Gone are the days when educational qualification and degrees used to be the deciding factors for getting a job or career growth. In the case of new-age skills like Digital Marketing, these rules do not apply anymore. For such skills, your educational background, or the lack of it, isn’ t a limitation. Graduates or Non-Graduates can succeed in Digital Marketing alike.
Companies and Clients have evolved to value skills and merit over qualifications. As a testimony, there are a lot of people who have made it big in Digital Marketing without having a formal education background. In this article, we will take you through how to go about making a career in Digital Marketing and succeeding in it, whether you are a graduate or not.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to plan the growth when you are a non-graduate or still pursuing your graduation:
Table of Contents
1. Get an understanding of all Channels to succeed in Digital Marketing:
To start off, be like a sponge that absorbs all the information around. Unlearn what you know and just keep learning everything new that is in Digital Marketing space. Aim for understanding and learning about the industry as a whole, with baby-steps. When you start understanding the basics, identify the topics that you like or feel inclined towards. Start deep diving into these topics and learn them in further detail. The trick is that you don’t have to be an expert with all the topics in digital marketing. You can know all topics from an overview but later choose to be an expert in one or two of those. Some topics you should ideally include as a part of your learning plan are:
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Pay Per Click (PPC)
- Content Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Content Writing
- Email marketing
- Web Analytics
- Affiliate Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- App Marketing
However, your learning doesn’t have to be confined to these topics. There’s much more to explore as and when you proceed gradually.
2. Start your own Website or a Blog
One of the best ways to master something like Digital Marketing is by learning it through practice. If you are a fresher and have not worked with a Digital Marketing Agency or Brand, then the best way for a Non-Graduate to succeed in Digital Marketing is to learn by actually doing it through a personal project.
This project could be anything – a blog, a website to sell something, a youtube channel – anything.
Blogging is the one platform where you can start writing valuable content in any niche that you are interested in. This allows you to build a community over time that trusts you and relates with you. You can eventually start monetising the blog using Ads or Affiliate Marketing.
If you are interested in online advertising, you can practically practise paid campaigns to promote your website, get more visitors and even drive sales. Digital Marketing is not a theoretical topic. You won’t get confident about it until you do it yourself.
3. Attend Marketing Conferences and Events in India
There are a lot of events that are centred around digital marketing like:
- IAMAI’s Indian Digital Summit
- Drivers Of Digital
- DigiMarCon India,
- Campaign India Digital Crest Awards
- Ad:Tech
- VdoNxt
- Indian Content Marketing Award & Summit
- StreamCon Asia
- Adobe Symposium
These events give you exposure to some very valuable panel discussions and Keynote talks delivered by the stalwarts of this industry. At these events, apart from hearing the sharpest of the industry talk about the trends and insights of the industry, you can also network with other peers in the industry whether they are from the Agency side or the Brand side.
Keep an eye open for all the Digital Marketing related events that are happening in your city and neighbouring cities. This way you can plan your calendar in advance. This effort will help you make contacts and, in the long run, allow you to associate with them for various intents.
4. Get yourself a Digital Marketing Mentor
It always helps to get in touch with someone who has already done well in the industry and get them to agree to provide you with regular guidance. A mentor will guide you at every critical step in your career. A right coach or tutor acts as an accelerating step in your career and when in doubt, they will help you choose the right direction. They will always be there to answer your queries (considering you respect the boundaries and not take them for granted), share their experiences, and help you overcome your weaknesses.
Despite having or choosing a mentor, you shouldn’t forget three major components of growth – a continuous will to learn, consistency, and determination.
To conclude, if you are not a graduate or are still pursuing graduation, you don’t have to worry about it being a hurdle in your journey to learn digital marketing. Even if you rely on your talent and smart-work, you can grow, learn, and earn well in this field and succeed in digital marketing.
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