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This article is part two of a three part series on life as a digital nomad by Chris Bruno. To read part one, click here.
The reason why I think Digital Marketing is an amazing choice of “career” for a Digital
Nomad is that it’s always changing and developing.
What does this mean for you?
It means that everyone that works in the industry is learning on a daily basis.
Yes others will have more experience than you, but remember that every time a new
platform is launched, or a platform changes, or updates it’s offering, that competitor of yours is learning at the same time.
Keep Up With The Digital Marketing Trends And Use Your New Knowledge And Skills To Travel More
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You need to develop a quick learning curve for this industry.
You snooze, you lose. It’s that simple.
Remember that you’re only as good as your last campaign/client. People will want results, that’s what counts…
So once you get your first client, make sure you do EVERYTHING in your power to help achieve your agreed goals.
It’s “Easy” to Learn on the Move
Everything you will need to learn about any particular aspect of Digital Marketing can be
found online.
Courses are run online, your teachers and mentors will be online, so it’s pretty much the perfect discipline to learn whilst moving around.
You don’t need to go to school or university, in fact, the vast majority of amazing online
marketers that I have met will all tell you the same thing…
It’s the experience and working on the platforms that will really teach you how to run campaigns and get results.
That’s a good thing if you are looking for a career change.
You don’t need a degree or some form of accreditation to be able to work in this field.
Anyone can do it, and your previous experience/industry might even be an added bonus in the long run.
You can use that experience to help companies in that industry with your new found skills.
Choose your Niche
There are so many different elements to Digital Marketing!
This means it’s the perfect industry for you to choose one particular skill/niche, start learning everything you can about that niche and to start finding clients for your chosen niche.
A lot of companies, if they outsource, will often have different companies for their search
advertising, their social media, their content creation etc.
It works well for a lot of these businesses.
It means they can easily change one supplier without ruining a relationship that might affect all the other aspects of their Digital Marketing efforts.
So pick one, choose the one that interests you the most, the one that you feel confident you will be still be interested in this time next year.
Some choices include:
Social Media
I would suggest picking one network rather than trying to be a jack of all trades.
Trying to build engagement on Twitter for example can be a lot trickier than building an audience on Facebook.
Instagram can be very hard to build an audience at the beginning, and more importantly, needs the Facebook platform to allow you to run ads on it.
Do some research and spend some time, not on your personal profile but by looking at
businesses and what they are doing and how they are performing.
Once you’ve mastered one, you can always add another later on.
Content Creation
I hate the phrase content marketing (I have been known to use it occasionally).
The truth is all marketing has ALWAYS been about the content.
It doesn’t matter if you are composing a Tweet, writing a blog or a newsletter, the content is the most important thing.
It’s always been this way.
If you’ve ever watched Mad Men, you’ll know that they create an image, then someone creates some words, both of these are CONTENT.
But today, people need help writing content.
They don’t want to take the time, or they believe that they can’t write to a high enough standard to impress potential clients. So capitalise on this.
I strongly recommend that if you start creating content for others, you stick to businesses/industries that you know or have experience with.
It will be far easier for you to build your skills as a writer when you start with something you know.
Online Advertising
Choose one platform and learn everything about how to run online ads.
This can be Google AdWords, Facebook advertising, LinkedIn Ads, Twitter Ads, anything, it really doesn’t matter. There is a market for all of them.
Once you’ve made your choice, learn everything you can. Read everything you can.
Sign up to newsletters, podcasts, anything you can to make sure no matter what changes happen, big or small, you’ll hear about them straight away.
There is nothing worse than hearing a story about how a client engaged a freelancer, spent
hundreds or thousands of pounds and in the end, got NO results.
It’s all Online
The beauty of this kind of service is that people expect you to be online.
They don’t really care where you work from, where you are based or if you have a nice office.
People will take a chance if they like you, they will want to keep in touch and you can do it all using the internet.
This makes it a perfect choice of profession for anyone who wants to travel and be a nomad.
You can find clients online.
The best way will probably be through the platform/skill that you are looking to sell to your clients…
Want to work with clients and their Twitter accounts, you need to be found on Twitter, and you best be good at it. Same applies for any other platform.
If you want to write content, get a blog set up straight away and start writing…
Write 3/4/5 or more posts every week and make sure they are solid.
When people see it, they will know you’re someone they should work with.
Related: How To Start A Blog That Gives You Freedom To Travel More In 2019
Manage Everything while You’re Away
Today it’s easier than ever to make sure things are automated online, that billing is
streamlined, that people can pay by credit card and that you can see everything from your
laptop/phone and know that your business is running smoothly.
I own two businesses, both online, and EVERYTHING I do is online today.
Be it invoicing, the accounts, social media content for clients, everything is done in a way to make it as easy for me and my clients to know where we are, at any time.
My aim is to always be two weeks ahead of the game. This allows me to enjoy my time more than ever before.
Clients know I am around for them, but if they have to wait a day or two till I’m online, they are fine with that, because no matter where I am or what I am doing, their online presence is always ongoing and getting results for them.
That’s what it all comes down to in the end.
We plan in advance, we create the strategy and plan together, I then implement it.
By doing this, nothing is immediately urgent.
The old cliche is so true “fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail”.
Your turn!
It’s time to pull your finger out and stop with your excuses.
If you really are considering becoming a Digital Nomad, then get working on choosing a niche.
Even if you work 10 hours a day in your current job, come home and spend 1 or 2 hours everyday researching the platforms and the different parts of the industry.
Find the leading websites and learn from all of them.
Know your niche better than anyone else you know.
This will help you become the “go to person”.
I’d love to hear what you decide to do and would be happy to chat to anyone that’s looking at going down this route.
Hope to cross paths with you soon enough. Good Luck!
Chris
Tell us, are you interested in becoming a digital nomad and working around the world through utilising the internet? What questions do you have about digital marketing?
