You may have already decided to pursue a career in digital marketing. And you would be justified in considering that. After all, it can be an incredibly rewarding career. However, you still need to get some things right if you want to have a successful freelance digital marketing career. In this article, you’ll learn 6 keys to a successful freelance digital marketing career.
If you want to pursue a career in digital marketing, you have to decide what path to follow. You can choose to work with the marketing department of a company, work for a digital marketing firm, or become a freelance professional.
Freelance digital marketing defined
A freelance digital marketer is a self-employed specialist who helps business entities or individuals achieve their marketing goals. As a freelance digital marketer, you can work remotely either independently or as part of a marketing team.
Some tasks that you may perform as a freelance digital marketer include creating and executing a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy to improve the online presence of a business, implementing social media campaigns, and designing and implementing an email marketing campaign.
Pros and cons of freelance digital marketing
While the amount of freedom that goes with a freelance digital marketing career can make it attractive, there are several aspects that you also need to consider.
Pros
- You have the freedom to choose your speciality, clients, and projects.
- Your work schedule can be flexible
- You decide how to scale the business
- No one shares the credit for a successfully completed work with you
- You also get to enjoy all profits from your projects
Cons
- You may not always have work coming in
- You will be doing it alone and managing everything yourself
- It’s up to you to strike the perfect work-life balance
- There likely won’t be any health or other benefits
Steps to become a freelance digital marketer
1.Get the foundational knowledge and skills
This goes without saying. Digital marketing is a field that requires you that have fundamental knowledge. As such, you can go for professional certifications or even a relevant degree. You may also use internships to improve your practical knowledge on digital marketing.
2.Choose a specialty…. Or not
There are several digital marketing fields that you can choose to specialise in. It makes sense to gain some practical experience in all of them before you choose one. This is because digital marketers are often expected to have an idea about all aspects of digital marketing. It so happens that digital marketing is a hands-on field so it can be very useful to take a digital marketing course and gain foundational experience on all the specialisations.
The main specialisations include the following:
- Content marketing: this can include content writing and copywriting
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Social Media Management
- Video Marketing
After gaining some experience in the various specialisations, you can choose the one you prefer and niche down.
3.Craft and market your portfolio
You usually cannot do without a portfolio website as a digital marketer. Such a website can help you showcase your marketing skills. It is a central location that can contain your completed work, testimonials, and a list of your skills. Remember that your first proof of your digital marketing ability is being able to sell yourself and this can reflect in how well you craft your portfolio. Examples of some great website portfolio builders include Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace
Special tip: Don’t let the lack of a job experience or testimonial stop you. You can create your first success story by writing personal blog posts, growing your personal brand, or creating a social media following.
4.Build your network
Studies reveal word-of-mouth referrals is a source of high-paying gigs for up to 42% of freelancers. This is because hiring managers tend to value referrals from their trusted contacts more than responses to job postings.
Some excellent ways to build your network include joining relevant freelancing communities, being active in relevant social media groups, attending events, and building relationships with other professionals.
Get some tips from this article on meeting online friends in real life
5.Legalise the business
Do not wait too long after the business kicks off before you make things legal. First, brush up your business skills and then get the business registered. Certain countries may require you to get a tax ID. If that is the case for you, then you have to start tracking your income and expenditures as soon as possible. You may also need the relevant permits and licences.
Remember to be specific about your payment terms and always use a contract for your business engagements.
6.Promote your freelance business
Hone your sales skills and do not hesitate to sell your freelance business to marketing leads or businesses. You can do this by cold-pitching (contacting preferred industries and marketing leads and expressing how your specific services can help them).
Other things that you can do to get job opportunities include searching for them on professional job boards, groups, and websites. Some platforms where you can sign up as a freelance digital marketer and pitch for gigs include Upwork, Fiverr, WriterBay, Scripted, Guru, and Freelancer.
Read up on advanced digital marketing tips to grow your brand visibility in 2025
6 Keys to succeeding as a freelance digital marketer
1. Maintain a strong online presence
You do not only need to create a professional website, a portfolio, samples of previously completed works, and social pages, but you also need to consistently update them and sell yourself as a competent digital marketer. A strong online presence means that your audience can get a feel of your digital marketing expertise and skills from your social media pages and online channels.
2. Be a master of one
Digital marketing is broad and it is a reasonable strategy for you to choose a preferred specialty and build your expertise on it. You may decide to niche down to social media marketing if you’re a people person and have a passion for following social trends. Alternatively, content marketing may be a better choice if you are good with digital designs.
3. Be equipped with the right tools
You are often-times only as good as your tools for the job. As a freelance digital marketer, you must have an efficient office setup. This includes a computer with the necessary specifications, good internet connections, ergonomic furniture, and relevant (updated) software tools.
Read up on best tools for freelancers in digital marketing
Related: Learn how AI is revolutionizing digital marketing here
4. Move with the trends and keep learning
You wouldn’t want to be a dinosaur in your field, right? Technology keeps evolving and the same is true in digital marketing. Achieving long term success in freelance digital marketing may require you to follow trends and strive to update your skills in line with the trends.
For example, you will likely need practical experience in using ChatGPT as a content writer not just for specific projects but also as a research and writing aid. Actually, you have to keep updating your social media skills, content writing skills, and other relevant skills in line with changing policies and trending tools.
You can periodically set learning goals and invest in yourself.
Get insights on how to integrate technology into your daily lifestyle
5. Be business-minded in your approach
Think you should relax because you’re freelancing? Think again! Freelancing should be a business for you. Some ways to be serious and make a success out of a freelancing career include the following:
- Your freelancing business bank account should be separate from your personal one
- Do not be desperate in pricing. Your rates should be competitive
- Have a consistent work schedule. It is easy to suffer burnouts during hectic periods if you do not set boundaries. On the other hand, you should train yourself to work even when you don’t feel like it.
6. Be willing to fall…and rise again
As a freelancer, you may have to weather the storms of rejection a lot of times. Some prospective clients may even ghost you just when the project is about to start. Other times, you may have to deal with a lot of seemingly unwarranted work revisions or gigs may just not be as forthcoming.
It’s therefore important to have a lot of grit and to always maintain a positive attitude. It may not always be a roller-coaster ride but you can always improve if you look out for lessons to learn.
Celebrate your successes. Take time to smell the roses and congratulate yourself for your wins whether big or small.
Your journey to freelance digital marketing success
Your journey to a freelance digital marketing career can be both exciting and challenging. You will need a lot of dedication and be committed to continuous learning. However, by mastering the keys outlined above which include maintaining a strong online presence, specialising in a niche, and keeping up with modern trends, you can create a successful freelance career. You also need to focus on delivering value always and growing your skills. With consistency, success is sure to follow.
Learn more about a hitch-free digital marketing career by visiting Exclusive Blueprint, a digital marketing blog powered by Buzztide Technologies. Our blog provides valuable tips, trends, and tools that can help you stay ahead in the competitive landscape of digital marketing.
Want to gain more insight and knowledge of digital marketing? Read up on our latest articles and expert advice on Exclusive Blueprint today!
