Digital Marketing has become such a large part of advertising. This effects that everyone is trying to learn all they can about it. There are many resources with contradictory information, but you can find the right answers if you know where to look.
Digital Marketing can be easy to learn and understand. You just have to be willing to put in the hard work to research all its aspects. You do not have to go to college or take on an internship to become a successful digital marketing expert.
The Digital Marketing world is a vast landscape of opportunities that you can learn all about from your home office, your favorite coffee shop, or even in bed. But you do not have to try and navigate all this information alone. In this article, I am going to give you a step-by-step guide for starting your journey to learning all about Digital Marketing.
How Do I Start Learning About Digital Marketing?
Here is a simple guide you can follow to help you take the first steps towards better understanding Digital Marketing.
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- Initial Curiosity: Ask yourself why you are interested in Digital Marketing and start doing some general research.
- In-Depth Research: Make a list of some of the main topics in Digital Marketing and start investigating them one by one.
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- You could also choose to take an online course. (Keep reading for some tips on where to look).
- Specialization: Digital Marketing has many specializations, from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to Email Marketing. You should familiarize yourself with all of these, and you can even choose one or two to do a deep-dive into to start setting yourself apart as a specialist in the field.
- Engage the Community: Join Facebook Groups, Subreddits, and other communities where you can share ideas and learn from others who are also in the Digital Marketing field.
- Put Your Knowledge into Practice: Apply what you have learned by promoting your business or a friend’s business, or go onto Fiverr or Upwork and offer your services to test out all the new skills you have acquired.
- Keep Growing: The field of Digital Marketing is ever-expanding and evolving. You always want to stay on top of new ideas and new methods within the industry. Stay active in the communities you have joined. Read articles, and watch YouTube channels devoted to Digital Marketing. Stay informed.
Can I Learn Digital Marketing on My Own?
Yes! There are so many resources online that you can take advantage of. You should never feel like you have to go to college to learn about Digital Marketing. There are classes online that you can pay for, but there are plenty of free resources as well.
In the table below, we will compare some of the most noteworthy places you can learn about Digital Marketing online, and we will show you both paid and free resources they offer.
| Name/Link | Digital Marketing Institute | Reliablesoft Digital Marketing Agency | Neil Patel |
| Who They Are | An internationally recognized learning center focused on Digital Marketing. | A full-fledged agency, they provide training and Digital Marketing services. | A powerhouse in the Digital Marketing world, Neil Patel was listed by Forbes as one of the top 10 marketers. |
| What They Offer | Multiple courses and certification levels for newcomers and veterans alike. | All-in-one courses that offer a broad look at 181 different facets of Digital Marketing. | Step-by-step guide to learning and using Digital Marketing, including tools to help you. |
| What Sets Them Apart | You can become a member and join a community of Digital Marketers who are constantly kept up to date on trends in the field. | Their paid courses are reasonably priced and offer lifetime updates to keep you informed. | Subscription-based tools that you can use to help with in-depth Digital Marketing analysis. |
| What Free Resources do They Offer | An extensive list of blogs and podcasts on Digital Marketing and they host free monthly webinars. | Blogs on multiple subjects and a free ebook on Digital Marketing. | A huge list of Digital Marketing related YouTube video courses, ebooks, blogs, podcasts, and templates. |
So, is Digital Marketing Really that Easy to Learn?
By now, if you have clicked on all the links and looked at the plethora of resources that are out there for Digital Marketing education, you probably feel like you have been drinking from a fire hose.
There is a lot to the subject of Digital Marketing, but remember that you don’t have to learn it all at once. In fact, you don’t have to learn it all at all. Digital Marketing can be easy to learn because you can specialize in a subset of Digital Marketing. Specialization is one of the key ways to set yourself apart in any industry.
Doctors specialize to become Cardiologists. Engineers specialize in becoming Environmental Engineers. And you can specialize in one of the many aspects of Digital Marketing. Here we will go over some of the widely used forms of Digital Marketing so you can familiarize yourself with them and decide which one you want to pursue further.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO Marketing is all about learning how to drive traffic to your website, blog, or e-commerce store. You accomplish this by optimizing your content so that search engines like Google will prioritize you above everyone else.
Keywords will be your best friends. Learning how to say just the right thing in just the right way will send your content soaring up the ranks in Google’s search.
SMM (Social Media Marketing)
Social Media Marketing utilizes the immense power of social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and many others to help promote whatever it is you are marketing. This form of marketing focuses on creating content that is easily shareable, and that plays off of trends and the emotion of the moment.
PPC (Pay Per Click)
Pay Per Click Marketing is one of the oldest and most tried and true forms of Digital Marketing. By running ads that are carefully placed amidst other blogs and websites (like the banner ads you see running next to this article), you are essentially buying attention for your content.
Every time someone clicks on one of those ads, you are charged a fee. Creating these ads requires precision and follow through to make sure that they are performing and you are reaching the desired audience.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing involves a partnership between you and a supplier of either a product or a service. You advertise for this supplier with either a specific discount code or a link that people can follow. Anytime someone purchases anything from that supplier either with your code or through your link then, you get a commission from the supplier. The most important aspect of this type of marketing is having a large circle of influence.
If you have a successful blog or a ton of followers on Instagram, then you could easily use this type of marketing to monetize all of that traffic.
The Most Important Thing to Learn About Digital Marketing
All marketing requires some level of trial and error. By having curiosity, you can show that you are willing to challenge what you see and keep looking for a better way to get things done.
Problem-solving skills help you understand your mistakes and chart a better path forward. And last, but not least, being proactive gives you the drive you need to make changes ahead of the curve, to constantly conquer any new challenges that arise, and to come out on top.
Wrap-up
Digital Marketing is the present and the future of advertising, and there is quite a lot to it, but you don’t have to know it all to be successful. By putting in the work, researching, and specializing in one of the many branches of Digital Marketing, you can become a Digital Marketing expert.
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