7 Ways to Get Marketing Experience at Home

Feel like you can't break into the marketing industry because you don't have enough experience? 

Getting marketing experience when you have none can sometimes feel like an impossible task.

Don’t wait around for someone to give you a job so you can start building your marketing experience.

In this article, we'll outline why you need marketing experience and seven different ways you can get marketing experience at home.

After reading this article, all you'll need to do to start getting more marketing experience is open a new tab on your computer.

What Does Not Count as Marketing Experience to Employers

Most articles talking about how to get marketing experience reference things like degrees, bootcamps, and certifications as ways to get marketing experience.

But those things are NOT experience!

They're all great things to add to your resume when trying to start a career in marketing, but they shouldn't be confused with experience.

Employers also discount marketing projects done in college so don't rely too heavily on things you did as a student.

Marketing experience refers to completing real-world marketing projects or campaigns. Real things that have real impact.

We're about to show you just how to do that.

Why You Need To Get Marketing Experience 

A degree isn't enough anymore.

Employers want candidates with experience, but a getting some isn't exactly easy.

Most candidate for entry-level marketing roles look the same and your marketing experience is where you can make yourself stand out.

Almost anyone can take a course, get a certification, or get a degree.

Not everyone can get marketing experience.

If you want to get hired in a marketing role, you need to find ways to get real experience with real results!

Marketing experience is the proof that backs up the words on your resume.

How to Get Marketing Experience

Here are 7 ways to get marketing experience at home.

1. Get a marketing internship

2. Volunteer free marketing help to your local community

3. Start doing freelance marketing work

4. Create your own content (blog, social media, email, graphic design)

5. Play "pretend marketer"

6. Build a website portfolio

7. Join Sky Accelerator

Let's dive into what each one is and how you can do it.

Get a Marketing Internship

You've probably already thought of this one, but in case you didn't, the most common way to get marketing experience is by getting a marketing internship.

It doesn't matter if it's paid or unpaid, a marketing internship is the best type of experience (aside from a full-time marketing role) to put on your resume.

It's the best type of marketing experience because it's the most similar to a real job. 

Look for marketing internships where you'll have the most opportunities to learn new skills and get experience doing real marketing projects.

If you nee help applying to marketing internships, check out our post on Entry-Level Marketing Resume Examples for the Recent Graduate.

If you're having difficulty getting a marketing internship, ask the people in your network if they could benefit from a marketing intern.

You can even approach small, local shops in your neighborhood and see if they could use some marketing help.

It can be you're mom's catering business or your uncle's gym-- it doesn't matter who you're working for or what the company does, as long as you have the opportunity to get marketing experience.

Volunteer Free Marketing Help to Your Local Community

Another great form of marketing experience is volunteer work.

You'd be surprised how many non-profit organizations are looking for free marketing help on sites like Volunteer Match.

Search for marketing related roles on volunteer sites, or better yet, take the initiative to contact local non-profits or community organizations asking if they could use free marketing help.

There are so many places that would love some help for free, all you need to do is ask.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, you can narrow your offering to a single vertical.

For example, only manage their Instagram, or only write content for their Blog or only design marketing graphics.

It's okay to niche down!

Volunteer Match allows you to do that by searching for opportunities based on skill.

Start Doing Freelance Marketing Work

Freelance marketing is an amazing way to build valuable marketing experience employers appreciate.

A freelance marketer is a self-employed individual who creates and implements marketing campaigns, channels, strategies and related tasks for their clients

It is, however, difficult to get started.

Planable has an article on how to get started as a freelance marketer you can check out to see if it's right for you.

The benefit of freelance marketing is that you would be able to compile a wide array of marketing experience.

You'd also work with multiple clients allowing you to accumulate a variety of results to show employers.

Create Your Own Content

A fun way to build up your marketing experience is to create your own content.

It doesn't necessarily matter what type of content it is or what the content is about.

It also doesn't necessarily matter how big your following is or if you have one at all.

What matters is that you create something great that demonstrates your skillset.

Choose any topic that interests you, absolutely anything you're passionate about, and create content in that niche to get marketing experience.

Blog

The best marketers are incredible writers.

Showcase your writing skills by creating your own blog.

Remember, blog writing is different that college essay writing.

It's more conversational, casual, and there are no bulky paragraphs. You can check out HubSpot's Guide on how to write a blog post to learn more about blog writing.

You can use a website builder to create your blog, like Wordpress, Wix, or Squarespace.

Or, you can just post them on LinkedIn for free!

Go to the home feed on LinkedIn and click "Write article."

You'll be directed to a page where you can write and publish and article to LinkedIn.

After publishing it, don't forget to add them to the featured section of your LinkedIn profile.

Social Media

If you're scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, you should also be posting.

What better way to get marketing experience than by actively creating content for platforms you use every day.

Create a new account dedicated to a niche you're passionate about and start consistently creating content and sharing it.

You can post about fashion, beauty, books, anything you feel would be fun enough for you to stay committed to for the long-term.

Email

Starting your own newsletter and building an email list is another great way to get marketing experience at home.

You can start a newsletter in any niche and try to grow your audience to show employers you're (a) a great writer and (b) you know how to market yourself.

You don't even need a website, you can just put a link to sign up for the newsletter in your Instagram bio and use Mailchimp to design and send your emails.

Learn why and how to start an email newsletter here.

Graphic Design

If you have a knack for graphic design or if you're a Canva QUEEN, have some fun creating your own designs and showcasing them to employers.

This would also be great content to share on social media as well.

Design graphics that showcase your skills and aesthetic.

Play "Pretend Marketer"

The title of this one may sound kinda silly, but it's not. Trust us.

Complete mock projects for a company as if you were their Social Media Specialist, Content Specialist, Marketing Coordinator, or any other role that intrigues you.

This allows you to get marketing experience by showing employers the quality of work they can expect from you if they hire you.

You can either:

1. Create new campaigns/projects for the company
2. Redo previous campaigns/projects and make them better

An example of creating something new would be to create a pretend TikTok account for a brand that doesn't already have one but should.

An example of redoing something the brand has already done would be find an email newsletter in your inbox, screenshot it, then redesign your own in a free email building tool like Mailchimp.

Another example would be to find a brand that could use an Instagram makeover and do it for them. Transform their feed into what it would look like if you were their Social Media Coordinator and compare the before and after side by side.

Hailey Brooke (@hailey_brook8) does an incredible job doing this on her TikTok. You can check out her account for some inspiration.

Build a Website Portfolio

The best way to showcase your new marketing experience is to put it on a portfolio.

There are two types of website portfolios we recommend you create:

PDF Portfolio

This is the easier type of portfolio to create and also a very effective one.

Make yours 10-slides max and design it in Canva.

Website Portfolio

Building a website portfolio is much more complex and time consuming, but will be a tool you cary with you throughout the entirety of your career.

Website design and copywriting can also be an big part of a marketing job so building your own is valuable marketing experience in itself

Check out our article on How to Build a Marketing Portfolio Website for an in-depth look on how to build a website portfolio.

Join Sky Accelerator

Your journey to your dream career has a fast lane and it's called Sky Accelerator.

Sky Accelerator is an 8-week live, digital marketing bootcamp that helps unemployed female graduates become digital marketers by giving them job ready marketing skills, software training, and real-world experience.

Sky Accelerator invests in you. You pay nothing upfront until you're earning $40k or more and if you don't get a full-time job, you don't pay Sky Accelerator a penny.

What makes Sky Accelerator different is that the focus is entirely on helping students acquire real-world experience and hard-skills employers are looking for.

Get the marketing experience you need to get a job at Sky Accelerator.

Final Thoughts

A degree isn't enough anymore.

You need to get marketing experience to get a marketing job.

Now you know exactly how to get the marketing experience you need, all that's left is for you to put this knowledge into action!