With so many people either fed up with the 9-5 corporate life, or trying to find a way to avoid ever having to enter it, digital entrepreneurship is more popular than ever. Digital entrepreneurship entails starting a business on the Internet and selling services or products without investing in physical spaces.
Online courses, e-commerce, blogs, YouTube channels, and technology solutions, in general, are all instances of digital enterprises. There are plenty of opportunities to make money online, either as a side hustle or as a full-time vocation, but important competencies are required to succeed online. With that in mind, below are 5 digital skills that online entrepreneurs need to run a digital business
Table of Contents
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is the foundation of your online presence as an online entrepreneur and it is absolutely vital that you learn the basics if you are going to be successful with an online business. Your digital marketing, and particularly your SEO, will, to a very large degree, dictate how well people are able to find your business online.
This is the first skill on the list because it is arguably the most important. Digital marketing is comprised of a number of subdisciplines and competencies, including inbound marketing, SEO, PPC, affiliate marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing. You don’t have to be an expert at all of these, but it will pay major dividends if you are able to handle some or all of these facets of digital marketing on your own.
If, on the other hand, you decide you have the budget to outsource, you can simply type something like “SEO Brisbane” into the search bar and go with trusted professionals that will take the digital marketing side of your business off your hands. This will free up time to dedicate to other pressing matters, and you can rest assured your online presence is in good hands.
Graphic Design
The ability to produce attractive graphic designs will set you apart and help you to stand out from the crowd. Your designs should be able to entice your target audience and pique their interest in what you have to offer. Being able to do basic graphic design tasks and navigate programs like Photoshop and InDesign will also save you a tremendous amount of money over the long run. If you are recruiting the assistance of a professional graphic designer for things like your Logo or branding kits, you can expect to pay quite a bit of money for their time. Why not learn how to handle these programs, and, at the very least, you can provide better direction to any graphic designers you end up hiring in the future.
Basic Video Editing
Video editing is crucial for video marketing–one of the most important social and content marketing trends now and for the coming years. Being able to film, edit and present video well on your site, on your social channels and through your email lists is a massive marketing and branding advantage. Just as it is with graphic design, if you have to pay video editors to shoot and cut your content for you, you are going to spend a considerable amount of money on those specialized skills.
Gmail
It might seem like something anyone who came of age in the digital era just automatically understands, but Gmail is a great deal more sophisticated than most people understand. Being able to utilize Gmail to its fullest potential has major implications for your ability to organize and stay on top of administrative tasks. Using things like “starring” and being able to search your inbox by date ranges, utilizing “schedule send” and “snoozing” are all important tools for time and inbox management.
Copywriting
Copywriting is an essential online business skill because it is the form of writing and the style of language you will need to use to promote your business and its products/services. Copywriting involves more than simply describing your product or service. It is what goes into building a functioning service and landing page, as well as product descriptions and an about us page.
Copywriting and writing for SEO go hand-in-hand, and there are plenty of ways to self-educate and practice these skills. You don’t have to be a professional writer to learn how to better sell your business online and resonate with potential customers.
Conclusion
Making the decision to start something of your own online is certainly not to be taken lightly. The most important difference between online and offline entrepreneurship isn’t the amount of work or dedication involved, but the skillset. Even then, there is a considerable amount of overlap. But your ability to perform various digital jobs and roles makes a big difference. Keep the above digital skills in mind as you begin your online entrepreneurship journey, and you could save yourself considerable time and money.
About Carson Derrow
