Launching Your Dream Career in Digital Marketing: How & Why You Should Go Freelance 

Digital marketing is a fast-paced, constantly evolving field that presents opportunities for highly creative and ambitious professionals. One of the chief advantages of this field is that it provides an abundance of freelancing opportunities. Keep reading to learn how you can leverage these to build a career you love.

What Is Freelance Digital Marketing?

Before you can understand what freelance digital marketing is or why it’s such a compelling career path, it’s important to have a strong grasp of what digital marketing is.

Sometimes referred to as online marketing, this practice involves a variety of digital channels, such as search engine optimization (SEO), email, social media, and search engine marketing (SEM). As with any marketing initiative, the primary goal is to acquire and connect with leads, eventually nurturing them enough to become full-blown clients or customers.

While many digital marketers hold ‘traditional’ full-time positions for marketing firms or major corporations, it’s increasingly common for key functions to be carried out by freelancers. These professionals may work with one or several clients to handle everything from content strategy to content creation or even analytics. As freelancers, they are responsible for building both their personal brand and their client base.

Is Freelance Digital Marketing Right for You?

Freelance digital marketing can be an amazing profession for creative self-starters, but not everyone is cut out for this lifestyle. Some people struggle with the lack of structure, while others simply don’t have the initiative or charisma to build relationships with clients.

For those with the right personality, however, there’s a lot to love about this opportunity. Keep these considerations in mind as you determine whether freelance digital marketing could be in your future:

Be Your Own Boss

While some people thrive in a structured environment, others prefer to call the shots. If you tend to chafe under extensive supervision and dread the very thought of micromanaging, freelancing could be right for you.

While, to some extent, the client acts as the boss, you always have the option to move on when things aren’t working out. Moreover, many clients demonstrate a great deal of trust in their freelancers, to the point that they may actively prefer that marketers take over and handle the details.

This is always a mutual relationship, and when successful, freelancers will be able to communicate freely with their clients while still holding an impressive degree of autonomy.

Flexible Schedule

Are you tired of the 9-to-5 grind? Perhaps you have specific concerns or responsibilities that make it difficult for you to handle a standard workday. Either way, you may find flexible scheduling one of the most compelling aspects of the freelance world.

If, as with most freelance digital marketers, your work is project or campaign-based, you’ll have the freedom to make progress at your own pace. Yes, you may occasionally need to log in for a video chat, but most of your work will be self-directed.

This is an amazing opportunity if you tend to stumble into ‘flow states,’ in which you are highly creative and productive. It can be difficult to achieve this sense of flow when you’re forced to work very specific hours. As a freelancer, however, you can walk away when you lack inspiration. As long as you make your deadlines, you’re free to craft your schedule as you see fit.

Time Management

There’s a lot to love about flexible scheduling, but there’s a definite caveat: you’ll need to become adept at managing your time. While this is true in most professions, it takes on an extra level of importance with freelancing.

Because you will almost certainly be paid per project, you probably will not have the reliability of specific hours to fall back on. Instead, the almighty deadline will dominate your professional life — and chances are, you’ll have multiple deadlines looming at any given time. Juggling all this can be tricky, especially if you have children at home or other time-consuming responsibilities.

High Responsibility

As a freelance digital marketer, you can expect a lot of responsibility. Not only will you need to abide by strict deadlines, but you’ll also need to ensure that your work is of exceptional quality. While this is, of course, expected in all types of work setups, conventional employees sometimes have a bit more leeway in the event of a delay or an error.

With freelancing, even seemingly small problems could convince clients to move in a new direction. Most freelancers are able to rise to the occasion, however, and some even come to appreciate the extra accountability and autonomy.

How to Start Freelance Digital Marketing

Based on the opportunities and challenges outlined above, if you believe that you’re an excellent candidate for a freelance digital marketing career, it’s time to take that first big step and break into this exciting field. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Find Your Niche

Freelance digital marketing is a vast field, but clients often prefer to work with professionals who have niche experience. Freelancers who opt for this niche-based approach tend to have a deeper understanding of their target markets and the complications these can present.

Struggling to determine your niche? Examine your background to determine what you have to offer potential clients. This may largely be dictated by your past work experience. If, for example, you’ve previously worked in healthcare or law, these could be natural areas of specialization. Your established work history will stand out as you court clients, while your wealth of knowledge will help streamline marketing projects.

The latest market trends may also play into this decision. For example, high-growth sectors will naturally have a greater need for marketing services. You may also specialize in marketing practices such as search engine management or video marketing, which require an in-depth understanding of complex strategies.

2. Build a Portfolio

Now that you’ve established your niche, it’s time to demonstrate what you have to offer and what clients will gain from working with you. This begins with building a strong portfolio. Ideally, your portfolio will feature published samples of your work, including active websites or social media pages.

Above all else, your portfolio must be relevant to your niche. A single should reveal what you’re passionate about and how it is reflected in previous freelance projects. In addition to showing off case studies or samples, include an ‘about’ section that provides additional insight into who you are and what you hope to achieve as a freelancer.

3. Establish a Network

In many ways, searching for clients resembles hunting for a job. In both situations, it behooves you to establish and maintain a strong network of professional contacts.

To begin, create a LinkedIn profile or update your existing page to reflect your current work in freelance digital marketing. Reach out to business leaders or marketing teams within your niche to get a sense of available opportunities.

Don’t neglect in-person networking; while many freelance projects will be completed exclusively online, it’s not uncommon to make those initial connections with clients in person during industry conferences or seminars.

4. Create a Website

As a freelance marketing professional, you need to understand how to market yourself. This begins with creating a website entirely dedicated to your personal brand. Without this key offering, you’ll struggle to be taken seriously by prospective clients — or you might not connect with them in the first place.

A professional website serves many important purposes: it provides an excellent place to show off your portfolio while demonstrating your marketing skills in action. It’s also where you send potential clients as they discover your services via Google, Facebook, or other resources.

Follow these simple steps to get started:

• Choose a content management system (CMS). WordPress is a popular option because it’s free, intuitive, and highly adaptable.
• Select and register a domain. When possible, use the name of your freelance marketing business.
• Invest in hosting. While free options are available, shared hosting is a better solution for business functions. These plans provide robust security solutions, backups, and, often, SEO tools.
• Add themes and create pages. This is where you will shine. Make the most of your digital marketing skills as you design a page that shows what you bring to the table as an in-demand freelancer.

5. Market Your Business

Once your website is up and running, you can use the very marketing channels you rely on for your freelance campaigns to get the word out about your services.

Paid campaigns can provide an immediate boost as you amp up your SEO efforts, so don’t overlook pay-per-click as a short-term solution. In the long run, however, you’ll want to focus on search engine optimization or build an email marketing strategy.

A social media presence is always crucial; as we’ve mentioned, LinkedIn is a great place to start. Additionally, consider cultivating a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. The goal is to make your personal brand more visible to potential clients while also demonstrating why you are an authority in your niche. Remember that solutions such as Facebook Ads help you target specific types of leads.

As you cultivate your web presence, consider developing a lead magnet. Whether prospective clients arrive at your personal website through search engines or social media, they’ll need something special to entice them to get in touch. A lead magnet, such as a downloadable guide, offers exactly that. In exchange for access to this resource, leads will provide contact information, thereby launching your email nurturing efforts.

Digital Marketing Skills and Degrees

The right degree can give you a leg up as you begin to explore the exciting world of freelance marketing. In addition to giving your resume a much-needed boost, your degree program can equip you with various targeted skills that you might struggle to obtain on your own.

Many options are worth considering; a lot will depend on your existing skill set and how quickly you want to enter the freelance world. Keep in mind, however, that as a freelancer, you could potentially complete your degree while you continue to work.

• Digital Marketing Specialist Diploma: an intriguing option if you’re ready to take the first step towards a digital marketing career, this diploma covers all the essentials while also preparing you for further education. From web analytics to social media marketing, a diploma can provide a solid foundation.
• Associate of Applied Science in Digital Marketing: offering a deeper dive into topics such as PPC marketing and conversion rate optimization, an associate degree will equip you with analytical skills that are of ever-increasing value in the fast-paced world of digital marketing. Put those skills to work with an internship, which provides valuable hands-on experience and will lead to a refined portfolio.
• Bachelor of Business Administration in Digital Marketing: if you want maximum career flexibility, a bachelor’s degree is the way to go. This makes you more compelling to potential clients and could also help you move into full-time positions with marketing firms should you eventually want to seek leadership roles or enter the 9-to-5 work world. Either way, you’ll gain a well-rounded education that encompasses not only cutting-edge marketing strategies but also valuable concepts such as consumer behavior, accounting, and operations management.

Start Your Digital Marketing Journey at Bryant & Stratton College

Digital marketing is an exciting field that offers a world of potential for passionate individuals such as yourself. Get a strong start by earning your diploma, associate, or bachelor’s degree.

We offer several targeted programs at Bryant & Stratton, plus career support to help you pursue your most ambitious career goals. Request information today to learn more about our digital marketing programs.