​3 Tips to Avoid Failing with Your SMMA/Digital Marketing Agency Journey

Tip 1 – Understanding ALL Aspects of Digital Marketing

1. 1. The biggest mistake that I see newcomers make when entering the Digital Marketing industry is that they try to get out there and sell services WAYYY too quickly. The amount of knowledge that I gained took almost 8 years to develop. Though it is an easy concept to grasp, getting real results with Digital Marketing can be difficult IF AND ONLY IF you don’t understand how the 5 major parts of Digital Marketing work together.
   2. Before you EVER try to sell a service you should have an intermediate level of knowledge in ALL 5 areas of Digital Marketing…AKA…SWEPS.
      1. Social Media Marketing
      2. Web Marketing & Design
      3. Email Marketing
      4. PPC Marketing (Pay-per-click)
      5. SEO Marketing (Search Engine Optimization)
   3. Having this understanding will not only help you manage campaigns more effectively, but it will also help you feel more comfortable when presenting marketing proposals to your potential clients.

Tip 2 – Focus On Acquiring Customers FIRST

1. 1. Most people that I have seen enter this industry start their business off with the wrong goals in mind…
      • Your website, social media pages, pamphlets, etc. should be the last of your worries.
   2. After you have learned enough info about Digital Marketing (Tip 1) you should begin to make lists of potential businesses that you could work with…
      1. Trust me when I tell you that they USUALLY won’t even check out your website or social media channels.
         • IF they do and ask why you don’t have any, the simplest reply is just to tell them that you’re a new business and you’re more focused on acquiring customers and providing them with results.
      2. I see so many people that spend time making posts for Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, etc. that still don’t have a customer. These are the same people that quit before the miracle happens because they never see their first sale…
      3. DON’T be afraid to get out there and shake some hands and meet new faces…if you’re nervous then practice. BUT I can tell you that if you never get out there you’ll never make a sale.

Tip 3 – Avoid Under-Pricing Services

1. 1. Under-pricing your services can be the worst thing that you can do when starting off…
   2. A $1,000 a month starter package is NOTHING compared to what a lot of the BIG corporate marketing agencies charge.
   3. Here are some quick tips to keep in mind when determining your pricing for customers…
      1. PPC is usually super expensive…I usually don’t add PPC to a customer’s campaign if they aren’t spending AT LEAST $2,500 to $3,000 a month in total. (This would be the management fee AND PPC ad budget) Example: At $2,500 your package could look like the following…
         1. Social Media
            1. Facebook
            2. Instagram
            3. Youtube
         2. Email Consulting
         3. Web Management: Basic
         4. PPC Spend: $750-$1000
   4. In this example the cost breakdown looks like this…
      1. $1,000 PPC
      2. $1,000 Social Media Management
      3. $500 Email Consulting & Web Management
   5. If you are really struggling to determine a fair price then shop your local competitors
      1. Give them a call and pretend to have a business that you are trying to run a marketing campaign for
   6. Your base $1,000 package WON’T cover every service.
   7. As the budget scales the amount of work performed in each category should increase as well.

As always I hope this has been helpful for you guys! Stay grinding…Cereal Entrepreneur out.