“Hi, this is Avi Arya, father of two girls and 6 dogs, a streetcar racer turned hotelier turned Social Media Marketer. I am named among the top 25 influencers by Influencive, ranked as one of the top 100 digital icons of the region by Impact Magazine, and credited with creating 100 million dollars in revenues for my clients.” Whenever I give my hero introduction, people ask me Avi how come you became so successful digital marketer coming from a hospitality background?.

And I always answer that it is the combined effect of my passion for the hospitality industry and digital marketing that gave me a kick-start in the digital marketing industry. 

My dad owned a hotel that was doing very poorly when I joined my family business. Due to financial struggles, I had to drop my dream of becoming a streetcar racer, and reluctantly I started working with my dad. 

I knew that only if I could make my dad’s business work could I be free to follow my passion. So I started doing everything I can to make it work. The Internet was a new phenomenon in those days. I came to know that I could use it to increase my business. 

And it worked so well for my family business that within five years we opened five more hotels by leveraging digital marketing. Soon I got recognition from the hospitality industry and other hoteliers asked me to provide my internet marketing services for them. In this way, I started my digital marketing company called Internet Moguls.

But it doesn’t mean that you have to do another successful business to start your own digital marketing agency. Everybody who has a knack for digital and has great analytical skills can start a digital marketing agency that can generate monthly revenue of 5LACS to 15LACS.

Here, I am listing everything that you need to do to start a digital marketing agency.

Starting a digital marketing agency

When it comes to starting a digital marketing agency as a beginner, it seems difficult but not impossible. Everyone who wants to start a digital marketing agency thinks that they have to get some courses or services regarding starting a digital marketing agency. 

But you don’t need to do any of these. You can’t learn how to start your agency by getting a course. You have to set it up and start working on it.

Most people think that digital marketing is just about posting on social media and running ads, but digital marketing is far beyond that.

The following guide shows you step by step how to launch your own digital marketing agency.

Set the goals for your digital marketing agency

The first thing your digital marketing agency needs to do is set goals. To succeed at your job, you need a vision for the types of clients you serve and the types of work you do. Create an avatar of your ideal clients.

It is up to you to choose who you want to give your services to: to local businesses or clients, to world-level clients, to low-maintenance but consistent clients, to high-level clients with high payments, or to clients with low incomes, but more work. 

After that, decide how you want your agency to operate. The agency could specialize in only SEO, run ads and handle social media, or offer a wide range of services that included creating designs, managing social media, running ads, and doing SEO. It’s your choice; the only thing that matters is how perfectly you have done your work and how perfectly you communicate with your clients.

Identify companies you can help

Find companies where you can provide your services. Do some research on the internet and make a list of your dream clients with whom you want to work.

It is important to do customer research so that you can qualify them. Qualifying clients means that you and your dream client are the perfect fit for each other. You have a solution to their pain and they have enough money to pay you in return. 

Also, it is important to identify your clients because only then can you create effective strategies for them.

Then start sending reaching to its founders and CEOs. Approach every company where your service may be satisfying, but do not feel the need to explain why a big company hired you. Follow them on every social media platform. Keep following up.

Decide how your company will be run

Once you had chosen your services and clients, you had to decide how to run your business. There are two options here: you can hire talent around the world and have them work remotely, or you can have an office location where you go every 

Considering both options will help you choose wisely. If you want, create a hybrid team with both remote and offline workers.

Choosing a physical office will have a greater impact on your local clients if you plan to serve them in that local area. Nonetheless, if you plan to offer your services to international clients, then a remote office is the best option for you because you do not have to impress anyone with the appearance of your office. 

When you are providing your services to global clients, you don’t need a physical office. Set up your remote office in a room in your home, clean it up, and voila, your home office is ready. No need for a large office space anymore.

Make an impactful online presence

It makes no sense to delegate social media management to someone who has no social media presence. Having a strong online presence is the primary step for establishing a digital marketing company. 

Ensure you have a professional yet attractive website for yourself that contains all of your information regarding past projects, skills, prices, policies, and everything essential for an agency’s website. LinkedIn is an essential platform for professionals. Connect with experts in your field.

In addition to these platforms, Facebook and Instagram are essential as well. Having a strong presence on these platforms will help you attract more clients. By posting valuable content, you will attract more people. Provide them with solutions to their problems using social media. 

Get your first client

If you are a beginner then this must seem to be a daunting task for you. Getting your first client is the most difficult step for all new marketers. 

But if you have a list of your dream clients, you are already halfway done. Getting your first client is difficult only when you don’t know who is your client. Once you have a list of your dream clients, now the only thing that is stopping you from getting your client is the poor follow-up or the hesitation that you have to sell.

If you want to get your first client you have to follow up and you have to sell your service yourself.

Make an impact with your professional skills

After contacting the companies you are interested in, it is very important to set up a meeting with them. 

But before getting on a zoom call or in-person meeting do proper research about your prospect. What are their current pains, what is their desire, what is preventing them from achieving that desire?

In the meeting address their pains and explain a possible solution that you can provide to rectify that problem.

It will benefit you in two ways: Firstly, your prospect will realize that you understand their pain. Secondly, it will represent your research and analytical skills that are the core competencies of digital marketing.

Impress them with your skills and close the deal with your confidence and keep repeating. 

See my friend, whether you want to start a digital marketing agency or any other online business, the most important thing is to identify your customers and then sell them actively. 

To sell your services you have to establish your online presence, and create irresistible offers, and need proper follow-up strategies to convert more and more clients. 

And you can learn all this over time or you can join our Internet Mogul Of The World School where I teach the exact strategies that I have been using for over 15 years to generate $100 million of revenue for the hospitality industry.

By the way, do share in the comments what you are doing right now. Are you a student who is exploring various career options in digital marketing or are you already an established professional who want to explore new career opportunities or you are a business owner who wants to understand digital marketing to leverage their business, share in the comment section?