What things can I be doing on my own?

What can I be doing on my own to get into marketing?

Hi, I’m Janet Granger, answering the question: what are things that I can do on my own to get into marketing? 

In a previous question, I pointed out a few things that you can do on your own, so I highly recommend you listening to, or reading, the response to: “what are some entry level jobs in marketing?” and I will embellish on that further here. 

I’ve given you a couple of links here, with this question, to give you a sense of the type of certifications that you can get to show people that you’re serious, and that you’re interested. 

The links here talk about the importance of networking. Networking with people in general and also networking with marketers, so that you can start to learn a bit of what’s actually going on in the areas of interest to you. 

Also, there’s a link here to help you create a digital portfolio, if that’s something that you’d like to do. 

Years ago, people did non-digital portfolios, to show that they could do the work.  They’d create fake ads – that’s why I recommended in my other answer that you do things like fake social posts, or other sorts of fake things that show you know what the job is and that you could do something similar, when it comes to getting what you can do on your own. 

For me, when I’m looking to hire someone, I’m interested in someone who will read, read, read, read. You need to be an “ongoing learner” if you want to be in digital marketing, because digital marketing changes every day. Yes, I mean every single day things are changing. 

Start now, if you’re interested in digital marketing. Start reading, and find an area of interest to you. Find an industry, or find a company; find something in marketing that is of interest to you, perhaps a thought leader in a specific area. 

I’ve often said that, in the area of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – to me, the godfather was Rand Fishkin. I subscribe to his blog, I read everything he says. Very early on, I really liked everything that Seth Godin wrote, too. I highly recommend you check out Seth – he’s a great thought leader. 

Once you find someone who’s writing things that are of interest to you, read the website, read their blogs, you might even buy their book. 

Read it all because the more informed you are, especially when you get into an interview situation, the better off you’ll be; somebody might ask you “who are you following in marketing?” and you’ll have an answer to that and the better impression you’ll make. 

Because the more serious you are about it, the more it will show. It’s not just, “Oh, I woke up this morning and thought of marketing.” The more likely you are to get hired, or at least tried, and knowing a lot about an area that’s of interest to you is the best way that you can move forward on your own and get started. 

It’s like anything in life: the more you know, the more you might meet other people who are interested in what you know. You’ll do the networking and you’ll find the opportunities. 

One other thing you might want to do is go to my website – www.janetranger.com – and read my blogs and see if there’s anything there that resonates with you in terms of topics of interest. 

I’m Janet Granger, answering the question: what are the things I can do, on my own, to get into marketing?

Links to take a look at: 

https://valchanova.me/marketing-job-no-experience/

https://libguides.madisoncollege.edu/digitalportolio/marketing