Marketing & Audience Development Manager

About The Business News

The Business News is a business-focused newspaper covering more than 40 counties of Wisconsin with two print newspapers, special publications, and digital media. We believe in creating an ecosystem that helps local businesses do business better by putting the right tools and information at their fingertips when they need them most. Alongside the papers, we publish the annual Books of Lists and The New Business Review, a strategic publication centered on thought leadership and regional insight.

We're a small, locally owned team that believes in amplifying the incredible things our business community does and sharing its stories to a wider audience.

Position Overview

We're looking for a Marketing & Audience Development Manager to grow our readership and tell the story of The Business News across Wisconsin. You'll own our newsletters and our social presence, shape how we show up in the community, and help us reach readers we haven't reached yet.

This role brings together creative work and practical logistics — the ideas, and the follow-through that makes them real. You'll work alongside our editorial and operations teams, and your work will show up in our publications and in the partnerships we build. We're a publication in motion, too: we expect to keep expanding into new formats, so this job suits someone curious, who likes figuring out what we haven't tried yet.

Key Responsibilities

• Marketing Strategy & Brand

• Develop and execute marketing strategies promoting The Business News, its publications, and its events.
• Represent The Business News publicly across Wisconsin's business communities — authentically and in alignment with our principles and values.
• Lead creation and curation of marketing materials, ensuring consistent branding and messaging across every platform.
• Collaborate with designers, photographers, and other creatives to produce compelling work.
• Support the marketing rollout for major annual products, including the Books of Lists and The New Business Review.
• Partner with the sales team on advertiser-facing campaigns, sponsorship materials, and co-marketing opportunities.

Audience Development & Content

• Grow the newspaper's presence across social platforms — Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram — with content built for a business audience.
• Create engaging content: graphics, short-form video, posts, and campaigns.
• Own promotional email and audience newsletters, working to drive subscriber engagement and promote new content.
• Monitor and analyze campaign and social metrics; make data-driven improvements and report results to the head of sales and publisher.
• Maintain subscriber and audience data, using it to shape growth and retention efforts.
• Build and maintain spreadsheets and reports that keep marketing, subscriber, and circulation data accurate and usable.

Community Engagement & Events

• Build and maintain relationships with community leaders, business organizations, and other stakeholders to strengthen our presence and influence.
• Coordinate promotion and advertising for events, publications, and special projects.
• Provide creative and logistical support for community outreach and company events.

Qualifications

Required

• Proven experience in marketing, social media management, and brand management.
• Strong writing and editing skills, with an eye for design and branding consistency.
• Familiarity with design tools such as Canva or Adobe Creative Suite.
• Analytical skills and experience with Google Analytics, social dashboards, or comparable tools.
• Solid Excel skills — comfortable building, maintaining, and cleaning up working spreadsheets.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a deadline-driven environment.
• Self-directed — able to see what needs doing and do it without waiting for instructions.
• Genuine enthusiasm for community engagement and relationship-building in the business sector.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, public relations, or a related field — or equivalent experience.
• Experience in publishing, media, or another deadline-driven business.
• Experience collaborating with creative teams.
• Comfort, or willingness to develop comfort, with on-camera and on-mic work.
• Email marketing platform and CRM experience.
• Familiarity with Wisconsin's business community.

Why Join Us?

• Join a small leadership-adjacent team at a trusted regional publication with deep roots in the business community.
• Real ownership: you'll set the strategy and see it in the product, not hand it off.
• A visible role in the business community across 40 Wisconsin counties.
• A collaborative, mission-driven environment covering the people and companies shaping Wisconsin's economy.