Before getting directly to the topic, let us know what the term FREELANCE DIGITAL MARKETER means.
The Free and Lance in the word Freelance comes from Germanic and French origin which means love and hurl. One interpretation explained freelance means the person discharges the force of his/her skills into the work he/she loves.
Before the internet, freelancing found a place living inside computer monitors. Professionals began taking advantage of the opportunities available back then and started looking for clients and working on a project-by-project basis.
But now, virtually anyone can become a freelance digital marketer. The internet has allowed people to set up their businesses digitally.
FREELANCE DIGITAL MARKETING encompasses a variety of services such as:
a) Email marketing and campaigns.
b) Creating a 360-degree marketing or brand strategy.
c) Marketing research and analytics
d) Hosting webinars or running podcasts.
e) Design services such as graphic design, User Interface/User Experience ( UI/UX) design, or video production.
f) Creating and running digital ads and campaigns.
g) Social Media Marketing.
h) Building and managing websites and content creation.
How to Become a Freelance Digital Marketer To Get Projects From Potential Clients?
1. CHOOSE YOUR SPECIALITIES
Digital Marketing runs on a variety of skills. If you are interested in digital marketing and choose it as a career then, it is the first step, you must find the skill or ability in which you are naturally good or you love doing. For example – People who are good at language and communication can do well in providing services such as content writing and social media marketing. The different areas of digital marketing you can specialize in are:
a) Search Engine Optimization Expert
b) Content Marketing Specialist
c) Social Media Marketing Specialist
d) Digital Marketing Specialist(person of all trades)
2. BUILD YOUR BRAND
In the digital world, Branding is everything, you have to build a personal brand. Hence, you have to grow your network as the clients typically work with those freelancers who they already know or get introduced to via their references. To grow your network you can make your portfolio on several digital apps or websites, where you can post regularly.
3. REGISTRATION
Though registering your brand is not compulsory at the initial stages. However, the advantages of registration are brand and logo retention, eligibility for funding opportunities, and better credibility.
4. LEVEL UP YOUR SKILLS
To run a business, you need more than your core skills to become a successful freelance digital marketer. So try to acquire essential business skills like communication, presentation, analytical ability, and financial literacy. For example – even if you are a great writer, you need good business acumen to keep your business running in the long term.
5. ESTABLISH A SYSTEM FOR CREATING PROPOSALS
To create proposals, you should contain two main types of information one is logistical information and the other one is pitch.
a) Logistical Information – Information regarding types of services, projects timelines, resource information, etc.
b) Pitch- It will contain points addressing the whys and hows of your organization.
Decide on a few headers that must go into any proposals and then customize further depending on the client’s specific requirements.
6. PROMOTION
You should promote your skills and abilities via your portfolios through various digital platforms or apps. For example- LinkedIn offers a creator mode that allows you to publish your services. Use this feature to its fullest and regularly post relevant updates about your services.
7. BUILD YOUR RELATIONSHIP
As this industry is growing rapidly, to get projects from potential clients you have to focus on building your bond or relationship with your friends who are already working in the same industry.
8. PRICING
As a beginner in the industry, one of the easiest ways to develop a pricing strategy is to network with others in the same profession, and you can also do secondary research.
9. TIME MANAGEMENT
As your profile will grow as a freelancer, you will have more work to do for your clients, and to handle emails, invoices, etc you have to learn how to manage your time efficiently, and this time management will help you to complete all the tasks before the deadline.
10. BUILD LOYALTY
By building loyalty, you can create fans out of your existing client base, which will provide you, high paying clients. As these clients always come via references. For this, you can also proactively ask your clients to provide testimonials on LinkedIn.
11. MONITOR CASH FLOW
In most cases, digital marketing agencies and freelancers cannot get payments in advance unless you are running ads. To monitor cash flow you need to maintain the financial discipline to keep your business running smoothly. Ensure that you clearly state all terms in your agreements, raise invoices on time, and receive complete and timely payments.
12. TAKE SUGGESTIONS FROM OTHER FREELANCERS
To keep yourself updated in this industry, you should stay connected with other freelancers to know about new updates, take advice from them will help you to grow eventually. You can find freelancers in Likendln, follow them there. In addition, you can pick their best practices and incorporate them into your promotional strategy.
Moreover, to become a FREELANCE DIGITAL MARKETER you must be a proactive self-learner, a good collaborator, who can deal with any type of client and situation, and must have core skills based on specialty and business skills. However, the key skill is to stick to deadlines or deliver the promised outcome in terms of metrics.
If you want to become a FREELANCE DIGITAL MARKETER then take all these points and follow them step by step. These steps will help you to build your portfolio gradually. All you have to do is never stop learning and experimenting. Digital Marketing is an exciting industry to be in and if you can work in this industry, you will never regret it.
