Everything goes digital, and you want to jump to the same train. You want to work from home or from a coworking space, have as many clients as you can deal with at a particular moment, and be a desired specialist for any business that wants to go digital and lure customers from online. There are many names to this profession, but the most correct one is a digital marketing specialist. It is a job that covers a wide range of responsibilities and requires a particular skill set. Don’t get discouraged! You can self-study digital marketing online almost for free.
Before we start, let us warn you against the most common mistakes made by those willing to study digital marketing and make it their profession:
- Paying for expensive online courses. Let’s say so, they are definitely not useless. However, most of them are overpriced and repeat the same things you can find online for free, just spending a little more time for the organization. You would be surprised to know how shallow most of the courses for beginners are. In a year or more, when you self-study the basics of digital marketing, start working as a digital marketing specialist and have specific advanced questions, it is a good idea to find some course to give you a push. For now, you can do without them. It is also a practical way to check whether you are serious about this profession or not.
- Separating theory from practice. Of course, the first several weeks when you just begin to study using books, videos, and manuals, you cannot work as a digital marketing specialist. But when you know some basics, you should jump write into the digital ocean and try everything in practice.
- Jumping from one learning source to another. You need more than one source to study, but you don’t need to change them every second day. Look for the most quality ones and choose 3-4 for the first period. It will be enough. The Internet gives us a feeling of abundance, and we think that we can always find what we need, find something better, etc. It doesn’t work. “I can always” turns into “I will never.” Set healthy limitations. It will increase your chances to learn something worthy without quitting.
Ways to Learn Digital Marketing Online
Start with the terms and basics
We are sure you have already heard about SEO and targeting. You may even have a feeling that you know all the basics and just need to learn how to use them. However, just trust us, you don’t. Every profession has its vocabulary, and it changes with years (when it comes to digital marketing, it changes with months), and you need to be in the loop here and now. If you studied a course related to this profession some years ago, you need to update your knowledge. What are the trends? What are the apps used mostly? What is slang? What do people write in their resumes? Two-three days will be enough to deal with digital marketing vocabulary.
Balance books/blogs/free courses in 30/30/30 ratio
First, start with the HR advertisements, vacancies, and course advertisements. Digital marketing is a huge area, and you need a roadmap for your self-studying. The program of any extended and popular course is a perfect list of topics you need to study. Vacancies related to hiring digital marketing specialists will help you to highlight the most important aspects to learn. Google topics listed in the course programs one by one. Normally, they are listed in chronological order and are interconnected. This way, you won’t miss anything. Make notes, digital or standard, give yourself homework, and do it during the preliminary set hours.
Get your first client — yourself
You are your first client. Even when you become much more known and have other customers, you should stay your first client, because you need to promote yourself. When you just start self-studying, use your own case to practice in promotion. Choose the two most interesting social media, make a one-page presentational website, and get started.
Formulate a hypothesis and test it
You will need this skill when you start working with any digital campaign. There is no successful digital marketing without a well-formulated hypothesis. Your hypothesis should be formulated according to this formula: I suppose that THESE PEOPLE can solve SUCH PROBLEMS/reach THESE GOALS using THESE MEANS offered by me. The same hypothesis should be formulated for any client you get about their business, the products, and customers.
Get a client for a trial campaign
We bet there are friends of yours willing to launch some small projects online. They don’t have thousands of dollars for a digital marketing specialist, but they still need a basic promotion, and you need a portfolio for your website. Collaborate and make it a case worth presenting. You will need several such campaigns.