The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your Freelance Marketing Career Started

You know you have an amazing knack for all things related to marketing.

You’re able to make a near-instant emotional connection with your readers. You know how to use analytical tools to measure website traffic and social media engagement.

You always make it a point to take the time to really get to know the unique needs of a business, instead of just giving them the same bland advice you dole out to everyone.

In short?

You have what it takes to create an amazing career in the freelance marketing world. The only thing standing in your way? You’re not quite sure how to get started in freelance digital marketing.

You’ve come to the right place.

Read on to learn how to jumpstart your career, connect with more clients in a short amount of time, and start raking in the profits.

Start Blogging

The first step in mastering freelance digital marketing?

Finding ways to show people what you’re capable of — while building your brand in the process. Blogging is one of the best ways to do just that. First of all, it allows you to position yourself as an expert in the marketing field.

Since you’re just getting started, you might not have lots of online reviews or even much of a portfolio to show clients. But by choosing the right keywords, focusing on developing engaging, digestible, and relevant content, you’ll prove that you know what you’re talking about.

You can use your blog to subtly advertise your services by writing a post about, for example, the importance of hyperlocal marketing — something you just happen to provide on your service list.

Blogging is also an incredibly effective way to get to know the needs of your market, as well as your general niche/demographic. For example, do you feel like an abnormally high number of medical businesses comment on your posts? Or, have you noticed that your readers seem to have tons of questions about how to leverage social media followers into profits?

Once you know who is reading your blog, you can start tailoring your service offerings accordingly.

Brush up Your Skill Set

If you want to succeed in the ultra-competitive world of marketing freelance, you need to make sure your skills are up-to-date.

Even if you think you’re an expert on the most popular web design tools or the social media platform of the moment? Taking the time to know what you don’t know — and to learn how to use tools your competitors don’t even know exist — can really give you a leg up.

Consider taking an online SEO course to learn how to pick the right keywords, write compelling headlines, and understand the inner workings of the mysterious Google algorithm.

Learn a new marketing skill that goes beyond the more expected, traditional methods. For example, why not take a photography class or a videography course? This will allow you to be able to offer more services to your clients. You can serve as a kind of “one-stop-shopping” marketing provider, instead of just offering a handful of services.

Attend as many marketing conferences and industry events as you can, too. Knowing the right people, connecting with influencers, and even meeting potential employees will serve you well. You need to be able to prove to your clients that you know the power players — and most of all, that they know you.

Develop a Strong Brand for Yourself

When you’re developing a brand for yourself, it’s important that you create a persona that’s a combination of the kinds of services/voice your clients need and who you really are as a person.

For example, maybe your ultimate goal is to position yourself as a freelance marketing consultant for startups.

Your content, the way you write, and even the services you provide need to appeal to entrepreneurs.

You could offer to help potential clients draft concise email pitches to angel investors, assist in writing content for fundraising platforms, and even write guest posts about their company on popular startup and entrepreneur websites.

You know you have the skill set to help developing businesses maximize their growth phase because you’ve worked in fundraising professionally in the past. Plus, as a freelancer, you also run your own business — and you have a voice that’s bursting with enthusiasm.

Part of marketing yourself properly also means finding countless ways to connect with new leads.

Things like pay per call advertising, speaking at marketing conferences, developing an e-newsletter, and even investing in promotional items are all smart moves that will allow you to continue to build your client list.

Are You Ready to Get into Freelance Marketing?

Whether you’re looking for ways to pad your income, or if you’re thinking about getting into marketing full-time, we hope this guide to freelance marketing has been helpful.

Remember that it all starts with getting your name out there as soon as possible.