How to Become a Freelance Digital Marketer in 7 Easy Steps?

If you are working in the digital marketing field, you may be familiar with the term, freelance digital marketing. It is a profession promoting client products on various social media platforms. But how is it different from digital marketing? So, a freelance marketer works independently and offers services to multiple clients on a project-by-project basis. They have to search for clients on their own and complete the project independently, as well. If you want to switch your career from working in digital agencies to becoming a self-employed contractor, read the blog below.

How to Become a Freelance Digital Marketer in 7 Easy Steps?

Becoming a freelancer is not a day thing; it takes time, knowledge, and experience. After talking to many experts, I have learned some steps by which you can become a successful freelancer in the digital marketing field.

1. Choose a speciality that aligns with your skills

If you are new to digital marketing, learn about the niches separately. Digital marketing is a field that has many niches, such as search engine optimisation (SEO), content writing, graphic designing, affiliate marketing, pay-per-click, and more. Different niches demand different skills and experience. However, you don’t have to choose a single niche; if you are interested in learning, you can specialise in more than one niche.

2. Develop your skill

After choosing a niche, develop your marketing skills. The Internet is filled with video tutorials and online courses in digital marketing, so you can pick the course you want. Furthermore, you can also enhance your skills by attending local webinars. After attending the webinars, you will get a certificate, which is important for your career. Besides online courses, you can also pursue a bachelor’s degree in the field from a reputable college.

3. Gain experience

Now that you have developed your skills, it’s time to gain experience. Start working as an intern in digital marketing agencies. You will work under professionals and learn about digital marketing services, tools, strategies, and other online activities. You will get a chance to refine your skills and enhance your problem-solving, adaptability, and client management. Moreover, your prior experience matters in gaining upcoming clients. So, gain experience before becoming a freelancer, as it helps build your portfolio.

4. Build your portfolio

A portfolio is important for demonstrating your skills and experiences in the field you are currently working in. You can add your degree, certificates, achievements, and work examples. Furthermore, it is beneficial for your clients, too, as they will be well aware of your capabilities. It also builds trust and attracts high-paying clients. If you don’t know how to build your portfolio, you can get help from tools available on the internet. Overall, a portfolio is a testament to your work.

5. Build your website

Your online presence matters and launching your website is the best way to show that presence. Use the website as your portfolio by mentioning information about you and your experiences. Moreover, create a marketing blog that helps in gaining traffic quickly. With the help of search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM), your blog content reaches more people who need your digital marketing services. Also, you can promote it on other social media platforms. If your website is well-optimised it will also improve the search engine ranking.

6. Choose your pricing

If you are looking to become a full-time freelance digital marketer, you have to design the pricing structure. Decide on a rate you want to charge per project or hour. However, analyse your competitor’s rating. Also, make sure that your skills and experience align with the rate you have decided. To build your reputation in marketing and gain more clients, your initial pricing should be lower than the competitors.

7. Search for clients

It is the time to take the final step toward your goal. After understanding the client’s demand, craft personalised proposals by mentioning the digital marketing services you provide. There are many popular websites, such as Fiverr and Upwork, where you can directly find the clients. Moreover, you can also contact the clients via email or direct message. If your relatives run a business, ask them if they have marketing needs.

4 Tips to Find Clients as a Freelance Digital Marketer

Here are the top four tips you should know as a freelance digital marketer. With these tips, you can easily gain clients. Let’s check them out:

1. Optimise your LinkedIn profile

The first and foremost tip is to optimise your LinkedIn profile by adding keywords and descriptions. LinkedIn is one of the best job-searching platforms. You can find dozens of clients looking for a freelance digital marketer. Currently, the platform has over 300 million users. Fill up all the necessary details to gain the attention of clients.

Follow the below steps to improve your LinkedIn profile:

Choose the best profile photos
Create a descriptive headline
Research your keywords (facebook advertising, paid advertising, social media marketing, content marketing, google ads, etc.)
Show your past works, clients, and successful results
Regular post content relatable to your profession

2. Gain values for free

Reach out to Facebook and LinkedIn groups and show your generosity. It means helping people for free who are troubled with marketing-related problems. Craft a message as “Hey people, I am [insert your name], with an experience of [add your experience], here giving a 30-minute free session to help you with marketing-based problems, such as generating quality leads, content strategy, and more. If you are interested, reach out to me.” With this, you can find clients who really need you.

3. Join different groups

Joining different groups on social media platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, can be beneficial to get quality-filled leads. However, joining the groups is not enough; you have to be consistent. Keep connecting people with daily news and any other important updates. It will show them that you are highly attentive to your surroundings. By doing these, your name continuously pops up on the notification, and clients will prioritise you.

4. Engage people in conversations

Regularly engaging people, giving feedback, finding errors, and fixing them are important. Give feedback to the brands through Instagram or Facebook. Write a personalised message by mentioning the things that need to improve such as (a bad profile description, no CTA on the page, low-quality profile picture, no engaging photo, and more.) Furthermore, it is the best time to make the brand feel that you can help them improve these issues.

20 Best Platforms to Find Freelance Digital Marketing Jobs

Here are the twenty best platforms where you can find clients and help them through your skills. Let’s check them out:

1. Upwork

2. Fiverr

3. Freelancer

4. PeoplePerHour

5. Guru.com

6. 99designs

7. FlexJobsCoorporations

8. Toptal

9. LinkedIn

10. Simply Hired

11. Behance

12. Indeed

13. GrowTal

14. MarketerHire LLC

15. Mayple

16. WeWorkRemotely

17. Contently

18. Dribbble

19. ServiceScape

20. Jooble

The Last Line

Becoming a freelancer in the digital marketing field can be difficult without prior experience. But, with the right strategy and skills, anything can be possible. However, you need to follow some important steps. Digital marketing is a large field that has many niches, such as SEO, SMM, content writing, and more. Decide your niche first and then gain experience and refine your skills. The next step is to build a portfolio and launch your website. Furthermore, you can also follow the above-mentioned strategies to gain clients.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Ques: How to start freelancing in digital marketing?

Ans: Choose your niche that aligns with your skills, improve your skills, gain experience, build a portfolio and website, choose pricing, and search for clients.

Ques: What is the salary of a freelance digital marketer?

Ans: The salary of a freelance digital marketer varies based on experience. If you have ten years of experience your estimated salary will be above Rs. 8 Lakhs.

Ques: Can I be a digital marketer from home?

Ans: Yes, you can work as a digital marketer from anywhere.

Also Read: Top 8 Free Digital Marketing Courses Online with Certificate