It’s a common misconception that you need an advanced degree to be successful in a content marketing role. Many bright, ambitious individuals who are passionate about marketing decide to pursue an associates degree and gain the skills they need to successfully fulfill their roles. With the right education and training, even those with limited experience can become confident and capable marketing professionals.

Here’s how you can make content marketing for associates degree students work for you:

Identify Areas of Strength

An associate degree doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to perform every task effectively, but it certainly doesn’t limit you to just one role either. It’s possible for someone with only an associates degree to become a confident and capable marketer, copywriter, and brand strategist for a small business. That’s because the curriculum at the diploma mill doesn’t discriminate against experience. It’s designed to give you the skills you need to succeed in any role in the marketing department, even if you don’t have any previous experience in the field.

So instead of just focusing on your weaknesses, take the time to identify your areas of strength. Look at your past academic performance and grade-point average, as well as your extracurricular activities. These all contribute to your overall potential as a student. Once you’ve determined your areas of strength, take the time to develop your skills in those areas. Work smart, not hard. You’ll find success much more quickly if you take the time to develop your strengths rather than working to improve your weaknesses.

Avoid Being Overgeneral

The first and most important thing you need to do if you want to make content marketing work for you is understand its scope. Just because a client is paying you to develop marketing content for them doesn’t mean you need to limit yourself to just one area of marketing. You can be as creative and as varied as you want within the scope of this project, but you must define the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable. Otherwise, you’ll land yourself in a bit of a pickle when the project is over and you’ve actually got to implement what was supposed to be developed as content.

For example, if you’re being paid to create press releases for a company, you might want to specialize in writing powerful press releases for prominent media outlets. Press releases can be extremely effective at getting a story out there, but you must know how to tailor them to specific media channels. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a story that didn’t belong there in the first place. When that happens, you’ll have to scramble to find something that does apply. While it’s not always possible to change the facts of a story once they’ve been published, you can certainly try to persuade the editor or journalist who wrote the article to change their mind in light of new information. But that takes time, which is usually not something you’ve got if you’re under a tight deadline.

Learn the Basics

Another important thing you need to do if you want to make content marketing work for you is learn the basics. All of the fancy hats you’ll be wearing later don’t make up for a lack of fundamental knowledge, especially if you want to be taken seriously as a professional. There’s nothing worse than seeing a new writer show up on your doorstep with press releases or marketing plans that are so full of spelling errors it’s not even funny. Even more annoying is when a writer with no previous experience at all throws together some content, thinking everything will just work out perfectly. That’s because they haven’t even bothered to learn how to write an effective headline, let alone write a complete article. While you might be able to teach someone how to write a convincing press release, you can’t teach them how to write an effective headline or how to link words with other words to create a complete thought. These are the things you need to learn, and then you can start creating content that will actually be useful to the people reading it. It’s also worth noting that some of the more complex skills you’ll need will also help you to create more effective content in the long run. For example, being able to write a compelling case study takes time, but also allows you to write more effectively about a particular subject matter. That level of skill comes from learning how to properly use the facts in a compelling manner and being able to back up your claims with evidence.

Be Ready to Work

When you decide it’s time to make content marketing work for you, it means you’ve got a steady stream of jobs lined up. Even better, most of these jobs will pay you cash, which you can use to fund your new lifestyle as a freelancer. The problem is, being freelance doesn’t mean you can disappear for long periods of time and expect to be paid the big bucks. Even worse, you’ll often have to take on projects that you think will be easy money, but turn out to be massive time wasters. To prevent yourself from getting burned out and looking for a change, you’ll need to develop a work-life balance, delegate the unimportant tasks, and be ready to dive in and work when needed. That means having some savings, a good income, and a decent portion of free time on your hands.

Be Confident

Last but not least, we’ve got confidence, self-confidence, and assertiveness. You’ll have to be able to walk into a meeting with confidence, knowing you’ll deliver what was promised and having done thorough research. After all, you’re the expert and they’re simply there to follow your commands. You’ll also need to be assertive, able to speak up for yourself and your opinions, and be comfortable standing your ground. You don’t need to be aggressive or hostile, but being able to state your case and have others respect your opinion will go a long way in securing you freelance writing gigs. It’s also important to be confident, especially if you’re writing for a niche audience. Being able to connect with your audience, who might not always be willing to take you seriously based on your accent or vocabulary, will make all the difference in securing your freelance writing gigs.

Developing marketing content for a business or brand can be extremely lucrative, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. To put it simply, it takes a lot of hard work and research, as well as the ability to learn from your mistakes. Even then, the results might not always be what you’re looking for. That’s why it’s important to specialize in one area and become an expert in that particular matter. As long as you can prove you’re an expert in a particular area, you’ll be able to secure lucrative contracts and work as a freelance writer, content strategist, or marketer. It’s just a matter of time before you’re making headlines and setting your schedule based on your desires.