As a 40-something, going back to school can be challenging because you are likely balancing so many things such as work, family, side hustles, hobbies, etc. However, going back to school in your 40s can also be extremely rewarding – especially in such a growing field as digital marketing.
My current career landscape consists of my work as a Career Counselor, managing my blog – Just Brennon Blog, and doing influencer marketing with US Family Guide. In all of these positions, there is a solid need for experience in digital marketing.
With this in mind, it became apparent that I needed to return to school or at least find a way to upskill myself so that I can learn more of the necessary skills needed to fully function in the digital marketing space.
What is Digital Marketing?
It is simply promoting your business online and using a multitude of channels. These digital channels include search engines, social media, email, websites, mobile applications, and more.
Courses can include topics such as Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, content marketing, and concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) – just to name a few.
By learning and utilizing digital marketing tactics, you can reach potential customers, build a brand presence, increase website traffic, and generate leads – which are all very important in the digital space.
This knowledge will allow you to increase your skills to start or build your side hustle or even get a new position or promotion.
For me, learning this topic will help me in my full-time profession in Career Services by being able to be digitally savvy when comes to marketing our services on social media, email, newsletters, maintaining our web presence, etc.
In addition, it will help me stay current with maintaining my blog, as well as the work I do with influencer marketing at US Family Guide. And, if I decided to take on any side hustle projects, this will only help me.
Don’t forget to check out my Side Hustle Income Plan Worksheet!
What are the Benefits of Learning Digital Marketing?
The benefits are plentiful. For example, with digital marketing, you have the ability to target specific audiences, so you can focus your efforts on reaching people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
Next, you can also track data from various campaigns to analyze the effectiveness of your strategies and make changes as needed. Additionally, it can help you build relationships with customers, create a stronger brand identity, and grow a larger customer base.
In a nutshell, digital marketing helps you stay ahead of the competition by using it to quickly create content, develop strategies, and test different campaigns without having to invest in costly advertising methods.
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Digital Marketing Courses Online
Now, I have to be quite honest here. Learning all of this takes time. While you can choose to enroll in a college or school for it, you don’t necessarily have to because there are so many digital marketing courses online.
I have seen classes on LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Udemy. For example, you could go to Google and type in “digital marketing Udemy” and courses on the Udemy platform will pop up.
I have also seen degree programs offered at various institutions, as well as courses offered through community education programs. The goal is to pick something that resonates with you, but any of these would be a great foundation in digital marketing for beginners.
Digital Marketing Online Certificates
I first decided to take the Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate course through Coursera, but then I reconsidered because I wasn’t sure of my commitment level.
Being 40-something, having a family, full-time career, side hustles, a new baby on board, etc. I have to be sure when it comes time to invest in something regarding my resources.
Since I wasn’t 100% sure that I would complete the program, I decided to take the 18-hour Become a Digital Marketing Specialist course through LinkedIn Learning because I have a Premium LinkedIn account that offers LinkedIn Learning free as a part of the package. This made more sense to me since I was loosely committed.
I also want to make note that the learning path for this is broken down into multiple sessions, making it easy to complete one a day and then download your Learning Certificate of Completion for the course that you did complete.
Five hours into the 18 hours, I decided that if I was going to put in all this work to do this, I wanted a legit certificate and ultimately decided to go back to the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate course through Coursera.
How crazy is all of this?
So, now. I am going to finish up my LinkedIn Learning course over the next week and then enroll in the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate course through Coursera. Now, I do not have to complete the LinkedIn Learning path. However, if I do, I will have a really solid foundation of the material going into the Google Certified Digital Marketing course. This makes sense and would overall be very rewarding.
Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate Course
If you are wondering why I am choosing the Google Certified course, it is because Google certificates are a great way to get certified and demonstrate your expertise, especially if you are applying for a job or promotion.
These certificates show employers that you understand the basics of Digital Marketing – for example, as well as the latest trends and strategies. Plus, they are highly sought after, in demand, and can help you get a job in the industry.
So, yes, it did end up costing me time by being unsure in the beginning, however, I am going to look at it as an investment in myself – which is ultimately very rewarding.
Final Thoughts
Overall, by learning digital marketing, you can not only upskill yourself to build and increase your earnings part-time, but you can use it to get a new position or even a promotion.
With almost any of the courses in Digital Marketing coupled with your certificate, you will be able to consider yourself an emerging digital marketing expert in the virtual world and grow your skills and earnings, as you see fit.
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