Are you a niche marketer looking for ways to increase your fees? You’re about to learn how certifications can help you command a higher fee for your services.
Niche marketers already command higher fees than general marketers who take on a variety of clients. Expertise always justifies higher fees.
However, no matter how much experience you have in a particular niche, getting certain certifications can boost your income to the next level.
1. Real estate marketers should obtain a real estate license.
Whenever you obtain a certification in the industry you market for, you’ll gain extensive knowledge of how things work on the inside.
As a real estate marketer, you might have no interest in buying or selling a home for others or even acquiring your own investment property. That’s perfectly okay. Having a real estate license will give you valuable insight into the market from an investor’s point of view.
It’s easy and cheap to get a license. Most real estate licensing courses are around 75 hours, and the cost is surprisingly small. For example, you can get licensed in Pennsylvania for under $200, and you can complete your entire course online.
The more you know about real estate, the better you’ll serve your clients. For example, say you’re running a digital marketing campaign for a property management company. You probably have a decent amount of general knowledge about the industry. However, when you take a real estate licensing course, you’ll get an in-depth education on:
- how escrow works;
- learning how to value a property;
- how to close a sale;
- tax laws and procedures;
- how to transfer property legally;
- learning how liens and encumbrances work;
- how to structure a contract;
- ethics;
- how to succeed as a real estate investor;
- disclosure guidelines and procedures;
- and more.
Learning about all of these things in-depth will give you an advantage when helping your property management client. You’ll start to see where real estate investors struggle most, and you can use that information to speak directly to struggling investors who would benefit from a property management company.
2. Cybersecurity marketers should get at least one IT security certificate.
Cybersecurity has become as complex as the attacks that created the industry. If you’re marketing for cybersecurity products and services, it will help to get certified in an area that most relates to the clients you serve.
For instance, say you market for clients selling SD-WAN solutions. You won’t find any general SD-WAN certification courses, but you will find some product-specific courses created by vendors. For example, Silver Peak and Citrix offer certifications for their SD-WAN solutions.
Ask each client if they offer a certification course for their product. If they do, take the course.
Likewise, if you market for clients selling a third-party add-on service that encrypts emails, you’ll want to get at least one certification that covers encryption. Start with the basics on Udemy and learn about authentication codes, private keys, public keys, digital signatures, chains of trust, and cryptography.
The more you understand the complexities involved in cybersecurity, the better results you can get for your clients.
3. Mail center marketers should learn how to send mail.
Do you market for mail centers? Whether it’s a large corporation (UPS or DHL) or a local mail center, it’s important to understand the basics of how mail services work.
As a marketer, you can’t truly understand the customer’s pain until you understand the frustrations they face just trying to send a simple piece of mail.
The more you know about the mail system, the more you can help your clients with content marketing efforts. Customers will be looking for solutions online, and with knowledge, you can create content that speaks directly to their needs.
For example, most clients don’t know they can’t send registered mail through the U.S. Postal Service from a UPS store, nor can you pay for flat-rate shipping. However, you can send certified mail, and you can drop off prepaid flat rate boxes.
4. Self-storage marketers need to understand auctions.
If you really want to get your self-storage clients big results, you’ll want to focus on marketing their auctions. Storage facilities are usually easy to keep full, but owners don’t usually think about marketing their auctions.
There are several auction courses available on Udemy that can give you a basic understanding of how to put on an auction. This will help you market your clients’ auctions and get more bidders.
More knowledge equals more conversions…and bigger profits.
Certifications and specialized knowledge are your key to bigger profits. When you brand yourself as a true expert in your niche, you’ll command higher fees and gain clients with big budgets who see the value in niche marketing.
