Last fall, when I took Udacity’s Digital Marketing Nanodegree program, it immediately resulted in new clients! Today, I’m sharing my thoughts one year later.

Before beginning the program, I worked with brands to develop media used in their marketing as a video, web, and written content creator. I managed social media platforms, ran Facebook and Google ads, and used WordPress / HTML to improve SEO. Although creating content was something I enjoyed doing, I had degrees in history and education, not marketing. My goal with the program was to plan and create digital marketing campaigns and track the results, while also learning about different careers in the field to determine which might be the best fit for me.

Check out five things I gained from taking the program.

Building a Portfolio

One of the most useful parts of the program was the portfolio I came away with at the end. Each project provided authentic, real-world experience with feedback from an instructor. In some other online programs I took, no one read the assignment I submitted, or peers did who weren’t invested in my success as a student, or they didn’t know enough about the content to provide good feedback.

At the beginning, I was able to choose between marketing my own brand or the Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree Program. I chose to market their program. Altogether, I had seven projects and a final portfolio to include on my resume.

With each assignment, the instructor provided detailed feedback. There was also a classroom forum that provided timely help when needed.

You can check out my projects below to get an idea of what was required.

The Importance of Data

Each project required me to set a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and to write a marketing objective. I studied the performance of different ad campaigns across various platforms, including an email marketing campaign, social media, and Google ads. Using the data, I determined how to budget to create a marketing campaign for Udacity’s Digital Marketing Nanodegree Program.

Gaining More Clients

Within a couple of months of finishing the program, I had three clients contact me directly inquiring about my rates. I made a positive return on my investment in the course right away!

Discovering My Niche in Digital Marketing

I learned about many different careers within the digital marketing field. Each project helped me determine which career would fit me best.

Finding More Classes Worth Taking

Digital marking is an ever-evolving field with new technology to adapt to all the time. After taking this program, I was inspired to find more classes that would continue to build my skill set.

One that I took was Influencer Marketing Strategy on Coursera. I liked this course because the Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree program didn’t focus on influencers, and it was a field that interested me. In one of the assignments, I ran a BuzzSumo Influencer Marketing Campaign to promote my course. The campaign resulted in increased brand awareness, and although I didn’t have the technology to directly track conversions with the link, I did have several new sign-ups for the class in the following week.

In the future, I am looking into taking the Udacity Marketing Analytics Nanodegree. It focuses more on analyzing and communicating data, which is essential to understand in this field of work.

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