I receive Marketing Vox’s Daily E-mail Newsletter—which is a great source of Internet marketing news—and I recently read this article: Search Marketers Wear Many Hats.

Search Marketers Wear Many Hats

I think it would be more correct to say “Internet marketers wear many hats.” Search engine marketing, paid search advertising, web site design, email marketing, etc., are all part of the broader Internet marketing category—they’re all methods for increasing traffic and sales online.

But lexical issues aside, I agree with this statement—all of the Internet marketers I know perform at least three of the functions listed in this article.

Is Wearing Many Hats Bad?

Well, yes and no.

Being spread among so many different responsibilities makes it more difficult to focus laser-like on any one thing at a time. It’s difficult to become a master of all the different tasks that are involved. It can be a pretty steep learning curve.

However, I think that it is possible to master all of the necessary skills. Scheduling, focus, and discipline can overcome the distraction factors.

I also think that wearing many hats is often part of the success of online campaigns—it allows for an over-arching, coordinated strategy.

Finally, I personally love the challenge and variety of having many different Internet marketing responsibilities.

What Hats Do You Wear?

So, what Internet marketing hat(s) do you wear?

Out of those listed in the Vox article, I wear, or have worn, the following hats: search engine optimization, paid search advertising, web design, email advertising, marketing communications, market research, and competitive intelligence.