The First Step - A leap of Faith. The Journey Begins

The back story – how did I get here ...

I began my career in 2001 as a systems / network administrator. 

I was laid off ... twice ...  in five years. 

My colleagues saw a good potential in me. 

I am a people person, I get along with everyone, I am courteous. (their words, not mine) and they suggested I try out recruiting as a career. And I did, and I haven't been laid off, ever.

Fast forward to 2018, I have enrolled in a free digital marketing course (basics) from Deepak Kanakaraju. 

What do have I to lose, I thought... I signed up.

I could barely go through three sessions without being disturbed for some reason or the other. Even if it is a five-minute video

Either it was office work or some house hold work, like children’s admission to school or some issue with house construction, health issues, emergency travelling and such.

I was taking the course at snails pace, but at the same time making sure I absorbed the information thoroughly. 

If I have to make a change in my career at 40+ years old, I need to have  experience, some sort of internship. 

When Deepak offered the internship program, I hesitated. Being a HR guy, I had to do my homework first.

Some habits die hard, being into HR for as long as I have been; my first instinct is to look into a person’s background or ”profile”, as we call it in recruiting circles. 

I delved into Deepak’s profile.

www.digitaldeepak.com 

Simple, honest and down-to-earth presentation.

I would like to call them “free style”, something which mirrors my style. 


Blogs were impressive as much as they were simple and not to mention, tons of Facebook followers to that effect.


Taking a leap of faith, I enrolled in the Internship program batch 3. 

There were several distractions from the home front. 

Most of them urged me to skip and watch their favorite Saturday night specials. 

Fighting against all distractions, I attended the first class of the internship program.

 

Global Economics

 

     

The session began with an explanation of the prime factor that drives our lives, this country and this world - The economic factor 

Deepak touched that subject, basic yet brilliant.  

To mention the gist of topics covered was how the household spending and debts directly influence the country’s economic growth.

 

Communication ... Tool of the business

 

Communication and writing skills are the backbone of our business. 

Contents drive traffic and sales. 

Reading books and watching sitcoms were recommended to improve our English language apart from thinking and writing in English. 

Write in a style that comes naturally to you. You do not have to replicate someone else's format unless it resonates with you.   

There is no end limit or peak point when it comes to improving your communication. 

There is always room for improvement. 

Invest more time and resources in reading more; it could be books, blogs or articles.

 

The future...

 

Always evolving with newer concepts and additions, this concept is far from extinct. 

The scope seems limitless – changes in consumer behavior, Products that need to be sold and increasing demands. 

The core concept of Digital marketing seems to be the same. 

Once you get a hold of the basics, catching up on newer additions will be easier. 

The principles are the same. The technology may wary. 

For example: the flight of an airplane is governed by the principles of aerodynamics. You may fly a 40 seat passenger plane, a Hercules, combat aircrafts. The aircraft may wary, the principles are the same.

 

 

Like discussed before, the prime focus should be our content. 

And every other activity builds around it, like bringing traffic to your content (SEO), Social media Strategy, email marketing, paid advertising and sell and convert.

 

 

Building your personal brand is important, the key foundation. 

Put your thoughts out there, in blogs and articles. 

Select your niche, the topics you are passionate about, anything which matter to you and know that there are others like you who feel the same way.

Putting out more content will draw more attention to you and therefore convert to more traffic to your blogs/ site. 

This is where you gain Mass Trust.   

My take away from this session - sales happen if you focus more on your personal branding, though sales may be the desired outcome, but giving more attention to branding will eventually drive up your sales. 

If all this has to be summed up - Content Attention Trust Transaction (CATT)

Conclusion

The main point I derive from the first class, was, I need to be people centered. Focus on the audience and sales will come through. You need to gain trust, or as Deepak says Mass Trust. Find your niche and focus on that content and your audience will drive the sales for you.

By the way,  completed the basics course.

 

Feedback is appreciated.

David Brainard.