Almost every business—local or international—now relies on digital marketing to promote their brand, reach their targeted audience, and boost their sales. After all, we all are now living in the digital age.
Ever wondered what is freelance digital marketing? Do you think this is something that you’d want to venture into? We’ve got all the basics here to help you decide if this is indeed something that you’d want to take on.
What Is Freelance Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is a marketing method that is a notch above the conventional mode of marketing. The idea here is to assist companies in promoting their products and services on online channels.
So, as a digital marketing specialist, your job will be to tap into the target audience of your client. Next, you’ll have to devise a solid marketing strategy to drive this audience to the website or online channel of your client. The traffic that you generate will eventually pay for your client’s product or service, thereby making way for profit!
While this does sound simple, many people struggle with this as they aren’t quite well versed with the basics. So, in the next few sections, we will discuss some pertinent aspects of freelance digital marketing that’ll surely help you get started with it!
How to Become Successful in Digital Marketing
Here’s what you need to do to become a successful freelance digital marketer:
Step 1: Choose your Niche
Marketing offers plenty of roles, and the direction you’d choose will solely depend on your skill set and talent. Here are some of the possible freelance digital marketing roles that you can try:
- Copywriting
This is the role that requires you to write the texts required for marketing the products or services of your clients. It can involve writing sales posts, newsletters, landing pages, and the likes. If you’re looking to sell something with your posts, you’re probably writing a copy.
- Content Writing
As you’d already guess from the name, content writing is the process of penning content for your clients’ blog posts, whitepapers, online podcasts, or articles. Writing content is more about informing people than selling them a product or service.
- Social Media Marketing
This role will involve the process of posting about the company’s brand in a bid to promote it on social media platforms like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.
- Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization is a process that ensures that a certain business’ website pops up right at the top research results of leading search engines. It is an essential way to drive traffic to your client’s online platform.
If you are comfortable with more than one niche, you can always combine multiple niches and offer a diverse range of services to your clients. However, while selecting the niche, do ensure that it perfectly resonates with your set of skills that you have.
Step 2: Build a Solid Portfolio
Now, that you’ve chosen your niche, it is time to build a solid portfolio. Remember, as a freelancer who’s pursuing digital marketing, a CV alone won’t land you the best clients. You also need to work on developing a solid portfolio. Your portfolio should perfectly showcase your prospects as a skilled marketer.
To do this, you can try short internship gigs from the beginning of your career. This is one of the best ways to boost your skills while also building industry experience. You can then feature these internships and your achievements while undertaking these projects on your online portfolio.
In case you’re a copywriter or content marketer, you should try pitching out to leading online publications. Try your hands on the topics that are relevant to your specific skills or expertise. This will not just allow you to showcase your extensive knowledge but also provide you with some valuable industry exposure.
As you fill out or update your portfolio, don’t forget to add a professional photograph of yourself. Additionally, also include a short synopsis of your work along with testimonials from real clients.
Step 3: Pitch the Right Way
Every time you apply for a job to a potential client, you’ll be competing against a host of other capable freelancers. So, understand the nitty-gritty details of pitching and try to pitch your idea uniquely.
More often than not, this can be achieved by providing personalized proposals instead of just showing potential clients a generic one. Showcase exactly how your skills can help their project and deliver on that promise.
Step 4: Choose the Right Platform
Being a freelance digital marketer, you’d be trying to tap into the massive gig economy to get a solid client base. In America itself, there are 16 million freelancers who are looking to secure good projects through online platforms, job portals, hubs, and other professional forums.
To stand out from this crowd, you first need to find the right platform for your gig. Once you have a list of the best ones, try to optimize your profiles on those sites. You should also actively participate in community forums. This will increase your chances of picking up good projects.
Step 5: Build Your Brand
Many amateur freelancers assume that the key to being a successful digital marketer is to be great at your job. Sadly, this is just a small piece of the puzzle. Regardless of your capabilities, it is essential to develop your very own brand to stand ahead among competitors.
The kind of brand you build will depend on the way you want to be described by your clients. For instance, you can either post some excellent blogs about the latest industry trends. Alternatively, you can also build a swanky website and use it as your portfolio.
Either way, do not be afraid to reflect a part of your personality into your brand. After all, this is how your clients will get a sense as to what kind of freelancer you truly are.
Step 6: Stay Active on Social Media
If you’re looking for digital marketing opportunities as freelancers, it is essential to network yourself on social media platforms. Even if you’re not the kind of person who updates posts every hour, you can always try to join groups that talk about the niche you’re planning to master.
Additionally, you would also want to participate in events and conferences that focus on digital marketing. This is so that you are updated on the latest trends in your chosen niche.
Bottom Line
Now, that you know what is freelance digital marketing and how it works, try your shot at this career by following our recommended guidelines.
Considering the exposure and flexibility it offers, freelance digital marketing is sure worth your time. Unlike a regular day job, this mode of profession allows you to choose your preferred time and place of work. What’s more, you also have the complete flexibility of setting hourly charges.
Then again, probably the best part of freelance digital marketing is the fact that, since freelance marketing makes way for multiple projects, you’d never be bored with your job. You can even choose to work with multiple clients at the same time if you can handle it!