Freelance digital marketing is a great way to leverage your skills to earn income on your own terms. As technology and internet usage continue growing, digital marketing roles are in high demand for businesses of all sizes.
Whether you are an expert in SEO, social media ads, email marketing, or web design, countless small businesses are eager to tap into your specialized abilities to boost their online presence.
This guide covers key steps for freelancers getting into digital marketing, including identifying your niche, marketing yourself, winning those first jobs, and building lasting client relationships.
With some strategic efforts upfront, you can develop a steady stream of clients and achieve fulfilling self-employment.
Identify Your Niche
The field of digital marketing encompasses a vast array of specialties. Rather than aiming to provide every service, competent freelancers zero in on a niche that matches their strengths and interests.
Do you excel at producing targeted content that boosts search rankings? Copywriting and SEO services may be a natural fit. Are you a social media pro skilled at running attention-grabbing campaigns? Social ads management could be your sweet spot. With experience in web design and analytics, a niche as a conversion rate optimization consultant may leverage your abilities best.
Take time to assess your digital marketing background and skills to identify the specific areas where you offer the greatest expertise. A niche helps you market your services more effectively and enables you to command higher fees by positioning you as a specialist in those services.
Build Your Online Presence
Establishing an online presence is a must for attracting digital marketing clients. At a minimum, freelancers need a website highlighting their services, key achievements, and client testimonials. While beginners may start with a basic WordPress site, blog content and case studies that display your tailored knowledge and abilities can go far here.
In the United States, web activity is almost evenly split between mobile and desktop, with mobile accounting for about 49%, and desktop at 48%.
An active LinkedIn profile can also serve as a highly visible showcase. SocialPilot reveals that over 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn, optimized profiles consistently appearing in searches can lead to steadier client inquiries. List specific skills related to your niche and amplify content by sharing it with relevant LinkedIn Groups.
Freelance digital marketers should also be active networkers on popular platforms their ideal clients use. For example, freelance content marketers may connect with brands directly via Twitter, while Facebook Groups drive lead sharing for social media strategists. Portray thought leadership and helpfulness on your niche’s popular platforms.
Develop Pricing & Service Packages
Rather than charging hourly, freelancers achieve business stability quicker by offering defined service packages with clear pricing. For instance, an SEO package could include keyword research, metadata optimization, blogging, and monthly analytics reporting starting at $X monthly. Social media packages may detail types of content, ads, and reporting delivered weekly at $Y per month.
Service bundles make it easier to convey your core offerings while allowing you to scale pricing. Start-ups may fit a basic plan, while larger firms can upgrade to more robust packages. Over time, client demand reveals the most popular combinations to feature prominently in your marketing.
Tracking the time that you invest to deliver quality work for early customers also informs realistic package pricing as your freelance business grows. Apps like Clockify, Harvest, and Toggl provide time tracking and project management features that are useful for dialing in your rates.
Reach Out to Your Network
The best source of early freelance clients is often right in your own network. Make a list of friends, relatives, and former colleagues who work for companies that could benefit from your digital marketing niche. For example, an ex-coworker who manages social media at a retailer may need support running campaigns. A cousin with an executive role at a medical practice could hire you for SEO services to drive patient traffic to their website.
Send out customized emails explaining the specific ways your digital marketing services can meet the needs of each connection’s organization. Include a helpful tip relevant to their business as well (not a sales pitch). By providing value upfront, network contacts gain a positive impression and see you positioning their success first. Since people tend to support those, they know and like, converting network leads into paying clients builds confidence plus momentum to propel your freelance business forward.
Build an Online Portfolio
An online portfolio that vividly displays your work is one of the best tools for attracting new digital marketing clients. Select 4-5 major projects showcasing accomplishments in your niche. For an SEO freelancer, showcase traffic and conversions achieved for previous clients via organic search. Social media marketers can highlight engagements and followers grown across key campaigns.
A whopping 89% of marketers witness a boost in their returns when they incorporate personalization into their campaigns. Meanwhile, 60% of consumers are likely to become repeat customers when they enjoy a personalized shopping experience.
For each featured project, summarize the client’s objective, your specific strategies, major metrics moved, and the resulting ROI. Allow website visitors to contact you quickly regarding featured work or custom projects. Particularly as you have fewer major digital marketing jobs to feature early on, detail the processes and tools you applied for past employers in roles aligning with your freelance niche.
An online portfolio lends credibility by demonstrating you have successfully delivered the types of digital marketing results clients seek. Well-documented successes also make you more memorable to prospective customers evaluating their options.
Market Yourself Across Digital Channels
While word of mouth and your network can generate early leads, actively marketing your freelance services expands your reach to new clients. Build a presence across popular platforms and communities serving your region and digital marketing niche specifically.
For example, join and engage with your local chamber of commerce both online and at in-person mixers. Having a website listing in their directory also aids local findability. Freelance content marketers may introduce their services via guest posts for regional publications, while social media strategists can run Facebook ads with an offer for a free audit of potential clients’ existing campaigns.
Digital marketing-related Facebook Groups, Reddit subs, and Quora Spaces also enable you to display expertise. Position yourself as a helpful peer by answering others’ questions rather than over-promoting. Warm prospects often check providers’ profiles and invite increased connections.
Facebook has roughly 3.049 billion users worldwide. It is actually the most popular of the platforms, used by 89% of B2B and B2C marketers around the world.
Consistent, helpful exposure across the right digital channels nurtures awareness and relationships with viable clients over time. Install free Google Alerts for your core services and location as well so you can quickly engage hot prospects researching needs you meet.
Under-Promise so You Can Over-Deliver
A common rookie mistake is over-promising digital marketing results, which fail to fully account for elements outside of the freelancer’s control. Search rankings depend heavily on Google’s evolving algorithm. Social media traction hinges on the content produced. Email open rates vary by subscriber quality.
Rather than guaranteeing outcomes they cannot completely ensure, smart digital marketing freelancers instead focus sales conversations on communicating the insightful strategies, expert implementation, and optimization best practices they bring to the table. Once secured, digging deeper into the client’s existing foundational elements helps identify reasonable KPIs for campaigns to target.
Then, as you consistently apply skilled effort, tracking key metrics and tweaking approaches, clients gain confidence in your capabilities through the partnership. Demonstrating flexibility to change course to improve results as new data comes in is equally invaluable. By taking this attentive, under-promise, and over-deliver approach, freelancers reinforce their reliability and excellence to each customer.
Prioritize Long-Term Client Relationships
While continually attracting new clients is important, developing lasting client relationships enables independent digital marketing pros to build a sustainable business. Plan to over-invest effort upfront, helping established customers reap results in exchange for their loyalty over time.
Set reasonable expectations for the length of contracts required to achieve the agreed objectives. For example, local SEO gains happen gradually, so a 6–12-month minimum agreement gives earned rankings time to drive growth. Account for inclusions like performance reviews and optimization recommendations as well so clients gain continual value.
The Digital Marketing scene is set to grow even more, shooting up at a rate of 32.1% and reaching a value of USD 24.1 billion by 2028. With nearly 6 billion people using the internet by 2027, the need for skilled digital marketers is on the rise.
Being readily available to answer questions and resolve any issues also fosters productive long-term partnerships. Digital tools like chatbots and help desks manage basic inquiries so you remain close and responsive to strategic priorities. When clients view your role as an invaluable partner instead of just a vendor, their satisfaction drives referrals plus repeat business.
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Conclusion
In short, breaking into freelance digital marketing requires upfront steps to establish your positioning and attract ideal clients. Once secured, prioritizing client relationships often sustains satisfying self-employment much more than isolated, transactional projects. With help identifying your niche, marketing yourself effectively, and delivering consistent value, independent digital pros can thrive by supporting the ever-growing online marketing needs of modern businesses both locally and globally.
FAQs
What are some good niches to consider when starting freelance digital marketing?
- Top in-demand digital marketing niches include SEO/content marketing, paid social media advertising, email marketing and automation, Pay Per Click campaign management, conversion rate optimization, and web analytics consulting.
- Identify gaps in your existing network and local market to determine specialties with ample opportunity to offer your services.
- Consider aligning to your own background and interest areas where you can showcase the most experience.
How much should I charge when starting as a freelance digital marketer?
Take time to analyze what you need to earn, track the hourly time your initial projects take, and research the rates of competing freelancers. Standard beginner packages are $500-$1500 monthly, depending on depth and niche. Increase rates over time as you gain experience and proven results for clients.
What is the best way to find my first freelance digital marketing client?
- The best source for that critical first client is tapping into your personal networks by reaching out to former colleagues, friends or other contacts at companies that could benefit from your digital marketing niche.
- Referral-based meetings circumvent sales hurdles and social proof can get you hired faster.
- Ensure you demonstrate how you’ll solve their specific pain points to convert warm leads.
Why is having an online portfolio so important?
An online portfolio with detailed summaries of previous digital marketing projects and the positive ROI achieved concretely demonstrates you can deliver the types of results prospective clients seek. Visual proof builds trust and credibility.
How should I structure my freelance digital marketing contracts?
Rather than vague or short-term agreements, craft 3–12-month contracts with clear deliverables, minimums, and pricing. Establish reasonable metrics and timelines for achievements based on the client’s current foundations and industry.
What are some typical digital marketing jobs for freelancers?
Common in-demand freelance digital marketing roles include:
- SEO consultants
- Social media managers
- Email marketers
- Pay-per-click campaign managers
- Web designers
- Content managers
- Graphic designers
