The first step towards starting your digital marketing agency is to generate a clear business plan. You need to figure out what kind of services you want to offer and who’s going to be your customers. Are you are interested in startups, local businesses or e-commerce brands? From there, hone your skills, do real campaigns, build a team (or freelance network) to complement your particular expertise. It’s important to develop a strong online presence around your agency, and show off your knowledge, portfolio, and client success stories.
Although it does takes dedication, passion and patience, launching a digital marketing agency allows you to help businesses make a difference and grow in the digital world. Using the right strategies, plus a client first approach, your agency can become a name to trust in the world of online marketing.
11 steps on How to Start a Marketing Agency
Here are the 11 steps you need to get up and running a digital marketing business. They will be some that take a lot of time and thought. You’re likely already done with some. The deeper the foundations, the easier the climb to being a profitable business is.
1: Choose a type of marketing agency.
It’s important to decide before you really get started how you are going to run your digital marketing agency. The kinds of digital marketing types have a focus on various areas of digital marketing but can serve the needs of various clients.
Diving into the steps of starting your digital marketing agency, deciding which type of agency you want to run is important. Each type focuses on specific areas of digital marketing, allowing you to cater to different client needs.
Here are the main types of digital marketing agencies:
• SEO agencies
• Content marketing and content writing agencies
• PPC agencies
• Social media marketing agencies
• Email marketing agencies
• Influencer marketing agencies
• Full-service digital marketing agencies
So, you have to choose the right type of agency because it will lead to building a strong base, targeting right clients and stand uniquely in the competitive market. To give you an idea as to what you can aim to achieve, look at agencies like WebFX, Ignite Visibility, Disruptive Advertising, and Royal Digital Agency for inspiration.
2: Conduct Market Research
To be in the digital marketing world, it is important to know the field. Market research is a good way to gain some idea of what the industry looks like, who your competitors are, even who your clients could be. You can know where you are to find opportunities to analyze trends and stand out areas.
Research will discover what kinds of digital marketing services are valuable, what your competitors are doing, and how to set yourself apart from the competition with your own digital marketing agency. The things to know about these aspects will make you able to bring up some unique selling points and good strategies.
Using market research tools and technologies will make the process easier, helping you decide which tools and technologies to use, and helping you to figure out where to go next.
3. Develop a Business Plan
If you had a solid business plan for your digital marketing agency, your agency would probably be more successful. What this plan should be is an outline for your objectives, mission, vision and core values and what makes you different than a competitor. Figure out the specific niche or industry you will go after, and figure out how you’ll be different in the market.
Also, put together a team of experienced people who can execute your strategies and provide top notch client results. Here are key roles to consider when building your team:
• Client Relations Manager
• Video Editor
• Graphic Designer
• SEO Specialist
• SEO Copywriter
• Content Creator
• Social Media Manager
• Analytics and Data Analyst
4: Choose Your Niche
As there are so many agencies in the digital marketing industry as it is, competition is fierce. Choosing to narrowly focus on your niche can make all the difference and help you stand out. Specializing will not only draw your first clients, it’ll also teach you to deliver a valuable service, get testimonials and help grow your reputation.
This allows you to narrow down your services, simplify these processes, increase your efficiency and this in turn helps you choose a niche to work with. The more experience you have, the more markets and services you can enter.
When selecting a niche, consider:
1. What are you good at, and what do you love?
2. What clients can you actually work with effectively?
3. So, what industries are most profitable like healthcare, fitness, or eCommerce?
4. See who you are competing with and how you can be unique.
5: Build Your Portfolio
So, if you’re new then it can seem a bit weird to start with a portfolio but it is very important to build trust with potential clients as you may need more client work to show and create and manage your digital marketing project.
Write your guest post for (and then a couple more from) that personal blog or website, building it up for SEO and pushing it out to social! Measure traffic growth and engagement and keep track of your team’s progress. Tilt your case study over and show the challenges, strategies, and the outcome.
When you show your personal projects, you show your skills and capability of producing real results. Before and after data, charts and insights, all to make your portfolio more compelling for prospective clients.
6: Choose a Pricing Model
The problem with choosing the right pricing model for digital marketing agency is that they affect your income as well as how clients may see your services! Here are a few common pricing models to consider:
• Hourly Rate: Payment is based on the hours worked. This is transparent but comes at a price to your earnings if you work quickly.
• Project-Based Pricing: This works well when you have a clear timeframe and clear goal for a done state for each project, and a fixed price per project.
• Retainer-Based Pricing: For ongoing services, clients pay a recurring fee. It is steady income and is good for continuous services such as social media management or SEO.
There are certain things to take into account when deciding what your pricing can be: how much you actually need to pay for, how much you want to grow your site, and what the price has to be for your services to make sense to clients. A higher price can be justified if your service directly impacts the content of client’s revenue. Also, find out if this will be a one-off project or part of a retainer for a long period.
If you don’t have a minimum price, then you won’t be covering all costs and making a profit. Choose either based on the level of complexity and amount of time spent on the services and never lose focus on your base costs.
7: Invest in SEO
To win trust with your digital marketing agency, you must present that you can do what you say. The 2nd thing is that you really want a strong online presence, so invest in SEO if you can to bump up your visibility and attract leads.
By ranking for keywords your target audience is searching for you can boost your authority and make you appear credible in your industry. The first step is to make a content plan for your website. You could resolve potential clients’ questions, and educate them about the service you provide.
If you think about it, don’t only post client related content write on industry specific topics that will make you an authority not just to your clients.
Think about treating your website like you would your client’s website. First it might take some time and effort upfront but a well optimized website will definitely result in increased traffic and enhanced business growth over time.
8: Build a Digital Marketing Team
For the first bit, you can run your digital marketing agency as a one man’s operation and specialize on the services you master. However, when you grow you need to get a team, that can help you expand your service offering and handle more clients.
First of all, hire contractors from LinkedIn, Fiverr or Upwork. By keeping costs down and letting you increase with service, this approach takes the guesswork out of how fast you grow. Only hire full time staff when you know you will be taking on enough work. Another is hiring a remote team; this will leave you with no office space costs.
When expanding, here are a few key tips:
1. Share your values: It is essential to hire people that are in line with your company’s mission. But you can teach new skills and cannot change your attitude or work ethic.
2. Hire for your weaknesses: Get people who are expert in that particular field you need, where you cannot be great.
3. Know what to delegate: Concentrate on the work which you are most keen on doing and which you’re best and most able at doing. Moreover, make delegate areas where you don’t have expertise.
4. Scale slowly: Avoid over-hiring. Growing gradually is better and you should keep your service quality very high.
For a well-rounded team, consider hiring for the following roles:
• Content Creators
• SEO Specialists
• Content Writers & Copywriters
• Social Media Managers
• PPC Specialists
• Video Editors, Graphic Designers
• Project or HR Managers
When you grow, make sure you pronounce the good points in your teams and celebrate their contributions.
9: Highlight Your Expertise
When you start a digital marketing agency, the way your expertise stands out is important in creating that trust with your potential clients so they feel they can work with you. No better way to do this than to create case studies and data on testimonials.
1. Create Case Studies: Every time you deliver great results document the process and outcomes. Show what was difficult, what was done about it, with what was achieved. If it is a concern of confidentiality, you can anonymize the client details.
2. Collect Testimonials: After completing a project, try to ask clients to share their experience with you. In addition, once you get your ongoing clients to start seeing benefits, request testimonials. Add the name, title and company to include credibility.
3. Leverage Past Work: If you are leaving freelancing, make use of personal testimonials, reviews from platforms like Upwork, Freelancer or LinkedIn recommendations.
Use the success stories as the meat on the bone of many client acquisition emails, to supplement many of your web pages and particularly your service pages, and to share on your web site home page and your social media outlets to build credibility and attract new clients.
10: Branding and Identity
Brand and identity are how clients see your digital marketing agency. It’s not only a logo – it’s the total personality of your business.
• Visual Identity: Set yourself up with a great logo, consistent color palette and nice typography. These are the elements that tie all your website, social media, and marketing material look cohesive.
• Tone of Voice: Determine the way how you’re going to communicate to your audience. Are you approachable and friendly or professional and authoritative? So you can use this tone in your emails, social posts and website content.
• Core Values: Make a feature out of what you do – transparency, innovation, quality service. Likewise, people who share your values want to work with you, which allows you to connect with your clients.
• Target Audience: Take time and figure out who your ideal clients are and write something that clicks with them. Therefore, how can your agency solve their problems? Speak their language, address their challenges.
A digital marketing agency will need to have a strong brand and identity because it sets a mark and a mark that will stay forever.
1. Build Credibility and Trust: A professional brand makes you confident, and then potential clients would believe and would trust you.
2. Attract the Right Clients: Once you do this by aligning your brand with your target audience, it
will instill trust with ideal clients.
3. Stand Out in the Market: As you are one among the crowd in an industry, your identity is unique.
4. Ensure Consistency: Your agency is memorable and reliable because your messaging is clear across all platforms.
11: Marketing and Networking
Growth of Digital Marketing Agency requires marketing and networking. For this, they train you on how to promote the agency’s services, and initiate agency relationships with possible clients via internet channels and connections in the industry. Here’s how you can approach marketing and networking:
Online Presence Management:
• Website Optimization: Make sure that your website is professional, your work is showcased, and that you also use SEO to rank well.
• Social Media Engagement: Share your valuable content through tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, engaging with industry influencers so they will be motivated to repost your content to their followers.
• Content Marketing: This includes publishing blogs, articles and webinars that show you as an expert in your field and attract potential clients.
Networking Strategies:
• Industry Events: Go to conferences, workshops and meetups to meet clients, and especially other industry professionals.
• LinkedIn: Explore ways to build connections, and join relevant groups, and to share insights to increase your network.
• Professional Associations: Participate with industry organizations to meet like-minded marketers and gain access to new client opportunities.
• Partnerships: Work with complementary businesses such as Web designers or graphic designers to get your business out there.
Targeted Outreach:
• Email Campaigns: Make emails personalized to potential clients that feature your services.
• Lead Generation: As for targeting specific businesses, do it with ads on Google and social media.
• Direct Outreach: Reach out to contact businesses through phone and email to discuss their digital marketing desires.
They boost your agency, make new business contacts, and create new business opportunities.
FAQs
Do you need an LLC for digital marketing?
While an LLC is not required to start a digital marketing agency, it provides legal protection and can help establish credibility. It’s a good idea if you want to separate personal and business finances.
Can anyone start a digital marketing agency?
Yes, anyone with the right skills, knowledge, and determination can start a digital marketing agency. Moreover, it’s important to invest in continuous learning and networking to succeed in the competitive industry.
How to get a client for digital marketing?
To get clients, build a strong online presence, network at industry events, leverage social media, and reach out to businesses that could benefit from your services. Offering free consultations can also attract potential clients.
