How to Build Your Own Digital Marketing Business from Scratch: Step-by-Step Guide

Digital marketing is an industry in demand and currently worth over $300 billion. More and more businesses are looking to develop and improve their online presence, and like any industry, where there is demand, there needs to be supply.

If this is a field you are thinking of breaking into, you will want to know the steps required to do so. This article will take you through the basic steps required to launch and run a digital marketing company.

  • Understand Your Niche

Assuming you have a team of knowledgeable digital marketers and a good understanding of the industry, you need to make sure you choose and understand a niche best suited to your collective skills. 

While you can still take on clients in multiple niches, many companies look for specialised digital marketing agencies that primarily operate in a certain niche. Marketing techniques that prove effective in one niche do not always prove the same in others. So companies prefer to deal with digital marketing firms with expertise in their niche.

There are a ton of niches to choose from too, so anything from food & beverage, eCommerce, healthcare, real estate, legal, and many others. This also allows you to focus on a smaller target audience while coming up against fewer competitors. 

  • Design and Launch Your Website

Once you have a niche in mind and the services to sell, the next step is to get your digital marketing website up and running. 

Keep in mind that a digital marketing firm should have a good understanding of what a website needs and your clients will know this. Your website needs to showcase this understanding, so it will have to look professional, well-optimised, and properly maintained. 

You have two options – build the website yourself using website builders or hire a web designer/developer to build one for you. The former option will get you a functional, and well-optimised website quickly and affordably. However, the latter will allow you to have a unique site that stands out a bit more. Your decision depends on how much you’re willing to spend.

  • Build a Portfolio

You could have the best services ready to go and a fantastic website, but this means little if you cannot demonstrate your skills. A great way to do this is to set up an online portfolio that contains some of your best work. 

It should detail the results you have achieved with other clients, ideally those in your specialist niche. Provide would-be clients with case studies of current clients, testimonials from happy customers, and the ultimate goals for any current clients listed in your portfolio. 

Setting up an online portfolio is easy to do. You could build a free portfolio website without any web development skills using website builders such as Wix. These do not take long to set up and give you tons of customisable options to allow you to create something that stands out and catches the eye of your potential clients. 

  • Build a Social Media Presence

Assuming you know your stuff, you should already know how to market your new digital marketing website. Therefore, there is little need to go overboard on telling you what you should and shouldn’t be doing. However, you definitely need to build a social media presence. This is a great way to generate leads, engage with potential customers, and bring traffic back to your website.

Creating profiles on social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, is free, so you should create accounts on as many as possible. Also, do not neglect these accounts once established. Continue to work on them and you will start to build a following.

  • Generate Leads

We already touched on social media being a great way to generate leads, and in fact, it is up there with the best of them. Create lots of quality content for a blog on your website and share it across all your social media profiles. Ensure the content is valuable and provides your potential clients with what they are looking for. 

Again, this is an area you should already excel at as a digital marketing agency. It has to show so that your potential clients can see that your company knows what it is doing. Other methods include opt-ins on your landing pages and email marketing strategies. 

Ready to Get Started on Your Digital Marketing Business?

If you think you are, take a step back and think things through even more. Starting a small business is not easy and requires a lot of planning. Do not rush into it until you’re sure you have planned for every potential occurrence. Make sure you have the correct strategies in place, the business capital, and the expertise to perform your services to the highest of standards.

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

View all posts by Gregers Møller

16 Comments on “How to Build Your Own Digital Marketing Business from Scratch: Step-by-Step Guide”

  1. many-business-owners-are-looking-for-ways-to-increase-their-companys-profitability-in-order-to-do-this-they-may-have-to-consider-starting-a-business/

  2. Great tips for a new startup this will definitely help who wants to start a new digital marketing company.

  3. I have already and will definitely continue to recommend your services to others in the future.
    Fabulous..such good service.”

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