
What Is a Cover Letter and Why Do You Need It? (+ Examples)
What is a cover letter for a job application? What is the purpose of writing a covering letter? A great CV isn't enoughâsee what a cover letter can do for you.
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Whether youâre a seasoned marketing executive or a marketing intern looking to get that first serious job, youâll need a winning marketing cover letter (or covering letter). Winning, but not award-winning. Your marketing cover letter has one job to do and itâs not to bring home a Davey Award.
The best and most effective cover letter is the one that lets your skills and achievements shine and gets you that interview. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to writing a cover letter thatâs been written specifically for marketing professionals of all experience levels. Youâll find plenty of examples and advice as well as a template to work from.
Use the LiveCareer cover letter builder and your cover letter will write itself. Choose a professional template, answer a few easy questions and the creator will generate a professional cover letter for you with just one click.
Considering similar positions too? See cover letter examples for different jobs:
Want to explore other options? See our selection of cover letter examples for other jobs.Â
Leah Sinclair
54 Overton Circle
Liverpool
L3 5YN
079 2627 5965
sinclair.ls@mailport.co.uk
16th June 2021
Elizabeth Hale
Marketing Hiring Manager
Blue Door Outfitters
22 Cunnery Rd
Liverpool
L3 3ZB
Dear Ms Hale,
Being a long-time admirer of Blue Doorâs ability to make the retail experiences of old new again, I was delighted to read of the opportunity to join Blue Doorâs team as a marketing manager. In my 4 years as a digital marketing specialist with Red Rust Rentals Iâve found similarly innovative ways to keep engagement metrics rising an average of 40-60% a month whilst actually reducing net costs.
Inspired by the traditional meat raffle, I introduced a dynamic series of low-cost online contests and draws that have boosted social media engagement by 20-30% per month each month since February. I streamlined our reputation management system by delegating over 60% of daily monitoring tasks to more junior colleagues and scheduling their workflow, allowing my team to deal more effectively with the <5% of issues that require in-depth intervention. I created a secondary sales funnel which catches over 80% of people not captured by the primary funnel and steers them towards minor, low-barrier purchase actions that, although barely profitable, have consistently yielded an extra ÂŁ7,000+ a month. The oversight of 3 outsourced printing suppliers is also a big part of my role at Red Rust and over the past year Iâve reduced the need for reprints by 38% through more systematic quality control earlier in the process, saving at least ÂŁ9,500 annually.
Blue Doorâs blending of the trappings of days gone by with cutting-edge tech and dynamic growth models very much appeals to me. My track record of innovation and strong focus on sustainable growth could, I believe, be put to great use at Blue Door.
Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to discussing my candidature with you further.
Yours Sincerely,
Leah Sinclair
What to include in a cover letter? Start your motivation letter with your details first. Align your name, postal address, phone number, and email address to the right. Hit enter twice (leave a line blank) and write the date. The format for the date is always the same: 1st January 2021, 3rd May 2021, 14th July 2021. Leave another line blank (hit enter twice).
Now align the hiring managerâs details to the left. Include their full name, job title, the company name, and the companyâs postal address. Itâs at this point that you may be realising that you donât know to whom to address your cover letter. More on this in the next section.
Leah Sinclair
54 Overton Circle
Liverpool
L3 5YN
079 2627 5965
sinclair.ls@mailport.co.uk
16th June 2021
Elizabeth Hale
Marketing Hiring Manager
Blue Door Outfitters
22 Cunnery Rd
Liverpool
L3 3ZB
You can adjust every cover letter created in the builder to meet the job requirements. Choose the name of your profession and the company to which youâre applying, and the LiveCareer cover letter builder will automatically adapt the content for you. Create a cover letter faster than you ever thought possible and apply for the job in record time.
Begin your cover letter with a personal salutation. Dear + first name (e.g. Dear John) is best. You might feel safer using the more formal Dear + title + surname (e.g. Dear Mr Smith) if applying for a marketing intern or entry-level position. Keep it gender-neutral if in any doubt and always use Ms rather than Miss or Mrs.
What should you do if you donât have the hiring managerâs name? Well, find out, if at all possible. Double check the advert for clues, search online, check LinkedIn. You could even call and ask. Consider the effort you put in an investmentâit will pay off.
If you really canât put a name to the role, then go with âDear Hiring Managerâ or, better yet, âDear XYZ Department/Team Hiring Managerâ. Avoid the old-fashioned and effortless âTo Whom It May Concernâ or âDear Sir/Madamâ approachâthe hiring manager wonât be impressed.
Dear Ms Hale,
Marketers know all about hooking their audience and the importance of attention-grabbing first impressions. How do you do that in a cover letter (or, letter of application)? You have 40-80 words to do three things:
Have experience? Describe one of your achievements in your current marketing job. Show that it lines up with the companyâs goals. Explain how you can apply the skills your accomplishment points to if need be. Be specific and quantify your results and achievements. Use an accomplishment statement.
Writing a marketing internship cover letter or entry-level marketing cover letter? Start with your passion for the job and the company (don't make your cover letter too generic). Save achievements for the next section if you have them. Include a belief statement here in the opening. Use it to show that youâre a match for the companyâs values and mission.Â
Now is also a great time to name-drop if you were referred to the position. Donât be afraid to put your contacts and connections in full view, social proof can be an extremely effective tool.
Being a long-time admirer of Blue Doorâs ability to make the retail experiences of old new again, I was delighted to read of the opportunity to join Blue Doorâs team as a Marketing Manager. In my 4 years as a Digital Marketing Specialist with Red Rust Rentals Iâve found similarly innovative ways to keep engagement metrics rising an average of 40-60% a month whilst actually reducing net costs.
You donât have to create any content yourself. The LiveCareer cover letter generator will automatically suggest the best content for your cover letter with ready-made examples and expert tips.
The main part of your cover letter is a showcase of your achievements and skills. Use them to show that youâre the perfect match for the job. Consider using something like the STAR method to structure your sentences and quantify everything you can, especially results.
Base each achievement around an action you took and the results that flowed from that action. Aim for two or three achievements, about 120-200 words in total (the whole cover letter should not exceed 500 words). Break this section down into two paragraphs if you end up with a large block of text. You could also use bullet points to break things down visually.
Writing a cover letter for a marketing internship with no experience or for an entry-level marketing job? Include relevant achievements from your studies or volunteer work. Donât force it, though. If you donât have anything that works, just skip this section. Your belief statement will become the main part of your cover letter.
Inspired by the traditional meat raffle, I introduced a dynamic series of low-cost online contests and draws that have boosted social media engagement by 20-30% per month each month since February. I streamlined our reputation management system by delegating over 60% of daily monitoring tasks to more junior colleagues and scheduling their workflow, allowing my team to deal more effectively with the <5% of issues that require in-depth intervention. I created a secondary sales funnel which catches over 80% of people not captured by the primary funnel and steers them towards minor, low-barrier purchase actions that, although barely profitable, have consistently yielded an extra ÂŁ7,000+ a month. The oversight of 3 outsourced printing suppliers is also a big part of my role at Red Rust and over the past year Iâve reduced the need for reprints by 38% through more systematic quality control earlier in the process, saving at least ÂŁ9,500 annually.
Briefly summarise your achievements, picking out the main theme or themes. Tie them back into benefits for your new employer. Make it clear that your skills and achievements are exactly what theyâre looking for. Show your interest in the company by referring to some specific information about it.
Thank the hiring manager for their time and end your cover letter with a call to action. Remember that the purpose of your marketing cover letter and CV is to get to that interview.
Keep the ending part of your cover letter very short, about 40-60 words, one or two paragraphs.
Blue Doorâs blending of the trappings of days gone by with cutting-edge tech and dynamic growth models very much appeals to me. My track record of innovation and strong focus on sustainable growth could, I believe, be put to great use at Blue Door.
Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to discussing my candidature with you further.
There are two conventional ways to sign off in a marketing cover letter, you just need to choose the right one:
Yours sincerely,
Leah Sinclair
Your marketerâs eye for detail and appreciation for classy understatement are really going to come in handy here. Your cover letter needs to follow the conventions of a standard UK business letter and it needs to look good and be easy to read. Hereâs a list of tips to make that happen.
How long can a cover letter be? Over half an A4 page but no longer than one A4 page (a two-page cover letter is too much), about 200-350 words in total. It should also be nicely proportioned:
Your marketing CV and cover letter are two parts of one document (though it's obvious that a CV and a cover letter are two different things). They should clearly share a look to reflect this, from colour choices to font selection. Simple templates are recommended as they improve the document's readability.
âCreative professionals should format their CVs to balance creativity with professionalism by avoiding excessive use of photos, colours, or icons. Instead, focus on clarity and conciseness, ensuring the CV conveys information effectively to both technical and non-technical readers. Reserve more creative elements for your portfolio while keeping the CV clean and straightforward to highlight your skills and experienceâ.
This is one situation in which understatement is a real asset. Stick to classic fonts that donât draw attention to themselves, like Arial, Noto, and Garamond. If in doubt, go with the default Liberation or Calibriâtheyâre defaults for a reason. Stay with 11 or 12 point font size, donât drop below 10 points.
Your goal is to make your marketing cover letter a pleasure to read. You have an entire A4 page to work with, fully use it to your advantage. Play with line spacing, paragraph formatting, and page margins to get your cover letter looking just right (the ideal margins should be approximately 1-inch all around). Use bullet points to break up large chunks or text.
Use PDF format for your cover letter unless youâve been specifically asked for something else. Even then, consider including a PDF version as wellâfile types such as *.docx are known for being a little unpredictable. Of course, this does not apply to email cover letters.
A cover letter alone simply wonât be enoughâyou need an impactful CV, too. Create your CV in minutes. Just follow our wizard and fill in every CV section with ready-made content. Get started by choosing a professional CV template.
Was this article and sample helpful? Did it cover everything you needed to know about writing a marketing cover letter? Did you get that dream marketing job you were going for? Let us know in the comments!
Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with LiveCareerâs editorial guidelines. Itâs to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. Weâre trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.
About the author
Since 2013, the LiveCareer UK team has shared the best advice to help you advance your career. Experts from our UK editorial team have written more than one hundred guides on how to write the perfect CV or cover letter.
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