Thinking of hiring a journalist for your marketing team? David Meerman Scott suggests it's a smart move, especially with over 10,000 newspaper jobs cut this year in the U.S. Here's why it makes sense and what you need to know.

Journalists bring valuable skills to marketing teams:

• Strong writing and editing abilities
• Natural storytelling capabilities
• Experience writing for general audiences
• Ability to simplify complex concepts
• Trained in meeting deadlines
• Skilled at information analysis

These skills align perfectly with inbound marketing, where creating valuable, engaging content is crucial for attracting potential customers to your website.

However, before hiring a journalist, consider these three important factors:

1. Understand Their Training Journalists are trained to be objective and factual, not promotional. They may resist traditional marketing approaches that conflict with their professional ethics.

2. Leverage Their Unique Skills Have open discussions about how their journalistic abilities can benefit your marketing efforts. Many journalists underestimate how valuable their core skills are in a marketing context.

3. Consider Transparency Trade-offs While journalists excel at storytelling and creating authentic connections with audiences, their natural inclination toward critical analysis might not always align with marketing objectives. As Fortune senior writer Jon Fortt notes, "Someone who's trained in journalism won't always churn out great marketing copy."

The key to success is finding the right balance between journalistic integrity and marketing goals, while leveraging their storytelling abilities to create compelling, authentic content that resonates with your audience.

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