so.

The marketers who thrive aren't just the ones who adapt to change. 

They're the ones who create value regardless of which tools or tactics are trending.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Just hit reply or find me on LinkedIn.

Have an amazing week ahead! ✨

Your marketer friend,
Mita ✌🏽