The Internet Marketing Association is an organization that began in 2001, and has dedicated itself to a variety of advocacy programs that promote internet marketing strategies, education, policy, internet marketing awards, and more, from people in a variety of career fields. Over the past several years they have grown to include most marketing platforms such as website, email marketing, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, blog, and many more channel categories. There are individual as well as organization memberships. It is an industry association for anyone involved in various aspects of internet marketing, from designers, writers, programmers, the entire process.

Anyone can join as a member, but they do require a college degree in some related industry field, and there is no fee involved. The benefits are great, depending on whether a hobbyist or professional. If you have a personal blog as a hobby, then it obviously wouldn’t matter. However, if you are striving to establish yourself as an authority or develop credentials as an author, then it might be worth looking into for several reasons. A personal blog for pleasure doesn’t need credibility, however a professional blog, where building their reputation as an authority might find it very beneficial. Belonging to a reputable trade association within the industry you belong has several advantages.

They also provide an online certification exam that any member is eligible to take for a fee. It covers various areas of internet marketing, and is very in depth. Those that succeed in passing the exam are then able to promote the fact they possess the Certified Internet Marketer designation. This is especially helpful for those individual bloggers, or those seeking to improve their resume as well. The exam contains 25 multiple choice questions covering a vast area of internet marketing, and 7 essay questions. Once you are certified, you can add the designation to your website, blog, email, resume, or whatever purpose it is that suites you. They offer very in depth education, covering all areas of the industry. This is done through Webinar’s and conducted by industry leaders, experts, and even government agencies at times, depending upon the subject. The education is free, so that goes a long way with a free membership in my book.

In 2010 they began an annual awards event that recognizes the creativity and effectiveness of anyone that is submitted as an entrant for consideration of an award. There are categories in all internet areas and they are for individuals and organizations to be recognized for a variety of accomplishments. You can enter yourself or someone else in one or more of many different award categories. There is a fee involved to nominate someone, but this also covers your attendance at the awards event itself. The IMA Internet Marketing Awards cover all areas of the internet and vary from creativity to accomplishments. My personal favorite is the blog category, of which they have three awards.

• Site/page design
• Posting consistency
• Follower outreach

The 2011 entries close as of August, 22 2011, and the awards will be held in Las Vegas on September 22, 2011. That means it is probably too late to enter yourself this year if you haven’t already. However, that also means you have a year to look into it and perhaps get yourself into a position to take top honors in one or more categories, or get certified as a professional internet marketer, or simply join the leading trade association to date for free. They do not participate in any type of affiliate programs, and there is no way to derive anything but free education, awards, and credibility as such. They do a great deal of instruction on ethics and legal matters within the industry as well. These are all internet marketing advantages, geared towards cultivating industry standards.

So if you are an internet marketing newbie and looking for a way to add credibility to your craft, site, or individual credentials I suggest you look into the IMA further, and see what it might have to offer you. If you belong to a company related to the industry in some way, they can join as a business, or individually. The education is very valuable, as you can never have enough when you enjoy writing about the real internet marketing industry. I hope this helps many bloggers, writers, or related industry professionals take advantage of a growing industry association.