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Working at a digital marketing agency can be such a great learning experience. You might be paid to learn new skills while working with an array of interesting clients. The management of the agency will differ in quality which can lead some to go out on their own. Most start with freelancing before launching their agency officially due to noncompete clauses they might have signed. Others have to gain confidence before beginning the building process an agency requires. Below will delve into important aspects to handle appropriately to get the business started out in a positive manner.
Leverage Past Connections To Gain Clients And Staff
The likelihood of already having a client pool when officially starting a digital marketing agency is high. Even freelancers have clients that will become the first clients of their agency once it is launched. Announcing on a platform like LinkedIn can generate leads if offering something that is highly in demand. Avoid mass pitching all of your contacts which is done by so many companies. The truth is that this is easy to detect and can indicate low-quality approaches to gaining customers.
Former colleagues might be in the market for a change in their job roles. Remote jobs are favored by most people that do not see the point of spending endless hours at the office. Attracting talent should not be overly burdensome if you have built rapport with previous colleagues. Recommendations for specific positions can also be invaluable if a former contact does not need a new job.
Establish A Niche/Favorite Industry
Certain niches of digital marketing like personal injury law can be immensely profitable. Law firms that specialize in this area can earn immense amounts from a single client in fees. Challenging niches to handle digital marketing for are those online casinos or a company offering payday loans. Websites tend to avoid links and promotions of these types of businesses like the plague. Specializing in these niches can ruin relationships with publishers that have had their site penalized due to one of these harmful links.
The expertise of staff can help dictate areas to focus on for the agency. A group of strong writers could lead a company to offer content creation or content marketing services. Great social media advertisers could lead to a multitude of sales closed offering these valuable services. Building any team should start with an expert that will manage production in this area. Hiring is far easier for an expert in a digital marketing niche as nonexperts might be fooled by a person inflating their credentials.
Outsource Certain Departments To Save Money
Outsourcing is a huge part of any digital marketing agency in some capacity. Certain agencies hire virtual assistants for teams while others outsource data entry projects. More important projects can be subcontracted out to another agency but this can be risky. Stealing clients is a part of the industry that nobody talks about although it is so common.
Outsourced accounting services can be so important when trying to be the most profitable agency possible. CPAs understand what qualifies as a tax break and can protect the business in case of an IRS audit. Looking into these services is as easy as searching “outsourced accounting Washington DC” or your city. As a founder of a digital marketing agency, you should understand how local search works in some capacity.
Freelancers Are Great For Scaling Projects
Freelancers are a vast community with so many digital marketing skills. Building a pool of freelancers that are reliable with various sets of skills can be important. A huge client could come into the picture leading to a massive need in terms of production. Not everything can be handled in-house and freelancers are a valuable resource. Testing freelancers before handling any type of client work is so important. A great resume of a freelancer might be spruced up over time and not reflect the true skills of this professional. A test run for whatever the freelancer is handling is essential to guarantee quality work is delivered to clients.
A freelancer could also be a valuable full-time addition to a team. Understanding the quality of work a freelancer can provide can be seen as a paid hiring program. Keep in mind that some freelancers do not want a full-time gig due to the time constraints that tend to come with these offers.
Forming a digital marketing agency can be the beginning of a success story. Agencies take different routes and at times end up with a far different business model than envisioned. Set the agency up for success by managing the areas above where possible.
