Marketing Strategy

Hey there. Just a warning, I wouldn’t consider a significant number of people in this sub to be true marketers. A lot of the “marketers” here will probably advise you to learn some combination of content writing, SEO, AdWords, influencer marketing, social media ads, Google Analytics and possibly web design. These are nothing more than channels and tools to help tell customers about your product (besides Google Analytics). Great tools and channels to study but it’s not what marketing is about.

Marketing is a conversation between you and your customer. You’re asking them questions about their problems, needs or desires. You learn who they are. You empathise with them and as a result of your findings, you craft a solution (the product or service) for their problem or needs. Then using various channels of communication, you will let your customer know that you have a solution and can provide value to them. It sounds like this process may be of interest to you considering your studies.

That’s where marketing begins and it goes on to figuring out how to differentiate and position your product against competitors. You learn how to segment your audience, target audiences via various communication channels, price your products and figure out how to get the product or service to your customer in the most convenient and cost effective way.

I recommend this course from Coursera that will give you a really good start to the fundamentals. It goes through market research, consumer behaviour, product positioning, and the Marketing Mix. Coursera are courses taught by real universities and are usually very high quality. You may go through all of the material and learn it for free but if you want to take the tests and do the assignments it will cost a few hundred dollars. This course in particular, will teach you most of the important stuff from a bachelors degree in marketing without needing to study full time for several years. The course will still take some time to complete but it will give you a real solid foundation.

If that course is a bit too long then I suggest this one. It’s nowhere near as in-depth but it will give you some of the fundamentals. It is taught by Wharton and high quality.

From there, No doubt, other people here will point you in the way of great digital marketing courses to supplement this.

Hello friend,

My trauma comes from school as well.

From what you wrote it sounds to me like your school and teachers have really let you down. Here is the thing with exams: if you look through an exam you will be able to see exactly what you got wrong and then you can figure out why you got those questions wrong, once you know that you can then make a plan on how to become successful. Alternatively, you might also find that the exam itself was bad or unfair or had errors in it or you were graded incorrectly. If you suspect you may have a learning disability like dyslexia, your exam paper may show signs of that.

Have you been given back your test papers? Have you been able to go over them with a supportive teacher, friend, or family member?

Yelling and scolding and putting you down doesn't help anyone succeed. I'm so sorry that has happened to you.

My friend has dyslexia and she graduated from university. It was definitely a struggle for many years until she was properly diagnosed and taught how to work with her learning disability. There is no shame in having a learning disability and it doesn't have to hold you back - look up Richard Branson - he dropped out of high school at 16 and is now a billionaire! If you think you might have a learning disability it is really important that you get that checked out. A professional could give you the right tools for success. Is there a reddit for dyslexia? Maybe start there? Is there anyone like a counselor that you could talk to at your school?

It sounds like your interests are very entrepreneurial! That is great! There is a marketing class on coursera you might like.: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/marketing-strategy#courses

If you click to sign up for a class in tiny print it will should something like "audit for free" and then you can take the classes at no cost.

You don't need a lot of money to start a business. Look for small opportunities and start building up from there. I heard about a South African businessman who started by buying one fish at the market and then selling it for a small profit. The next day he bought and sold 2 fish - and on and on - and now he is a very wealthy and successful person.

I believe in you.

Take up a MOOC and complete it. That's one of the best ways to learn as well as reading books- check out Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm or any of Seth Godin's books.

​

Here is a list of good quality MOOCs to get you up and running.

https://www.edx.org/course/fundamentals-digital-marketing-social-media-ecommerce-3

https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-marketing

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/social-media-marketing

https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-contagious-viral-marketing

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/marketing-strategy

​

I'd recommend you pay for the certification because it'd advantageous to have it on your LinkedIn Profile. However, if you're just auditing, ensure you learn the shit out of it.

​

Have fun and best of luck. Cheers.

​