What is Freelance Digital Marketing?
Freelance Digital Marketing is the process where an individual freelancer takes on a small number of clients handling all of their online presence. From social media to the handling of their website, from search engine marketing to content marketing, you’ll be their one-stop-shop, so they can focus on doing business.
There are actually, quite a few definitions for ‘freelance marketing’.
Let’s start with the definition of a freelancer.
While the word ‘freelance’ implies that it is only available to someone who is already involved in the marketing scene, that is not necessarily the case.
Getting started with freelance digital marketing
Ready to get started with your freelance career? This 6-step guide will help you do just that!
Step 1: Manage your expectations
Yes, digital freelance marketing can be an amazing career, but it’s not an easy road to get there, and you’ll definitely encounter challenges along the way.
Let’s talk about managing stress, for instance. One misconception that many people have about digital freelance marketing (and about freelancing in general) is that it’s a stress-free job. Unfortunately, that’s far from the case. While you don’t have a boss or manager breathing down your neck, you’ll still have to answer to your clients.
Step 2: Identify your talents and skillsets
In step two of the process, you’ll have to sit down and make a list of the skills you have. Do you know how to run a PPC campaign on Google AdWords? Do you have experience managing Facebook pages? Do you know how to create an automated email campaign on MailChimp?
Step 3: Find a niche
Once you’ve identified your talents and skillsets, the next step is to choose your niche. One huge mistake that many newbie freelancers make with this step? They aren’t specific enough.
For instance, many freelancers will decide that they want to cater to startups and small business owners. There are plenty of clients who fall within this category, so if you target them, this means you’ll increase your chances of landing a job, right?
Nope — it doesn’t quite work that way. Think about it: the clients you’re reaching out to might all be small business owners, but they’re in different industries, they have different target audiences and products, and they’re gunning for different goals.
Step 4: Develop a personal brand
Many newbie freelancers think that the key to becoming a successful freelancer is being great at what you do. Unfortunately, this is only part of the puzzle. Capability aside, you’ve also got to develop a personal brand, so you can stand out from all the other freelancers out there.
Step 5: Look for clients
There are a few ways in which you can market your services and look for clients; we’ll go through each method in detail in this section.
First, what most freelancers do is rely on platforms such as Upwork. Basically, this is where companies go to outsource certain tasks to freelancers. Once you register for an account, you’ll be able to view the job ads posted by companies, send in proposals, and hopefully land yourself your first digital freelance marketing assignment.
Step 6: Figure out how much to charge
If you’re new to the world of freelancing, you might get a couple of companies approaching you and asking you whether you’d work in return for exposure. You should always reject these offers; the following comic explains.
Read also: Freelance Jobs For Students To Make Money
