So you want to be a freelance digital marketing expert? Good choice.
The digital marketing industry is exploding (try this $100 billion global spending number on for size), and freelancing has a plethora of benefits. But at the same time, be prepared: Freelancing isn’t for the faint of heart, and the field of digital marketing is changing so quickly it can be difficult to keep up.
Here are the top five things you need to do as you work toward becoming a kick-ass freelance digital marketing expert.
Educate Yourself
The first step toward becoming a successful freelancer is to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about the digital marketing industry, and recognize that you’ll never stop learning — continuing education is going to be key to a successful career. Use websites such as Hubspot to take courses and read information about this field.
Once you’ve laid a strong foundation for yourself, and you understand digital marketing best practices from the ground up, make a point to stay up to date on the latest trends. “What’s trending in chatbot creation right now?” is a question you need to be able to answer so you can help your clients market their businesses effectively.
Become An Expert
You don’t want to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. For best results in your business, niche down and become an expert on one aspect of digital marketing. Maybe you choose to focus on Messenger bot creation. Or SMS marketing campaigns. That’s a good start, but you can tighten your focus even further to focus on just one tool — such as ManyChat — by learning all the ins and outs so you can market the platform to your clients with your extensive knowledge.
Why is it better to have a niche (or a few primary niches) rather than being a generalist? When you niche down, you show off your expertise in a specific area and can sell yourself better. You may not have as many clients interested in working with you, but the ones who are interested will really want to work with you.
Watch our free ManyChat course to educate yourself.
Create A Brand
Take the digital marketing principles you’ve learned about branding and apply them to yourself. Your freelance business needs a brand voice and persona: create a website and social media profiles with a cohesive color scheme, well-written copy, and consistent tone. You already know you’re a kick-ass digital marketing expert, but now you need to convey that message to future clients — and branding is one of the ways to do it.
Be The Solution
You’ve learned about digital marketing, chosen a niche, and created a brand. Now it’s time to market yourself as the solution to all of your clients’ problems. Many people find chatbots and other digital marketing tools intimidating. You need to position yourself as the solution: You’re the go-to guy or gal when it comes to chatbots, the person who can demystify any bot, and who can do it quickly and well.
Use a Chat Marketing
Finally, you need to use the principles of digital marketing you’ve learned to market yourself! One great way to do this is by using a Facebook Messenger bot. Set up a simple sequence that will let the bot communicate with page visitors and prospective clients, asking them what digital marketing needs their company has right now. You can encourage people to sign up for an email or SMS list to build closer ties over time.
Your Messenger bot can serve as proof to your clients that you’re an expert in all things bot building — and that will lead to opportunities to manage their bots and their other digital marketing efforts down the road.
