How to Start Your Digital Marketing Agency with no experience? If you are finding the answer to this question then this blog is for you. Read on!
In the digital marketing sphere, there has never been a better time to strike out on your own. However, how do you go about it? What’s the best way to start and scale your business?
In order to start a Digital Marketing Agency with no experience, you need an actual strategy, grow organically as you learn, and deliberately build word of mouth with a niche client base. Rather than randomly shooting at anyone who will pay and hoping it lands, it’s about aiming for a target audience.
Starting a digital marketing agency has also been portrayed as a huge process that is associated with building a massive business, doing “everything”, and taking on every client.
In reality, a digital marketing agency can be just…you. Software, offices, and employees aren’t the only issue. The goal is to identify who you will help and then to provide the service.
It is relatively straightforward to run an agency. You can certainly play around with whether to bill by the hour, by the week, by the task, or by the project. The core of your business is that you provide specialized knowledge for a fee. It’s almost the same for agencies of one as well as for agencies of 10,000.
With that concept in mind, here’s how to Start Your Digital Marketing Agency with no experience.
1. Goal-setting for your business
Planning is essential before doing anything. Your business should look like what you want, right? What do you want to achieve? What is the vision?
To Start Your Digital Marketing Agency without some sort of direction in mind is like trying to get to a new restaurant with no address and no navigation. You get lost, you take wrong turns, and you probably don’t succeed.
It’s no secret that agencies with conflicting objectives often encounter difficulties. Achieving success depends on sticking to your vision.
- A few agencies seek to gain as much prestige as possible. They target recognizable clients who are open to doing interesting work for them.
- It is not uncommon for agencies to want to maximize profits. Clients with high growth and high opportunities are their primary focus.
- There are agencies that want as much freedom / autonomy as possible.Consistent, low-maintenance clients are what they strive for.
- Others aim to maximize their business value. Strong branding, internal operations, and cash flow are all important to them.
There is no correct goal – except for choosing one and sticking to it no matter what.
The decision is yours as to who and how you wish to serve.
2. Determine Who You Are Targeting
Aside from all the ironies, marketers usually have a hard time marketing themselves, mainly because they don’t follow the steps.
When it comes to marketing, one of the first things you need to do is determine who your target audience is. The same applies to starting your digital marketing agency.
What type of client are you looking for?
As soon as you’ve chosen who you want to serve, it’s time to dig a little deeper. How are they struggling? What can you do to help them with that problem?
Provide a description of what your ideal client has in common with them, such as wants, needs, likes, dislikes, habits, and information.
Describe their marketing needs, what their goals are, and how your service(s) will help them reach those goals.
Shouldn’t we just sit back and ponder this? Identify what challenges potential customers face when it comes to spreading the word about their business.
Are there any areas in which they wish they could get some assistance? How do they choose a digital marketing company?
Make 2 to 4 personas that are very specific. Don’t forget that your initial market isn’t your total market. No matter how specific your target is in terms of geography or customer, if you want to expand, you can still do it. It’ll just help you stay focused.
Too many tools, too much overhead, too many demands, and no idea how to grow or hire help. It was fear that my existing clients would leave that prevented me from selling to a promising prospective client.
3. Make Your Online Presence Count
The next step is to find out who you serve, how you provide service, and what type of agency you are. Then you can plan how you will convey this information to others.
Through your website and social media channels, you need to establish your online presence.
4. The Key to Visibility (AKA Getting Clients and Leads)
As soon as you have a place to send people, it’s time to get leads and clients.
The marketing profession is notoriously bad at promoting itself. However, the days of “build it and they will come” are long gone. If you’re starting a digital marketing agency with no experience, it’s imperative that you get clients and start building your portfolio.
5. Plan your growth
You don’t have to become the next big company doing Super Bowl commercials to start a digital marketing agency. Digital marketing agencies can be agencies, as I mentioned earlier.
It is important to consider your growth goals. One person is not required to do everything in a one-person company.
As your business grows, consider the teams, systems, and deliverables you need to be able to support your clients.
How much extra revenue would you earn if you hired a full-time copywriter for your marketing team? Can you outsource tasks that consume your time, like design work and administrative work, to Fiverr? Do you need digital marketing skills?
What tools are essential for your work?
Do you need a tool suite that provides PPC, SEO, Social, and more in one place, such as SEMrush? Is it just an SEO tool suite like Mangools?
Is it necessary to use lots of specialized tools – like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs for SEO? Or is Mangools’ tool suite more economical?
Can AdEspresso or Tailwind save time for paid search, or do you need to apply a manual touch to social media channels?
Do you require upfront fees for the tools you wish to let your client pay for? As the agency owner, what can you bundle and muddle through?
Write audits, keyword maps, outreach plans, and content strategies to make SEO magic real for clients if you are an SEO.
Final thoughts & next steps
To Start Your Digital Marketing Agency with no experience doesn’t have to be a daunting process full of questions, unknowns, and hurdles.
If you want your agency to be effective, you have to clearly understand what you expect from it, who you’re going to help, and how you’re going to help them.
If you want to start a digital marketing agency, follow these steps and you’ll be all set!
Also Read: How to Start Your Own Clothing Line From Zero to Launch
2 Comments