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From being an intern to an entry-level associate, or even as a senior executive that is new to marketing agencies, here are a few tips to help you get your bearings. Agency life comes at you fast, but there’s so much to love about it. Be sure to leverage these strategies where you work to have the most rewarding experience possible!

1. Create a Custom To-do List

No matter what project management tool your organization uses (Basecamp, Trello, Teamwork, etc.), nothing beats an old-fashioned to-do list you create for yourself. This allows you to include or exclude whatever you want or need. It is also easy to personalize formatting however it works best for you. I use this as a homebase for my workday. It’s essentially a dashboard of everything I need to get done presented to me in an easily digestible way.

For example, I organize my to-do list by day of the week so I can visualize which days are lighter or heavier on tasks. I even color-code any tasks that will be easy to knock out for an additional layer of visibility. Beyond that, I have lists of work awaiting team feedback or client feedback so that I’m always aware of where tasks are in the pipeline. Lastly, I have a spot for monthly goals and notes so that they stay top of mind. See the example below.

2. Color-Code Your Calendar

Color-coding is a foundational element of organization, and it really comes in handy when you’re looking at a weekly calendar. This empowers you to quickly take inventory of your day without having to investigate every single event or meeting for more information. You can gear up for a day full of client-facing conversations or put your head down to work on deliverables when all of your meetings are internal.

For my calendar, I keep it pretty simple. I use one color for internal meetings and another for client meetings. This way I never unnecessarily prep for a meeting that ends up being internal or show up unprepared for an external meeting. This is an easy way to stay on top of your day when things get hectic and can make your calendar feel more manageable. Plus, there’s just something uplifting about seeing an array of your favorite colors covering your schedule!

3. Organize Your Emails with Labels

With project management tools and multiple clients and coworkers vying for your attention each day, the emails never stop coming. Instead of drowning in your unreads and letting messages pile up or get lost, creating a system can keep you on track. Many email providers offer customization options, such as labels and color-coding, which are excellent tools to take advantage of.

As a digital marketer at an agency, I come into contact with many different clients on a daily basis, so I never want anything to slip through the cracks. When an email comes into my inbox, I leave it there until I’ve checked it and then I do one of two things. If there is no action needed, I will place the email under a corresponding label so that it no longer appears in my inbox. On the other hand, if there is a necessary action, I won’t move the email until I have completed the next steps.

4. Take Advantage of the Beginning of the Week

It can be easy to feel sluggish or overwhelmed by the week on a Monday, but it’s always best to tackle it head-on. I try to take advantage of Mondays as much as possible to set myself up for success the rest of the week. Oftentimes I can get ahead on one or two things, which frees up room later in the week for incidentals. Getting a little bit ahead also sets the tone for a stress-free week.

This is feasible for me because I generally don’t have many meetings on Mondays, but I’d recommend zeroing in on any day of the week where distractions are minimized. It can be tempting to slack off on days with fewer demands, but it’s always in your best interest to make the most of them. I’ve found this gives me more flexibility to explore other areas of my work, such as researching new marketing strategies or assisting in developing our internship program.

5. Set Monthly Goals for Yourself

Setting goals is something we all do, but sometimes they can feel like a pipe dream. For example, many set New Year’s resolutions and abandon them just a few months in. To avoid this, it can be helpful to incorporate intentionality into your goal setting. Consider what will be reasonably attainable, the steps you need to take toward accomplishing said goal, and a timeline.

At a marketing agency, time really does fly when you’re handling many different projects at once. Because of this, it can be easy to put off your own professional goals. This can limit your growth and your satisfaction in your work. Coming up with a process that works for you is key.

I keep my goals attainable (i.e., write a blog, try a new tool, share a helpful resource, etc.). I think through what will be involved, then I determine which I will do each month in my personal to-do list. Full transparency, I don’t always get to my goals by the end of the month, but having them there and knowing that they are feasible helps me to knock them out in due time.

6. Keep Your Extensions & Bookmarks Under Control

As an SEO, this is a big one for me and the rest of my team. There are numerous extensions, tools, and resources out there just waiting to be discovered and saved. Unfortunately, this can result in some hoarding, which can serve to clutter your workspace and slow down your browser. While it can be tempting to collect extensions and bookmarks, try to limit yourself to only what you really need.

I keep a document linked in my to-do list where I make notes of new tools, extensions, and resources I want to try out. Then I give them a shot for a short amount of time to determine if I really like them and if I utilize them enough. This leads me to audit what I have saved in my browser every few months to remove anything I don’t need access to daily. In turn, my browser is less of a mess and its performance is enhanced.

7. Use a Working Document and Spreadsheet to Avoid Unnecessary Items in Your Drive

When your laptop is your primary workspace and you spend a lot of time remote, it’s no surprise that the random documents and files tend to pile up. Trying to keep your Google or desktop drive organized and tidy is a fool’s errand due to never-ending downloads, screenshots, and other files that continuously pop up. This is one area where I’ve tried and failed to create an orderly system.

Instead, I started using a working document and a working spreadsheet. Essentially I have one doc and one spreadsheet where I draft pretty much everything before I send it in a message. This way I can avoid having a new doc created for every single task, and I can look at the history of all my work in one place. Most of the time, I’ll simply copy the draft to send it in an email or message, but if I do need to put it in a separate document, I have a trick for that, too.

The way I keep track of documents I need to save and those I can trash is by only naming the ones I want to keep. This makes it easy to eyeball my drives and clear them out periodically without worrying about trashing something I linked in a message or sent to a client. It also makes it easy to look up my older work for my own reference.

8. Try to Anticipate the Needs of Both Your Clients and Teammates

When it comes to working at a digital marketing agency, a little bit of proactivity will take you far. Not only will your future self thank you, but your coworkers and clients will, too. In regard to client work, this could mean thinking about the questions your point of contact may bring up and trying to answer those in the initial deliverable. A little bit of extra detail can go a long way when it comes to client relationships.

Furthermore, it’s easy to shortcut tasks in the hopes that you’ll save time. However, it’s more likely that an update will be requested and then you’ll spend more time on it than you would have in the first place. In addition, there are other simple things you can do for your team as well. For example, I like to check OOO calendars before messaging or assigning tasks to anyone, and I always try to find answers to questions myself before chatting with someone else.

While everyone works differently, these are a few strategies I’ve found through my years at a digital marketing agency. That said, creating a system that is best for you takes time and some trial and error! It may be worth your while to experiment with the ideas above and see how they impact your workday. Share your top agency tips below, and connect with our team today for all of your digital marketing needs!

8 Tips for Working at a Digital Marketing Agency is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

For three semesters during my undergraduate years, I worked at my college’s career center. That job gave me, an English major without a plan, the confidence I needed to kickstart my career in content. The biggest lesson I learned from this job was that a career in digital marketing can start anywhere. It can be based on various skills you learn on the fly at other jobs, a mid-career transition into something new, or it can start in college as it did for me. 

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A week after graduation, I was hired into my dream job here at Go Fish Digital. Before that, however, I did everything I could to learn more about this dynamic field and ensure that my application stood out from the crowd. I’m going to share with you my 5 best tips that helped me get from an English degree to a job in digital marketing, where I focus on creating content from an SEO perspective.

1. Writing Experience is Your Friend

This may come as a surprise to you, but professional, concise writing is a highly desirable skill – especially in the digital space. That’s because conveying messages to others effectively can be difficult to do, and not everyone has the ability to do it. So, if you understand how to convey messages to different audiences, you’ll immediately have a leg up when you’re applying to digital marketing jobs. In fact, many of my interviewers mentioned to me that my writing experience is what got me through the door. The good news is that writing experience is very easy to get while in school.

A digital marketing mentor I had in undergrad told me that some of the most successful people who work on the web came from news-related, editorial backgrounds. This type of writing is clear-cut, facts-driven, and way more interesting than English papers. But, in order to learn how to write in this way, you’re going to have to do a little legwork.

Here is what I suggest:

• Volunteer to write for your school newspaper or campus magazine. Any published work with your byline (your name attached to it) is a major plus.
• Take a journalism class, and especially pay attention to the rules of AP Style.
• Create a portfolio of 2-3 of your strongest pieces. Many jobs will ask for a writing sample. Make them diverse in topic, and update them often. Some portfolio websites I drew inspiration from were Gari Cruze and Tasha Meys.

2. Internship, Internship, Internship (and Don’t Discount Remote!)

Having an internship in digital marketing under your belt helps you prove to potential employers that you can do the work they need. Depending on what you’re interested in, look for positions that will require you to dive in and hone those skills – such as content, email, social media marketing, SEO, or PPC.

Most universities have a job board that companies who specifically want to hire undergraduate interns or part-time workers can request to post on. I highly recommend that you take advantage of that in combination with your own independent research. If your school is far from any company doing the work you want to do, seek out a remote internship. There are so many companies that have great opportunities available for undergrads.

This is how I found my first opportunity in SEO. My would-be boss posted an internship wherein he would train the hiree in keyword research, SEO tools, and web content writing in exchange for help in all three. And he was willing to work with remote candidates.

This man ended up being the mentor I mentioned earlier, and the internship was one of the best learning experiences of my undergraduate career.

Some tips:

• Make sure the job posting is legit. Most have to go through a screening process to be posted on the university’s internal site, but if you have any questions, your career center can help you determine if it is a scam.
• Even if you’re a remote intern, go out of your way to network with your company. Ask your boss to make email introductions with folks in other departments you’re interested in meeting, and set up phone calls with them to ask them about their career.

3. Why Not Try Freelancing?

Not all internships are paid, so if an unpaid internship is not financially feasible for you, there’s still an option for you to get hands-on digital marketing experience, and get paid: freelancing!

I don’t claim to be an expert on freelancing, but as I was trying to get more involved in digital marketing, I came across multiple copywriting experts in my research (such as Susan Greene and Neville Medhora) who recommended giving freelancing a try. It seemed like a great way to earn some extra money and get exposure to the work. Additionally, you can easily fit freelancing in to work around with your class schedule.

If this is an avenue you want to take so you can get more writing experience, I highly recommend that you give Upwork a try. Upwork is a great place to hone any skill, and a quick browse of the site will show you that the demand for digital marketers is high. Many companies need help writing web content or blog posts, or with basic keyword research, and they will be happy to pass the task off to you! Not only will you be compensated, but you’ll likely get a great portfolio piece out of it as well.

The scoop on freelancing:

• You will get out of it what you put in. Don’t expect to make enough money to live off of, but the money you make from freelancing can certainly help you through.
• Freelancing is time-consuming and can be really fun, so be sure to limit yourself, and remember to focus on schoolwork first!
• If you’re interested in freelancing through Upwork, I recommend reading through Danny Marguiles’ blog Freelance to Win. It gives you helpful tips on how to get started on the platform and how to get the most bang for your buck.

4. Get Certified in Something

Another great thing about this field: since it’s so new, your degree doesn’t really matter. We have every major you can think of here at GFD. What matters is what you can learn to do, quickly and artfully.

A great way to show your ability to do this is to get certified in one of the many tools digital marketers use. These certifications help you stand out as both independently motivated and better technically prepared than your peers who don’t seek them out.

Tailor the courses you take toward your career interest, and where you could use the most help. But be wary – online courses take the same amount of dedication and studying as your college courses, so be sure not to overload yourself. Consider completing them during winter or summer breaks when you have more time.

Many companies will focus on hiring employees that have Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Hubspot certifications. Check out how to sign up for those courses below (they’re free!).

Certification sign ups: 

• Google Ads
• Google Analytics
• Hubspot Content Marketing
• Hubspot Inbound Marketing

5.  Consume As Much Content As Possible

Again, in many cases, digital marketing is one of those fields that schools can’t exactly teach you. The good news is, it’s an area that really lends itself to knowledge sharing, and as we just discussed, there are plenty of opportunities for you to teach yourself.

Even if you don’t have time for a full certification course, many of the industry’s top thought leaders post their ideas regularly online for free. Use this to your benefit and read, listen, watch all you can about your field. Make sure you take notes so you can reference what you learned later.

It’s highly valuable to seek out and consume this content, both because it keeps you abreast of an ever-evolving industry, and because it gives you talking points with potential interviewers and colleagues. 

Additionally, if you find an author who regularly writes content you enjoy or is highly involved in your desired field, don’t forget to follow them on social media to engage with them further. It also helps to get your name out there!

Here are some of my favorite content hubs:

• Copyblogger FM (Podcast)
• Moz Blog 
• Content Marketing Institute
• Search Engine Journal

Wrap Up

By developing your skills in areas you’re probably not learning about in your courses, especially if you’re in the liberal arts, you’re doing yourself a great service. Even just adding a couple of these tips to your plan for the year could make a huge difference in your career.

As this school year kicks off, remember that experiential learning, whether it’s through a course you decide to take on your own, an internship, or a dive into doing real work for real companies via freelancing, is one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself as you prepare for the world post-graduation. 

Four words: you can do it!

5 Ways You Can Prepare for a Digital Marketing Career as an Undergrad is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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Here are seven pieces of advice that might make the application process a little easier and can hopefully help you to land your dream internship. 

1. Apply, apply, apply!

It is not uncommon for a company to receive hundreds, even thousands of applications for an internship position. Although you might be qualified for the role, so are the majority of other hopeful students who applied. This is why it is important to expand your options and apply for a lot of internships. 

During my internship hunt, my friends always made fun of me because I applied for so many – 42 to be exact. While this was an extremely time consuming and sometimes discouraging process, if I had only applied for a few positions I would have risked working at an internship that I didn’t love, or even worse not getting one at all. Applying for as many internships as I did increased my chances of getting one and eventually allowed me to end up with the internship that was the best fit for me here at Go Fish Digital. 

2. Stay organized. 

My biggest piece of advice for applying for internships is to stay organized. Throughout my own summer internship search, I had a massive spreadsheet that included the company name, job title, application deadline, what materials the application required, the status of my own application, and any other relevant details for every single internship I found. 

Going into that much detail may seem a bit tedious, but after applying for only a few internships, information such as the status of your applications, future deadlines, follow up emails and updates from the company can all run together, causing you to potentially miss something important. Keeping each internship opportunity neatly organized in a spreadsheet can prevent this and allow your internship search to go much more smoothly.

3. Don’t underestimate your connections. 

Take advantage of LinkedIn. It’s a great resource to find companies that might be hiring interns. In fact, the LinkedIn jobs section is how I found my summer internship! 

In addition to following companies and looking at job postings, you can also explore the site and see what roles your connections are working in or have previously worked in. You never know what you’ll find, and sometimes it can lead to an opportunity. 

You can even do the same thing outside of LinkedIn. I often found myself asking my friends, classmates, and professors about internships they previously had, internships they would recommend, or internships they know about. Word of mouth is a powerful resource, and it can connect you to more internship opportunities than you might think. Don’t forget to return the favor by helping connect your friends to internships you’ve previously had or know about. What goes around, comes around! 

4. Do your research. 

When applying and interviewing with companies, it is vital to do your research on the company and on the specific job you are applying to. 

I’ll be honest, in the midst of my summer internship search, I got lazy on an application and didn’t research all of the available positions the company had to offer. I realized at midnight the night before my interview that I had actually applied and was interviewing for a position I wasn’t qualified for at all, and I missed out on applying for a position with the same company that I was very qualified for, all because I didn’t do my research. 

Take my advice, and do not put yourself in this position. Blindly submitting an application will only hurt you in the long run. Research the company, their internship opportunities, and everything they have to offer before submitting an application and especially before interviewing, or you might find yourself in a situation similar to mine. 

5. Know your worth. 

Internships aren’t necessarily known to be the most fun or high-paying jobs out there. As an intern, you may not be making “big bucks” or doing the most exciting work, but you should at least enjoy your experience, and you should most definitely be learning more about the industry you’re working in. This is why, if extended an internship offer, it is important to know your worth as an employee. If you feel an internship isn’t going to pay you what you deserve (or at all), if they’re asking you to work unfair hours, or if they’re asking you to do work that just doesn’t feel right, then don’t accept the offer. 

You may feel pressured to accept the first internship offer you receive in the fear that you won’t get another one. If the internship meets your qualifications, then go for it! But if something doesn’t feel right about it, then it might be best to hold off and keep applying. 

It is important to recognize your worth and your abilities as an applicant so that you can land an internship that will allow you to reap the full benefits. Internships are used to determine what field and direction you ultimately want to go in after college, and accepting the wrong internship can prevent you from figuring this out. 

6. Don’t look past unpaid internships. 

While it is important to recognize your worth as an applicant, don’t look past what an unpaid internship might have to offer, especially if you’ve never had a relevant internship before. 

My first internship was in digital marketing, and it was unpaid. This was my first real experience in the digital marketing industry, and it allowed me to learn and develop skills much greater than what I could have picked up in a classroom. While I would have loved to be paid, I had to realize that I didn’t have a lot of relevant experience going into the internship, and what the internship had to offer was ultimately greater than any paycheck they could have given me. 

The skills and hands-on experience I gained in this particular position helped me to secure my current internship here at Go Fish Digital, and I would have never gotten this internship had it not been for my unpaid one. Therefore, it is extremely important to consider what an internship might have to offer you in the future when considering what they will pay you. You never know, the connections and skills might be worth more than a paycheck. 

7. Send a thank-you note. 

You’ve probably heard, “send a thank you note after your interview!” a thousand times from your advisors and, at this point, think it’s common knowledge. But you would be surprised at the number of people who don’t follow up after speaking with a potential employer. A simple thank you note, or even an email, after an interview can make you stand out as an applicant, and it shows the employer that you are serious about the job opportunity. 

However, when sending a thank you email, don’t send a standard “thank you” that could go to any company. Tailor it to the conversation that you had during your interview. Tell them specific things you enjoyed talking about, or mention a few details you might have learned about the company in the conversation. Make it personal to the interviewer, and you are much more likely to be a memorable applicant. 

Conclusion 

While the internship hunt can be challenging and stressful, it is completely possible to land a valuable internship that can take you further in your career. Hopefully, if you’re on the hunt for a killer internship, these tips will make the application process just a little bit easier for you. 

Do you have any additional tips for landing the perfect internship? Share in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out Go Fish Digital’s current job openings.

7 Quick and Easy Tips for Applying to Internships is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.