Content Manager Salary & Hiring Costs by Company Size: Complete Guide

Are you struggling to produce the high-quality content needed to build trust with your buyers? Does your current marketing feel scattered across multiple people with no clear owner?

Here's the reality: Producing great content is a full-time job, and someone has to own it. When you implement content marketing without dedicated ownership, you're setting yourself up for frustration and failure.

In this guide, you'll learn

• When your company is truly ready for a content manager
• What you can expect to invest at different revenue levels
• How to hire in a way that guarantees ROI.

What is a content manager and why does your business need one?

A content manager is a full-time professional responsible for producing three or more pieces of content per week, managing email marketing, overseeing SEO efforts, and serving as the engine that drives your company's transformation into a media powerhouse.

Content marketing specifically requires someone to own the creation process because producing high-quality, trust-building content is a full-time job that cannot succeed without clear ownership and accountability.

The best content isn't generic and isn't produced by AI. It comes from real people within your organisation who understand your buyers' specific questions and challenges.

A great content manager has the heart of a teacher, with a love of learning, writing, and communicating in all forms. They see the value of every person on your team and put them at ease, empowering them to tell their stories to your audience.

Without clear ownership of content creation, content production stalls and leaves your buyers without the resources they need to make informed decisions.

Content manager salary and hiring costs (by business size)

The cost of hiring a content manager varies significantly based on your company's revenue, with businesses earning £1-5 million ($1.3-6.3 million) typically investing in one full-time hybrid role, while companies over £5 million ($6.3 million) usually require a team of 3-5 content specialists.

Here's how content manager costs typically break down (based on UK/US market data from PayScale and industry salary reports):

Note: Estimated UK/US salary ranges by company revenue; validate for location, role scope, and seniority. USD converted using spot rate valid September 2025.. Sources: PayScale + industry reports.

For companies under £1 million ($1.3 million) in revenue, the responsibility often falls on a key leader or business owner rather than a dedicated hire, making it more about time investment than salary costs.

The hybrid role for mid-sized companies often combines content writing, editing, and video production support, leveraging AI tools to amplify their impact.

For larger businesses with multiple divisions or locations, you may need a content team for each division to properly address the hundreds of buyer questions your prospects research before making purchasing decisions.

5 problems with running content marketing without a dedicated content manager

Without clear ownership of content creation, content production stalls and leaves your buyers without the resources they need to make informed decisions, ultimately breaking the trust-building engine that drives your entire marketing system.

The most common problems include:

1. Inconsistent publishing schedules that confuse your audience and harm search rankings

2. Lack of strategic content planning that fails to address buyer questions systematically

3. Inability to produce the volume needed to address hundreds of buyer concerns

4. Poor content quality from people who lack the heart of a teacher

5. Missed sales opportunities when prospects can't find answers to their concerns

When content responsibility is spread across multiple people as a secondary task, it becomes nobody's priority. Your sales team will find themselves repeatedly answering the same questions that could have been addressed through proactive content creation.

The greatest way to resolve a buyer concern is to address it before it becomes a concern. Without a content manager driving this process, you lose that opportunity.

In-house content manager vs. outsourcing: which approach works better?

Bringing content creation in-house is the single most impactful decision a company can make for content marketing success, as outsourced content lacks the expertise, passion, and authenticity that only your internal team can provide.

Here's why in-house content managers outperform outsourced solutions:

In-house advantages:

• Deep company knowledge and authentic expertise
• Direct access to internal subject matter experts
• Ability to create bold, disruptive content quickly
• Alignment with company culture and values
• Immediate availability for urgent content needs

Outsourcing limitations:

• Lacks real-world experience with your products/services
• Cannot replicate the trust that comes from internal expertise
• Struggles to take risks or move quickly
• Limited access to your team's insights and stories

Outsourcing can still be useful for surge capacity, specialised formats, or audits—your in-house content manager should own the strategy and core publishing cadence.

While outsourcing may seem like an easy solution, it almost always misses the mark because external teams cannot replicate the real-world experience and insights that buyers want from the people behind your brand.

In-house content production also gives you the agility to create bold, disruptive ideas that resonate deeply with your audience. Your internal team can quickly get the right type of content published and into the hands of your sales team for immediate use with prospects.

[Insert comparison chart: In-house vs. Outsourced content performance metrics]

Content manager vs. marketing generalist: what's the difference?

A content manager differs from a marketing generalist by having specialised skills in educational content creation, with the heart of a teacher and deep expertise in storytelling, SEO, email marketing, and leveraging AI tools for content production.

Key differences include:

How to test for this in interviews: Conduct a 10-minute mock SME interview where candidates must extract actionable insights, or ask them to create a content outline on the spot from a customer pain point.

Unlike general marketers who spread their focus across multiple disciplines, content managers specifically excel at interviewing internal subject matter experts and translating complex knowledge into trust-building content that addresses buyer questions.

The content manager role requires someone who can think like an educator, intuitively understanding what your audience needs to know and how they want to consume it. They must have the ability to tell great stories using words, images, or audio.

A marketing generalist might understand content marketing principles, but they lack the dedicated focus needed to consistently produce the volume and quality of content required for content marketing success.

Freelance content creators vs. full-time content manager: pros and cons

Freelance content creators may offer lower upfront costs and specialised skills, but they lack the deep company knowledge and consistent availability required to produce the authentic, high-volume content that drives marketing success.

Freelance pros:

• Lower upfront investment
• Access to specialised skills
• No long-term employment commitment
• Can supplement internal efforts

Freelance cons:

• Limited company knowledge
• Inconsistent availability
• Cannot interview internal SMEs effectively
• Lacks authentic voice of your brand
• No ownership of long-term strategy

A full-time content manager provides the agility to create bold, disruptive ideas and can work closely with internal SMEs to quickly publish content that your sales team can immediately use with prospects.

The most successful content marketing implementations require someone who can build relationships with your internal experts, understand your buyers' specific concerns, and consistently deliver content that builds trust.

A hybrid approach can work: full-time content manager with a vetted freelance bench for surge capacity or specialised formats, but your core strategy and publishing cadence should remain in-house.

Freelancers simply cannot provide the level of integration and authentic expertise needed to make this system work at scale.

Can AI tools replace the need for a human content manager?

AI tools can significantly reduce workload and accelerate content production, but they cannot replace a human content manager because the best content comes from real people within your organisation who understand your buyers' specific questions and challenges.

While AI can assist with content production, it cannot:

• Interview your internal subject matter experts
• Understand the nuanced concerns of your specific buyers
• Create authentic stories based on real experiences
• Build relationships with your sales team
• Think strategically about content that addresses objections

While content managers should leverage AI tools to speed up production processes, the strategic thinking, interviewing skills, and authentic storytelling required for trust-building content can only come from human expertise and experience.

The most effective content managers use AI for:

• First-pass outlines from sales call transcripts
• Content gap analysis against search results
• Repurposing long-form content into email and social formats

The most effective content managers use AI as a tool to accelerate their work—helping with research, drafting, and optimisation—while maintaining the human insight and expertise that buyers actually trust.

Remember: buyers aren't seeking AI-generated answers. They want to hear from real people who understand their problems and can guide them to solutions.

Essential skills and requirements for an effective content manager

An effective content manager must possess impeccable writing and editorial skills, the ability to think like an educator, outstanding people skills for interviewing SMEs, and experience using AI tools to accelerate content creation.

Core responsibilities:

• Publication of three or more new pieces of content per week
• Interview internal SMEs for content insights
• Manage company email marketing efforts and automated workflows
• Own all analytics and reporting for content marketing
• Oversee search engine optimisation efforts
• Manage social media for community engagement
• Produce premium content including ebooks and webinars

Essential requirements and assessment methods:

Beyond writing ability, successful content managers need project management skills to handle editorial schedules, familiarity with SEO principles, and the passion to embrace new technology tools while maintaining authenticity in their content.

The best content managers combine technical skills with the soft skills needed to extract knowledge from your internal experts and transform it into content that builds trust with your buyers.

How to determine if your company is ready to hire a content manager

Companies with revenues between £1-5 million ($1.3-6.3 million) are typically ready to hire at least one full-time role dedicated to content marketing, often starting with a hybrid content manager who handles both writing and video production.

Signs your business is ready:

• Leadership commitment to becoming the most known and trusted brand in your market
• Willingness to consistently produce high-quality, transparent content
• Understanding that content marketing is a long-term investment
• Access to internal subject matter experts
• Basic website and email marketing infrastructure in place

Exception: Sub-£1M companies with high-value, long sales cycle products (enterprise software, professional services) may benefit from earlier content manager investment due to extended buyer research periods.

Your business is ready for a content manager when you're committed to becoming the most known and trusted brand in your market and have leadership buy-in for consistently producing high-quality, transparent content that challenges industry norms.

If you're not ready to invest in someone who can produce 3+ pieces of content weekly and challenge industry conventions, you're not ready for a content manager.

Content marketing requires companies willing to address buyer concerns head-on, including problems with their own products or industry practices others won't discuss.

The ROI of hiring a content manager: real-world success stories

Companies that invest in dedicated content management see transformative results, such as Sheffield Metals generating over £16 million ($20 million) in sales and 60 qualified leads per week through their in-house video content strategy.

Sheffield Metals case study (2018-2022, source: They Ask, You Answer case studies):

• Hired Thad Barnette to lead video content strategy
• Created over 500 videos on their "Metal Roofing Channel"
• Generated millions of views and 60+ qualified leads weekly
• Drove over £16 million ($20 million) in sales within four years
• Established themselves as the trusted authority in metal roofing

Other benefits include:

• Reduced sales cycle length as prospects arrive more educated
• Higher close rates due to pre-built trust
• Lower customer acquisition costs
• Improved sales team productivity
• Enhanced brand reputation and market positioning

Best practices for hiring and onboarding your first content manager

The best content managers combine the heart of a teacher with strong communication skills, looking for candidates who demonstrate genuine curiosity about your industry and show evidence of educational content creation in their portfolio.

Hiring best practices:

• Look for teaching or educational background
• Prioritise curiosity and learning ability over industry experience
• Evaluate their ability to interview and extract insights
• Assess their portfolio for educational, not promotional content
• Test their project management and organisational skills

Onboarding essentials:

• Shadow sales calls to understand buyer concerns
• Interview all customer-facing team members
• Review competitor content and industry publications
• Establish relationships with internal subject matter experts
• Set up content calendar and production workflows

Successful onboarding involves immersing your new content manager in customer conversations, having them shadow sales calls, and connecting them with internal subject matter experts who can share the real-world insights that make content authentic and valuable.

The most successful content managers start by understanding your buyers' questions before they start creating content. Give them time to learn your industry, meet your customers, and build relationships with your internal experts.

For companies ready to take the next step, understanding the complete content marketing framework ensures your new hire can succeed from day one. [Building a content strategy that drives sales conversations]

For additional guidance on building your content team, explore proven strategies for developing internal marketing capabilities that drive sustainable growth.

Getting started with a Content Manager

You now understand when your business needs a content manager, what you can expect to invest at different revenue levels, and how to hire in a way that guarantees ROI.

Without dedicated content ownership, content production stalls, buyers lose trust, and sales teams find themselves repeatedly answering the same questions that could have been addressed proactively.

If your revenue is between £1-5 million ($1.3-6.3 million), investing in a dedicated content manager is one of the most impactful decisions you can make for sustainable growth. For smaller businesses, the responsibility often falls to leadership, while larger companies need teams of specialists.

Ready to build the marketing capabilities that drive endless customers? My In-House Marketing Mastery programme helps companies develop the skills and systems needed to succeed with content marketing, including guidance on hiring and managing content teams. 

For companies needing immediate alignment around content strategy, my Company Alignment Workshop unites sales, marketing, and leadership teams around a shared vision for trust-building content.

Book a conversation about aligning your team.