Marketing Coordinator Cover Letter Example

Marketing coordinators fulfill a crucial role in the promotion and sale of any product or service — working across teams to support an overall effort to generate sales. And for marketing coordinators in search of a top-level job (or simply a decent one), take a wild guess how many don’t need a good cover letter. You guessed it: None!

This guide will discuss: 

• Marketing coordinator job description, salary and outlook
• Why a cover letter is crucial for a marketing coordinator
• How to structure a marketing coordinator cover letter
• Tips to writing a persuasive cover letter
• Common mistakes to avoid.

What does a marketing coordinator do?

Many big companies have more than one department dedicated to sales, marketing and public relations, and multiple cubicles within each office, all full of hard-working people. And a good marketing coordinator probably knows every one of them.

Marketing coordinators do not sit in their own cubicle all day, avoiding human contact, hoping to be left alone. Their job is, well, coordinating, and that requires outreach and communication across departments and teams. Marketing coordinators are like the oil that keeps an engine running smoothly, all of its separate parts working together smoothly.

Marketing coordinators are not usually managers, but without them, the manager’s job would be very difficult. It’s a crucial support role. Marketing coordinators’ duties might include any or all of the following: 

• Conducting market research
• Identifying promising marketing strategies
• Brainstorming new marketing tactics
• Communicating research results to team members
• Maintaining client/customer databases
• Contacting vendors
• Preparing marketing materials
• Organizing trade show displays
• Creating unified strategies that make a company better than the sum of its parts.

Marketing coordinator salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor.com, a leading source of salary info for various occupations, marketing coordinators in the United States earn an average base pay of $45,827 a year. A similar site, Payscale.com, puts the number at $44,906. 

A third source, Salary.com, says the median pay for marketing coordinators in the U.S. is $56,698, with a range generally falling between $49,975 and $65,252.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a government agency that publishes exhaustive research on most occupations, does not track marketing coordinators separately, including them instead among “advertising, promotions, and marketing managers” (who earned a median pay of $135,900 in 2019). To be clear, marketing coordinators do not generally serve in a managerial role, but in a support role under marketing managers. 

However, BLS stats are useful for determining the job outlook in any field, and the BLS projects job growth of 6% from 2019 through 2029 for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers. This compares to a projected job growth of 4% for all occupations. It’s reasonable to expect that a similar job outlook could be projected for marketing coordinators.

Why a marketing coordinator needs a cover letter

For a marketing coordinator, or just about any other occupation, a cover letter is an essential companion to a resume. A resume without a cover letter is like a car without gas — it looks good, but it won’t get you far. 

Surveys of hiring managers have found that the failure to include a cover letter with a resume is one of the leading reasons job applications are rejected. You don’t want to take this chance.

It’s a fact that cover letters and resumes usually address some of the same topics, including work history and education. But while a resume is an impersonal document that isn’t addressed to anyone, a cover letter is a way of establishing a personal relationship with a hiring manager. 

It’s the equivalent of knocking on a recruiter’s door, introducing yourself, shaking hands and making a personal pitch for your candidacy. It’s more personal, more memorable and more likely to receive a positive response.

A cover letter also gives you a unique showcase for your personality, passion, likeability and perhaps your sense of humor. The only good reason to send a resume without a cover letter is if an employer asks you to send a resume only — which occasionally happens, but not very often. Unless you’re specifically asked not to, always include a cover letter with a resume.

Marketing coordinator cover letter structure and format

Make your marketing coordinator cover letter one page only, a maximum of 400 words, and uses a consistent and logical structure. Your cover letter should contain the following elements, in this order: 

• Cover letter header
• Cover letter greeting
• Introduction
• Letter body
• Cover letter conclusion and call to action
• Sign-off.

Now let’s talk about how to write each of these.

Cover letter header

The cover letter header is the easiest part to write and the most challenging to design. Start with your name, occupation, mailing address, phone number and email. You may also choose to add your LinkedIn page or a personal website, if you have one that’s focused on your professional achievements.

In addition to providing your contact info, the cover letter header serves an important design function, which is making your letter look better at a glance. The header typically uses distinctive typography, sometimes a color element and an appropriate use of white space. It makes your letter look both more professional and more pleasing to the eye.

What does a good cover letter header look like? Go to resume.io’s free cover letter templates and you can see many examples. If you see one you like, simply click on it to start the process of replacing the existing text with your own. As you type your contact info into each field on the left, you’ll see it populate the template on the right. 

In a couple of minutes that cover letter header will be ready to use in a cover letter that you’ll send to employers. It’s a lot easier than designing your own header.

Cover letter greeting

Always strive to address your cover letter greeting to a specific person: “Dear Mr. Garcia,” “Dear Ms. Robinson,” etc. Use last names unless you happen to know the person you’re writing to, in which case a first name may be fine.

You can never go wrong using the word “Dear,” which is the traditional and time-honored salutation used in a business letter. Some cover letter writers use variations like “Greetings Mr. Garcia,” which may also be acceptable, you should consider how formal or informal the communication style of your employer (profession/industry) is before making a decision. 

The reasons for using the actual hiring manager’s name are numerous. People like to see their own names in writing, so there’s a psychological advantage in addressing a recruiter by name. Also, it shows professionalism, attention to detail and a focus on the company you’re targeting if you’ve gone to the trouble of finding out who processes job applications at this company.

Job listings often do not mention the name of the hiring manager, so sometimes it takes a little legwork to find out. If you can’t find this information online, it’s not a bad idea to make a phone call to the company to inquire.

If you’re told to just address your letter to the Marketing Department, the Human Relations Department or the like, then you don’t have much choice. Some hiring managers may not want their names used, so don’t go to stalker-ish lengths to try to identify that person.

But if you do find out the name of the appropriate person to write to, don’t even THINK of misspelling the name. Also, if it’s unclear from the first name where it’s a Mr. or a Ms. (like an American woman named Jean vs. a Frenchman named Jean), you’d better find out.

Cover letter introduction

The first paragraph that serves as your cover letter introduction is in many ways the most important. If you don’t hook the fish in the first place, you won’t have to worry about reeling it into the boat, because that fish got away.

Your introduction should clarify the type of job you’re looking for, while also providing a compelling preview of why you would be an excellent candidate. Use strong, compelling language — never lazy, clichéd or “fluffy” — to get recruiters’ attention from the beginning.

If you have a lot of experience as a marketing coordinator, that’s an excellent opener: “Having served as a marketing coordinator for eight years, supporting all aspects of the marketing efforts at two large companies in New York, I …”

Other examples of good introductions can be found at resume.io’s examples for a marketing manager or an event coordinator . Here’s an example of a marketing coordinator cover letter intro:

Cover letter body

If the recruiter is still reading after your introduction, consider that a win. Now, in the two or three paragraphs that make up the body of your cover letter, you need to deliver the meat and potatoes.

Again, in all occupations experience is key, so if you have impressive experience in this field, lead with that. Don’t just mention the companies you’ve worked for, but stress your specific achievements, accomplishments and milestones on the job. 

Be specific, using facts and figures wherever possible — dollar figures, percent growth, number of clients, etc. Try to include at least one anecdote, a short little story, illustrating a difficult challenge you once faced, the action you took to address it, and the satisfactory outcome you achieved.

If you have a college degree in a relevant field, you can also mention that in the cover letter body, in addition to any certifications you may hold. 

Also, it’s always a good idea to mention the name of the company you’re writing to, and to talk about how you could help that company with its needs. The more you know about this company the better, but even if your intel is thin, simply mentioning the company’s name shows that you’re not just mailing out a mass-produced cover letter to 100 different employers.

Which brings us to an important point: You can’t just send the exact same cover letter to all potential employers. Sure, there may be some boilerplate language in all your cover letters that doesn’t need to be changed, but the more you tailor each letter to each employer, the better your chances of landing an interview.

Here’s an example of well-written cover letter body for a marketing coordinator:

Cover letter conclusion

By the time you reach the cover letter conclusion (the last paragraph of your cover letter), you should have already presented your most compelling arguments for why you would be a good hire. Now it’s time for a wrap-up that includes some kind of call to action, suggesting to your correspondent that s/he should do something as a result of your letter, and not just lay it aside and forget about it.

The most basic call to action would be a statement saying that you look forward to a reply. You might also suggest that you would be delighted to be invited for an interview, in person or remotely, or just to follow up with an informal phone call. 

If you want to create an even greater sense of urgency, you might inquire whether you could call the hiring manager in a week to follow up. You want to avoid being too pushy, but at the same time, if hiring managers know that you plan on actually calling them, they’ll see you’re really serious about this job. And that just might prompt them to send you a response proposing an appropriate way to follow up.

Here’s an example of a winning conclusion to a marketing coordinator cover letter:

Cover letter sign-off (signature)

There’s no need to overthink the sign-off phrase of your cover letter: 

Sincerely, 

John Q. Applicant

That’s it! Like the opening salutation “Dear,” the closing salutation “Sincerely” is always considered appropriate. You can choose other words if you like — “Best regards,” for example — but avoid using a close that sounds odd or unprofessional.

This sign-off is sometimes called a signature, although to be clear, an actual signature in your own hand is not necessary in electronic correspondence. If you’re actually planning on sending your cover letter and resume by snail mail, or to deliver a hard copy in person, that’s different — you do have to sign it, with an actual pen. 

If you like, you can use a scanned version of your actual signature in a cover letter delivered electronically, although this is not considered necessary.

How to write a persuasive cover letter

Were you ever targeted for a sales pitch for a product that you would never buy in a million years? (Yeah, me too — like targeted Facebook ads showing women’s pajamas with detachable “bottom flaps” for going to the bathroom without getting cold. In the first place, I’m not a woman, and in the second place — oh, never mind.)

Perhaps the main error in any marketing campaign is a total lack of awareness of what the target customer really wants. And this is a primary consideration in writing a marketing coordinator cover letter.

Pop quiz: Are hiring managers more focused on your wants and needs, or on theirs? Ding, you’re right! Hiring managers are not looking for marketing coordinators who need or deserve a job. They’re looking for marketing coordinators who will make their companies better, stronger, more efficient and more profitable. They’re looking for marketing coordinators who will earn the company more money than they cost. 

So in writing a marketing coordinator cover letter, you need to think like an expert in, yes, marketing. You need to focus on the customer’s needs, not yours, or you will never sell anything.

If you have a dog, does your dog get most excited when you’re enjoying a thrilling book in bed, or when you’re offering the dog a tasty treat? We all have our own self-interest, and no interest is greater.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager you’re writing to. Is your cover letter focused on “me, me, me,” or on the interests of the company? Yes, you have to blow your own horn and promote yourself, but you also have to make a persuasive pitch that addresses the customer’s concerns more than yours.

The tone of your cover letter is very important — if you think you’re God’s gift to marketing coordinators, and you expect and demand a job, that will always be a turnoff. Like the schnauzer at the foot of your bed hoping for a dog biscuit, hiring managers actually care about their own needs more than yours.

So you need to be very conscientious about the voice, tone and message of your cover letter. One way of saying this is: Don’t write the cover letter that YOU want to write. Write the cover letter the hiring manager would like to receive.

Common mistakes to avoid

“Mistakes? I’ve made a few,” said Frank Sinatra. Here are some you can’t afford to make in a marketing coordinator cover letter:

• Typos and other errors: How many typos, misspellings or grammatical errors are acceptable in a one-page letter for a marketing coordinator cover letter? Exactly zero. If you’re not an expert in writing flawless prose, find an editor to review and revise your letter.
• Clichés and “fluff”: Clichés are phrases that hiring managers have read a thousand before, and “fluff” is fancy language that basically says nothing. In your cover letter, strive for fresh, original language that nobody has ever read before.
• One letter for all: Mass-produced cover letters that are not customized to individual employers are a loud signal to employers that you’re just looking for any job that’s out there, and you’re not really interested in this job.
• Irrelevant info: If you’re interested in baking, gardening and badminton, nobody really cares. Use the short space you have to highlight interests and skills that are relevant to the job you’re seeking.

Key takeaways

1. Marketing coordinators are sales professionals who play a crucial role in synchronizing the efforts of the sales, marketing and PR departments at any company with something to sell.
2. Cover letters are an essential part of a job application for a marketing coordinator because they provide a unique opportunity to showcase your personality, passion and enthusiasm for doing your job.
3. Follow the correct structure for writing a cover letter to make sure you’ve included everything you should, and nothing you shouldn’t.
4. Unlike a badly targeted marketing campaign, a marketing coordinator cover letter should speak directly to the needs of the target — your future employer.
5. At resume.io, we provide extensive guidance on how to write a cover letter, in addition to cover letter examples and templates and occupation-specific advice on any part of the job-application process.

Here are a few links to related cover letter examples and guides in the field of marketing:

• Digital marketing
• Social media manager
• Event manager

Now get out there and find the job that’s right for you!