10 Actionable Tips for Starting a Career in Advertising and Marketing

Marketing and advertising are both immensely competitive fields. To be successful in an advertising career path, you need to get a few things right and the journey to get those few things right, may not always come without challenges. Here are 10 actionable tips that you can use for a career in advertising and marketing if you are a beginner.

#1 – Do your homework

An advertising career path is exciting but the problem is that the field is quite broad and the job you might end up doing, can vary from analytic to copywriter, from SEO specialist to social media manager, from media planner to banner designer. Therefore, you must do some self-research on different marketing fields and find out what is most appealing to you. There are many of them out there so choosing one that suits your talent and passion is the first step to getting your career right.

#2 – Check your potential income

Now, it would not be correct to choose a field based purely on the fact that it pays better if you genuinely do not enjoy doing it. So when choosing the field that most speaks to you, bear in mind that all jobs pay well if you love doing them. This is common sense, so don’t rank some over others simply because the average salary or the service fee is higher. There are definitely some areas in the field that pay a higher amount than others but if you cannot enjoy it, you may not be able to stay at work.

#3 – Research job requirements

You may want to do some research about companies and what skills specifically are required for certain marketing positions. You see, the deal here is that, that headhunters and HR managers can have quite a different understanding of every position, job title, and the skills and tasks associated with it. So double-check and make sure that you know what you are getting yourself into.

#4 – Get your qualifications

Now that you know what organisations are looking for, the next step would be to get enrolled in programmes that can offer you these skills and accredited certifications that are recognised within the advertising and marketing industry. You may be naturally gifted at this job but without the right advertising qualifications needed, employers may have nothing to gauge your competency with, and therefore, you may lose opportunities. Start learning as soon as possible.

#5 – Start networking and attend events

To become a successful marketer, you need to grow your contact base. One way would be to attend local get-together events. If you are just starting and do not feel comfortable meeting with other marketers, then try starting it slow. Go to the event and just decide not to talk with anyone. It will happen organically the next time. But, just go to the event. Remember, many great people in the present, have once been shy and reserved. Go and try. Success begins at the end of your comfort zone.

#6 – Find a coach

Once you have the advertising qualifications needed, you should think about getting yourself a coach. Honestly, marketing is a whole lot about people and also trust. People and especially, marketers are attracted to other people who are similarly goal-oriented and ambitious or driven. If you share your goals with somebody, at least one of the ten people that you speak to would be interested in knowing more about what you have to say. Marketers also like to teach other people so if they see you as a newbie, they will give you career advice. This could be a great way of getting yourself coached. You meet new people and you learn from their experiences.

#7 – Startup a personal blog

If you are a real beginner with zero experience behind you and you are just testing out the waters, start your own blog. It will help you get familiar with and understand the many techniques and methodology that needs to be used in advertising and it will give you better confidence.

#8 – Do some free work if you can

People may not be willing to hire your services or pay you all that well when you start with absolutely no portfolio to show. That is fine. Think about doing some free work or getting an internship. This will give you experience, exposure, and of course material that you can use to build your portfolio.

#9 – start asking for money once you know your work is good

You should not work for free when you know that you can be charging for it. You spent time and money and invested efforts to gain your skills and you should not work for free for longer than it is necessary.

#10 – Build a great portfolio

Like we said in the beginning, this field is really competitive. Therefore, you should make sure that your portfolio reflects the right quality of work and your expertise. Don’t throw in anything and everything. Be selective and use your best work only. Now that you know what you can do to begin your advertising career, why not get started on your qualifications? You can contact us at [email protected]