You can start your own digital marketing agency with no experience, Here are some tips from my own experience that can help you start and grow your digital agency from scratch.
I started my first digital marketing agency with no experience, at age of 22. And in this guide, I will share what I learned from it.
I was in my senior year of my bachelor’s degree and had entry-level design and marketing skills so I started my agency with a team of 2 and scaled it up to 12 full-time employees in 2 years.
As we already know, Digital marketing has taken over for quite some time and it wouldn’t be wrong if we state that it will probably be the primary way of advertising in the near future. Surprisingly enough companies spend 72% of their marketing budget on digital marketing.
Not only that but 55% of the marketing is done digitally. And according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the demand for jobs in marketing is likely to increase up to 10% by 2026!
So if you are considering stepping into the Digital marketing world by setting up your own agency with no experience in the field, worry not because this article has the solution to your problems.
Table of Contents
- 7 Steps to Start a Digital Marketing Agency without any experience
- Digital Marketing Agency Team Structure
- Some Helpful Tools For Digital Marketing
- How to Grow a Digital Marketing Agency
- FAQs
- Bottom Line
7 Steps to Start a Digital Marketing Agency without any experience
To make it easier for you to keep track here is a list of 7 steps that you can take to ensure that you are on the right path.
1. Learn the Basics
It is always to build a solid base before you step further into the nitty gritty of anything. It is essential for you to familiarise yourself with the concept of digital marketing and how it works.
You should start with short skills that you can learn quickly and scale up gradually. I personally started out with basic skills in graphics and website design. Thats all I knew when I started.
Some entry-level skills that you can learn are:
| Skill | Time Required | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Social Media Design on Canva | 2-3 Weeks | Make a portfolio of 10 graphics |
| Video Editing on Filmora | 1-2 weeks | Portfolio of 4 videos |
| Content Writing | 2-3 weeks | 5-7 Blogs/web content copy |
| Facebook & Instagram Ads | 1 month | Learn all types of ads and practice |
| Google Ads | 1 month | Learn all types of ads and practice |
Another important thing is to be patient in your learning process because you will only get the hang of it once you are truly invested in the skillset.
2. Decide the “Type” of your Agency
Deciding your area of expertise because different marketing agencies cater to the different needs of their clients. Here’s a short list of the different Digital Marketing agencies:
- Research Marketing
- Creative Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Social Marketing
- PR Marketing
- Branding Marketing
- Advertisement Marketing
- SEO Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing
It’s easier to focus on a certain type of marketing when you begin especially if you have no prior experience. But do not be discouraged, you can always expand your area of expertise in the future when you have already established yourself as a noteworthy agency in the field.
I personally recommend specializing in one area and not becoming a jack of all skills. If you master just 1 skill and become the best at it, you can get high-ticket paying clients.
This will also help avoid cutthroat competition from other well-established agencies so it is better to take small steps instead of going for a big leap.
3. Business Registration
Registering your business under an LLC or Limited Liability Company is vital to cover all bases before you step into the market. This will help build your confidence and will keep you away from the government’s bad books. Other than that it will further lay the foundation of trust between you and your clients.
Hence, your start will be solid and you will have very little to worry about once you start gaining online visibility.
4. Work on your Website
The best way to get going is to start your own website. This way you can promote your company and already step into the market to get an idea of how things in the digital Marketing agency work.
You could either hire someone to build your website or you could build your own website with the help of various platforms available online. Although it would be better to get a web developer to work on it.
The website will offer you the following benefits:
- It will describe the details of your digital marketing agency
- It can provide feedback from your past clients
- Provide information about your business
- Help potential clients and audiences contact you and learn more about the way you work
- Provide your credentials
- Give special offers
5. Acquire your Tools
Based on the type of agency you run you will require a certain types of tools. It is better to have acquired the tools before you take up any work or clients because you will be more familiar with the way the tool functions.
Popular Tools That you should know about:
- MailChimp
- SendinBlue
- Ahrefs
- SEMrush
- ConvertKit
- Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator)
- Filmora/ Premier Pro / After Effects
For eg, if you plan on specializing in Email marketing you would require tools such as SendGrid that offer in-depth analysis of deliverability and analytics and many flexible options for editing.
6. Strategize your Pricing
Another important step of the journey is to plan how much you will charge clients because you could either charge a retainer fee or flare fee for your services or you could choose to charge a percentage of your daily expense or per hour.
7. Scale up
To scale up your business it is important for you to understand that you should initially aim for lower expenses. This can be done with the help of employing freelancers in place of full-time employees.
Wondering why? This is a cheaper and more cost-effective method as they are easier to find and they demand lesser fringe benefits in comparison with full-time employees.
Digital Marketing Agency Team Structure
Now when you begin your digital marketing agency, in the start you will be working with freelancers. This is an excellent way to start because you are still expanding and since new clients are also testing out your work and services hiring permanently won’t be a wise choice. But eventually, you will end up hiring staff that is familiar with your digital marketing agency and know your business model.
As an agency that has just started its work, we recommend you focus on the skills that your workers are providing rather than the positions when planning the team structure for your digital marketing agency.
Now when hiring a designer and copywriter, try focusing on hiring someone who is familiar with both roles, this not only cuts costs but also allows you to communicate with an individual rather than explaining and linking up two minds to get the same task done.
To make your digital marketing agency a massive hit, we recommend you require the following skills in your business:
- Content writing
- Marketing strategy
- SEO
- PPC
- Social Media
- Email marketing
- Graphic design
- Project Management
Hiring people who offer the following skillset will help your digital marketing agency grow.
Some Helpful Tools For Digital Marketing
Other than the main objective which is to digitally market for clients, you should also look into a few other helpful tools that will be required by your team and yourself for communication purposes and to track projects.
Here is a list of the tools that you could look into:
- Google Workspace – this has pretty much everything beginning from google drive, to google meet and everything else that will make your work easier.
- Dropbox – dropbox for teams will help your team collaborate on one document.
- Point – helps plan content curation.
- Canva – allows teams to collaborate and work on the same design.
- Zoom – would help hold a meeting and discuss different strategies when everyone is not physically present.
How to Grow a Digital Marketing Agency
The world of digital marketing is quite diverse and ever-growing, but a lot of hard work needs to be put in to bring it to the top. More than 50% of the digital marketing agencies today have 10 or below employees, which means the strategies that you put in need to be quite effective.
So as a digital marketeer, if you wish to grow your company here are a few tips that you need to follow:
Diversify the content you offer
Digital marketing agencies are dominated by content, now clients are your priority but keep in mind that you have put in as much effort for your content marketing as well.
Content marketing is the process of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined target audience. It is an effective way to build brand awareness and trust.
In order to get leads from content marketing, you need to produce quality content that your target audience will find interesting. You also need to know what your audience wants or needs in order to make them feel satisfied with the product or service you are offering.
With effective content on your website and social media handles, you can make conversions and get people to hire you as their client. They will observe how you market your business and your online presence will make them understand how you will bring out the best in their business.
Identify what your client needs and adapt accordingly
Digital marketing agencies are constantly evolving and adapting to new technologies. They have to keep up with the latest trends and changes in the market.
The process of identifying client needs and adapting is the key to digital marketing agencies’ success. By identifying what their clients need, they can provide better services for them. They can also create new products that will be more valuable for their clients.
As an agency in times of today, you should not remain firm on your techniques instead just keep evolving, and study different social media handles, different techniques, and ways of marketing. This adaptation will lead you towards getting more clients as in times of digitalization people to want someone who’s aware of what is happening around them. Evolving and adapting will lead you to make a better market image.
Invest in people
A digital marketing agency can effectively grow if it has good people working for it. Investing in good people is not just about hiring great talent – it’s about investing in a team that will be able to help each other and make sure that each individual is able to grow into their role and reach their full potential as well.
Now you can take a different approach to this, if bringing in a house employee isn’t working for you then you can have a team of freelancers who you can approach and get ideas through. The right people can be an excellent investment and since these freelancers work for different companies, people and projects they can pour some diversity into your business making your approaches better toward clients.
Build your brand
Building a brand is not easy. It requires a lot of time and effort to accomplish. But when done correctly, it can help your agency grow and create new opportunities for you.
The first step to building a brand is to establish your identity as an agency. This means figuring out what type of company you want to be and what your mission statement is.
Once you have that figured out, it’s time to start building your brand by creating content that reflects this mission statement and the values that you stand for as an agency. Also, make sure your social media handles are interlinked with your mission statement and reflect on what your agency is about.
Once you have established your identity, the next step is to build relationships with potential clients through marketing campaigns or content marketing strategies. This will help drive traffic back to your website where they can learn more about your company, products, services, etc.
Grow SEO
SEO is an essential part of any digital marketing agency’s work. It is essential for the agency to grow and expand its reach in order to stay profitable and relevant.
The digital marketing industry has been growing rapidly over the past few years, which means that more businesses are looking for a digital marketing agency to help them with their marketing campaigns. With this growth, it has become more difficult for agencies to find talented employees.
The solution? Hiring an SEO expert or outsourcing the work to an agency with expertise in this field.
With a growing SEO team, agencies can have the talent they need while still finding time to focus on other aspects of their business.
FAQs
- How do I start a digital marketing agency from scratch?
The answer is not as easy as it may seem. The key to success in this industry is to have a clear understanding of the market you are targeting, the value your company will bring, and what type of business model you should adopt.
- How can I start a digital marketing agency with no money?
Starting a digital marketing agency with no money is not easy – but it is possible. To get started, you need to find ways to generate revenue by creating content for other companies or by getting clients through networking and referrals.
- Is starting a digital marketing agency worth it?
When you have a digital marketing agency, it’s easier for you to get ahold of larger projects, get bigger wins and build a better portfolio. This will not only drive you to get better revenue for yourself but earn you a good amount of profits in correspondence with excellent growth. In the end, you are working to make your name in the world of business rather than working under someone else to make their company a success.
Bottom Line
Conclusively, starting your own Digital marketing agency isn’t easy, there will be a few hurdles waiting for you in your journey, but with the help of this article, you can overcome many of them.
Other than that you just have to believe in yourself and the process and you will accomplish your goals. Not having experience may be considered a setback for some but not you…You can do it!
