Spend your lockdown skilling up

1 Apr 2020

Being homebound is our reality for the foreseeable future, but it doesn't have to spell disaster for your income. The freelancer industry is growing, with no shortage of demand from organisations looking for skilled people to help them grow their businesses. Anyone who has fears around the stability of their income has a massive opportunity to upskill during this nationwide lockdown and set themselves up for future success.

Image credit: Burst on Pexels.com.

There are three professions that are in particular demand and she offers advice on the best platforms one can leverage to upskill yourself… fast!

Social media content creators:

Social media is a booming industry and with more and more organisations and brands realising that they need to take it seriously. As a result there is a massive demand for good quality content producers. So, the very first thing you need to wrap your head around is how to write copy that sells. This is an incredibly helpful skill to have and is totally learnable.

Websites like WordStream are great resources to reference if you’re looking to nail copy! Also, if you’re creating copy for specific platforms – you can Google tips on the types of copy that work for each platform.

Google Analytics and Google AdWord gurus:

Digital is the biggest growth opportunity for every organisation out there. With this reality comes the need for business to understand and interpret the data and the feedback that is delivered through their online channels. This poses a wonderful opportunity for a keen freelancer! If you get excited by the notion of geeking out on analytics courses during this lockdown, there is a very profitable side-hustle waiting for you!

I like going right to the source – Google Academy – it offers free, easy-to-understand short courses to help you get a handle of and master Google platforms.

Social media and video marketing editors

Video content outperforms static content, hands down. Everyone can shoot content from their phones but editing content to ensure it makes sense and hits the brief is a skill that is sorely missed. Influencers, business consultants and other SME’s are all scrambling to wrap their heads around getting video content out there with little to no support! This is a massive opportunity for anyone with a passion for video to upskill themselves and fill that gap in the market – like in yesterday.

Remaining relevant to clients in the time of lockdown

Lauren Crooks 1 Apr 2020

For a super quick upskill session, you can tap into YouTube creator academy – there’s some really great content on editing in there (and so much more).

We can choose to spend the next three weeks in speculation and anxiety or we can take control and do something constructive with our time – if not to start a business, then perhaps to simply learn a new and very relevant skill!

About Jacqueline Raw

Jacqueline Raw is a Sales and Marketing Strategist. She is the founder of Ycagel, a Marketing consulting and services firm and SkillX an online skills incubator for entrepreneurs and professionals. As a thought-leader and influencer in her markets, she is passionate about driving change and equipping people with the skills they need to grow successful businesses and brands.