Alex Medick

January 21, 2022

WTF Is A Full-Stack Marketer?

A friend of mine recently asked what exactly it is I do for a living. Instead of running through the laundry list of the entrepreneurial adventures I’m on, I thought I’d shorten it and just say, “I’m a full-stack marketer and investor.” 

Clean. Simple. Short. 

Little did I know that would leave more questions that answers for my friend. Investor, sure. That made sense. But full-stack marketer? WTF?! My friend then turned to my wife for clarification, but apparently she has no idea what I do for a living either. 

As I started to explain to them what a full-stack marketer is, I thought to myself, “well hot damn, this might make a good blog post. Others will probably want to know this too.” 

So here we are. Let’s figure this shit out together…


WTF IS A FULL-STACK MARKETER?

Full-stack marketers aren’t your normal digital marketer. When it comes to breaking down full-stack marketing, I like to start with the following quote:

A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”

Full-Stack Marketers typically have a strong singular depth in one field of marketing, but are generalists (or a little better than just a generalist) in all other layers of the stack (also known as T-Shaped Marketing). 

This allows us to be quick, agile, creative, and think about marketing from a holistic level, and not just our one vertical of expertise. 

We have range.

Full stack marketing is a term first coined by Marcelo Calbucci and Morgan Brown. It refers to the type of skills, mindset and approach some marketers are capable of because they are knowledgable about and can refer to all levels of the marketing “stack” (a phrase that came from “full stack developers” — those who can code both back- and front-end requirements for an app). These marketing professionals are better known as full stack marketers.

– Michael Haupt

Now beyond the skills aspect of marketing, I believe it’s important for Full-Stack Marketers to also inhibit qualities of the growth hacker – an agile marketer that can use data, creativity, and experimentation to test and iterate on growth hypothesis. 

One reason why Full-Stack Marketing is such an in-demand skill is that normally FSMs are incredibly agile and quick to adapt. Companies don’t need to be met with, “that’s out of my arena” responses. They are met with enthusiasm and a marketer that can learn quick as hell and can execute effectively. 

For example, as a full-stack marketing consultant, I get hired because I can be a one stop shop. And not only do I have the skills, I also have the customer service and training skills to help clients reach the levels they want to in their venture. 

Okay, let’s go over the skills needed to be a full-stack marketer. 

13 SKILLS NEEDED TO BE A FULL-STACK MARKETER

  1. Marketing Foundation Skills
  2. Paid Digital Advertising
  3. SEO 
  4. Funnel Design
  5. Website Design and Development (WordPress or Webflow)
  6. Inbound Marketing
  7. Media Editing (Graphic, Video, Audio)
  8. Copywriting
  9. Email Marketing
  10. Data Analysis and Reporting
  11. Storytelling
  12. Market Research
  13. The balls and intelligence to experiment and iterate

In 2021, I wrote a blog post breaking down some of these skills. You can check it out 10 Skills You Need To Be A Full-Stack Marketer at this link. 

Wait, in the original post it was 10 skills, but above you posted 13. What gives? I added three skills, so sue me. Damn 😂

Anyway… 

In a nutshell, that’s it. That’s the general overview of being a full-stack marketer. 

Want to talk consulting and see what a full-stack marketer can bring to your business? Shoot me an email and let’s talk shop. 

– AJM

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About Alex Medick

Dad, Entrepreneur // Building INSIDE