Learning non-tech skills can drastically improve your prospects as a developer. Few non-tech skills are more useful to businesses than digital marketing, especially when paired with web development skills. Before going any further, it’s important to understand exactly what digital marketing is, digital marketing is marketing products or services using electronic devices.

So what are the benefits of learning digital marketing as a developer?

1. BECOME A MORE IN-DEMAND CANDIDATE OR EMPLOYEE

With the knowledge and skills to create websites that work, and the skill set to get targeted traffic to the site and improve conversion rates, knowing digital marketing can only be beneficial to helping you become more attractive to clients and employers.

If you are a freelance web developer and you create websites for clients, you can now offer bundled services to give more value while also earning more.

Depending on the projects I do for clients, I always bundle retainer services like Ad-words management, content marketing, design and SEO.

Not only does the website have a greater chance of achieving success with all of these strategies in place, but it’s also an excellent predictable income for you, which avoids the financial dips that some freelancers experience.

2. INCREASE YOUR INCOME

If you have a tech-related career, you have the potential to negotiate a salary increase if you can utilise a digital marketing skill set to improve the business’ online presence and sales.

If you are a freelancer, you can enjoy an income jump if you apply these services to your current and future projects. You’ll have to know how to sell yourself and negotiate good rates, of course, but this knowledge will help you to stand out from the crowd.

3. GROW YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Which would you prefer:

Scenario one: Actively pursuing clients every month if you’re a freelancer, or slogging through a job search if you prefer traditional employment.

Scenario two: Clients and potential employers reaching out to you, wanting to hire you and handing you great offers.

I am not being idealistic here. The second scenario can and does happen. Is it easy? No…but it is possible.

The power of growing your personal brand online is not even worthy of a debate – it’s a necessity. Start a blog, share what you learn, show your knowledge, and get involved on social media. Position yourself as an expert in your field and people will start viewing you as one.

4. GET INVOLVED IN A GROWING FIELD

With internet usage increasing in exponential numbers across the world, there is an increased demand for digital marketing professionals and companies.

5. HAVE A GREAT FALLBACK CAREER

This is a bold statement, I know.

If I woke up one day and I lost all my clients, connections, and website, and I had to start all over from scratch to get an income, I would do this:

1. Figure out how much I want to earn monthly ($5,000 as an example).
2. Target a small, competitive niche like solar panels.
3. Create an industry analysis report where I analyse the market, competitors, and websites, and then position myself as an expert in this niche.

I would then work 2 hours per day, per client, which equals a full day’s work, or I could work one full week for each client.

Does a similar idea sound good to you? Then start now: it’ll be a lot easier to hit the ground running if you work on developing those skills before you really need them.

6. DEVELOP THE SKILLS TO LAUNCH YOUR OWN PRODUCTS OR SERVICES SUCCESSFULLY

Does launching your own products or freelancing on the side appeal to you? There are many web developers who aspire to do this one day, and it’s a great way to pull in extra cash or even start your own full-time business.

I am a huge advocate for web developers – especially front end developers – to learn digital marketing. The fact is that it equips you with the knowledge to make effective websites.