How to Ask for a Raise: Scripts and Pay Data for Marketers

Ask during review season, and only when your manager has given you positive feedback. Do not ask during cuts or layoffs.

University of New Hampshire career advisors say review season is generally a good time to ask for a raise, provided the feedback is positive. The same guidance lists two other signs that the time is right: more than a year since your last raise, or added responsibilities for at least six months.

Time the ask after a campaign closes and its results are final. Avoid a launch week, when the numbers are still moving.

USC Online, quoting Shreve Blake, says to learn the company's budget cycle before you ask. The budget cycle shows whether the pool is still open.

Plan your ask around a company budget near 3.5%. Treat any larger request as a case you must prove with market pay or a promotion.

Use the Conference Board median for a typical budget, and Mercer's total for the whole pool. Do not mix the surveys in one sentence, because each uses its own sample and method.

Timing matters for the budget as well. Mercer reports that 87% of 2027 budgets were still preliminary in July and August 2026. The survey does not link this to raises. A pool that is not yet approved can still take a request, so ask before the budget is final.

Ask how your team's budget sits inside the company pool. Find out whether the paid media, content or headcount lines are moving this cycle.

Build the case from three parts: results you can show, market pay for your title, and the scope you have added. Bring all three to the meeting on one page.

Bring hard evidence to the meeting, such as KPIs, growth metrics and coworker feedback.

These are practical choices for your own case, not industry benchmarks. Pick the rows that match your work.

Show a change, not a total. Write each result as one sentence: [metric] moved from [before] to [after] between [start date] and [end date] after [your change].

Market pay sets the reference point. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) reports a May 2025 median of $166,790 for marketing managers, with the 25th percentile at $123,020 and the 75th at $216,410. Advertising and promotions managers have a median of $133,660 in the same data. Market research analysts and marketing specialists have a median of $78,760.

Location moves the figure. The BLS OEWS data puts the May 2025 median for marketing managers at $231,370 in San Jose and at $163,500 in Atlanta.

Self-reported pay sites often show lower figures than BLS for the same title, so ask which source and which level a quoted figure uses.

Robert Half's career guide says that pay trending below the market gives you objective leverage. Test that belief before you ask. Compare your pay with the BLS percentile for your title and city first.

As simple arithmetic, 3.5% of the $166,790 median is about $5,838. A request far above a raise of that size needs a market or scope case behind it.

Scope is the last part of the case. List each channel, budget, team or launch you now own that you did not own at your last review. Scope that grew supports a title or pay change, not only a merit raise.

Ask in a meeting, then send a short written recap the same day. Open with how pay is decided, then make one specific request.

Sources split on format. USC Online advises a formal in-person meeting, not an email. UNH advises bringing a written request that states why you deserve the raise, the amount you seek, and comparable salary data. Do both. Meet first, then send the written request as your recap.

Request the meeting in one line. Built In offers this wording.

Hi [Manager name],

Would you be available to schedule a meeting to discuss my current compensation? I would like to review my results from [channel or campaign, such as paid search or lifecycle email] and how my scope has grown since [month].

I am free [days and times] this week or next.

Best,
[Your name]

In the meeting, open with the process question. Ask how pay is decided for your role and when the next review happens. Then make the request.

[Manager name], thank you for making time today. Before I ask for anything, could you explain how pay is decided for my role, and when the next review happens?

The results I want to discuss are [result, such as a lower cost per lead from paid social], and the new scope is [new scope, such as a paid media budget I have managed since my last review].

Based on those results and my pay compared with the current market, I am requesting [percentage or dollar amount].

Built In suggests tying the request to market benchmarks. Robert Half advises you to avoid hedging language, so state the request plainly.

Name the channel, the metric and the period in both the spoken ask and the recap. A vague claim such as "I drove growth" gives the manager nothing to test.

Hi [Manager name],

Thank you for meeting with me today. As we discussed, I am requesting [percentage or dollar amount], based on [result, such as the change in qualified leads from paid social] and [new scope, such as a channel budget I took on this year].

You said the decision would be made by [date]. I will follow up on that date if I have not heard back.

Best,
[Your name]

Bring the written request to the meeting or send it after. UNH advises naming a definite dollar amount or percentage, and asking slightly more than you want.

Treat a no as not right now. Leave the meeting with the reason, the milestones and a date to revisit.

Built In advises that you assume a no means not right now, and that you ask which steps or goals would earn a raise. Its sample line proposes revisiting the topic three to six months after you hit the agreed targets.

UNH advises asking the manager to explain the reasons, such as performance or company finances, and asking what you can do to be considered later.

USC Online says a denial is not an indication of your worth, and advises asking whether and when you can revisit.

SHRM reports on a 2026 talk by Carrie Cavanaugh. When there is no money for raises, she says, employers should say so and explain how pay is decided. Ask that question directly: how is pay decided for my role?

A no on merit does not rule out a promotion or a market adjustment. The Conference Board describes separate pools for promotions, retention and market gaps.

Ask for a non-base option in the same meeting. Robert Half suggests a one-time performance bonus, or funding for professional development such as a certification.

Name the course and the channel it supports, such as paid search or analytics. A specific request is easier to answer than a general request for training.

Hi [Manager name],

Thank you for being direct about the budget this cycle. I understand that a merit increase is not possible now.

Could you explain how pay is decided for my role, and what would need to change for it to be reviewed? I would like to agree on [milestone, such as launching the paid social test and reaching the target cost per acquisition] and revisit the topic on [date].

Would it be reasonable to revisit this discussion in [time frame] after I hit the targets we discussed? In the meantime, could we look at [non-base option, such as a one-time bonus or funding for an analytics certification]?

Best,
[Your name]

Decide before the conversation whether you would take the outside offer. Ask for a counter only if you would.

This section covers the retention counteroffer, where your current employer matches or beats an outside offer you hold. The Rival HR glossary defines it as an employee presenting a competing offer, with the employer countering with a higher salary, a retention bonus or an expanded role.

Leverage is highest before you accept anything. CNBC quotes career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine: you have the most leverage with a firm offer in hand. If you already told the new employer yes, turn down your current employer.

Harvard Program on Negotiation advises showing excitement, then asking for a day or two to think. Saying yes right away costs you leverage. Its article covers new job offers, and the same logic applies to an outside offer.

Tell the story behind each number. Deepak Malhotra, quoted by Harvard PON, says to always tell the story that goes with a proposal.

The best published figures are from the UK. Robert Half's UK survey of 2,000 employees, fielded in December 2021, found that 53% of those who received a counteroffer after an outside offer accepted it. Of those who accepted a counteroffer from their employer, 34% had left within six months and 74% had left within a year.

Plan the counter in three steps. Name the outside role's scope and pay in neutral terms, ask for the change in writing, and set a date to decide. Do not bluff about an offer you do not hold. For offer scripts, read the salary negotiation page.

Hi [Manager name],

I want to be direct. I have received an offer from [Company] for [role or scope] at [amount or range]. I like the work here, and I would like to stay if we can match the scope and the pay.

Based on [result, such as the paid social channel that lowered cost per acquisition] and the [new scope, such as the budget and team I now lead], I would like to request [percentage or dollar amount]. Can we meet on [date] to talk it through before I decide?

Best,
[Your name]

Check for compression before you ask for a market adjustment. Compare your pay with new hires in your job family, not only with the budget.

SHRM defines pay compression as employers offering higher wages to new hires than they pay tenured workers in the same positions. WTW's Catherine Hartmann advises looking at the whole family of jobs, not one role.

WTW reports, through HR Dive, that 36% of employers hire at higher salary ranges, and 34% raise retention bonuses or spot awards. Higher starting ranges are the condition that can produce compression.

A 2022 Robert Half survey, reported by CBT News, found that 56% of executives had seen pay discrepancies between new hires and existing staff in the prior 12 months. Treat it as background, because it dates from 2022.

Job hopping shows up in the wage data. Compare the two series below, and name the source and the measure each time you use one.

The two series measure different things, so the sizes do not match. Both show movers gaining faster than stayers. A market gap for movers is not the same as compression, which concerns the pay of people already on your team.

Several states require posted pay ranges, including Virginia from July 1, 2026. Where a range is posted for your job family, cite it as your employer's own benchmark. For the state list, read the negotiation tactics page.

[Manager name], I would like to understand how my pay compares with the pay for new hires in [job family, such as paid media or content marketing]. Could we review where my role sits in that range, and what the team would need to see to adjust it?

Next step: read the marketing jobs and salaries by title page to compare your title with the BLS pay range and the career path above it.