Starting a digital marketing side hustle can be a game-changer for those who want to earn extra income without leaving their current job. A successful digital marketing side hustle allows you to leverage your marketing skills, create flexible work hours, and join a growing industry. With a digital marketing side hustle, you can explore different areas, from social media management to SEO optimisation, and gradually build a portfolio that showcases your expertise. The best part about a digital marketing side hustle is that it offers the opportunity to grow at your own pace while also maintaining the security of your primary employment.
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Be it television or radio, people have understood this simple trick: “The more people you reach, the more publicity your product will get!”. Since this development, not only have gadgets evolved, but marketing has also evolved rapidly. That’s what digital marketing is all about!
So, yes. Digital marketing can be your side hustle! But before starting your side hustle, you should know exactly what to expect. Sometimes, knowing what you are putting your effort into is more important than putting in a lot of effort. So, let’s first understand some basics about digital marketing.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is nothing but a widely used marketing technique to promote products and services using different digital platforms. Be it social apps, websites, or emails, people use these digital platforms to attract the appropriate audience for their products.
These platforms not only help them promote their product on a large scale but also give them information about the likes and dislikes of the customers. Thanks to digital marketing, businesses can now know the individual preferences of their consumers, suggest the same on their feed using different platforms and attract more and more customers.
Also, digital marketing is no longer limited to platforms that require the internet. Individuals who do not have a large following on social media use digital display advertising, SMS and MMS, and search engine marketing. In short, digital marketing has something for everyone! This gives you an idea of how fast this web of digital marketing is spreading across the world!
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What is a side hustle, and how much can you earn from it?
Before understanding the digital marketing side hustle, let us first understand how this side hustle works. A side hustle is something that you work on along with your main job. It is a great way to earn some extra money. It involves many physical, part-time jobs.
In the digital world, you can see many people running a YouTube channel along with their full-time jobs like cooking, yoga, or gaming, or maybe a local business website where they sell handmade things. Whether to earn extra money or to grow your passion in the real world, side hustles are always a great way to balance life!
From $500 to $10,000 per month, a digital marketing side hustle can do wonders for your finances. But before adopting this method, you must understand that side hustles are a slow process. With limited time and effort comes limited money.
Unlike the main job, it may not give positive results right from the first month. But, with a good amount of work, consistency, and patience, one can earn as good a side hustle as their main job, sometimes even more! And digital marketing plays a big role in this process.
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What are the benefits of being a digital marketing side hustler for your clients?
1. Product and service updates
In today’s digital world, people are highly dependent on the internet. They expect periodic updates on their products, and digital marketing easily fulfils this need. Whether it is through emails or messaging, a company can always stay connected with people.
2. Strong and constant engagement
Digital marketing makes it easy to get instant information by visiting any company’s website. People can read reviews, try demos, and ask questions at the same place and at the same time.
For example, check out the website of IIM SKILLS
3. Clarity and transparency
Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing does not give people room for misinterpretation of information received from elsewhere or false rumours. Customers can always check the information by visiting the official website. This builds trust and loyalty between the seller and the consumer.
4. It makes it easy to compare!
It is nothing new that competition among marketing companies is a mad race. People have been using the “compare and then buy” technique for a long time. But digital marketing makes this method more flexible. Digital marketing allows people to compare products and services!
5. It helps you 24/7!
You don’t have to wait till the weekend to visit the market, like in the old days. Digital marketing allows services to be available at any time.
For example, Amazon.
6. Benefits of sharing.
Digital marketing makes it possible to share content across every platform. Customers can share complete information about a product before buying it.
7. Visible prices.
Digital marketing allows companies to display prices, sales, and price updates at any time. This makes shopping more convenient for customers, as they can view, compare, and buy any product.
8. Instant purchases, cancellations, and more.
Digital marketing allows customers to save and add products to their carts. They can buy any product instantly. Additionally, it provides customers with a simple method to place and cancel orders.
How to Create a Digital Marketing Side Hustle for Yourself?
If anyone is benefiting the most from doing a side hustle in digital marketing, it is the entrepreneurs of the whole world! It doesn’t matter if you are new or just starting out. If used correctly, digital marketing is a golden opportunity to boost your business.
You must remember that, just like a main job, side hustles also require time and planning. Many times, people are passionate and experts in whatever product or service they want to sell or provide. But when it comes to marketing or promoting the product, they don’t know where to start.
Here are some initial steps to give your digital marketing journey a good start.
Once you know your product, make sure you go through these steps before you start marketing it.
1. Choosing a digital platform.
The first thing is to choose your platform. Nowadays, people choose all the platforms available to launch or promote their content. For example, Shopify, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are flourishing in this field.
2. Knowing the trends.
Before implementing your idea, do some research and learn about its demand in the outside world. Digital marketing is a competitive field. Make sure your product or service is in sync with the trends going on outside your business.
3. Using digital marketing in the right way.
Even if you are ready with your product, marketing everywhere will not be fruitful unless you meet the client’s needs or expectations. Instead of running after many people, win the trust of your audience, even if it is small in the beginning. These added values will help your company get long-term customers. Remember, one customer takes care of other customers.
4. Proper implementation on digital platforms.
Give as much importance to the process of promoting the product as to the product itself! Whichever site you use, make sure its format is clean, less cluttered with ads, and more user-friendly. Also, we live in an impatient world; make sure your site has good loading capacity and you don’t lose customers unnecessarily.
Now that you know the base, let’s take a look at some of the most effective methods that digital marketing side hustlers will use to grow the business!
Consider the top 7 elements of digital marketing when you make it your side hustle!
1. Online Advertising
Online advertising, also known as internet advertising, is where you can promote your product through various ads on different websites. You need to provide clear information about your product on your website and advertise it effectively on relevant platforms. For example, an ad for your clothing brand would be relevant and appropriate on another clothing website.
2. Email Marketing
A popular strategy in digital marketing is email marketing. It is the best way to stay connected with your consumers. Email marketing helps to establish trust between your website and customers by promoting your product information and providing updates about it. Its cost is also relatively low compared to advertising on other digital platforms. Adding attractive writing, graphics and links will be useful to grab the customer’s attention.
3. Social Media
Social media has replaced traditional marketing. You can use multiple social media channels to implement different marketing strategies. For example, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter all use different techniques to promote your products and services. You can take advantage of it by interacting and communicating with people on different sites, knowing the advertising technique at different levels and adopting different styles of promotion each time.
4. Text Messaging
Text messaging is a very old digital marketing technique. Even today, it is not completely over. You can use this type of marketing to inform your customers about product delivery updates. You can ask for feedback from customers and give them a link to visit your website. This is one of the safest and easiest digital marketing techniques that also takes less time.
5. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing serves you based on your performance. This is another extremely popular digital marketing technique that you can see on every platform. You can use this method either by offering your company’s programme to others or by becoming a part of someone else’s business affiliate. In the first method, your product will be advertised through a platform that has a large number of followers and suitable audience, while in the second method, you can promote ads and brands and get commissions every time the company makes a profit through your site.
6. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
This digital marketing technique works like magic once your website grows. The search engine visibility of your website is improved through SEO. The higher your website ranks, the more visible it will be, which will bring more traffic to the website. SEO works in all “search” aspects like image, video, academic search, news search, etc.
7. Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay-per-click is a great digital marketing technique to advertise your website with the help of search engines. This method will bring you more visitors by generating more clicks. It is an effective way to attract people’s attention and increase their engagement with your website at a low cost.
How do you deal with challenges in a digital marketing side hustle?
Digital marketing has seen a lot of changes in the past decade. Be it economic, social, or any global changes, no one can deny that it is a fast-changing and growing industry. Due to these uncertainties, even successful companies sometimes face tough challenges. Having said that, you may feel less confident in the beginning. But preparing yourself beforehand will not only help you deal with them easily but will also give you a healthy mindset to start your journey.
Here are some tips to deal with the challenges you face as a digital marketing side hustler.
1. Growing Competition
When you step into the world of digital marketing, you may be surprised to see big brands and companies getting a response from customers and growing rapidly. But these companies also started from somewhere and the present is the result of their continuity. Moreover, when you choose digital marketing as a side hustle, you should use it to balance your life and be a part of healthy competition, not hectic competition.
2. Constant pressure.
When you are at the service of customers all the time, you are constantly trying to impress and attract them. At this rate, it is easy to feel the pressure on you and your website whenever even the smallest thing goes wrong. For example, a missed delivery on time or a bad review. Still, we all know that facing such setbacks is sometimes part of any process. But if you proceed patiently without giving up and losing your confidence, you can deal with any ups and downs your website may face!
3. Changing times.
There will always be changes in the field of technology. Nowadays, every other month, there is a new update in some kind of technology. Digital marketing is no exception. In the beginning, you may find yourself new to handling all these digital things.
Even if you are the best at it, the rapid changes in information and multimedia technologies may reduce your confidence. But remember, experience is the key! The more you discover your strengths, the more confident you will be to use them in your work. Moreover, there are many courses that give you great knowledge about digital marketing.
For instance, one of the best institutes in India is IIM Skills. It not only prepares you in this particular field but also provides practical experience through its internships. Check out the Content Writing Master Course and Digital Marketing Courses in India for more details. Also, these courses come with affordable prices and some great real-life experiences in the digital world, which will give your journey a good and confident start!
Conclusion
In today’s world, digital marketing works like salt for a company! Without it, a company cannot easily stand out in the market. The time is not far when digital marketing will completely overtake traditional marketing and there will be an entrepreneur in every second household.
As people realise the importance of choosing the right platform to grow their businesses, they are increasingly adopting digital marketing as their side hustle. And not only that, but it has become a great support for people around the world to get the courage to start something of their own and showcase it to the world. Lastly, one must understand that digital marketing is not a destination. It is a continuous process where you start, fail, and evolve over time.
When your marketing skills and your passion for service are ready to work together, you don’t have to think twice about the power of digital marketing as a side hustle!
Frequently Asked Questions: Digital Marketing Side Hustle
What is a digital marketing side hustle?
A digital marketing side hustle is a part-time business or project that focuses on providing digital marketing services such as SEO, content creation, social media management, and email marketing. It is usually done along with a full-time job.
What skills are needed to start a digital marketing side hustle?
To start a digital marketing side hustle, you should have skills in SEO, content creation, social media management, email marketing, and data analysis. Basic knowledge of graphic design and website management can also be beneficial.
How do I find clients for my digital marketing side hustle?
You can find clients by networking, taking advantage of social media platforms, joining freelancing websites, attending industry events, and asking for referrals from your existing network.
How much time should I dedicate each week to my digital marketing side hustle?
How much time you dedicate depends on your personal schedule and goals. However, starting with 5–10 hours per week can help you effectively manage your side hustle without increasing your full-time job responsibilities.
Can I run a digital marketing side hustle without any prior experience?
Yes, you can start a digital marketing side hustle without any prior experience by taking online courses, reading industry blogs, practicing on your own projects, or volunteering for nonprofit organisations to build your portfolio.
How can I balance my full-time job and my digital marketing side hustle?
To balance the two, prioritise your tasks, set clear boundaries, create a schedule, and use productivity tools. It’s important to communicate with your full-time employer if a potential conflict of interest exists.
What tools can help me manage my digital marketing side hustle?
Tools like Trello, Asana, Buffer, Hootsuite, Google Analytics, and Canva can help manage tasks, schedule social media posts, analyse data, and create graphics.
How do I price my digital marketing services?
Research industry rates, consider your level of experience, and calculate the time needed to complete each task. You can offer package deals or hourly rates, depending on your services.
What are the potential challenges of starting a digital marketing side hustle?
Challenges include time management, staying up-to-date with industry trends, handling client expectations, and ensuring a constant stream of clients.
How can I scale my digital marketing side hustle?
To scale, you can hire freelancers, outsource tasks, offer additional services, invest in marketing, and build a strong online presence through a website and social media channels.