How I Would Learn Digital Marketing (If I Could Start Over)

Summary

This video script narrates the journey of a digital marketing expert who, despite early mistakes and setbacks, rose to prominence in SEO. The speaker emphasizes focusing on a single digital marketing area, learning in stages, and practicing diligently. They advocate for taking a course, gaining hands-on experience, and avoiding shortcuts. Networking and relationship building are highlighted as crucial for growth. The speaker also discusses career paths in digital marketing, including specialization, generalism, or expanding into complementary areas. The script offers a candid and motivational account of learning from failures and the continuous pursuit of knowledge in the ever-evolving field of digital marketing.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Start with a Single Focus: The speaker emphasizes the importance of choosing one area of digital marketing to specialize in, rather than trying to master everything at once.
• 📈 Learn from Mistakes: The speaker acknowledges making costly mistakes early in their career, which ultimately fueled their determination to learn and succeed.
• 🔍 SEO as a Turning Point: A negative experience with an SEO company led the speaker to commit to mastering SEO, which significantly increased their business value.
• 🌐 Broad Definition of Digital Marketing: Digital marketing encompasses various areas such as email marketing, PPC advertising, SEO, and social media marketing.
• 📚 Learn in Stages: The speaker suggests a three-stage learning process: understanding fundamentals, connecting concepts, and learning execution techniques.
• 🛠️ Use Tools and Workflows: Familiarize yourself with the tools and workflows necessary for your chosen digital marketing field, such as using Keyword Explorer for SEO.
• 👨‍🏫 Take a Course: The speaker recommends taking a reputable course in your chosen area to establish a solid foundation.
• 💼 Practice with Your Own Site: Create your own website to gain hands-on experience and safely practice the skills you've learned.
• 🚫 Avoid Distractions: Once you start practicing, cut off new content intake to stay focused on applying the fundamentals.
• 🔗 Build Relationships: Networking with peers and respected professionals in your niche can significantly enhance your growth and opportunities.
• 🛑 Avoid Shortcuts: The speaker warns against taking shortcuts, sharing a personal experience where it led to significant financial loss.
• 🤝 Network Strategically: Building relationships with like-minded individuals and industry leaders can lead to unexpected opportunities and collaborations.
• 🔑 Continuous Learning: The speaker highlights the importance of ongoing learning and adapting, even after many years in the field.
• 🛣️ Diverse Career Paths: There are multiple paths in a digital marketing career, including staying a generalist, niching down, or expanding into complementary areas.
• 🏆 Embrace the Journey: The speaker encourages embracing the journey of learning and growing in the digital marketing field.

Q & A

What is the speaker's background in digital marketing?

The speaker has a 14-year career in digital marketing, having built and sold several online businesses, consulted for various clients from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, and been recognized as an 'SEO expert' by Forbes and Inc magazines. They are also considered to be in the top 1% of their field by the United States government.

What was the speaker's initial approach to digital marketing before focusing on SEO?

Initially, the speaker started with spamming forums and classifieds, then moved to paid advertising, and later attempted to go viral with coupon codes on social media. It was after being scammed by an SEO company that the speaker decided to focus solely on learning SEO.

How did the speaker's experience with an SEO company lead to a significant change in their career?

The speaker was scammed by an SEO company, which instead of discouraging them, fueled their determination to learn SEO and become proficient at it, so they would not have to rely on hiring another company.

What is the definition of digital marketing according to the speaker?

Digital marketing is defined as marketing that happens over the internet, which can include areas such as email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and more.

Why is it recommended to focus on just one area of digital marketing?

It is recommended to focus on one area because digital marketing is vast, and it is impossible to become a master of all areas. Specializing allows one to become really good at one specific area.

What are the three stages the speaker suggests for learning digital marketing?

The three stages are: 1) Understanding the fundamentals of the chosen area, 2) Making connections in how the fundamentals work together, and 3) Learning how these techniques are executed, including workflows and tools needed.

What is the importance of taking a reputable beginner's course in digital marketing?

A reputable beginner's course provides a structured learning environment and covers the fundamentals in a systematic way. It can save time and money that might otherwise be wasted on unguided learning.

Why is it crucial to practice what you've learned in digital marketing?

Practicing what you've learned is crucial because it provides first-hand experience and allows you to apply the theoretical knowledge in a practical setting, which is essential for mastering the skills.

What are the benefits of working at an agency in terms of digital marketing experience?

Working at an agency offers exposure to a diverse range of projects, forces you to be creative and apply your learning in various scenarios, and allows you to learn from more experienced professionals who can mentor you.

What mistake did the speaker make early in their career that had significant financial repercussions?

The speaker took an SEO shortcut by buying backlinks from a private blog network, which was against Google's webmaster guidelines. This led to a significant loss of traffic and revenue when Google penalized their site.

Why is building relationships with people important in digital marketing?

Building relationships is important because it can lead to collaborations, support in amplifying your work, and assistance in link building. It also helps in professional growth and learning from others in the field.

What are the three options the speaker suggests for career progression in digital marketing?

The three options are: 1) Staying a generalist in the focus area and potentially becoming a manager or leader, 2) Niching down further to become a recognized authority in a specific sub-area, and 3) Expanding into other areas of digital marketing where skills are complementary and transferable.