Becoming an Established Marketer in a Sea of Freelancers
Over the last eight years Evan Fraser has provided content marketing services to medium and large sized businesses as a freelancer.
In that time Evan graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in marketing while also working to establish himself as very serious and skilled marketing professional. Like many who get their start as freelancers, Evan began competing for work using online marketplaces like Upwork.
More recently however, Evan has been named the Director of Marketing at GraphicSprings.com, a company that provides a free and user friendly web-based logo design tool.
Career Success Q&A
What do you like most about your job?
I love the fast paced environment and ever changing challenges. SEO and marketing on the web requires a lot of creativity and innovation which keeps our day to day exciting.
What kind of formal training do you have?
I graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in marketing. Much of my content marketing expertise comes from my 8 years of experience working with medium to large businesses as a freelance marketing consultant. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with some of the top content creation companies in creating link-able assets and articles.
What kind of experience did you have before you began your current role?
While I was studying at Rutgers I worked on some small entrepreneurial ventures that required me to hire freelance designers and marketers. Working on these projects through online marketplaces like Odesk and Elance (now UpWork) sparked my interest in web based marketing.
Shortly after I created my website as a freelancer I was working with several local clients taking on projects ranging from web branding to blog management.
To add to my experience and education I took any course I could to broaden my skillset. I took courses on graphic design, writing, SEO and even web design. Working with a variety of clients eventually led to many full-time job offers.
Do you have a mission statement or a guiding philosophy for your career?
I do not have a particular mission statement, but there are is one thing that I always try to keep in mind.
Over 10 years ago a successful (multi-millionaire) business man was kind enough to share his wisdom with me. His advice to me was simple but life changing. He told me that “Consistency always trumps intensity.”
This simple advice still holds true in every aspect of my life and has shaped my thinking in regards to goal setting and work ethic. It helped me realize that working towards a goal consistently will get you further than working towards a goal intensely without consistency.
Consistency over time will work wonders, and you will be amazed at the results.
What excites you most about your career right now?
I am lucky enough to work for an exciting startup in an exciting field. We are always creating new campaigns and strategies so our goals and tasks change from week to week.
In short, the reason I am excited for the start of the work day changes constantly. Never a dull moment!
What excites you about the future of your career?
I am excited about all the potential and exciting ventures that are yet to come. Web marketing allows me to work with forward thinking and exciting young people.
Are you an avid reader?
I love books! I read about one book a week on average.
What would you recommend to people trying to improve themselves?
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries is my favorite book, but since most of you will already know that one I will share another life-changing book.
Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People will help anybody’s career and personal life. Highly recommended!
I enjoy the podcasts at Mixergy. Very insightful interviews of successful entrepreneurs.
I would recommend reading the blogs from Neil Patel and Moz.
Aside from that I’d make sure that you take time every day to search for educational content on blogs, Youtube, and podcasts.
Do you have a routine you follow as a way of ensuring you’re improving?
Yes, I read for 45 minutes to 1 hour every day.
That in itself will help you to consistently hone your skills and broaden your knowledge. I cannot stress enough what reading on a daily basis has done for me.
What is the best career advice you ever received?
As I mentioned earlier I was given some great advice early on in my career.
“Consistency always trumps intensity,” helped me through my education and build my career.
I feel consistency is crucial in anything that you do. Be consistent about cultivating relationships, be consistent in working to improve your skillset, and be consistent in working towards your goals.
It will pay off in the long run.
Who are your most influential mentors and why do you admire them?
I really like Neil Patel, he has achieved some incredible things for a young guy.
His approach is simple but very efficient. Reading his blog and watching his interviews has taught me a lot about content marketing and business in general.
Would you consider yourself a goal-setter?
Yes, writing down your goals is crucial.
You need to write down your goals by making a plan. As the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
I always set short-term and long-term goals.
Creating a daily to-do list the night before has helped me reach my goals one step at a time. I use the PlannerPro app to keep my to-do list.
My short-term goals are based around the strategies we have created at GraphicSprings. We always set high goals around content creation and user acquisition. I plan to reach them all.
As for the long-term, I plan to become a figure of authority and thought leader in the online marketing field.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced over the course of your career?
The biggest challenge was definitely establishing myself in the field as a marketing freelancer. Web-based marketplaces are great for finding talent, but it is very competitive for service providers.
It takes a lot of perseverance and hard work to set yourself apart and create a great reputation.
I did manage to overcome this challenge, but I see many young marketers struggle with this. Working towards your goals consistently and ethically is the key to success.
There are no shortcuts and it is definitely challenging.
Always aim to improve and try to gain experience by working around people that are smarter than you.
It worked for me.
What have you found to work really well for fostering professional growth?
Working with people that challenge you is key.
As soon as you can do your job on auto-pilot you are not learning. Try to get out of your comfort zone, you always learn something new.
What is a professional challenge you’re still looking for a solutions to?
When working with young startups it is difficult to build a following of users/readers.
This is a difficult obstacle to overcome when working with new clients too. I am always looking to learn how marketers growth-hack their way to building a strong following early on in the process.
Are you currently working on any projects readers should be aware of?
Our team at GraphicSprings.com is always working on great content.
Our site is an easy to use logo design tool that is free to use. We are also very passionate about small business and branding.
You can see my blog at https://www.graphicsprings.com/blog
What is the best way for people to connect with you?
Email: Evan@GraphicSprings.com
Have questions about your own professional development or the details of Evan’s career path?
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Awesome article 😉