Are you looking to delve into the profession of marketing? Marketing side projects are the fun and informative stepping stones that will take you there (they’re also the best form of learning).
The following projects are actionable so you can get started on them immediately! They are free and they’ll make your portfolio valuable by showcasing an understanding of fundamental marketing skills. To prove all this, I included examples of projects I’ve performed myself.
Ready to get started? Grab a pen and paper, and let’s start marketing!
5 Projects to build your marketing portfolio
1. Improving landing pages or creating new ones.
First on the list is landing pages; these are essential for converting customers and making sales.
Landing pages are the perfect starting point for newbies because they combine strategy, technicality, and creativity perfectly.
Here, you’ll get to strategize, add visuals, and bring a marketing campaign to life.
You can start by learning to make landing pages and then creating one.
It’s as simple as that! It doesn’t have to be perfect.
I’ve done this myself and have shown a detailed step-by-step explanation of the process; check that out here.
2. Create a social media strategy, then implement it.
Many try social media and fail miserably because posting content blindly and hoping to get engagement doesn’t work.
Here’s what you’ll do differently:
- First, pick a business of any kind (Something small).
- Perform market research for said business.
- Based on your research, build a social media strategy to either increase engagement or spread awareness. (Search for advice from experienced social media marketers on this)
- And finally, start creating content and posting it on social media.
Why do it this way?
Creating a social media account without a plan and hoping to gain engagement isn’t marketing. Plus, it sets you up for failure.
If you do it this way, you immediately gain three benefits:
- You can showcase your ability to do market research.
- You get to learn, in the process, the ins and outs of social media marketing strategies.
- This process is measurable and trackable, two things that are very essential in marketing.
There’s also a detailed step-by-step process on the blog; check it out for inspiration and ideas!
3. Designing graphics or writing content for marketing purposes.
Are you good at writing? Do you have a knack for creating beautiful visuals? Then, you should start honing those skills and using them in marketing.
You can go the pretend marketer route. Pick your favorite brand, and pretend they hired you to write a blog or to create some graphics.
4. Perform an SEO audit.
If you’re interested in the more technical side of marketing, then you’ve heard about SEO. It is one of my favorite marketing sides; it’s technical and aggressively competitive.
Of course, it was the first thing I started learning. But after completing a course on Hubspot Academy, there was simply nowhere else for me to go. I just had an SEO certification but couldn’t do SEO.
Luckily, I soon heard of an audit. And as a newbie, this will do.
By choosing a website to perform an SEO audit for, you’ll see firsthand how the elements of SEO come together to help websites compete for the top spot on the SERPs.
And YES, there’s a simplified step-by-step process on the blog, too. Click here,
5. Create a free website.
I put this last for three good reasons:
- Creating a landing page? You can create one for your site.
- Creating a social media strategy? You can use your website to add blogs that strengthen your selling proposition.
- Are you trying to learn SEO? You can practice it on your website.
It is strongly recommend to have your own personal website because of the many technical skills you’ll learn from managing it.
And the best thing is you can do whatever you want with it, at your own pace.
That’s it!
Pick a project and start!
I went to school for marketing, so trust me when I say the theory alone isn’t enough. I was inclined to write this post after seeing so many pages giving uninspired and vague tips.
If you’re serious about learning marketing and gaining experience, you’re welcome to join us! Measured Marketer is all about hands-on marketing projects.