Visit Crorepati Avenue @ Digital Marketing World

Thanks to “Digital Deepak” (www.digitaldeepak.com), I’m writing a blog post in English after a long time. I availed an opportunity to attend his internship program on Digital Marketing. In the introductory class, he gave insights on how Digital Marketing works and how can one make it work as a revenue generator. I’ll share my key take-aways from the class in this post.

Crorepati in 3 years??!

Can you become a Crorepati in a span of 3 years through hard and smart work (and not through any “overnight rich” mechanism)? “Digital Deepak” says that it is possible. He backs his statement with solid arguments –

1. Market needs always expand. New solutions give way to new needs.
2. Marketing will exist as long as humanity exists. And, if you combine “Marketing” with “Technology” (which is nothing but “Digital Marketing”), the opportunities are endless – both short-term and long-term.
3. India is a young country, with regards to its population. The average age is approximately 27 years. Going by the basics of economics, India will be a booming market at least until its average age touches 50 years.

How can you get there?

The simple mantra is “Learn (Digital Marketing) – Do (Digital Marketing) – Teach (Digital Marketing)”.

Digital Marketing is a vast area with “pillars” such as Content Creation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Paid Advertising, Sales.

Let us say, one client wants to increase the online sales of his product. Through Digital Marketing, you can

• Create a short, catchy video about the product (Content Creation)
• Display it across Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, etc (Social Media Marketing)
• Create a website that can be identified through Google search (SEO) to showcase the product
• Capture email addresses of the interested/potential buyers and communicate with them for sales (Email Marketing)
• Generate more leads through Facebook ads, Google AdSense (Paid Advertising)
• Convince the potential buyers through genuine means and covert them as Customers (Sales)

You can choose one or two of the above-said “pillars”, go deep in mastering and provide services around those “pillars”. Or, you can provide end-to-end services across the spectrum of these “pillars” – which is called “Integrated Digital Marketing”.

In addition to “Digital Marketing” services, you can also look at devising “Digital Marketing” products such as e-books, online classes, etc. Depending upon how you gain expertise in this space, you can also provide coaching/mentoring and generate revenue.

What’s the critical success factor? – The Niche

Just like how Digital Marketing is a vast area, the domains in which it can be applied are also wide ranging. Hence, in order to be successful, it is important that you choose a “Niche” area. The three major niches are – Health, Money, Relationship. There are numerous micro niches within each of these niches. As an example, if you take “Health” , there are different micro niches such as maternity, baby care, elderly health care, fitness, etc.

You’ll have to choose the niche based on your Passion, Market Opportunity and Talent. If you are passionate about managing and tracking personal investments (e.g. stocks, mutual funds, bank deposits), you can choose “Personal Finance” as a niche. Obviously, you’ll have to do necessary market analysis and acquire necessary talent/skills to make it a successful business.

What’s the key “Talent” required?

Besides passion, which will drive your motivation (even during your downs), you need to possess or acquire one key talent to make “Digital Marketing” earn for you – COMMUNICATION.

The art of communication is of paramount importance to be successful in (Digital) Marketing. “Digital Deepak” provides the following tips to master the art of communication –

• Write every day (at least 500 words/day)
• Read a lot (at least 30 minutes/day)
• Listen to podcasts (30 minutes/day)
• Watch English Sitcoms (such as The Office, MadMen, etc)
• Watch Stand-up Comedy shows to learn culture and local slang

What’s in a Personal Brand?

In due course of time, it is important for you to build a “Personal Brand” as a digital marketer to reap maximum benefits. “Personal Brand” helps you to position yourself as one of the best known players in your domain/niche. And, this positioning always gives you an edge over your competitors.

Of course, building a “Personal Brand” is challenging.  You will have hurdles in the form of your own inhibitions to stand out among the crowd. But, once you internalize that “Personal Branding -> Audience Building -> Audience Engagement -> Revenue” [ -> implies “Leads to”], you’ll be determined to build your “Personal Brand”.

Summary

“Digital Marketing” as a career provides opportunity to generate huge revenues – both in short-term & long-term.  The simple mantra for long-term success is “Learn – Do – Teach“. You’ll have to identify a “Niche” based on your passion and market demands. Acquire necessary skills including the key “Communication” talent and deliver Digital Marketing services around your niche. As part of the journey, build a “Personal Brand” for maximum outcome.