According to Zip Recruiter, freelance digital marketing managers can earn up to $68,970 per year while other reports quote average salaries that range between $84,000 and $123,000. It is therefore clear that freelancing in digital marketing can be quite rewarding. Beyond financial rewards, freelancing in digital marketing offers flexibility and creative freedom—but building a thriving career demands perseverance and a strategic approach. It may not be all rainbows and sunshine. You may spend a lot of time in the woods, as it were, making mistakes and failing to make a success of your freelance digital marketing career. Below, we’ll explore how to kick off your freelance digital marketing journey, from essential skills to networking tips and pricing models.
What Is Freelance Digital Marketing?
Freelance digital marketing is a job role that involves offering marketing expertise and services to businesses, organizations, or individuals to achieve their marketing objectives, strategies, and projects as a self-employed contractor. Most work is done remotely, either independently or integrated into a client’s marketing team.
What Freelancing in Digital Marketing Entails
As a freelance digital marketer, you can decide to specialize in one of several aspects of digital marketing. For instance, you may do the following:
- Create and implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies for brand visibility
- Craft and execute email marketing campaigns to nurture leads
- Manage official Social Media Marketing (SMM) pages such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
- Create content as part of content marketing for podcasts, blog posts, or YouTube video channels.
Also read: The Impact of Influencer Marketing: A Case Study of Nike’s “Dream Crazy” Campaign
Steps To Become a Freelance Digital Marketer
It can be quite difficult to start a career as a freelance digital marketer especially if you do not have a guide. So, without further ado, let’s discuss the steps to get started as a freelancer in digital marketing.
Step 1: Build a Background in the Areas of Digital Marketing
You may end up specialising in one of several aspects of digital marketing or even if you plan to specialise later, developing a strong foundation in general digital marketing is crucial. Digital marketing is an evolving field and you need to have a good idea of everything. So, your first step to freelancing in digital marketing should be to complete a fundamental digital marketing course on platforms such as Careerfoundry, and Google Digital Garage.
Such courses typically include training on the following:
- Content marketing: This can include content writing, copywriting, and content strategy.
- Search engine optimisation (SEO): This typically teaches SEO strategies like keyword research and on-page optimisation that need to be implemented during content marketing.
- Social media management: You’ll learn how to manage official social media accounts, implement strategies, and monitor performances.
- Search engine marketing (SEM): Here, you typically learn the essentials of creating, running, and monitoring paid ads on search engine platforms.
- Video marketing: This teaches how to sell a brand on YouTube, TikTok and Reels.
- Marketing analytics: You should know how to source and analyze marketing data so that you can measure your digital marketing efforts.
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Step 2: Niche Down to a Digital Marketing Specialization
Digital marketing is a competitive field but you can stand out from your competitors if you niche down. This extends beyond specializing in a digital marketing field to specializing in specific industries, tools, and audiences.
Of course, you have to factor in your interests, passions, and long term goals when choosing a specialization.
You may decide to specialize in any of the following aspects of digital marketing:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- Paid ads
- Content marketing
- Copywriting and content creation
- Social media marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Graphic Design
- Email marketing
- Web design and development
Step 3: Create Your Portfolio Website
Success in freelancing as a digital marketer involves showcasing your marketing skills to potential clients. To effectively do that, you will need a good portfolio website.
For a start, you may begin by hosting your published content, testimonials, case studies, brief bio, and a list of skills in one domain. Examples of portfolio-building websites include Notion, Webflow, and Wix.
If you lack real-world experience, demonstrate your capabilities by:
Growing your personal brand or community on social media
Writing sample blog posts on niche topics
Documenting your marketing experiments or personal projects
Step 4: Build Your Network
Statistics from Peak Freelance’s study reveal that 42% of freelancers get high-paying gigs through word-of-mouth referrals. Your key to getting your first paying client can therefore come from contacts in your network.
So, how do you build your network? You can consider the following tips:
- Join and actively participate in freelancing communities that are relevant to your industry on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (Twitter).
- Attend in-person and virtual meetups/events
- Connect and build relationships with digital marketers.
Also read: Top 5 Online Tools for Effective Time Management
Step 5: Legalize Your Business
Many employers and governments have legal requirements that freelancers have to meet. It therefore makes sense to register your business. Then you may get a tax ID if it’s a requirement. This is a necessary prelude to tracking your income and filing your taxes when it’s time.
In addition, you can nail down business skills such as how to send invoices and prepare contracts (for cases where your client does not send you one).
Step 6: Nail Down Your Pricing Strategy
You don’t want to be stumped or give a low price when a potential client asks you what your rates are. You should do your homework well ahead of time and figure out your investments in terms of time and effort and know what pricing model will be fair to you.
Be prepared to confidently quote a fair rate. Decide if you’ll charge:
- Hourly (based on complexity and research needs)
- Per project (scope-based flat fees)
- Monthly retainers (ongoing work for consistent income)
At this point, you may do some research on freelancer community forums and industry benchmarks to find a competitive yet profitable rate range.
Related: How to Price Your Ghostwriting Services: A Practical Guide
Step 7: Actively Promote and Sell Your Skills
Building a successful freelance digital marketing career does not stop at building your network. You need to actively pitch your skills to businesses, marketing leads, and potential employers. You can first research potential leads in your preferred industries. Then you can start your cold-pitching process by reaching out to them and letting them know how your skills can specifically help them. This is where your selling skills and the content in your portfolio website come in.
- Feature portfolio highlights and client results in personalised emails
- Post value-driven content on social media to attract inbound requests
Platforms where you can market your services include your website, social media platforms, email marketing, and traditional marketing.
Step 8: Build Experience with Unpaid Work
It can seem unproductive to build a portfolio site without concrete work experience. However, you can kill two birds with one stone by working for free. First, you will be building solid work experience. And second, paid work opportunities may directly arise from that workplace or others.
For example, to bolster your portfolio, consider volunteering for big brands or established businesses. You could:
- Guest-post on popular industry blogs
- Take on an unpaid internship in social media or SEO
- Collaborate with another freelancer in a skills swap
This approach helps you hone skills, gather testimonials, and may even lead to paid referrals.
You may research and register with platforms such as Acadium to become an apprentice.
Alternatively, you may partner with another freelancer and swap-free services with them.
Step 9: Begin With Part-Time Freelancing
Success doesn’t happen overnight. It may take you quite some time to land your first client as a beginner in freelance digital marketing. This is why you should not rush to quit your current job and dive into full-time freelance digital marketing.
You can possibly prioritise part-time opportunities if it’s taking more time to land your first client. This way, you can maintain a stable income, start small, and not need to fret so much about unpaid bills.
Step 10: Land Your First Gig
If you’re sure that you can deliver results, then it’s never too early to land your first client. So feel free and confident enough to talk to prospects and close your first deal. You can do this even as you continue buffing up your portfolio.
If you have not done it before this step, then you should create your profile on various freelance marketplaces including the following:
Feel free to optimize your profile and make outbound pitches on platforms such as LinkedIn and Top Startups.
You can also research and target potential clients and send them personalized emails. For instance, as a content writer, you may suggest top keywords that they could rank for and offer to write a free article for them.
Step 11: Prioritize High-Quality Service
You have already read here that word-of-mouth referrals can land you gigs. This is even more effective for well-satisfied clients. They are more likely to stick around and even give you referrals if you provide an excellent client experience for them.
So, always provide a stellar experience for them from the initial discovery call through onboarding, strategy execution, and project follow-up. Exceed expectations, and you’ll nurture profitable, long-term relationships.
Step 12: Keep Growing and Stay Updated
In the world of technologies such as generative AI, the digital marketer who does not update their skills may become redundant in the marketplace. You therefore need to invest in yourself as you continue your freelance digital marketing career.
Learn more about the industry and prioritise familiarising yourself with relevant tools and techniques of your craft.
Related: 6 Proven Steps to Craft a Winning Social Media Advertising Strategy
Your Path to Success in Freelance Digital Marketing
Starting out as a freelance digital marketer involves challenging but rewarding steps: building your marketing foundation, growing a portfolio, setting a competitive pricing model, and consistently delivering quality. By continuously learning, networking, and refining your marketing offerings, you can carve out a profitable career that aligns with your financial goals and lifestyle preferences.
Ready to take the plunge into digital marketing? Begin by learning more about digital marketing. Check out other pages of our website: Exclusive Blueprint. Our blog provides valuable tips, trends, and tools that can help you stay ahead in the competitive landscape of digital marketing.
You can read other valuable content and trending topics on affiliate marketing, E-commerce, content marketing, technology, and industry news by checking out our latest articles and expert advice on Exclusive Blueprint today!
Happy freelancing!
