While many businesses used to dismiss online marketing as marginal and secondary, they have no choice but to consider it today. Many have already realized how important and powerful digital marketing is and how much of a disadvantage they have if they don’t use it in their operation.
If you happen to be a digital marketing professional or have some expertise and felt like you could help clients, then this is a great time to get into the field. However, it’s much tougher than you might think and it’s a very competitive field. But, if you have the right set of skills and know how to execute, you could be entering one of the most promising fields in the next few years. Let’s take a look at how you can start your digital marketing agency from scratch.
Make Sure that You Have the Expertise
This is the very first step. A lot of people in this business are self-taught, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but those who have a formal education in digital marketing will always have a leg up on the competition. So, you will have to look at different formations if you want to be aware of everything that’s going on in the industry and let your expertise truly shine.
This is also a chance for you to specialize yourself. You may already have a bachelor’s in eCommerce or marketing but could look at something like digital marketing analytics training to advance your skillset. If you currently are working or don’t know how you could fit studies in your schedule, then you could look at Emerson University’s online digital marketing analytics training. You’ll get your credentials much faster and will be able to apply the skills you learn immediately.
Programs like these will make you a better marketer in many ways. You will have better insights into customer behavior and make decisions based on actual data. The people you work with will be able to instantly tell that you know what you’re talking about. You also can use your credentials as a way to get through doors that would otherwise be closed to you. You’ll have a much easier time getting a time slot at conferences, for instance, and this could do wonders for your brand.
Develop the Business Skills
There’s also a big difference between knowing your stuff and being a great business owner. You will need to be able to manage many moving parts in your organization. You will need to manage relationships with your clients and your employees at the same time. You might have to put fire between employees out as well and be in charge of finding and retaining top talent.
This means that you’ll have to evaluate your skill sets and see if you truly have what it takes to run a business. There is a tremendous amount of stress and pressure in this field, and you have to be ready to deliver on time. You might have to deal with demanding clients that have spent a lot of money on your services and are expecting returns. You might have to explain why results aren’t materializing or explaining why it’s working but not showing on the bottom line yet.
In this field, you will often act as an educator, and educators have to be great at simplifying complex concepts, communication and have great patience as well. In addition, you will need to be a great leader if you want to keep your whole team focused, engaged, and efficient.
Start as a Contractor
People often overlook how tough it can be to start a business without a safety net. Especially when they had a steady job for years. Not only will you have to start hunting for what you eat, but you get no more medical benefits, paid vacation, and all the other perks of a secure job.
This is why we would suggest that you start by doing some contract work while keeping a regular job. This will allow you to get a sense of the business side of it, but not feel like your life depends on whether you get the next client or not. A little bit of stress can be good in some cases, but too much can become paralyzing. Having something to fall back on will give you a chance to fail without dealing with too much risk.
Doing simple things such as saving money away for taxes or invoicing clients could give you a better idea of the inner workings of a digital marketing agency and whether this is something you could see yourself doing for the rest of your life. This is often the stage where some realize that they prefer the stability of a 9 to 5. Other things you will learn are how to manage relationships with clients, how to negotiate your prices, and how to build contracts, which will all be extremely valuable once you start full-time.
Have the Right Business Model
A digital marketing agency can be set up in many ways. The way you bill clients and dispense services will make a huge difference in how your business will be managed over time.
Some decide to charge by the hour, but this method has a lot of drawbacks. For one, there is no telling how long a particular job is going to take. You might quote a client for a set number of hours only to get hit by scope creep. You will then either have to charge them extra, which they will probably not be happy about, or do some of the work for free. Not to mention that clients might start asking why certain projects are taking so long and question your integrity, and this is bad news if you’re trying to build a reputation.
Billing by the hour should only be an option for consultants, really. Most of the work is one-to-one and they always have control over how much time they’ve spent with a client.
Another option is to be on a flat retainer. This is by far the simplest model out there and has tons of benefits. For one, you will know exactly how much you can expect to take in every month. You sit down with the client, evaluate the services you’re going to perform for them, and charge them a flat fee based on what you feel it is worth. This eliminates confusion on the client’s parts as they know how much they’ll have to pay and will gladly do so if your service meets their expectations.
Another way to bill clients is on a percentage of their spend. This is a bit more complex than other methods and there can be many issues as well. Many factors can affect a client’s monthly spend. Some of them might be under your control, such as the results you get, but in other cases, it might be due to other factors such as seasonal trends or internal decisions.
This is not the best option for new agencies as you’ll most likely start with small clients. The best solution, in this case, would be to start on a retainer and add a spend percentage on top of it as you grow. This will show the people you work with that you’ll have to put in some extra work if they scale and that they’ll have to pay for it.
Find a Niche
Some people prefer to be generalists, and most digital marketing agencies are not specialized. However, there are many reasons why you should consider working within a specific industry or one specific aspect of digital marketing.
First of all, people who are looking for this kind of service or are in the field you targeted will privilege you. There are so many different agencies out there and someone in a very specific industry will have a lot of difficulties trusting a generalist. You will also be able to strengthen your skillset by specializing in one area. This could allow you to become a true authority in your niche and make branding much easier.
Decide If How Much You Want to Scale
This is another question you will have to consider before you even start. Some people still have this idea of the multi-million ad agency running from a glitzy office somewhere in the financial district. In reality, this would be the worst way to start.
Before you start looking for office space and employees, you have to make sure that you can pay yourself first, and it’s not guaranteed. Remember that people take jobs for one principal reason: security. So, if you can’t provide them with that and good benefits, then you won’t be able to attract and keep employees.
You will most likely have to start small and fill any skill gap with contractors. You will also have to handle a lot of the administrative side yourself. The good news here is that you’ll learn additional skills and will know exactly what the person filing your role will need if you decide to hire.
So, if you want to start your digital marketing agency, this is all you need to know for now. Everything else will be learned on the field through trial and error. You also have to constantly work on your craft and refine your skill set.
