Growth in digital technology has created a wave of opportunities for millions of young people in Africa and other emerging economies to thrive with digital skills. It has also spurred a demand for more professionals in digital marketing but; as someone seeking to make money as a digital marketer, are you ready to meet this demand?
From evolving popular influencer brands to creating viral content and notable social media platforms, young people from countries like Nigeria, South Africa, India etc. have used digital technology to re-write their own lives and even more people have been inspired to do the same but the road to success is not always paved with an easy path.
In fact, as a digital marketing practitioner; over the years, I have realized that transitioning into the digital marketing ecosystem or even starting from scratch can be tasking. More so, creating tailored solutions and consistent success can be even more demanding for beginners without the right tools to navigate their journey, especially in Africa.
This is why I am putting together this guide, culled from my years of lessons and experiences in digital marketing, to help you navigate your journey, from scratch, find a pathway to success and earn an income until you’re able to evolve your own strategies and build a solid brand that thrives.
Learn the Skill
Table of Contents
As you get to embark on a journey to make money as a digital marketer, you need to have all the right skills in your backpack, before hitting the road. Because you can’t earn without the skills. This is a top level tip you must always carry with you.
As a beginner, you may feel concerned about the possible skills you should opt to start with since digital marketing has a collection of skills that can be learned independently but one thing I usually advise my students? Find your strengths but most importantly, learn everything.
You can learn content marketing for instance to become a content marketer. You can also learn influencer marketing or social media marketing to become an influencer or social media marketer respectively but in the real sense of the word, even though there are independent skills, as a digital marketer, you have to learn all the skills to become a digital marketer.
That notwithstanding, for the purposes of specialization, you might choose your preferred skills but it is also important you learn the other skills or have a decent skills around them to function effectively as a digital marketer, especially in roles that will need you to perform as a fullstack digital marketer.
There are a number of free and paid platforms you can choose to learn a digital skill on. The free platforms can save you of some costs without the mentorship and guidance of a paid training but you can always opt for the paid trainings if you need a more guided hands-on and mentor driven experience.
Choose a Specialization
One of the best ways to earn more than the average professionals in any particular skill or industry is to be so good in your skill or area of practice that you’re far better than the majority of the people in that industry or niche.
To achieve this level of expertise in digital marketing, you need to choose a niche or a specific skill. Learn so much about that skill, establish yourself as above average expert in that niche and you will start charging the fees that merits your status.
Considering that there are different niches and skills requirements to make money as a digital marketer, after learning the skills, you want to choose a particular skill. But, you have to do this based of things like your goal, area of interest, skill demand and supply pull etc.
What I mean is that you must have a goal before getting started. Let’s say you want to make an “X” amount in “Y” number of years, you must choose a digital marketing skill that can get you to make that amount comfortably, within your expected timeline.
Also, if you have a special area of interest like search engine optimization for example, you have to also make that as part of your considerations for choice of area of specialization. And finally, you must choose a skill that has a decent level of demand and a balanced supply.
Choosing a skill with a very large number of experts can indicate an alignment with demand but with too many supply of experts, it may be difficult to create an impact in that niche as a beginner without taking very strategic steps.
Similarly, a digital marketing niche with a very low level supply of experts could also indicate a lower market demand. You have to put this into consideration and you should make a holistic market research to understand the demand and supply pull, alongside the industry trends, before choosing your preferred area of expertise.
Build a Brand
Not all branding can get you to make money as a digital marketer. In fact, there are certain level of earnings you may not be able to command, simply because of your brand.
To earn an income as a digital marketer, you need a brand that sets you apart. Unless you want to earn like every other brand in that industry, you have to be very intentional about setting up your brand from the get go, outline your unique selling proposition and make it easy for a potential client to tell you apart from other marketers.
Bow before you get started, considering that you have learned the requisite skills and you also know the right skills you want to specialize in, here’s where you start with choosing a brand name and all other brand details that aligns with what you frame your brand into.
If you want to leverage social media marketing as your preferred digital marketing skill for instance, then you have to position your brand as the social media expert that can deliver on client’s expected outcomes.
This means that after identifying your own brand goals, you’ll also identify your clients, find out their brand needs and create a brand image that aligns with this needs, starting with your brand name, down to your logo, brand image, colors, brand message and your platform design.
Branding is very important to you because your brand is the first thing every potential clients will always come into. Considering that there are hundreds or even thousands of other competing brands out there, you want to create a brand that meets the needs of your target audience so they can reach out, as soon as they get in touch with your platform.
Once again, choose a name and image that is unmistakable, outline your unique selling point and brand messaging very clearly, captivate the interest of a potential client by positioning in a way that aligns with your client goals. This will extend to your website design, content quality, platform options and your platform interactions generally.
Get a Portfolio
You need a portfolio. Clients will barely work with you unless you can show them a portfolio of the work you have done in the past. So as you’re getting started to make money as a digital marketer, you have to put your portfolio in place.
I understand it can be difficult to get a job as a beginner so building a portfolio without actual jobs can be quite challenging but, like some of my students, there are options you can use to still build a portfolio, gather experiences and insights.
This includes options like volunteering. When I started digital marketing, one of the tools that gave me a level of experience after acquiring the digital marketing skills was volunteering. It gave me leverage and a platform to apply everything I’d learned from scratch. You can also use this as an option to start building your portfolio.
You can also consider internships. Internships provide an opportunity for beginners to gain real life experience with their skills. There are also a lot of other options you can choose to start with, based off your own goals, location and interest.
As soon as you are able to choose what works for you, to actually boost your chances to earn an income as a digital marketer, it’s time to use your experiences and real work samples to build an online portfolio where your clients can easily access online.
To do this successfully, it is always best you have your own website with your domain name and then create a page on the website where you display your portfolio. This looks much more professional and you can always evolve your website to align with your brand needs.
Where you don’t have a website at first, there are some platforms you can use to build your portfolio. Regardless, the goal should be to keep that a temporary platform while planning to get your own permanent website to display your work.
Get a Job or Freelance
You need a job if you want to make money as a digital marketer. But there are different avenues to do this. For instance, you can decide to get a job as an employed marketing specialist, working for a firm or agency.
You can also decide to work as a freelance digital marketing expert or create your own digital marketing agency but whichever way you choose to go, your choices must align with your real life goals and action plans.
If you choose to freelance, you must realize that freelance work comes and goes. There might not be a lot of stability especially at the early stage but it also comes with a lot of flexibility which can give you plenty options from choosing who you want to work with to creating a more flexible working schedule to accommodate other aspects of your life.
Working a 9-5 digital marketing job on the other hand can come with a lot of demands however, the stability that comes with it can also compensate. And finally, starting an agency can also be demanding and rigorous for a beginner.
With all of this in mind, you have to choose your options accordingly. Be sure your choices aligns with your long term goals. And depending on your realities, you want to make a career choice that will not have too much impact on your future decisions.
Promote your Brand
In the digital world, visibility is a very powerful currency. You don’t just have to wish for it, you must gravitate towards it, earn it and use it to further your goals.
As a beginner planning to make money as a digital marketer, you have to be seen. And beyond being seen, you have to be manifestly visible to your target audience if you want them to patronize your brand.
Considering there’s a lot of competition out there, to get the kind of visibility you need, you have to take steps to promote your brand and this might include taking any of the following steps:
- Get on Social Media: The social media can expand and amplify your brand beyond your website and blog. So, get over and identify the major social media platforms with the largest number of your target audience. Create a page on that social media platform and start sharing strategic content while engaging with your audience. This can also serve as a platform to generate your first set of new clients if you can built trust and credibility here.
- Leverage SEO: Using search engine optimization strategies, you can update your website and make it easily accessible to your target audience. You can also use SEO to optimize your content for better visibility, using the target keywords and search phrases used by your target audience. This can further enhance your visibility across online platforms.
- Create Content: Create and share valuable content that meets the needs of your target audience. You can do this on your website, blogs, social media and third party platforms. Outside attracting new clicks toy our website, this content can also position you as a knowledgeable expert in your niche.
- Use Paid Promotions: Paid promotions is a great option to drive visibility for new brands even faster. There are a lot of options including paid PPC o search engine platforms like Google, PPC on Social Media Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn etc. You can consider this if you have the budget and where you’re in a hurry to achieve your brand visibility goals but always choose a platform that matches your promotional needs, budget and target audience preferences.
There are a number of other options like sponsored posts, guest posting, storytelling etc. Whatever you decide to use in promoting your brand has to align with your goals and expected outcomes realistically.
Network & Grow
If you want to consistently make money as a digital marketer then you have to understand the need for networking and consistent growth.
For consistent growth, you have to stay in the loop. Understand the latest trends in your specialized digital marketing so you can use this knowledge to create consistent outcomes for your clients.
Also, create and share thought leadership focused content across platforms. From your social media to your blogs and website, position yourself with thought provoking content that revolves around the topical area you specialize in. this is very important in building brand perception, visibility and clicks.
Network and partner with other thought leaders in your digital marketing niche to create content, hold trainings or webinars where you create real value to your community. This goes further in building your credibility and can even come as part of your portfolio where it applies.
Get on a podcast, interviews and other people’s platform. This expands your reach while further cementing you as the expert that you are. You don’t have to wait for these opportunities, you can reach out directly.
Create and share guest posts on other platforms and websites relevant to your niche. You can also post topical content on big platforms not exactly relevant to yours like news websites, notable blogs etc. as these can buttress your expertise.
Final Words
There are so many ways to make money as a digital marketer, including creating your own digital product, monetizing your content, making money off your platforms via sponsored advertising among other options and using everything you learned today can give you a head start.
One of the things you have to keep in mind is that you will achieve more if you can evolve a solid level of expertise, a robust platform with an audience and a decent level of visibility to top it up so you might have to put in some work.
Now that you know the steps you can take to earn as a digital marketer, it’s up to you to get yourself equipped with your preferred digital marketing skills. And you can get started using the free options or join our digital skills training here and we’ll get you equipped with all the skills you need.
Now it’s your turn. What are your challenges when it comes to earning as a digital marketer? Drop your comments below.
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