From A Blogger to Digital Marketer

I have been a freelance writer and blogger for quite some time. And the reason I decided to get into blogging is that I love “writing”. It’s my passion. I want to monetize my blog and earn passive income. But just creating good content or product is not enough to get high traffic and earn money in this ever-changing digital world, where millions of blogs are present on the internet space.

Hence, the requirement of digital marketing and why we need to learn it. If you want your reader/customer to actually read your content and buy your products, you need to be good at marketing your product on the digital space. And that means being a good digital marketer.

After reading tons of material on the internet and going through free courses and one paid course, I still was not doing great in implementing the learning. Maybe because I was lacking the hands-on training and mentoring that would help me push myself.

So, I finally took a plunge and joined Digital Deepak Internship Program. And that right there is a stellar example of digital marketing by our Mentor Mr. Deepak Kanakaraju a.k.a Digital Deepak.

I am usually very skeptical about spending money on online learning, I only did it once and it didn’t turn out well. So it took me a long time to be on board with the idea. But then there is a reason our mentor is among top digital marketers in India. He convinced hundreds of people including one like me to join the internship program with his digital marketing skills and experience in this area. And this is a second batch, so it says something.

So, we had the very first class of the internship program recently, and I liked, what’s more, I enjoyed the interactive session very much. Learning is such fun this way.

 Here are a few key learnings I had from the debut class,

•     Be a good marketer first

Often, when we hear the term digital marketing, we immediately focus on the “digital”, when what we need to concentrate on is marketing. Because in the end, our goal is to sell our product to our customer and digital is just the means through which we are doing the marketing.

• Improve your Communication Skills

To be a good marketer you must be a good communicator, you need to have an impact on people so they listen to what you say. Then only you can convince them to buy your product.

Here are a few ways you can improve your communication skills:

*Reading – Trust me, my love for reading has provided immense help in strengthening my communication skills. And it has improved my vocabulary tenfold.

*Write a lot– Practice makes you better at expressing yourself, so write a lot.

*Watch English sitcoms and listen to podcasts- The actual conversations in the shows help you learn faster.

*Stand-up Comedy Videos- Helps you learn local slangs.

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• Find your Niche

There are three major niches – health, money, and relationship.  Everything comes under the umbrella of these three.

Narrow your niche

Find a problem that needs a solution- This helps you find your target audience and provide actual value.

For example, I am a Mom Blogger. And here is how I narrowed my niche and found my target audience:

As you can see from the figure, I am a Mom blogger who caters to stay at home Moms and their concerns regarding motherhood, self-care and earning money from home. That’s my Niche.

• Build your Personal Brand 

People don’t relate to a company, they relate and respond to a person. You don’t need to try to fit in, stand out of the crowd and be proud. Show people what you have got. Show your character and personality on social media; let them know they can connect with you. It helps build your tribe and community.

Once again DigitalDeepak is a great example here. Our mentor Mr. Deepak Kanakaraju is the CEO and Co-founder of the PexelTrack Digital Marketing Agency where they provide digital marketing services and training.

For this internship, if they had reached out only through their brand/company name, I think many of us won’t have given it as much consideration. But, DigitalDeepak is one of the top digital marketers in India. He has made a space for himself in the digital marketing world and built a strong community of people who follow him. And that’s what attracted so many people to this internship, a chance to learn from DigitalDeepak himself. (Personal Brand ho to Aisa! Kudos!)      

• Put your content Out There without Fear

Have you heard of the imposter Syndrome? It’s the feeling where you think there are so many people better than me, who are writing better content and selling better products, how can I compete with that? I am not that good. This self-doubt stops you from putting your content out there because you think no-one is going to read or like it.

But the truth is, you are unique, and with millions of people looking for content on the internet, you CAN find your tribe. But you have to put your content out there, on blogs, social media, etc. If you provide value, people will come to you/your blog/your products. Sharing your content is also important for building your personal brand, so people know what you can offer them.

Now, let’s come to the Light Bulb Moments of the Session

Yeah, there were a few moments in the session where Dimag Ki Batti Jal Gai!

• Debt Boosts Economy

         What?? Yes, that was my reaction too. I mean debt is a bad thing right? Turns out it’s not, instead, the more debt people are taking, the economy gets better.

How?

The average age of India is 27-28 years. These are people who are settling in life, buying houses, going on vacations, getting married, etc. and all that needs money, which leads to debt.

In simple terms, when debt increases, banks get money, and the cycle of money keeps going in the banks as people keep taking loans, it boosts the economy.

Still confused? Then read more about the economy or better yet, join the internship next time! Ha-ha, 🙂

So the point to this is that the Indian Economy is not going down any time soon. And marketing needs are going to grow in the coming years, so digital marketing is still going to be a good career choice.

• The Best Known will always Beat the Best

So you know the names of Top Digital Marketers in India?

If your answer is Deepak Kanakaraju, Sorav Jain, Harsh Aggarwal…and so on, you are right.

Now can you tell me the names of top women Digital Marketers in India, without the help of Google?

Got you thinking na?

Does this mean there are no good women digital marketers in India?

Absolutely not! There are many awesome women digital marketers in India. They aren’t just as well known as these guys.

During the session, when I realized this, it was a light bulb moment.

And I realized, along with being a blogger, I want to be the top KNOWN Woman Digital Marketer in India.

With this internship, I am starting my journey of being a digital marketer, who knows, maybe one day; I will be called a DigitalMommy!

Sounds nice…right?

So, this much happened in the first class of the internship, and I am glad that I joined this program. Eagerly waiting for the next class!

What new skills are you learning these days? Do tell me in the comments section.

Note: This post is written as the assignment for the 1st class of DigitalDeepak Internship program.