How to Get into Digital Marketing without a Degree

Having a career in digital marketing doesn’t necessarily always start with obtaining a degree. Similar to most careers out there now, you’re able to learn a lot of information online and put yourself out there without ever completing a marketing qualification. While for some people doing a degree works for them and they’re able to flourish in the subject, it’s actually a career path you can learn more about from experience and working within the industry. Those of you wondering how to get into the marketing industry will have a lot of questions, people may also wonder how to get marketing work experience and what are the key characteristics of a digital marketer. 

We’re hoping this quick guide is going to be useful for you to succeed in a marketing career and weigh up your digital marketing career options. It may even be that you’re currently studying something at university but you feel your digital marketing skills are better than what you’re studying and you want to pursue this instead. No matter what your situation is right now, take a look at these tips and pieces of advice below on how to get into Digital Marketing…

1. Learn as much as you can on how to get into Digital Marketing

One of the best characteristics of a digital marketer is when they’re passionate about their area. This passion often runs parallel with that person being very good at what they do and being able to do it better than a lot of other people. Learning more about digital marketing, whether you’ve been in the industry for ten years or under a month is always the way to go. Employers love to see you’re engaged with your job role and learning more will only improve your skills. 

You don’t have to pay for a degree or even online courses to learn tricks of the trade too. Using online tools and free guides can help to improve your current knowledge and solidify previously known information too. Whenever you come across something on social media or online that you think you’ll read at some point, bookmark the page and come back to it! Even if you’re not going to learn anything right in that moment, you may find a time when you’re free to read over it. For example, the Hubspot blog is a go-to place for other marketing tips. They have plenty of free templates to use, which is just one of the many positives. As well as the Hubspot blog, have a search online for the latest and greatest tools.

For visual learners, YouTube videos are a great way to learn more. Neil Patel and Growth Tribe are both great channels to look out for if you’re browsing the platform for digital marketing videos.

2. Get into freelancing and try remote work

The best way to get into marketing is freelancing. There are countless people out there who use freelancing as their full-time income but if you’re just starting out it’s also a great way to learn on the job and get some experience behind you for when you attend any full-time job interviews in future. Platforms such as Upwork and Freelancer have hundreds of new jobs posted daily and all you need to do is sign up for an account and start applying for jobs. 

Tips for freelancing on Upwork and Freelancer 

• We would never say to undervalue your time and skills but if you’re just starting out on a freelancing platform then you’re going to need to be cheaper than other people. While clients want a good profile, if you’re able to submit a job proposal at a cheap price by someone who sounds like they know what they’re doing, then they’re likely to opt for you (after all, price does matter to most people!). 
• Once you’ve built up a clientele and a freelancing profile on one of these platforms you can start charging more. However, it’s always worth getting your foot in the door before charging ridiculous prices. When I started freelancing (with no prior experience except for writing my blog), I was writing 500-word articles for a lady in America for $8. Further on in my freelancing career, I was able to charge upwards of $50 for the same amount of words because my profile was one of the best. 
• Make sure your profile is correctly optimised for SEO, and use keywords so that when potential clients are searching on these platforms they can easily find you and what services you offer.

3. Complete an internship

Anyone who has some spare time and wants to get into digital marketing without a degree could try an internship. Internships are offered for a variety of age groups by many different companies. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the internship could turn into a full-time job (if the company asks you to stay on in the role and become a paid member of staff). One of the only issues with this is that you have to live or commute to a larger city as most companies that offer internships are within the cities such as London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Cardiff.

Those who are looking at how to get marketing work experience will find an internship extremely helpful for building skills. However, it’s never very helpful for your bank balance as they’re typically unpaid! Despite this, you sometimes have to bite the bullet and try an internship to see what it’s like, if it’s for a well-known brand or company too then having this name on your CV is great for future potential job roles. 

The characteristics of a digital marketer are obvious whenever you meet one, typically we’re organised, eager to learn and have a lot of enthusiasm for the subject. If you’re someone who thinks they’ve got what it takes to become a digital marketer then start looking for jobs and making use of our resources and courses available! We hope this has helped you learn how to get into Digital Marketing.

Written by Olivia Hanlon