Every time I see any of relatives, they ask me, “Oh, kamusta? Saan ka na nagwowork?” (Hi! How are you? Where do you work?). Confidently, I respond, ah tita/tito, I work as a freelance digital marketing specialist at home. I always get mix responses from them.
Most of them would simply nod, and pretend they understand the job. Some would raise their brows and look at me like as if I’m a huge ball of mess. Only a few would bother to know what I really do for a living. If you’ve been in the online industry for a few years, I bet you had your fair share of raised eyebrows and shrugs too.
My humble beginnings
After college, I went straight to filing job applications here and there. I wanted to give back to my parents and send my siblings to school. However, because there weren’t a lot of job openings for my degree, I had to find other ways to earn money.
The first job I landed was with an online ESL company, 51Talk. I taught Chinese students (ranging from 4 to 48 years old) how to speak and write in English. It was a highly rewarding job because I got to learn about the culture of the Chinese people and polish my communication skills. In between my ESL job, I also worked as an online writer. I found my first clients through 199jobs. It’s more like a freelancer marketplace where you can do micro-tasks for 199 pesos.
<Read more on: How to Become an Effective Homebased ESL teacher>
Back then, I didn’t understand why in the heck would people pay me to write How-To articles, travel guides, product guides, and listicles. I just wrote them because I received compensation. I wondered, how do they profit from my writing? Why do they pay me a hefty amount for a piece of content?
And so, I did a little research. After going through blogs after blogs, and attending online classes about blog writing, content marketing, SEO and Digital marketing, I finally understood why people were asking me to write content.
From there on, I started polishing my skills by working for a more diverse set of clients and consuming valuable information through attending in a series of training and investing in certification courses.
My mission
In a way, I want to change how people perceive online jobs. It’s a great option for stay-at-home moms or dads, self-sustaining students, and even disabled individuals. Alternatively, it will also be a substantial source of income for individuals who are fed up with the stress and traffic they need to go through every day in the city.
I also want to dedicate the site to small and medium business owners. I want to share how powerful digital marketing can be. I want to help SMEs owners like you to beef up your online presence and gain the attention you deserve.
I’m continuously polishing my techniques and honing my skills as a digital marketer, and I hope to help more people along the way. Regardless if you want to learn digital marketing for your business or you hope to use it to earn money, I’m here for you. Let’s learn digital marketing together!
Digital Savvy 