How to Start a Career in Digital Marketing?
Now that COVID-19 is almost over, people are looking for alternate and considerate career options. Every now and then I am asked on how to start a career in digital marketing, SEO or content writing. It’s time you knew what I know of. Let's start with Digital Marketing.
For me, the definition of digital marketing (sometimes used as a synonym of internet or online marketing) is very vague.
Digital marketing includes everything that involves promotion and sales of physical or digital goods and services.
For some people doing digital marketing can be the same as sharing a tweet while for others it can go through the process of planning, content writing, copywriting to SEO, advertising etc.
But ultimately the key goals for a digital marketer are:
- Building names for his company and clients.
- Growth in revenue
- Building reputation
- Generating a greater audience.
Whatever the goal or path, the ultimate motive of a digital marketer is to earn for herself and her company. Here is a step by step guide on how to start a career in digital marketing.
Build a profile
As a budding digital marketer, you should first focus on building your own name on the web. To do this, create your own portfolio website, register on key social networks and engage with a community that favors your career in digital marketing.
Your website should be fully functional and must look highly authentic. Always remember that the first impression is what it takes for anyone to weigh down your talents. You can use these website hosting solutions to build and grow your portfolio.
Write some catchy content or hire a copywriter to write for you and fill your portfolio website with actionable content.
At least create an about page, a resume page, a portfolio, and a services page. Additionally, you can write a terms of service and pricing page to better show your pricing and policies.
About Page
On your About page, you must start with your photo and a CTA followed by some personal info. Since you are a digital marketer and not a digital marketing agency, use ‘I ‘and ‘me’ instead of ‘we’ and ‘us’.
This is one of the mistakes beginners make and as a client I hate to see them doing an agency presentation of their work. Nonetheless, make sure your about page is complete. Mention where you are, what you do, how you do what you do and much more.
Brands love transparency, so the more humane you are — much more are the chances of being hired. Link to your resume page from both your homepage and about page.
Resume Page
Your resume page must be simple but elegantly presented. Showcase your powers here. Tell people what you are great at. If possible, give people a PDF version of your resume to download.
See: 10 Great Websites to Create a Resume Online
Portfolio Page
Your portfolio page will be the most important page of your website. Showcase your favorite projects and case studies here. Building a portfolio can be a hectic and technically problematic task to do. If you are new to this, you can use various online portfolio makers like Muckrack, Notion and others to create one such for free.
Click here to view some portfolio pages for inspiration.
Services Page
Last but not least, the services page, as the name suggests, showcases the best of your services and their work scope.
Click here to view some service page samples for inspiration.
Social Networks
Once you are done with your website, the next thing you need to do is to register for various social networks. Register for these important sites:
Once you are done with the registration, your key focus should be on how to engage with a broader audience and finding new clients.
Share posts, follow and mention people and try to engage them as much as possible. See my article on how to increase social media presence to do more.
Build Clientele
Once you are done with your website and social presence, start looking out for potential clients. Pitch them your ideas and add them to your clientele.
A bigger and better clientele means everything in the digital marketing business. Once you achieve 3 or more clients, start considering yourself a professional. You can now think about expanding. Your task to create a great career in digital marketing was almost done.
Showcase your clients
Clients, no matter how big or small, are something that must go with your name. Try to showcase them on your profile. You can mention them on your About page, add their logos on your homepage or at least show off the work that you have done with them.
Make use of Testimonials
By making use of client testimonials on homepages and inner pages, you literally win half of your hunt of finding a new client. Ask your clients for a review and post them on your site or any other review sites like TrustPilot. You can now use these great recommendations from your clients to win over new clients easily.
Register Yourself as a Business on Google My Business
Google My Business is going to be your real online shop. List and verify yourself as a business to own the trust of your client prospects. Ask your users or buy some Google My Business reviews to boost your ratings and rankings on Local search. I have written this complete guide on Google My Business. Be sure to check it out.
Once you are done with these essential steps, you are ready to grow big. Try to learn about new concepts and digital marketing strategies that are coming to the market everyday. Follow some of the best internet marketing blogs, read regular digital marketing updates and join digital marketing forums like SitePoint and Webmasters Forum.
These steps will help you start a great career in digital marketing. But it is all up to you how you can grow to new heights.
I suggest joining some expert courses. Google already offers various free courses for digital marketers. See my list of the best digital marketing courses by Google for beginners.
You can also search on Udemy.com for some popular digital marketing courses that are available at cheaper prices during the Black Friday sale. There are also some universities like Maryville that provide online marketing courses and even full degree programs for professionals. If you are willing to be a dedicated professional, this may be the best way to start a career in digital marketing.
