How To Start A Digital Marketing Agency in 2023 (Step by Step)

Santrel Media

8 May 202240:13

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe script outlines a 6-part tutorial for starting and scaling a digital marketing agency from scratch in 2022. It covers setting goals and expectations, determining your service offerings, building expertise through self-teaching, identifying ideal target clients, building a freelance team to outsource work, and getting your first clients through free work and referrals. The presenter aims to provide an in-depth blueprint for bootstrapping an agency with low upfront costs and scaling it to earn thousands to hundreds of thousands per month.

Takeaways

😊 You can make $10k/month with a digital marketing agency within 90 days
👨‍💻 Focus on 1-2 service offerings first before expanding; don't try to do everything
📝 Become an expert through self-teaching, making mistakes, and offering free services
🤝 Get your first clients by offering free services; then use case studies to charge
💰 Price based on value created, not your costs; aim to capture value you create
🗂️ LLC formation puts legal separation between you and your business
🚀 Target startups and corporations; bigger budgets than small businesses
🤝 Referrals are the best way to get clients; focus on delighting early clients
🏢 Build a freelancer network vs having employees to start; lower overhead
🌟 Be patient, work hard, and focus on skills/value to find success

Q & A

What are some key things to consider when setting goals and expectations for a digital marketing agency?
-You need to think about how much money you want to make, how much time you can commit, what skills and qualifications you need, who your business partners will be, and what business entity you should form.
What is the biggest mistake people make when determining the type of digital marketing to focus on?
-Trying to offer too many services and be a 'jack of all trades' right away instead of specializing in 1-2 areas first.
How can you build your online presence and become an expert in digital marketing?
-Become an intern at an established agency, self-teach through online courses/videos, read marketing books, build your own website to practice skills, and offer free services at first to gain experience.
Why should you be selective about what types of businesses you target as clients?
-You don't want to go after just any client. Carefully targeting clients in certain industries or at certain growth stages (e.g. startups) can lead to higher budgets and less competition.
Should you hire employees or use freelancers when building your team?
-It's best to use freelancers at first rather than hiring full-time employees. This gives you flexibility and avoids high overhead costs.
What is the best way to get your first clients?
-Offer your services for free for your first few clients. Once you have some examples of success, you can then start charging clients.
How should you determine how much to charge clients?
-Don't just look at your expenses. Look at the value you provide clients. You want to charge based on the value delivered rather than just covering costs.
What is the benefit of getting clients through referrals?
-With referrals, there is already trust and rapport established. The clients are reaching out to you rather than you having to pitch to them cold.
What common legal entity do experts recommend forming for a digital marketing agency?
-Most experts recommend forming a limited liability company (LLC) to provide legal and tax protections for a digital marketing agency.
What is an example of an exciting but overlooked client to target for a digital marketing agency?
-Political campaigns frequently have large budgets but high competition. Offering services to local campaigns can be very lucrative.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Introducing the video tutorial on digital marketing agencies

The video is a 6-part tutorial explaining how to start, operate and scale a digital marketing agency in 2022. It outlines setting goals, determining marketing focus areas, building expertise, identifying target clients, building a team, and getting the first clients and scaling growth.

05:02

😊 Setting goals and expectations for a digital marketing agency

A digital marketing agency can make anywhere from a few thousand dollars a month doing it passively to hundreds of thousands per month at scale. A realistic goal is $10,000 per month within 90 days. Costs are low initially so it's easy to bootstrap. Form a LLC to limit liability and for tax benefits. Be very careful about taking on business partners as it can ruin relationships if expectations aren't aligned.

10:02

🤔 Determining the type of marketing to focus on

Don't try to offer full service marketing right away. Pick 2-3 areas to specialize in first like social media, paid ads, SEO, email, web development, PR, or graphic design. Get really good at those rather than being mediocre at everything.

15:02

🧐 Becoming an expert in digital marketing

The best way is to apprentice at an agency to learn. Alternatively, self-teach through online courses, videos, books etc. Offer free services to gain experience. Build a professional website and profiles for your agency after forming your business entity.

20:04

😯 Identifying your target clients

Avoid hyper competitive spaces like lawyers, doctors and dentists. Consider startups, political candidates, ecommerce businesses etc. Startups are great because they have raised venture capital to spend on growth and marketing.

25:04

🤨 Building your team

Initially do it solo or with close associates. Slowly build a network of freelancers across skills like design, writing etc. that you can leverage as needed. Avoid high overhead of many full time salaried employees.

30:06

😃 Getting your first clients and scaling growth

Offer free services initially to gain experience and credibility. Once you have success stories, use it to pitch other clients. Referrals should become your main client acquisition channel. Price based on the value you deliver clients, not your costs.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡digital marketing agency

A business that provides digital marketing services to clients. This includes things like search engine optimization, paid advertising, social media marketing, etc. The video focuses on how to start and grow this type of business. It's a scalable business model that can be started with low costs.

💡setting goals and expectations

An important first step when starting a business. This includes deciding how much money you want to make, how much time you'll commit, what qualifications you need, etc. Having clear goals helps guide your efforts.

💡becoming an expert

To attract clients, you need to establish expertise in your field. This can be done through self-teaching, getting mentorship, or working at another agency. Expertise brings trust and allows you to charge more.

💡offering services for free

A strategy to get first clients and build skills. Offer free services, deliver results, then use this experience to start charging other clients. It differentiates you when starting out.

💡referrals

The best way to get new clients. Once you do good work for one client, they refer you to others. This type of organic growth saves you from having to pitch to strangers.

💡charging based on value

Don't just charge based on your costs and desired profit. Charge based on the value you deliver to clients. Sometimes this means running at a loss until you refine your pricing.

💡outsourcing / freelancers

Rather than hiring employees, save costs by building a network of freelancers across different skills that you can leverage for specific jobs. This avoids high overhead expenses.

💡startups

A great target client. Startups that recently raised funding need growth fast. They have large budgets and are willing to spend on marketing to get traction.

💡political campaigns

Another niche target market. Political campaigns always need marketing services and often have sizable budgets. Competition here is lower than local businesses.

💡scaling the business

Once you have initial clients, you want to scale up revenue over time. This is done by specializing, hiring team members judiciously, getting referrals, and ultimately automating.

Highlights

A digital marketing agency can make between a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars per month

Form an LLC to limit personal liability and defer some liability to the company

Don't try to offer every service right away, focus on 1-2 core competencies first

Offer free services initially to gain experience and build portfolio

Create professional branding with a website and social media accounts

Political campaigns and startups have high budgets for marketing services

Build a freelancer network instead of employees to minimize overhead

Offer free services to get first clients and referrals

Referrals are the best way to get clients since there is existing trust

Price based on value created for client, not your expenses

Be prepared to run at a loss initially as you gain experience

LLC creation and website hosting have low startup costs

Learn through online courses and your own mistakes

Target startups with venture capital looking to spend on growth

Use LinkedIn to find skilled freelancers

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