Digital Marketing is all-rage right now, the growth people are managing to attain in Digital Marketing is overwhelming, at large people are shifting their careers to Digital Marketing considering the increasing scope it entails.
But on the flip-side becoming a capable Digital Marketer isn’t a walk in the park, from the surface it looks really easy because what we see is videos on YouTube with a dude donning sports-cars, random chicks and mansion promising inconceivable utopian fantasy, but that isn’t the whole picture.
Things out there are pretty grim, the salary that a fresher receives is disappointingly low, what makes all of this much worse is the fact that it isn’t that easy to become well-trained in Digital Marketing, the obvious thought that pops into the mind when wanting to become a Digital Marketer is joining Digital Marketing Training Institutes, BUT they charge heavy fees.
And what they teach? That which isn’t working out for themselves, there are Digital Marketing Training Institutes that in the name of Digital Marketing will teach superficial stuff like doing submissions in SEO, creating posts on Social Media Pages, Technically how to create Ads on PPC Platforms and that would be about it, do you really think knowing this much will fetch you a rewarding job??
If your answer is YES, then you’re mistaken, the truth is bitter.
If you’re broke then the very thought of joining Digital Marketing Training Institutes is out of the question.
So how would you become a capable Digital Marketer?
I have laid out the exact strategies to become a self-taught Digital Marketer
1. Be a Seeker
You need to have the ability & willingness to learn and apply what you learn, a knowledge that isn’t used is as good as dead, back in school we learnt trigonometry nut what good does that do?
Start learning, consume Digital Marketing blogs, guides, tutorials, YouTube videos, Free Digital Marketing courses, seek internships, build the aptitude to identify relevant information that will you grow in Digital Marketing & disavow redundant information that will only consume time.
- Take courses like Digital Unlocked, SEO Tutorial for Beginners, Social Media Advertising by Buffer
- Read blogs like searchenginejournal, NeilPatel, Backlinko, SocialMediaExaminer.
- Subscribe to YouTube channels like Chase Reiner, Kevin David, Ahrefs and more
2. Apply what you’re learning
The best way to find out if you’re on the right learning path is instant feedback, how do you get instant feedback? When you apply what you’ve learned. If it is social media marketing that you were learning for free online, then it’s time to start community pages on Social Media, enjoy the process of building the tribe, creating the content & engaging with the fam.
Do one of the following
- Build a WordPress blog
- Start a YouTube Channel
- Start Social Media Community Page
- Start Affiliate Marketing
3. Join Internships
There’s a lot of practical learning that take place in Internships, join a Digital Marketing Agency. Make sure that you don’t end up doing the superficial groundwork, make it a point to take active involvement in crucial aspects of agency work like creating digital marketing agencies and seeing to it that they get implemented.
Onboard key influencers for Social Media Marketing, work in a way that they appreciate your talent and willingness to learn so that they get you involved in major project allowing you to learn more and more fundamentals.
4. Never Stop Learning
Even Neil Patel claims that he reads Backlinko’s blogs, everyone needs to stay updated with the latest trends to keep up being the best in the domain of Digital Marketing, the industry is in a state of constant flux, the industry is predicated upon the principle of learning paradox, the more you learn, the more there is left to learn. Seekers understand this best.
5. Time to secure a job
Now that you’re equipped with practical knowledge, it’s time to secure a job at an agency that has a proven track record of serving clients with outstanding results..
It will be intimidating to seek out such agencies, but honestly such agencies really doesn’t care about your qualifications and certificates, what they care about is your skillset, willingness to learn, practical knowledge, results & a focused mind. Serve the agency clients as they are your own that’s bound to imbibe entrepreneurial skills, communication skills, Client servicing, negotiation skills & persuasion skills.
Having the above mentioned skills are just as important as having Digital Marketing aptitude, because just knowing Digital Marketing exceptionally well but lacking the skills to communicate, persuade & negotiate is a sure way to keep working on a job your whole life you may not ever become capable of freelancing in Digital Marketing or maybe starting your own agency; or who knows maybe you have an incredible product of your own that you can boom in the market leveraging the Digital.
That’s about it, the learning simply never stops, and there are ways to learn for free. It’s a very collaborative and democratic space where knowledge exchange takes place efficiently, all you need is to have an open mind.
This Post Has been Written by Kunjal
Kunjal Chawhan founder of Decode Digital Market, he is a Digital Marketer by profession and a Digital Marketing Niche Blogger by passion, he shares what he has learned and applied with the community.
That is True, there are a number of institutes which takes our time and money. And in return, they give us few old tactics that are even not working for themselves. Superb post.
Awesome article for those who still in dilemma to undergo digital marketing courses. Though there are thousands and millions of articles and free courses available over the web. But that worths your time? That’s the big deal. So, atleast one must know atleast how to filter the best among the all. It’s always a good idea to apply things in realtime, what we learned. Internships will do to apply and learn more about digital marketing hacks.