Why Buying Courses When Starting Out in the Internet Marketing World is a Smart Decision
I spend a lot of time looking for work from home jobs that can pay the bills. Internet marketing isn’t a bad one to try out. For one thing, it pays well. For another, people in the industry average less than 10 years of experience, which means you’re on more even footing when you start out when compared with some other industries.
What is Internet Marketing?
Internet marketing seems self-explanatory. However, when asked to define it, many are often unsure of how to best explain it.
By definition, Internet marketing involves advertising or marketing through the world wide web to drive direct sales or generate sales leads.
The thing about Internet marketing is that it covers a wide variety of things. It can mean marketing directly through email, Google searches, content creation, social media or paid advertising.
Internet marketing extends into various areas of the Internet, which is why it can be extremely difficult to manage without some form of training.
Internet Marketing as a Career
So, what are the real benefits of a career in Internet marketing?
- The pay is good.
PayScale says the average Internet Marketing Specialist will make $42,638 per year. If she understands Google AdWords, she can make even more. That’s pretty good for a job that you can do from your home office.
- You’re on even-footing with your competition.
Additionally, according to PayScale, 70 percent of Internet Marketing Specialists have worked in the industry for an average of four years or less. That’s good news for someone just starting out because you’re not competing against industry veterans with decades of experience.
Starting out can be tough—getting any business going is tough—but within a year or so, you can be competing with people who have been in the industry twice as long.
- The industry is in high demand
Again, Internet marketing is relatively self-explanatory, but it can also be difficult to fully grasp and understand. This is a primary reason why many small businesses outsource the work.
For most, it’s easier and cheaper to pay a professional than to spend the time to learn Internet marketing, nevermind actually doing the work.
How to Get Started in Internet Marketing
Like most service-based industries, you only have one shot to make a good impression. That’s why you don’t want to jump into the industry without making sure you’re fully prepared to serve your clients.
While a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing with a minor in Computer Science would certainly be ideal for a job like Internet marketing, it would take you at least four years to get there plus tens of thousands of dollars.
Additionally, Internet marketing changes and evolves so quickly that it is possible that your expensive education will end up obsolete by the time you complete it and graduate.
Benefits of Online Courses in Internet Marketing
Luckily, there’s another option: buying an online course.
Here are the top benefits of enrolling in an online course.
- It costs less and saves time
A four-year college is expensive and it takes at least four years. An associate’s degree takes two years, but that’s about a year and a half longer than you want to wait to get your career going. Both of these routes require a great deal of time and money.
Many online courses are very affordable and much quicker. Sites like Udemy offer deep discounts on courses. Many only cost approximately $100 to learn from an industry professional.
You can also learn the course material at your own pace. So, if you want to plow through a month’s worth of courses in one night, that’s your prerogative. If you want to take a week off to go on vacation with the family, then you likely won’t miss any important lectures or coursework deadlines.
- You get exactly what you pay for
Going to college is great and getting a Bachelor’s degree is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of, but the thing about college is that you’re required to take a bunch of other courses in addition to the ones you need for your career. Your philosophy course, while intellectually stimulating, is not likely to help you in the Internet marketing field.
With an online course, you get what you pay for. If you’re looking for a way to learn Google AdWords, then you pay for a course that will teach you about Google AdWords. It’s that simple.
- Unlimited access
You have the ability to check back on the course next week, next year, next decade. Name a traditional college or university professor that lets you do that.
The ability to access course material at 12 p.m. or 12 a.m. is amazing. It makes it easier to do your job and reference back if you get stuck.
- Easy-to-find updates
When you learn something in school, it’s generally good for that moment. It’s the most up-to-date and important information at the time. But next year, it could be useless.
As we mentioned briefly above, in the world of Internet marketing, keeping up with the trends is essential. Going back to school every time something changes isn’t realistic. However, paying another $100 for an updated course that will talk about the new industry trends certainly is.
Starting Your Online Business
The cool thing about Internet marketing is that no one cares if you received your degree from Harvard or Mike’s School of Hard Knocks. No one cares if you’ve worked in the industry for 10 years or six months.
With an industry like Internet marketing, it’s all about results. Do you know how to drive traffic and translate that into new business? Have you figured out how to reach a target audience? Do you know how to make a business show up on the first page of a Google search?
When you can show solid results, that’s all potential clients really care about. That’s why Internet marketing is a great choice when you’re thinking about starting a stay-at-home business. To see how I really got started with internet marketing check out my top recommendation here.