James Mechan is strategy and delivery director at WE-COM, a Newcastle-based ecommerce digital marketing agency.
He has spent 13 years in various SEO roles, from leading teams at leading agencies to running his own successful consultancy. In his role at WE-COM, he’s now overseeing client delivery and the WE-COMMUNITY of freelance marketing specialists.
WE-COM was launched by Tom Etherington, a former board director of Evolved, in January 2025.
From lucky breaks to failures, Mechan shares some of the lessons he’s learnt across his life and career so far…
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
I wouldn’t say this is daily, but some form of exercise, whether it’s going to the gym, walking, or cycling, really keeps my mental balance.
I’ve always enjoyed sports or some form of fitness, but over the last two years, I’ve built my consistency to four or five times a week. This has led to consistency outside of work, allowing me to push myself further within the business without feeling like I’m losing balance.
What’s been your luckiest break?
I’d say getting my first role in SEO after graduation. I graduated just after the banking crisis, and the job market was very depressed at the time. I worked for a university in an administrative role after graduating with a marketing degree, desperate to get into a field relevant to my qualifications.
My best friend stumbled across an entry level role in SEO (which was a new role as a result of the Penguin update at the time) for an agency in Newcastle and, having only really covered a single module on digital marketing, I didn’t really know what to expect.
I’m extremely fortunate that my friend found the role and for the agency taking me on as it has been quite the journey since!
What’s your best failure?
After 13 years in the marketing industry, there are a few moments to choose from, but the one that has benefited me the most has been struggling to do everything and learning to utilise my freelance network more effectively.
During the freelance part of my career, I had to become more effective at utilising others to free up time to work on areas I loved and was best at, like strategy and client delivery. This has now benefited me with a wide network of other great digital marketers that we can work with.
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
It has to be the time investment in learning how organic search impacts and is impacted by other marketing channels, making me a better and broader marketer. I’ve held account manager roles for full-suite clients and, during my freelance work, led projects with multiple freelancers across different channels.
This firsthand knowledge of wider marketing impact has been invaluable for understanding when and how channels can be used to complement SEO and have a greater impact for the client’s business.
Which podcast or book would you recommend others to read/listen to, and why?
There are two here. The first is a recommendation for anyone in a channel specialism who wants to get a broader grasp of marketing strategy and how they fit into it. Seth Godin was great for me when in the building stage of my career, and he has a few great books, most notably for me, Purple Cow and Linchpin.
Secondly, “Blue Ocean Strategy” by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim has been really useful in helping us to define our market positioning and unique value proposition compared to traditional competitors, and I always recommend this to fellow marketers who want to think a little bit differently about their offering.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
As someone who has struggled with imposter syndrome, I’d tell myself that comparison is the thief of joy and I should focus on delivering consistently good work, and look for small incremental improvements rather than headline-grabbing leaps or one-offs.
I think this would have made my 20s a lot calmer!
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
In terms of what has had the biggest influence, spending three years as a self-employed consultant and running my own freelance collective has had a significant impact on my recent working life.
I’ve developed many aspects of my knowledge outside of SEO, which has given me a platform to succeed in my current role. The freelance network and collaboration skills I’ve developed fit perfectly now, so I’m grateful for that period. I now feel it was all leading to something great.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I spent five years living and working in a campervan while visiting 16 countries. I was able to work remotely, both as an employee for agencies and as a freelance consultant, while also enjoying the joy of exploring different countries and cultures.
This certainly taught me a higher level of discipline, having to deliver great work and not get distracted by whatever beach we were parked next to!
If there was one thing you could change about your career, what would it be and why?
I’m super grateful for what I’ve learnt and the challenges I’ve faced, as I firmly believe these experiences have all been part of the process to get to where I am today.
That being said, I do wish I’d documented my freelance and remote work journey more than I did as it would have been a pretty unique take on a way of working for a hotly debated topic, especially in the marketing and agency world, and I often have lots of conversations with other freelancers looking to do the same and could have helped those people even more.
What does success look like to you?
This answer has changed as my career has developed, from absorbing as much knowledge as possible to achieving a better work-life balance to financial gain. But one aspect that has been consistent throughout is the ability to deliver work that actually drives financial impact for clients, and to do that with – and for – people you genuinely enjoy working with.
That’s why we’re all in the marketing agency world, and when we’re able to consistently do this, success in all other areas follows too.
