6 Ways to Get Yourself an eMarketing eDucation

by Lyndi Lawson

So, your varsity days have come and gone, leaving you reminiscing with your increasingly large friends about the good old days - when your minds were fresh and the walk from one lecture to another didn’t feel like a failed attempt at the Comrades Marathon.

The bad news is that even though you left your student days behind many years ago and probably have built a successful career, staying ahead in the marketing game necessitates lifelong learning. This need to continually update your knowledge has become increasingly important in the last few decades, with the evolution of the Web in parallel with the gradual asphyxiation of more traditional forms of media.

Learning a new skill from scratch is a challenging prospect for anyone, so I have compiled some tips to make it a little easier for you.

1). Enrol in a Short Course
For corporates trying to make a go of it in the rat race, a short course or series of seminars at your local business school is an excellent way to learn a new skill. For one thing, many people like learning in a structured and disciplined environment. This adds to your skills set, while also enabling you to build on your CV. More importantly, it is an excellent excuse to get out of the office for a few days and benefit from the networking opportunities that arise.

2). Read Marketing Blogs
If not leaving your desk is the preferred alternative, you’d probably be surprised at what you can learn online - if you know where to look. Many online marketing companies have blogs that are far more than just sales tools. They are informative resources that highlight many of the most important eMarketing tactics used in top-notch agencies. The benefit of using these freely available resources is that you are learning directly from practitioners in the field. Blogs, by their very nature are also usually pretty entertaining as well as being easy to read and digest. There are loads of great eMarketing blogs out there. Some of the best ones include:

• www.marketingpilgrim.com
• www.marketingsherpa.com
• www.seomoz.org/
• www.gottaquirk.com (Quirk’s very own baby. In case you hadn’t realised, that is what are reading right now.)

3). Get Back to the Basics
At Quirk, we’re no strangers to online marketing education. (In case you hadn’t noticed, we have just published our very own, superbly awesome, eMarketing textbook - but more about that later.) Everyone knows though, that you need to learn to walk before you can run. With that in mind, Quirk published an online marketing guide: eMarketing 101. This is just what you need to help you take your first tentative steps in the vast (and complex) abyss that is the online world.

Credit: David Goehring

4). Take a Bold Step Forwards
If eMarketing 101 awakens your youthful enthusiasm to learn and whets your eMarketing appetite, then perhaps you’re ready for the next step. Quirk’s sequel to eMarketing 101 was the comprehensive How To guide that will delineate the enigma of Social Media, reveal the secrets contained in wikis and generally take the fairy wheels off your eMarketing tricycle. Good luck!

5). Consolidate Your Knowledge: Read eMarketing: the essential guide to online marketing
This is Quirk eMarketing’s newly launched masterpiece. eMarketing: the essential guide to online marketing is a starting point for anyone wanting to learn about online marketing, but it is also the end point. The title says it all - it’s essential. But why?
Well, first off, it’s the most up to date resource of its kind in South Africa. It adheres to the Open Education Declaration. This ensures that it can be downloaded for free and can be distributed freely in accordance with our Creative Commons license.
In summary, this book is 300 page compilation of Quirk’s vast eMarketing experience and our 9 year involvement with tertiary education. It outlines, in detail, all of the eMarketing tactics used by agencies to take their client’s brands to new heights. And it’s awesome! So download the pdf, or alternatively, beg, borrow or steal a copy and get reading.

6). Practice Practice Practice
Now that you have all this information, you need to do something with it - eMarketing is all about the implementation. A good place to start is by using that $15 Google Adwords Voucher that you will receive when you purchase your own copy of eMarketing: the essential guide to online marketing. Alternatively, use the tactics that you have studied to perform some basic SEO on your own web site or blog. You could also investigate ways to make Social Media Marketing work for your brand, take a proactive step toward managing your online reputation, or be the brains behind a great viral. Whatever you do, have fun with the knowledge you have gained.

Happy learning!

2008/07/23 | permalink | comments (1) | trackbacks (0)

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