20 Steps To Starting Your Own 6-Figure Digital Marketing Agency Today

4/8/2017 20 Steps To Starting Your Own 6Figure Digital Marketing Agency Today
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by James Johnson (http://www.serped.com/author/james)
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20 Steps To Starting Your Own 6-Figure
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Digital Marketing Agency Today
Starting your own agency can be confusing, can’t it?
There just aren’t any good resources out there to show you how to do it. You’re stuck between a the
rock of outdated advice, and the hard place of short posts without any depth. And, it’s damn
frustrating.
You want an actionable, in-depth, piece of content from someone in the know. Is that too hard to ask?
Nope. Not anymore.
In this article you’re going to learn 21 steps every start up digital marketing agency needs to take, at
some point, to get on the road from zero to six ၎gures.
Now, there is no cookie cutter way to start an agency, and this article doesn’t try to give you that.
Instead this is all the steps you must take, but they need to be done in your way. They need that bit of
magic only you possess to turn them from words on a page and into tangible income.
But if you’re ready to turn your agency dream into a ၎nancial reality, read on:
http://www.serped.com/startdigitalmarketingagency/1682 1/15
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The Basics…
These ၎rst few steps are your foundation and platform. Everything you need on how to start a digital
agency on, and secure your success further down the line. This is the advice you need, but rarely ever
take. But, even doing just the easy parts of this can save you a lot of work down the line.
#1: Get Positive…
Okay, I’m going to get the wishy washy, feel good, stu䴼 out of the way to begin with. And while it
might feel a little like 崫u䴼y content, let me tell you why it’s not:
The road to a 6 ၎gure agency is long and hard.
There’s no overnight success. No short cuts. No hitting and hoping. Just hard work, late nights, blood,
sweat and tears.
But you have to keep a positive attitude throughout it all. If you’re starting an agency, you have a
vision of what it is that you want to achieve. And, you have to keep that positive mental image of it for
as long as possible.
As one of my mentors once told me, “Why get frustrated with no’s? They’re just stepping stones to
your next yes”.
Who knows, your biggest hit could be just one more rejection letter away?
#2: Set Clear Goals
In order to be the resounding success that we both know you can be, you’re going to need clear goals
to work towards. Because, as the advertising legend Paul Arden (http://www.amazon.com/Paul-
Arden/e/B001H6J1GK) once said, “Without a goal, it’s hard to score”. 3
The fact your here, and looking to starting an agency, suggests one of your goals is money, and that
sweet six-၎gure agency status. But your goals can be anything else that excites you or drives you
forward.
In all honesty, you should be taking what Google executives call Moonshots
(http://www.google.com/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/thinking-big-larry-page.html). Where you don’t
look at goals in terms of attainable, you look at them as aspirational. Where you set yourself
727something above, and beyond, what you think you can achieve.
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But on a more actionable level, it pays to set your business goals using SMART. Because, as boring and
unoriginal as it sounds, it works at all levels. If you’ve never set a SMART Goal, here’s how it should
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look:
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Speci၎c: Be clear about what you want to do. Replace vague terms like, “be the best in the
industry” with “Generate $100,000 in sales from retail companies”.
Measureable: This is answering the question, “How will I know when I’ve achieved it?”.
40 Aspirational: This is normally Achievable , but as research from Locke and Latham
(https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm) found, having aspirational goals
here is far more bene၎cial. Try adding 20-25% onto what you think you can achieve, and you’ll
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၎nd you’re hitting goals faster than ever.
Realistic: By the same token, know what’s in your reach. Landing $1,000,000 worth of work
probably won’t happen in your ၎rst year. But, over ၎ve years, why the heck not?
Time Bound: Set a clear, speci၎c, time frame to achieve your goal in. This can be short, medium or
long term, depending on the goal you’re setting.
So, if you were going to start an agency today, your SMART Goals might look like:
Get $200,000 worth of SEO contracts from retail clients in six months
Have a team of 10 workers on $30,000 a year each by March
Build to 10 clients at an average of $10,000 a month in one year’s time
While you might not know your exact goals right now it’s important to take the time to ၎gure this out.
They’ll give you a lot more focus and direction, and help you maintain that positive attitude, even at
the toughest times.
#3: Find Your Focus
Goals allow you to focus your time and e䴼ort. But, this level of focus is about who you’re going to
focus those time and e䴼orts with. This step is where you get to know your audience, who they are and
what makes them tick.
A great brand – as you’ll read about next – delivers a speci၎c set of ideas to a speci၎c type of person.
And, it’s your job to decide who you’re trying to appeal to.
Now when you’re at the beginning of the road, it’s tempting to try and appeal to everybody. Because
you want money in your bank account and clients under your belt. Feeling that way is totally normal,
so don’t worry about it. Just don’t give into it.
Try and answer these questions to give yourself a little more focus and clarity on what it is that you’re
trying to build, and who for:
What is your niche? Who is it that you want to work with, and why? Is it small independent
businesses, Fortune 500 companies, fashion brands? Knowing this will help you narrow down
where you go looking for contracts.
Who do you want to appeal to? Are you here for the geeks, the wizards, the whizz-kids, the
727 hardened professionals or the new kids on the block? This will help you ၎nd the people you’ll
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associate with, and how you’ll begin to build a loveable brand.
What makes you unique? There are thousands of agencies out there, so what is it that makes you
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di䴼erent? What do you (or will you) value, care about or do di䴼erently to others?
Analysing who you are, and what you bring to the table – whether that makes you a digital content
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agency, advertising or otherwise – is a key step in building a pro၎table brand. As SumAll CEO, Dane
Atkinson said to Business Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/sumall-ceo-interview-2013-3?
IR=T#ixzz2mQOIiv00), ‘learn to say no’. Say no to things that don’t ၎t your focus, or your goals, and
you’ll be a success in much less time.
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#4: Build Relationships

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In the words of Tim Ferriss, “your network is your net-worth”. And, it’s a statement that will never go
away or lose value, because it’s completely true. The relationships you forge and grow before you ever
need them, are the most important.
Keith Ferrazzi (http://keithferrazzi.com/) once wrote a whole book about networking and this principle
called, Never Eat Alone (http://www.amazon.com/Never-Eat-Alone-Secrets-
Relationship/dp/1419359827). In it he talks about the need to build valuable relationships before you
ever need them. Even, if the day you need them never comes.
If you really want to start a marketing business, you’re going to need to reach out to people and o䴼er
help, and value.
Maybe you see a company who is ranking poorly for a search term they shouldn’t be. Or, you see
someone talking about being penalised on social media. And, perhaps someone has asked a Quora
question you just know the answer to. They can all be ways of o䴼ering help, providing value, and
getting a foot in the door.
These conversations are how you build leads. How you get yourself an appointment to pitch to the
marketing department. And, how you grow yourself to become a successful business.
Think of all the industries you want to work in, where your audience spend their time, and look for
people you’d like to work with, and create a list or a spreadsheet of them all. Then reach out to them.
Don’t try to sell to them straight away, just look for ways you can o䴼er value or connect with them.
#5: Create A Clear Brand Identity
There are lots of reasons you need to have a clear brand identity. In fact, most of them are well known
cliches like, “People buy from people they like”. But there’s one often overlooked, but incredibly
important, reason that ties them altogether.
As Lois Geller once put it in an article for Forbes

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/loisgeller/2012/05/23/a-brand-is-a-specialized/#1e5d0b2504ad), “A
brand is a promise”.
It’s a promise to deliver a service that people can trust. One that they like. One that associates with
them. One that they know will deliver them results each and every time. There will be people that
don’t like your brand as well, but screw them. That’s the sign of a good brand.
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When you’re branding you need to decide:
What your promise is: What do you and your audience value? What does your brand stand for? Pick
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your ၎ght and run with it.
366 What your voice is: This is by far the most important one for me, especially for a digital agency.
Who does your tone of voice appeal to? The way you’d speak to a young technology startup is
di䴼erent to how you’d speak to an established retail chain. Establish who it is you’re talking to,
and how you want to speak to them.There are two great articles on tone of voice here
(http://www.abccopywriting.com/2010/08/31/tone-of-voice-brand), and here
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(http://www.abccopywriting.com/2010/08/31/tone-of-voice-brand).
Once you have that, you have a foundation to start building your logo, slogan, domain name and
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everything else that makes a brand tangible.
#6: Don’t Imitate, Innovate
The greatest risk in the world is not taking any risks at all. 2 And, if you’re going to be a successful
agency, you need to get used to taking risks and putting your neck on the line. Don’t be afraid to
overhaul, change or challenge anything in your niche.
There’s also a lot to be said for running with ideas you’re scared of. That pitch, or that idea, that you
love…but you’re scared your client won’t like. It’s these ideas that often end up being the most
successful and leaving the biggest impact on people.
Instead of trying to blend in and see what other agencies are doing, and how you can mimic it, look for
ways you can innovate. Take what they’ve done and build on it. Or, turn it completely on it’s head and
give it your own spin.
There are people out there who will love your ideas, and what you’re trying to achieve. With the right
focus and goals, you’ll have no trouble ၎nding them, either.
Getting It Off The Ground…

Okay, once you’ve nailed the basics of starting a digital marketing company, it’s time to turn this from
wonderful idea into tangible agency. These steps all take time, but they’re going to form the backbone
of your business. And, there’s a couple of money saving tips here, too, to make sure you get o䴼 to a
good start ၎nancially.
#7: Get Yourself Online
Okay, I’m not going to teach you to suck eggs here. You’re in internet marketing, and you know you
have to have a website to start generating income. But, what you don’t have to do is break the bank.
The ၎rst thing you think about when you think of your site is how it looks. Is the design sexy enough?
Are my buttons shiny enough? Do my images leap o䴼 the page? And, that’s because it feels like design
is important. That’s why designers can charge over the odds for even the most simple, template built
websites.
What’s truly important – and a realisation that will save you a lot of money – is that you value
function ၎rst. Heck, some of the most popular million dollar websites
727(https://blog.kissmetrics.com/ugly-websites/), are ugly as hell. But they generate income because
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they’re simple and easy to use.
When you’re starting out, then, focus on getting the essentials locked down – your own domain and
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branding – then worry about the design later. Agencies have started on free WordPress themes and
gone on to be giant successes, so there’s no reason yours can’t as well.
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#8: Create A Killer Portfolio
Actions have, and always will, speak louder than words. Which is why having a strong, result driven
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portfolio is paramount for generating new business.
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they’re more likely to buy from you. Because if they trusted you enough to work with you, why
shouldn’t they?
Now if you don’t have a portfolio yet, don’t worry. That’s easily remedied. You can simply try and do
some free work for people (and build some good relationships while you’re at it) to get these. Or, you
can compile a list of previous projects your sta䴼 have worked on in the past as a placeholder until
you’ve got some agency work under your belt.
A portfolio is now considered a minimum requirement for an agency to have. So, it’s essential you get
one in place. A good portfolio is made up of:
Headlines and shorts snippets
Further, in depth, result case studies
Testimonials from clients
Future goals and targets for that client
Showing people that not only you can deliver the results, but you will continue to deliver them to
people continuously.
#9: Decide If You Really Need Extra Capital
While starting a digital agency feels like it should be expensive. That you’re going to need to lots of
cash, investors and pre-saved money to get everything o䴼 the ground. But, if you’re thrifty, you can
start an agency quite cheaply.
Six ၎gure businesses have been known to start for as low as $62.50 (http://liveyourlegend.net/how-
6290-turned-into-a-six-၎gure-business-lyls-full-100-startup-roadmap/). And, a lot of agencies
start o䴼 as just a single person, like Mike Ramsey’s Nifty Marketing (http://niftymarketing.com/), and
end up as million dollar agencies (https://moz.com/blog/from-zero-to-a-million-20-lessons-for-

starting-an-internet-marketing-agency). The key is to understand what is essential for you as a start
up, and what isn’t.
For example, you don’t need every SEO tool under the sun. You could spend $2000 – $3000 a month in
recurring costs just from these tools. Half of which, you’ll never even use. Instead choose one or two
tools that do everything you need them to do (or you can use SERPed (http://serped.net/) that does
727everything).
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There’s also the problem that having investors and partners detracts from your ownership of the
agency. The more people that are putting money in, or are sharing your company, takes away from
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what you actually own. You’ll ၎nd the most successful agencies are the ones who knuckle down, go
independant and turn themselves into a success on their own.
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#10: Take The (Cheaper) Road Less Travelled
Staying with the topic of being thrifty and saving money, let’s talk about some of the actions you’re
going to need to take along the road:
Marketing
Advertising and Exposure
Finding Clients
Providing Customer Service
Sometimes, and this is something a lot of it feels like you’re looking down the barrel of a big dollar
shaped shotgun, doesn’t it? Yet, with the right mindset, you can ၎nd ways to do all of this cheaply.
Look at using sites like UpWork (https://www.upwork.com/) to build a team of Customer Service reps
that can work for $5-7 dollars an hour. Or, look for di䴼erent hacks and methods to get Facebook Ads
down to 1c per click (or like these guys who got $0.0005 per engagement
(http://www.upwordsem.com/how-to-hack-facebook-ads-down-to-0-005-per-engagement/)). You
could always ask other online marketing companies how they get their workers, too.
And, as the old saying goes, Marketing is like sex (only losers pay for it). Find ways to build word of
727mouth, marketing that you can rely on. O䴼er unique sales points, add a value that nobody else can, or
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provide a service that people will scream about. It doesn’t have to cost you anything, but it can drive
you a tonne of business in the long run.
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#11: Plan Out When You’ll Need Employees

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I’ll be really honest here:
There will come a point where you need employees. If you’re committed to your goals and your
business, you will outgrow the ability to do work just on your own. A six-၎gure one man band might
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be a good dream, but it’s highly unlikely you’ll do that and keep any quality of life.
13But the key to making sure your business survives the need for employees is to scale how, and when,
you hire them. This will vary from agency to agency, and the type of service you o䴼er, but I ၎nd a good
way to survive these transitions is to work in these steps:
Just You: Start out as just you, knuckle down, and complete as much work as possible.
Freelancers: When you build up enough, look to outsource work to Freelance SEO’s. It could be
speci၎c tasks for a project, or full projects for themselves that you take a percentage of.
Part-Time Employee: You either do this as a freelancer, or in-house. Take someone on a

permanent contract for x,y or z requirements each week. This way you get used to paying out a
salary, while not having too many overheads.
One Full Time Employee: Once you’re making enough money, take on a full time employee to
alleviate your workload. And, to allow you to bring in more custom because you can e䴼ectively do
double the work.
You could, theoretically, stop here and become a successful six ၎gure agency. At least at the lower end
of the six ၎gure world. But, if you want to keep growing to get towards those top ၎gures, you’ll ၎nd
there’s a point where you need to take on even more employees.
It’s possible to plan out when you’ll need employees by your earnings, too. Which would look a little
something like:
Just You: $30,000 – $50,000 a year
Freelancers: $50,000 – $80,000 a year
Part Time Employees: $80,000 – $100,000 a year
Full Time Employees: $100,000+
This will change from agency to agency, and the amount of work you feel people can handle, but
putting it in these terms let’s you have a rough idea of when you’ll need to start looking at taking
someone on the books, and how much you can allow for it.
But, as with everything in SEO, timing and precision are key here. Don’t start with employees from day
one; and make sure you don’t go too long without taking someone on board.
#12: Brush Up On Your SEO Skills…
You don’t need to be an absolute SEO pro to start a digital agency. In fact, you don’t really need to
know…anything, about it to start an Agency (cue lots of SEO’s getting really angry right now). Because
727you always have the option to learn on the go, and build your expertise over time.
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The nature of the beast in our realm is that SEO is always changing, growing and evolving. And one
small update from Google can turn even the most ardent marketer into a blubbering beginner all over
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again.
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Make sure you learn the basics and have an understanding of why doing x, y or z will deliver a result.
Then, you can learn the rest of the techniques as you go.
For example, Lucian Harhata started an entire agency knowing only what ALT Tags were
40(http://dynamik365.com/2015/01/lucian-harhata-signing-international-local-seo-clients-1-video-
marketi), and built it up from there.
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#13: And Find Ways To Explain Them To Your Clients
For all the years I’ve worked in SEO, I’ve learnt one incredibly valuable lesson:
Your clients don’t give a crap about SEO.
They give a crap about results. They give a crap about cash 崫ow. They give a crap about ROI, and tra�c
and having more customers. But they don’t have the time or the desire to care about what a meta-tag
is, how you’ve increased their trust 崫ow or that you’ve begun disavowing links.
What they do care about is understanding what you’re doing, and how it bene၎ts them, in the least
mentally draining and accessible way possible. So, ၎nd ways to explain what you’re doing (or going to
do) and what they’re going to get out of it.
Instead of saying, “we updated all of your image alt-tags to ၎t keywords and search terms”, tell them
“We’ve made all of your images searchable and easy to ၎nd in Google”.
This makes everything you’re doing understandable, and easy to process. While if you’re using results
and methods to pitch for new clients, you’ll have a much higher converting, jargon-free way of getting
people to sign up.
You’ll have to ၎nd your own, unique way of doing this that ၎ts your brand, and the client you’ve got.
But you can’t go wrong focusing on visuals and bene၎ts.
#15: Get Social…
A key piece of the puzzle for agencies, since the social-age boom in 2008, is to have social media
channels in place. But they aren’t just there for you to be like, “Oh hey, we know how to use Twitter!”.
Instead they’re there for:
Marketing: It’s free, it’s easy and it’s word of mouth. You can share anything from o䴼ers, to blog
Expiring: your chance to get your next 5 clients Enter your email address
posts and any other materials that might drive people your way.
GET IT NOW! ×
Customer Engagement: You can deal with (and be seen to be dealing with) complaints. See what
people are saying about your service. And, just become a more human brand to anyone who ၎nds
you online.
Lead Generation: It might not be the most successful tactic for ၎nding new clients, but they are
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de၎nitely out there. Having a strong social media presence improves your chances of ၎nding them,
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Don’t worry about canvassing all the social media channels, though. Focus one just one (or two, if
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you’ve hired sta䴼) to focus on. You’ll get more tra�c, engagement and leads from one really strong
pro၎le, than two mediocre ones.
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#16: Optimise Everything You Create
You’re in the SEO business, so this should be your bread and butter. But it’s worth giving you the
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reminder.
Anything you create, whether it’s a page on UpWork, a directory listing, a guest blog post, videos or
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anything else , make sure it’s optimised to be found on search. Find what you want to rank for and
make sure you build it into all of your content. Even if it only brings in a couple of views, or leads, or a
month, it’s better to have it than not have it.
The Back-Of-House Essentials

The stu䴼 you’d rather put o䴼, but in it’s own way holds all of your business together. They aren’t
exciting, but they’re necessary.
#17: Set Your Prices (And Your Worth)
Pricing shows how you value yourself to your clients. And, nothing is more valuable than yours (or
your employees) time.
If you’re starting from the ground up as a one person agency, it can feel more comfortable to charge
$40-$60 an hour, or to take on clients for $300-$400 a month, because you can still make a great
living doing it that way. But, to achieve six ၎gures, you need to look at it from a di䴼erent angle.
Taking a look at the Nifty Marketing example again (https://moz.com/blog/from-zero-to-a-million-

20-lessons-for-starting-an-internet-marketing-agency), when he upped his prices to a minimum
$100 per hour, he noticed he started generating more interest, attracting better clients, making more
money and growing faster. Because he started attracting the right people for his agency.
So, don’t worry about pricing people out. Worry about charging the price you think is right for your
service, and the clients you want to attract to your business.
#18: Put Your Reporting Tools In Place
Although clients may not be that interesting in the ins and outs of your practices (at least at a
technical level), you have a duty as an agency to deliver reports of what it is you’re doing and the
results you’re getting. You’ll also want to track all of these things internally, too.
I’d recommend starting with Microsoft O�ce Software to begin with, like Excel, because you can add
your own branding and keep all of your ၎les saved permanently for backup. Google Docs is a good
second option, but you run the risk of things getting messy and disorganised quickly.
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#19: Develop Bookkeeping Skills
You don’t need to be a fully chartered accountant to do this. But, you need to keep tabs on what you
make, what you spend and where all of your money is going.
It helps to use invoicing software like FreshBooks (https://www.freshbooks.com/) or Hiveage

(https://www.hiveage.com/) to keep track of your invoicing. While a simple spreadsheet of your
monthly incomings and outgoings can work wonders to making sure you know where all your money
is at all times.
And, you know, it always pays to not run up a tab on the company credit card either.
#20: Budget And Forecast
This is the ၎nal step, but it’s one of the most important. Knowing how your business is going to grow
over the next year, both in how you want it to grow and how it looks like it will grow, are big factors in
your success.
There will come hard times, and there will be good times. Knowing when each of them is going to
happen is important to managing your time, money and ၎nances. This is also the ‘measureable’ part
of the SMART Goals you set right back at the start of this article.
That’s All, Folks…

There you have it, the complete quick start guide to going from your back room, to a six ၎gure digital
marketing ၎rm, in no time at all.
Is there anything you’d add, take away, or that you’ve been stuck with on your own journey? Let me
know in the comments…
About Author
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James Johnson (http://www.serped.com/author/james)

James originally applied to be the Secretary of Everything Awesome here at SERPed. But, seeing as that wasn't
366 actually a job, he settled for becoming the Content Manager. If you have any comments or questions, email him at
jamesthinksthings [at] gmail [dot] com.
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 (www.facebook.com/Gadgetboii)  (j4meswrites)
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Eric Sanchez • 10 months ago
James, James, James...
What an incredibly well done article! Very thorough!
I found some parts funny as I was reading, because I remember being in some of those early phases of development, and feeling the same
frustrations you described. And there were plenty of lessons you gave, which I learned the hard way. Haha. If only I knew 2 years ago, what I
know now...
Very well done sir!
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Eric Kock • a year ago
Hi, this is a nice article. SERPED is a great tool. Every SEO'er should use it.
Reazul Reaz • a year ago
it is nice article.Since Manny days i am searchin like this article! Really i learnt many thing form this article.Thanks
Expiring:
Seema Kumari • 2 days agoyour chance to get your next 5 clients Enter your email address GET IT NOW! ×
Very Informative Blog Post James. will definitely try to incorporate them in my website
https://goo.gl/BD9VoY
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Osabuohien EUUzamere • 2 months ago
Great post and i find it extremely useful and valuable.
Thank you
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Simon Kelly (sk) • 4 months ago
Epic article. Super easy to understand and sets the pace for someone getting started so they know what they need to do to prepare for growth.
366
More Hot Leads • 8 months ago
FINALLY got down to reading this and I am glad I did. Lots of useful tidbits that helped me as I am going through the agency growth phase
right now.
366
Ben HawkshawBurn • 9 months ago
Well done James great article, I totally agree with Eric below I have had many hard and expensive leaning curves working this out on my own,
for anyone starting out this is real gold and easy to digest
40
Mark Andrew • 10 months ago
I study your content and its amazing part of the content. Very informative article for Digital Marketing.
13
Our company is a digital marketing agency. Check us at http://www.searchmantrainc....
Thanks for sharing great article and great tool for me.
Mark Andrew
Herald Ituriaga • 10 months ago
Awesome article and indeed a guide not only for those who want to start a Digital Marketing Agency but also to those who would be around it
from the employees, audience and everyone that will be involved this is quite a map you made to guide a lot of interested parties. Thank you
SERPED for this helpful and timely article. Thumbs up for this!!!
Mary Shinabarger • a year ago
Good straight forward article. Bullet oints are the best for me, no fluff or pomp & circumstance.
Wayne Dorband • a year ago
This is a great article about making money as a digital agency. Our company is a digital agency. Check us out at http://impleatur.com. Have a
great day. Thanks.
Charlie Stevens • a year ago
With an article this detailed I think I am ready. Another crazy in depth article! Can't wait to follow these steps, it's nice to be able to step back
and read what other people have done that have been successful.
Singapore SEO Consultants • a year ago
Very informative article, James. I think SERPed is a great tool, and use it regularly. Thanks.
IMMFinancial • a year ago
I have to say that SERPed.com is a very good resource for SEO practices. Very valuable tool.
Mohammed Yusuf • a year ago
As someone just about to launch my own digital agency, i am constantly worried about not knowing the tactical stuff and had been putting off
starting my company until i 'learn' all the latest adword tricks etc.....This article really helped put things in perspective and has given me the
confidence to steam ahead and just start and then create a disciplined approach to fill in the tactical knowledge gaps.
Thanks again for this great article and a great tool. I just signed up last night and am really looking forward to using it.
Thanks again.
Mohammed
Althea Wilkins • a year ago
Althea Wilkins • a year ago
Very Informative Blog Post always keep in our mind that we should secure our success and positive attitude of the people..
Tommy Gordon • a year ago
Nicely put roadmap to success. Thanks.
Evgeny Kasperovich • a year ago
Thank you. Always find some interesting knowledge reading articles on serped.com.
Shares
Susan Anne MacDowell • a year ago
Nice job covering the specifics that most people don't consider!
366 Thanks.
366
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20 Steps To Starting Your Own 6-Figure Digital Marketing Agency Today

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4/8/2017 20 Steps To Starting Your Own 6­Figure Digital Marketing Agency Today ­

by James Johnson (http://www.serped.com/author/james)

Nope. Not anymore.

#1: Get Positive…

The road to a 6 ၎gure agency is long and hard.

#2: Set Clear Goals

Have a team of 10 workers on $30,000 a year each by March

Build to 10 clients at an average of $10,000 a month in one year’s time

#3: Find Your Focus

#4: Build Relationships

#5: Create A Clear Brand Identity

As Lois Geller once put it in an article for Forbes

#6: Don’t Imitate, Innovate

Getting It Off The Ground…

#7: Get Yourself Online

#8: Create A Killer Portfolio

Headlines and shorts snippets

Further, in depth, result case studies

Testimonials from clients

Future goals and targets for that client

#9: Decide If You Really Need Extra Capital

end up as million dollar agencies (https://moz.com/blog/from-zero-to-a-million-20-lessons-for-

#10: Take The (Cheaper) Road Less Travelled

Advertising and Exposure

Providing Customer Service

#11: Plan Out When You’ll Need Employees

I’ll be really honest here:

Part-Time Employee: You either do this as a freelancer, or in-house. Take someone on a

Just You: $30,000 – $50,000 a year

Freelancers: $50,000 – $80,000 a year

Part Time Employees: $80,000 – $100,000 a year

Full Time Employees: $100,000+

#12: Brush Up On Your SEO Skills…

#13: And Find Ways To Explain Them To Your Clients

Your clients don’t give a crap about SEO.

#15: Get Social…

#16: Optimise Everything You Create

The Back-Of-House Essentials

#17: Set Your Prices (And Your Worth)

Taking a look at the Nifty Marketing example again (https://moz.com/blog/from-zero-to-a-million-

#18: Put Your Reporting Tools In Place

#19: Develop Bookkeeping Skills

It helps to use invoicing software like FreshBooks (https://www.freshbooks.com/) or Hiveage

#20: Budget And Forecast

That’s All, Folks…

James Johnson (http://www.serped.com/author/james)

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