Being self-employed and running my own business has been challenging. Not the work itself, but earning enough money to live.

Often, I make just enough to cover all the expenses and unexpected surprises. Sometimes when I earn little more, I need to save it for the next month.

I registered my business SCRIIV in 2020 as an advertising agency. It’s ironic that I struggle with getting new clients. I should be the pro, right?

I can only imagine there are thousands like me, scraping by.

What I’m doing for my clients?

I write content and copy for multiple different industries. Mainly in Finnish, as it pays better.

I design and maintain websites.

I edit videos, design graphics and build funnels.

The amount of work is inconsistent

Thankfully I do have a fully remote Quality & Assurance job for supplemental income. It’s embarrassing to say that my business is not making me enough. Some months are busy, some months are quiet.

I like the quiet months, because I want to make videos for both of my channels. When I’m busy, I simply have no time. And if I’m not doing videos or other content, I’m not doing any marketing.

My goal for 2023 is to get my main channel to hit 1K subscribers and 4K watch-hours. By now I have made over 50 80 videos for YouTube so that goal is very humble. To be honest, I thought it would be easier to get to the YouTube partner program and start to earn some peanuts for ad revenue.

One million digital marketers

There are probably over 1 million self-employed digital marketers, like me, who have a handful of clients. How to stand out? How to offer something that is better than competition?

Positioning. When I first started, I got some free hours with a digital marketing mentor. She told me to niche down to marketing in the gaming industry.

And that’s what I am now doing. Two years later. Maybe I was too proud and/or lazy to listen. However, learning about marketing in gaming industry makes good sense.

• It’s a growing market. The biggest entertainment industry by far. That guarantees work.
• I’ve been playing console and PC games since I was 6, so I at least have some understanding about games. I love strategy and role-playing games like so many others. The topic is of personal interest.
• Being on the marketing side does not require me to learn code and develop games

One good idea to stand out

That’s where I’m headed. This is a very early documentation about the journey. In the span of 2023 and going forward, I want to become a Gamer Marketing Expert.

Obviously, there are a myriad of established Game Marketing Agencies. That’s why I want to focus on Gamers as a target audience, not on selling games. You see, there are over 3 billion gamers globally and the numbers are going up. Many other products and services can be also marketed to gamers, but many brands have no touch point with gaming industry. My idea is to be that touch point.

Wish me luck!