Are you looking for a way to learn online marketing without paying for a certification? You can, and here’s the method:

First, you need to find a mentor. Someone who is an expert in digital marketing and can teach you the ropes. You can find a reputable mentor on platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter.

Then, you can take the Certified Digital Marketing Associate (CDMA) Exam for free. After you complete the exam, you will receive a digital marketing certification from DMA International. You can also choose to affiliate market with a company that specializes in Digital Marketing Certifications. You will receive a commission when someone clicks a link or buys a product that is promoted on your blog or website.

What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is a form of marketing that involves using digital technologies to attract, appeal, and engage with potential customers. It is a combination of marketing and sales that focuses on reaching potential customers through online and mobile channels.

A digital marketer creates marketing material such as advertisements, articles, and videos that are designed to attract potential customers to a website or app. This material is then shared on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter to attract more customers. When someone performs an action (e.g., buys a product, makes a purchase) after reading or viewing an advertisement, the advertiser credits the digital marketer.

Difference Between Traditional and Digital Marketing

Marketing, whether digital or traditional, involves attracting potential customers to your products. Once they are attracted to your product, you then have to persuade them to buy it. Traditional marketers use various methods such as radio ads, television commercials, billboards, magazine articles, and social media to attract people to their brand.

However, with the rise of the digital consumer, all of these traditional methods of marketing have changed. Consumers can be more easily distracted by flashy ads and pop-ups on webpages, so advertisers must change their tactics. In the past, print publications directed readers to other print publications for more information. However, with the rise of the internet and search engines, readers can easily find the information they need online. This makes getting people to click on your ad more difficult. It’s all about conversions now.

Why Should I Study Online Marketing?

If you are reading this, it means you are interested in learning more about digital marketing. Why? There are several reasons. First, the workforce for this occupation is growing, so you can find opportunities in nearly every city. Second, average wages for this field are on the rise, so you can expect to make more money than you would in, say, sales.

If you want to succeed in the field of online marketing, you must have a good foundation in digital literacy. Without it, you will be at a disadvantage. To that end, here are some awesome tips for free from DMA on how to study online marketing:

Start With General Web Literacy

To succeed in the field of online marketing, you must understand how to navigate the web. You must know how to use a search engine like Google to search for information, how to read and understand HTML, and what RSS is. You also need to understand the different types of emails (e.g., transactional, marketing) and know how to use email marketing platforms like AWeber and MailChimp to send out marketing emails.

Next, Find A Niche

Once you have web literacy, you can start to look for a niche. A niche is an area of expertise or a small market or audience. For example, you can become an expert in online marketing for real estate platforms like REIOS or Avid Real Estate. You can then start to build your brand, establish your expertise, and become a go-to person for those seeking information on real estate marketing. The more you know, the more you can contribute to the conversation. When someone seeks your expertise, you can refer them to this information.

Create Useful Tutorials

Tutorials are another great way to establish yourself as an expert. If you can write a useful tutorial, you can use your blog to establish yourself as an expert in the field. For example, if you can write a tutorial on the best ways to market a real estate business, you can then incorporate that knowledge in your marketing plan. When you establish yourself as an expert in a niche, you can then use that expertise to justify the existence of your blog. The more you can contribute, the more you can gain in authority.

Join The Conversation

When you have useful information on your blog, you can contribute to the conversation in several ways. You can comment on relevant blog posts to establish yourself as a thought leader in your niche. You can also join relevant forums where you can share information, establish yourself as an expert, and contribute to the conversation. When you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, others will seek you out for your knowledge. That is powerful.

How Do I Establish Authority?

To be taken seriously as an expert in your niche, you must have authority in the field. That is, you must understand the concepts, practices, and reasoning behind what you are teaching. To establish yourself as an expert, you can use your blog to reference authoritative sources, create thought leadership, and gain credibility. When you do, you will find that others respect you for your knowledge and seek you out for advice or answers.

Where Can I Find More Information?

With all of this information and knowledge, where do I start? That is the question, and the answer is SEO. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the ranking of a website or blog in search engine results. To do this, you need to follow the algorithmic guidelines set by search engines like Google. You can use free tools like Google’s own SEO checker to easily find areas of weakness in your website or blog and then work on fixing these issues. Don’t worry, this is a common task for newcomers to the field, and it has a simple answer: rank higher in search results.

Get A Mentor

If you want to establish yourself as an expert in the field of digital marketing, you must have someone to look up to. It is not enough to simply have a blog or website. You must have someone who can provide guidance and support as you venture into this new realm of marketing. Someone who has already reached the pinnacle of their profession and has decided to share their knowledge with the next generation. In most cases, finding a mentor is not difficult. You can simply look for someone with a similar background to you and then ask them for guidance. You can also find an expert in your field and then ask them to be your mentor. They will then guide you through a path to success that is built on honesty and trust. It is usually not a question of money; they want to help others who are genuinely interested in expanding their knowledge in the realm of digital marketing.

Once you have found a mentor, it is time to move on to the next step. Take the step, then, take the CDMA Exam. When you complete the Certified Digital Marketing Associate exam, you will be rewarded with a certificate that proves your expertise. In addition to this, you will also receive a digital marketing score that can be used to gauge your progress in this field. Finally, you can look for opportunities to network and make connections with other experts in this field. That is how you establish yourself as an expert in the field of digital marketing.