How I started my career in Digital Marketing

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Picture of Garima Malik

Garima Malik

  • Updated December 26, 2022

Wondering how to start a career in digital marketing? 

Confused about where to start? 

Too afraid to switch your career? 

If you match the above list, then this blog is for you. 

Let me take you through my journey from doing B.Tech to starting a career in SEO. 

Engineering Days

Right from the initial semesters of my college, I realized that I’m not a very techie person. 

Though I was always busy with assignments, projects, seminars, and prelims, I knew this was not what I liked. 

And as my degree was nearing its end, I felt the pressure of getting placed. 

I was baffled about what life will throw next? 

On one of those engineering days, I was having lunch with my sister, and she happened to know this guy from digital marketing who gives an official training. 

It sounded exciting to me. 

Soon after, I got in touch with the guy, and thankfully the training was starting in the upcoming ten days. 

I couldn’t be happier. 

I got enrolled in their weekend training program and couldn’t wait to explore more. 

Follow through to know where it led me to! 

Digital Marketing Training

It’s been a year since I have completed my digital marketing training. 

It was a 100 hours program that covered A-Z on digital marketing. 

The course covered SEO, social media, paid media, e-commerce, Youtube SEO, and much more.  

With digital marketing being a professional and not an educational course, there were more practical implementations than theory. 

For instance, it took us more than a month to cover SEO. 

When we discussed keywords, the trainer prepared a sheet to find more than 100 keyword ideas on a single topic using more than 20 ways. 

Google sheet for keywords

The trainer devoted the first half an hour of every class to doubts. 

I also used to have my separate doubt sessions, which sometimes stretched over two hours.

Seeing my dedication, performance in weekly quizzes and online certifications, my trainer hired me for my first job as a digital marketing analyst.

First Job

It has been one of the most learned experiences of my life. 

I’ve been fortunate to work at a place where my work directly affects the revenue generated. 

 Also, my profile matches the niche of their business (digital marketing). 

Let me give you an idea about the eight skills that I learned: 

Keyword Research

In SEO, keyword research has to be a regular activity. 

I keep myself aware of the latest trends, problem areas, new updates, etc. 

I also check out the kind of ongoing discussions in your industry from Quora and industry-specific forums. 

After I have a list of topics in my hand, I decide if I’m really in the position to answer those questions.

That helps me further filter my list. 

I try to club those topics together that can be included in the same article from this list. 

To get a better idea, I always hit SERP and check the results that are already ranking.

For example, if the pages that rank on the keyword “SEO” are only 1000 words long, I know that I can not talk about all types of SEO in just one blog. 

After creating this final filtered list, I head towards tools. 

I have worked on Semrush to find the CPC, traffic, and competition on each keyword. 

I also like how the tool offers further keyword suggestions. 

I also use a tool like Answer The Public to find question-type keywords. 

I also found out that not every keyword that has traffic is trending too. 

For example: 

Semrush data on facebook organic reach

The keyword has traffic on it, but Google Trends speaks differently:

It led me to drop this keyword.

Content Planning

After I know the keywords, I check for content ranking on those keywords. 

It gives me an idea about what kind of results people like. 

For example, for a blog “how to rank in Google,” pages that rank wrote the content in steps form. I too did the same. 

Writing a blog in steps form

Also, it helps me do competition analysis. 

I try to notice the points they have missed on, how I can explain something easier and better, and how to plan better infographics. etc. 

After this step, I plan the page title, H1, H2, H3, and introduction.

I gather the sources, data, and case studies that I have to refer to. 

For instance, being in SEO, I always consider Google Search Central a highly reliable source as it comes directly from Google. 

I also plan the images, graphs, videos, or infographics. 

I use tools like Canva and Adobe Spark for creating these images. 

Content Writing

After planning the content, all I do is fill up every segment. 

My content writing practices include:  

  •  Explaining everything in the easiest way possible.
  • Including less theory and more actionable tips.
  • Backing statements with lots of data.
  • Not using too much text.
  • Breaking the pattern with multimedia.
  • Using simple and short sentences.
  • Including experiential learnings.

Link Building

Under link building, I work on various methods. 

Here are some of them: 

Emails To People Linking To Competitors: 

It is the very first strategy that I worked on.  

After I know the pages that rank on the same keywords as ours, I can check out the pages linking out to them. 

I use Semrush to find these pages. 

The next step is to reach out to them via email. 

I’ve sent out many such emails to prospects. 

I use tools like Hunter.io, Anymail Finder, Snov.io, and Voila Norbert. 

Here’s one example of an email I sent: 

Emails to people linking to competitors

Broken Link Building:

Many times, I come across dead pages that were linked by other sites from my industry. 

I use Semrush and Ahrefs to check the list of pages. 

I study the content on these pages using the Wayback Machine tool. 

Once I know their content, I strategize on producing better content around the same topic. 

Next, I reach out to them via email. 

Here’s an example of an email that I wrote: 

email for broken link building

I have also included the screenshot as a proof of the broken link. 

Shoutout Emails:

I’ve written many shoutout emails for content in the same industry. 

Here’s one: 

email for shoutout

For Instagram posts

We started our Instagram page covering A-Z on SEO, the latest trends, actionable ways to get more traffic, rankings, and conversions. 

And you know what? 

We have 200+ followers in less than two months. 

In this span, we’ve made almost 50 posts, and all are carousels. 

When we decide on a topic, we develop a series of posts that will cover every small detail about it. 

For instance, when we discussed ‘keywords,’ this is what we covered: 

series of posts on keywords on instagram page

I plan the content and design for every post. 

I use various tools like keywordtool.io and hashtagify.me for finding the right hashtags for each post. 

I also study the insights that tell us the performance of each post, account overview, best time to post, etc. 

 

Work effectively in a team environment

My job experience has taught me how to work in a team environment and coordinate with people. 

As a team, we brainstorm on topics like: 

  • New topics for blogs
  • Planning Images
  • Ideas for Instagram post
  • Innovative post designs 
  • I also communicate with the designer to brief him about everyday posts.

We recently planned a roundup post and reached out to people for their opinion.  

For instance, we are currently planning to write “tips on great content writing,” and since psychology plays a huge role in it, I interviewed a professor from my university. 

Working directly with the founder

Your job turns into real learning when you work directly with the founder. 

You learn various skills like people management, money flow, handling clients, brainstorming strategies for business expansion, etc. 

You also get an opportunity to learn from his mistakes and ways to rectify them. 

Multi Tasking

My job has taught me to work on various tasks at the same time. 

For instance, there are times when I’m writing a blog, making calls, reviewing Instagram posts, and suggesting corrections simultaneously. 

It has instilled confidence in me that I can multitask and also meet my deadlines.

Conclusion

So, you see how an enrollment into a digital marketing course led me to my first job! 

After so many months into it, I’ve acquired a big skill set, handling various tasks simultaneously, coordinating with people, and, of course, directly working with the founder.

All this has instilled a lot of confidence and self-belief in me. 

So, if I can, You can too! 

I’d strongly advise you to check out Adschoolmaster Digital Marketing Course if you’re a budding digital marketer looking to launch your profession.

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