Digital Marketing for Beginners: How I Got Started as a Stay-at-Home Mom

Digital marketing for beginners can feel overwhelming. I’m sharing how I started, what I tried, the mistakes I made, and what I’ve learned along the way.

Funny enough, I didn’t even set out to become a digital marketer.

I just wanted to make Amazon review videos.

Seriously. That’s where this whole thing started.

I joined TikTok because I wanted to apply for the Amazon Influencer Program. At the time, I thought I understood what the program was.

Spoiler: I did not. 😂

How little I knew about the Amazon Influencer Program back then is a story for another blog post.

But I knew I needed to grow my social media presence, so I started working on my TikTok account.

And somewhere in the middle of trying to figure out TikTok, I stumbled across a Live that completely changed the direction I was heading.

The TikTok Live That Introduced Me to Digital Marketing

The woman hosting the Live was also a stay-at-home mom.

Her kids were young—around the same ages as mine—and I remember watching her talk about what she was doing online while her kids were literally in the next room.

That got my attention.

Because here was someone who wasn’t sitting in a corporate office. She wasn’t pretending motherhood didn’t exist while she worked.

She was doing this with little kids at home.

And she was doing well.

She started talking about digital marketing and all the different streams of income she was learning about and building.

Then she mentioned one of the things taught inside the digital marketing course she was promoting:

Amazon reviews.

Well…

She had me. 😂

I bought the course almost immediately.

My First Digital Marketing Course

And I want to be clear about something:

It was an amazing course.

I learned SO much from it.

It opened my eyes to an entire online world I honestly didn’t realize existed.

Affiliate marketing. Content creation. Social media marketing. Multiple income streams. Building an online business.

Suddenly, Amazon reviews weren’t the only possibility.

But there was one problem.

The course was much more focused on Instagram posting and promotion, while I was much more interested in TikTok at the time.

There was nothing wrong with the course.

It just didn’t feel like home for me.

And that’s something I wish I’d understood when I was brand new to digital marketing.

You can buy a genuinely great course and still realize that the teaching style, platform, strategy or community isn’t quite right for you.

Sometimes finding what clicks takes a little experimenting.

I definitely did a lot of that.

Then I Got Into Amazon Influencer AND TikTok Shop

I kept working toward my original goal of getting accepted into the Amazon Influencer Program.

Within the next couple of months, it happened.

I was accepted into the Amazon Influencer Program.

Around the same time, I was also accepted into TikTok Shop Affiliate.

I was SO excited.

I finally had these opportunities I’d been working toward.

So naturally…

I tried to do everything.

😂

TikTok. Amazon. Affiliate marketing. Instagram. Learning. Filming. Editing. Posting.

And somehow I was supposed to keep up with regular life at the same time.

I was spending an absolutely ridiculous amount of time just trying to put together one or two posts.

Eventually, I burned myself out.

And Then…I Took a 4–5 Month Break

I pretty much stepped away from digital marketing for four or five months.

Honestly, life was busy enough without it.

We were moving.

Which meant packing.

Cleaning.

More packing.

Moving.

Unpacking.

Organizing.

Then reorganizing everything I had literally just organized because apparently that’s what happens when you move into a new house.

Ugh.

Digital marketing went on the back burner.

But once we finally got settled, I started feeling that pull again.

I wasn’t done with it.

Finding Something That Finally Clicked

When I started getting back into digital marketing, I came across another course creator.

At the time, she didn’t even have a complete digital marketing course.

I just loved her vibe.

I liked the way she explained things. I liked her approach. And for whatever reason, what she was teaching clicked with my brain.

Then, about a month later, she announced she was launching her own complete digital marketing course:

The Boss Suite.

And THAT lit the fire again.

Something finally felt different.

I started implementing what I was learning instead of constantly feeling like I was trying to catch up with everything.

And slowly, I started seeing results.

The First $100 Felt HUGE

That month, I made my first affiliate course sale.

My Amazon Influencer earnings also started consistently reaching at least $100 a month.

Now, is $100 a month some crazy internet success story?

No.

But here’s something I think gets lost online:

When you’ve spent months learning, filming, editing and posting while making $10 or less…seeing that number finally hit $100 feels HUGE.

It wasn’t about suddenly replacing an income.

It was proof.

Something I had built online was actually working.

And that made me want to learn more.

Digital Marketing Started Turning Into Something Bigger

Once I stopped looking at digital marketing as one specific thing, I started branching out.

Affiliate marketing.

Amazon Influencer.

TikTok Shop.

Instagram.

Pinterest.

Benable.

Content creation.

And then something happened that I hadn’t originally planned for at all.

I got my first social media management client.

A friend of my husband’s owns a local business and was looking for ways to bring in more business.

He had seen what I was doing on social media and knew I’d been learning marketing, so he asked me to put together a quote to manage his business’s social media.

And suddenly I wasn’t just using digital marketing to promote affiliate products or create my own content.

Someone was paying me to use those skills for their business.

Today, I manage that company’s social media alongside everything else I’m building online.

And that’s probably one of the biggest things digital marketing has taught me:

You don’t necessarily know where learning one skill is going to take you.

But There Was Still One Big Problem

My digital marketing journey has always felt incredibly…

piecemeal.

That’s really the best word I can think of.

My brain was constantly in a million places.

TikTok.

Amazon.

Instagram.

Facebook.

Pinterest.

Benable.

Affiliate links.

Social media management.

Courses.

Content creation.

Everything technically belonged to my online business…

but none of it felt connected.

I had all these little pieces scattered across the internet.

And eventually I started thinking:

What if I built one place where all of those pieces could actually live together?

And that was the first glimpse of what eventually became…

Lindsey Carus—and Lindsey, Lately

Instead of creating another account for another niche, I decided to build around the one thing all of these interests actually have in common:

Me.

The products I genuinely use.

The things I’ve learned.

The mistakes I’ve made.

Digital marketing.

Beauty.

Skincare.

Hair.

Home.

Mom life.

Wellness.

And whatever else I’m learning along the way.

That’s how Lindsey Carus became the umbrella brand—and how Lindsey, Lately was born.

This blog is the place where all those scattered pieces finally get to connect.

And if you’re reading this because you’re where I was back then—wondering what digital marketing actually is and whether you could possibly do it too—here’s what I’ve learned so far.

So…What Actually Is Digital Marketing?

When I first heard the words digital marketing, I honestly thought it was basically just promoting things on social media.

It’s so much bigger than that.

At its simplest, digital marketing is using online platforms to connect people with a product, service, business or brand.

That can include:

• Social media marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Content creation
• Blogging
• Pinterest marketing
• Email marketing
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Digital products
• Influencer marketing
• Social media management

And here’s the part I didn’t understand when I started:

You don’t have to do all of them.

Please reread that if you’re anything like me. 😂

I spent way too much time feeling like I needed to be on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Amazon, Benable and everywhere else at the same time.

You don’t.

Digital marketing isn’t one specific job or one specific way to make money. It’s a collection of skills—and there are a LOT of different directions you can take those skills.

What Can Digital Marketing Look Like for a Beginner?

This was probably one of the hardest things for me to understand in the beginning because I kept seeing people online talking about their “multiple streams of income.”

Okay…but what are those streams?!

Depending on what you’re interested in, digital marketing could mean:

Affiliate marketing: Sharing products or resources you genuinely recommend and earning a commission when someone purchases through your link.

Content creation: Creating photos, videos, blog posts or other content for your own platforms—or sometimes directly for brands.

Influencer marketing: Working with brands to promote products to an audience you’ve built.

Social media management: Managing social accounts and creating content for another business.

Blogging: Creating searchable content that can eventually generate income through affiliate links, partnerships, advertising, products or services.

Pinterest marketing: Creating searchable visual content that drives people to your website, blog posts, products or other resources.

Email marketing: Building an audience you can communicate with directly instead of relying entirely on a social media algorithm.

And that’s still only scratching the surface.

For me, the biggest realization was that I didn’t have to choose one tiny box and stay there forever.

I could learn skills in one area and use them somewhere completely different later—which is exactly what happened when learning to market my own content eventually led to someone paying me to manage marketing for a local business.

What I’ve Learned About Digital Marketing for Beginners

I am still learning.

And I actually want to make that really clear.

I’m not writing this from the perspective of someone who built a seven-figure business in 30 days and now has all the answers.

I’m writing it as someone who started with absolutely no idea what she was doing, tried a bunch of things, burned herself out, took a break, came back, started making some money and is still figuring out what works.

There are already a few things I wish I could go back and tell myself.

1. You Do NOT Need to Do Everything at Once

This is probably my biggest one.

There will ALWAYS be another platform.

Another strategy.

Another course.

Another income stream.

Another person telling you that you absolutely have to start doing whatever they’re doing.

Trying to do all of it at once was one of the fastest ways I found to accomplish…not very much.

Pick something. Learn it. Give yourself enough time to actually get good at it.

Then add the next thing.

2. A Good Course Isn’t Automatically the Right Course for You

I’ve taken courses that contained genuinely great information but didn’t necessarily fit how I wanted to build my business.

That doesn’t make them bad courses.

Sometimes the instructor, teaching style, strategy or platform simply doesn’t click with you.

When I finally found something that did click, I noticed a huge difference in how excited I was to actually implement what I was learning.

3. Learning a Skill Is More Valuable Than Chasing an Income Stream

This one took me a while.

I started because I wanted to make Amazon review videos.

But along the way, I learned how to create content, edit videos, write captions, understand social media, market products, use affiliate links, create graphics, build Pinterest content and manage a business’s social media.

Those skills opened opportunities I wasn’t even looking for when I started.

4. Small Wins Still Count

The internet can make $100 feel like nothing.

It’s not nothing when yesterday you were making $10.

Your first affiliate commission matters.

Your first $100 month matters.

Your first person clicking your link matters.

Your first client REALLY matters.

Those little milestones are evidence that you’re learning how to make something work.

5. Build Something You Own

This lesson is actually a huge reason you’re reading this article on my website instead of just seeing another one of my TikToks.

Social platforms are amazing tools.

But I don’t own TikTok.

I don’t own Instagram.

I don’t own Pinterest.

Algorithms change. Accounts can disappear. Platforms come and go.

My website gives everything I’m building a home.

And instead of constantly sending people from one random platform to another, I can finally connect everything here.

How I Would Start Digital Marketing Today

If I could go back and talk to myself when I was sitting there watching that TikTok Live wondering what in the world digital marketing even was, I would make things MUCH simpler.

Step 1: Decide What You Actually Want

Do you want extra spending money?

Do you eventually want to replace an income?

Do you want to work with businesses?

Do you want to build a personal brand?

Do you simply want to learn a skill that could create opportunities later?

Your answer doesn’t have to be permanent.

Mine certainly wasn’t.

But having some direction helps.

Step 2: Pick One Place to Start

Not six.

If you enjoy short-form video, maybe that’s TikTok or Instagram.

If you love writing and searchable content, maybe it’s blogging.

If you enjoy creating visual content but don’t necessarily want to be the face of everything, Pinterest might make sense.

Pick a starting point.

You can expand later.

Step 3: Learn One Useful Skill

Content creation.

Video editing.

Copywriting.

Social media management.

SEO.

Pinterest.

Email marketing.

Affiliate marketing.

Choose something that interests you enough that you’re willing to get better at it.

Because those skills can transfer into opportunities you haven’t even thought about yet.

Step 4: Start Before You Feel Ready

I cringe at some of my old content.

There. I said it. 😂

But I had to make that content to get better at making content.

You’re probably not going to feel completely ready.

Post anyway.

Learn.

Adjust.

Try again.

Step 5: Add Monetization Intentionally

Once you’ve started building your skills and content, then look at the monetization options that actually fit what you’re doing.

Maybe that’s affiliate marketing.

Maybe it’s offering a service.

Maybe it’s brand partnerships.

Maybe it’s selling something you’ve created.

Maybe it’s a combination.

The goal isn’t to collect 15 “income streams” because someone on TikTok told you to.

The goal is to build something that actually makes sense together.

Can You Really Make Money With Digital Marketing?

Yes.

But I think this question deserves a much more realistic answer than it sometimes gets online.

Digital marketing is not guaranteed income.

Buying a course doesn’t automatically create a business.

Posting affiliate links doesn’t guarantee anyone will click them.

And seeing someone else’s income screenshot doesn’t mean you’ll get the same result.

I’ve had moments where things finally started clicking, and I’ve had plenty of time where I wondered whether all the effort I was putting in was actually going anywhere.

My results have been gradual.

My first affiliate course sale was exciting.

Reaching $100+ per month through Amazon felt exciting.

Getting paid to manage social media for an actual business was exciting.

None of those things happened overnight.

But each one showed me another way the skills I was learning could create income.

That’s the version of digital marketing I want to talk about here.

Not overnight riches.

Building skills, trying things, figuring out what works for you and creating something piece by piece.

The Digital Marketing Tools & Resources I’ve Personally Used

One thing I know I would have appreciated when I started was being able to see what someone had actually used, rather than another giant list of 47 tools I supposedly “needed.”

So I’ve put together my own collection of the courses, platforms, tools and resources I’ve personally used throughout this journey.

Some I’ve loved.

Some were useful for a particular stage.

Some helped me figure out what direction I didn’t want to go.

And I’ll continue adding to it as I learn.

And yes—I’ll eventually be going much deeper into things like the Amazon Influencer Program, affiliate marketing, Pinterest, Benable, blogging, social media management and the courses I’ve taken. You can also visit my Digital Marketing page to see everything I’ve put together so far.

Because apparently my “piecemeal” digital marketing journey has given me a lot to write about. 😂

Where I’m Going From Here

The funny thing is, I still don’t feel like I’ve “arrived.”

I’m building.

I’m learning.

I’m experimenting.

And I’m finally okay with that.

Because somewhere along the way, I stopped looking for the one perfect online income stream and started realizing that all of these skills and experiences were becoming something bigger.

That’s what Lindsey Carus is about.

And Lindsey, Lately is where I’m going to share it.

The things I’m learning.

The products I’m actually using.

The strategies I’m testing.

The wins.

Probably some failures.

And all the little things I’m figuring out along the way.

If you’re looking into digital marketing for beginners, the biggest thing I hope you take from my experience is that you don’t have to figure everything out at once.

If you’re also sitting there wondering whether you could actually learn digital marketing—or you’re a stay-at-home mom who wants something that’s yours, too—I hope sharing the process makes the beginning feel a little less overwhelming.

You don’t have to know exactly where it’s going to lead.

I certainly didn’t.

Sometimes you just have to start with the first piece.

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