Guide To Become a Freelance Marketing Consultant
A freelance marketing consultant job is not a typical marketing job but is one where the candidate is not tied up to any company or employer. Freelancers provide marketing consultancy on an independent basis and work for clients who they search on their own. This job can be easily done at home or by working at the client’s office for as long as the consultant is needed for the project. Freelance marketing consultants outsource their services to clients who need temporary services.
A freelance marketing consultant’s job can be as demanding as that of a regular fully employed marketing consultant. These individuals can work for multiple clients at the same time and may need to promote themselves in order to bag jobs. To be a successful freelance marketing consultant, one needs to have a balance of educational qualifications, skills, the right knowledge of the field and fulfilling of many duties and responsibilities. The following is a detailed description of the job of a freelance marketing consultant and will help you if you wish to become a freelancer in the field of marketing consulting:
Job Duties: If you are interested in becoming a freelance marketing consultant, you may need to fulfil many job duties and responsibilities. These duties are to be performed both on a daily basis as well as otherwise. The following are some of the main job duties of a freelance marketing consultant:
One of the primary job duties is to apply for jobs whenever an opportunity arises and provide estimation of consultancy cost to the client. Another duty is to do proper market research for the client and perform market analysis to be able to provide the best market advice and consultancy. To understand client requirements and suggest best ways to market products or brand image. To work on promotion design, product design, packaging and promotion is also some of the primary duties of freelance marketing consultants. Some other duties involve making job proposals and sending out to prospective clients. To help companies build brand image by proper marketing techniques, media advertising, newspaper advertising, and social media marketing and other methods is also an important part of the job profile of a freelance marketing consultant. Visiting the office of the client, communicating with client and business owners and taking their input are also important duties. Estimating fee and collecting payments is also important for freelancers.
Skills : Apart from the educational qualifications and knowledge of the field or marketing, you will need to possess or develop many skills in order to work successfully as freelance marketing consultant. The following are some of the skills required:
Strong marketing skills, advertising abilities, promotional methods are some of the important skills needed. Knowledge of online marketing and all other ways of marketing are also needed. Ability to do market research, market analysis and knowledge of the market to be able to do marketing properly is also needed. Good communication skills and strong interpersonal skills are important to deal and communicate with clients effectively and understand their expectations. Excellent computer skills, good personality and branding knowledge are highly crucial. Analytical skills, good consultancy abilities and ability to find jobs by sending strong proposals.
Being Successful as a Freelance Marketing Consultant: Marketing is crucial to every business and hence there is wide demand for freelance marketing consultants. But due to large demand and availability of many candidates in this field, it might become challenging to become successful or build a brand of your own. But the following are some tips to be successful as a freelance marketing consultant:
For a freelancer, it is very important to build a strong and impressive portfolio both for applying for jobs in companies and also to apply for online freelancing positions. Include realistic skills and state your strong points in the portfolio.
Polish your communication skills because only with the right people’s skills can you really become good at marketing. Marketing is more about understanding the mind of the customer than anything else and hence you must work upon your influence on other people.
Having a degree to back your skills is important, even though it is not mandatory for working in the field of marketing. If you plan to be a freelance marketing consultant, get a degree in business or management to add to your portfolio.
It is better to specialize in a particular field or industry rather than serving a broad clientele. Choose a field or industry which interests you the most to do well.
Freelance marketing consultancy is a senior level marketing job and before that you will need to build a portfolio for 5-7 years in the marketing field itself.
Do not forget the power of online portals for finding bright job opportunities. You can send across proposals to clients on sites like Freelancer.com, Elance.com or PeoplePerHour where ample job opportunities are available.
Average Remunerations There is stiff competition in the field of freelance marketing consultancy. There is no shortage of jobs within this field and salaries can go really high depending on experience, place or work and skills possessed. A freelance marketing consultant’s salary can vary between $40000 and upto $100000. The more experience one has, the higher the salary keeps going. Remunerations also greatly depends upon the number of jobs that you can bag as a freelancer. For this, proper marketing of yourself is highly crucial. Consulting fees can range from $25 to $200 per hour.
Finding Work: With the rise in internet usage and online job hunting, finding work as a freelance marketing consultant isn’t as difficult as it may seem at first. Not only can you send across your CVs to prospective clients looking for freelance workers but can also get in touch with multiple clients through sites that are dedicated to freelancers. Some other ways of finding job opportunities include applying through newspaper advertisements or joining professional social networks like LinkedIn or Google+ etc. Some freelancing websites where finding jobs is easy include Elance.com, PeoplePerHour, O-Desk.com, Freelancer.com etc.
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