Doing freelance marketing either as a side gig or full time is a great way to earn extra money, tap into your creative juices, and make some super valuable networking connections.
What’s even better?
While freelance marketing might seem like it would be a fun job to do, people tend to underestimate everything it entails.
Companies are always looking for freelance marketers to add to their teams or on a per project basis.
Between social media marketing, the constant need for content and SEO, and using email marketing for lead generation, there are plenty of roles to be filled.
It’s not just about being able to share the latest viral videos and write catchy copy.
It’s the ability to work with multiple people in various departments, juggle several social channels while being able to keep brand consistency across those channels, and developing and implementing a stellar marketing strategy.
While freelance marketing might seem like it would be a fun job to do, people tend to underestimate everything it entails.
You have to be able to handle all of these things without dropping the ball as businesses are relying on you to handle their customer facing content.
But what kind of skills do you really need to become a successful freelance marketer?
8 Skills You Need for Freelance Marketing
While anybody can claim to be a freelance marketer, there are some skills that you should have locked in if you want to be successful.
1. Treat it Like a Business
There is a saying in the entrepreneurial world, “treat it like a hobby and it will pay you like a hobby, treat it like a business and it will pay you like a business.”
If you want to actually make money from freelance marketing gigs and possibly even take it full time, you are going to want to treat this like a business.
In fact, make it an official business by filing with your state even as a sole proprietor (hint hint, there are some sweet tax benefits to this!)
While it might not feel like a real business at first, especially if you are working from your couch or a corner in your bedroom, you still need to create that balance and treat it like real work.
This also means finding a balance.
Be sure to schedule your working hours and deadlines into your calendar.
Not only will this help to get you into that working mindset, it will ensure that you don’t miss any deadlines.
2. Be Organized
Organization goes along with treating this freelance marketing thing like a business.
If you aren’t organized then you are going to forget about something, miss a deadline, or not find time to fit in the more boring admin tasks.
When looking at a freelance marketers schedule, there are many different tasks that they need to handle throughout the day.
Here are just a few:
- SEO research
- Building and modifying marketing funnels
- Creation and implementation of marketing strategies
- Setting up and tracking key performance indicators
- Making social media graphics and posting them
- Creating, setting up and monitoring ad campaigns
- Writing content for blogs, email newsletters, white papers, case studies, ebooks, landing pages, and so on
- And of course, everything related to their business, finding more clients, invoicing, time tracking and so forth
That’s a lot of stuff to keep track of everyday.
One way to do that is through project management software.
If the company that you are working for doesn’t already have project management software, be sure to use your own.
Some great ones to check out are ClickUp and Monday.com.
They easily allow you to collaborate with others and keep everything in one place, nicely organized.
3. Have Time Management
Of course you can be the most organized person in the world, but if your time management skills suck, then you’re not going to get anything done. Remember that calendar we talked about earlier?
I know a lot of freelancers, including myself, that “if it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t happen!”
When you are trying to juggle different projects and all the things that life throws at you, you need to be able to get the most work done in the least amount of time and be truly productive.
If you struggle with staying focused on one task at a time, try implementing the pomodoro technique.
This is where you do one specific task for 25 minutes straight then take a 5 minute break.
Simply go to Tomato Timer to help you maximize your productivity. You can also track your time, which you might need to anyway if you are paid hourly.
This also helps to see how long you are spending on each specific projects or tasks. Toggl is a great app to use for this.
As a freelancer you need to be self-aware in what you are spending your time on.
While you might just want to give your brain a break for a minute and scroll your favorite social channel, you can’t let time get away from you. 30 minutes can seem like 5 seconds and before you know it, you’ve wasted some of your peak productivity time.
4. Use Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
While there is a great deal of creativity involved in marketing, there is also a lot of analytics.
The color of a button on a page can change the entire outcome of a marketing campaign.
As a freelance marketer you need to be able to understand all the data and how it ties into the creative aspect.
Looking at all the data requires critical thinking and problem solving skills. You need to be able to look at a problem from an objective viewpoint, not make it personal, and figure out a way to solve the problem or to make it better.
5. Have Solid Communication Skills
When you are working on big projects and with a team, you need to be able to effectively communicate with one another.
When it comes to marketing, that can cover a lot of different departments both inside of and outside of the company.
You will most likely be working with other freelancers, department heads, contractors, and so on.
A freelance marketer who isn’t able to effectively communicate can become a detriment to the team.
Communication isn’t just about being able to talk in meetings, you also need to be able to effectively communicate via email, through chats, and even texts.
Keep it short and sweet, to the point, and don’t include anything that isn’t relevant to the topic of discussion.
Communication is two fold when it comes to freelance marketing.
Of course you need to be able to communicate with your team, but you also need to be able to communicate with your client’s audience.
While they might not see your face, if you are putting out content that the audience is going to digest, you need to be aware of that and take that into consideration when creating content.
6. Understand SEO
No matter what you are doing online, you should have a strong knowledge of SEO.
Everything is basically a search engine now, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok. In order for customers to find your clients, you need to make sure that solid SEO strategies are in place for everything they do.
When you are looking for a freelance marketing gig, be sure to emphasize your super SEO powers to potential clients. While some people claim to know SEO, they really don’t, which is a huge asset to someone who really understands the power of SEO.
7. Be Tech Savvy
As a freelance marketer, there are many different softwares and apps that you are probably familiar with.
The more you know, the better.
Some companies prefer to use certain tools to create their content, schedule their content, and keep their customer base organized. As a freelance marketer, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- Popular social media platforms and schedulers
- Project management tools (like the ones I mentioned before)
- Customer relationship management software (CRMs)
- Google analytics or other analytical tools
- Video editors and graphic design programs
- Team messaging tools
Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn when it comes to proficiency in any of these platforms, apps, or softwares.
Especially if they state in their job description that they are looking for someone with knowledge in a certain platform. If you have it, flaunt it!
8. Have a Positive Mindset
Sometimes projects just don’t work out the way you wanted them to. You can’t get down on yourself or be negative to others on your team.
Staying positive when you are working by yourself all day can be difficult. People want to work with other people that make them feel good and make their jobs easier.
Even though you might not be working face to face, being positive helps to uplift others and creates a better working environment for everyone. Show your teammates and clients how excited and eager you are to be working on this project and even when something doesn’t work out, stay positive!
And don’t forget to complement your teammates and let them know how important they are to the project. Nobody wants to work with someone who complains all the time and is running around like the sky is falling.
Freelance Marketing Skills You Need to Know
When working in freelance marketing, you wear a lot of hats and juggle a lot of balls.
It takes a lot to be successful, but if you master these eight skills, you are well on your way.
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