Starting Digital Marketing Agency with As Student

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vikash6767

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Hey, everyone!

So, I have been working for some agencies in lead generation, doing SEO, freelancing website projects, managing websites and social media pages, optimizing them, creating content for them, and learning AI for the past 5 years. I haven’t made much money, probably because I didn’t want to. What I’ve made in the past 3 years is just 10k. I haven’t charged a lot to those companies because I was just a learner, an intern for many. Most of the time, I did things without charging, and thanks to that, I now have a very lovely network. Now, I plan to start a digital marketing agency. I will mainly focus on managing social media platforms for businesses, helping them write and grow blogs too, and, of course, SEO and lead generation through social media, emailing, and every other thing I can do. In this thread, I will share the journey and try to share the problems and everything I can. From today, I will be starting the agency. I will begin the hiring process and provide updates on that too. I’m not going to get many clients right now, as I will focus on building the team and managing the existing clients.

I won’t charge much to clients. I will start with small projects for now to build the agency portfolio (if you have some ideas, please share).

Please share anything I should keep in mind. I am based in India, 20M, in full-time college, and yes, I have the spirit to run. I’ve been planning to start for the past year.
 
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Hey bro, my partner and I have a web3 marketing agency and the most important thing I'll tell you is client acquisition and retention. We don’t actively search for clients, bc they come to us through recommendations, but when we were starting out, we got our first clients IRL at conferences, meetups, and through personal connections. Grow your network, make a LinkedIn page, start adding people to build up your personal profile, bc as the founder and CEO of the agency, you're its face, so you’ve gotta be on point. The most important thing is taking that first step, you're in the game
 
I am currently working in a marketing company, and I am having difficulty in my work, I don't know if I should keep trying or stop.
 
Update #2
1. Setted up an office yesterday Evening in a Tier 3 city.
2. Hired an HR Intern, An Video editor intern, and an Email marketing/lead generation(On incentive).
3. Before starting i had 1 Web designer, and 1 Full stack developer, they are on contract basis.
4. For SEO Projects i am dedicated on them, but i also have 3 experts on it on contract basis.

This weekend planning to hire some Content writing interns and also planning to get some projects.
 
Great going already! It's really amazing that you have built such a solid foundation over the years and also that you have a good network of people.
Starting small with affordable projects would be a great way to build your portfolio and gain enough trust. Since you are balancing college at the time, I would suggest you to focus on managing time, and always be sure to set clear boundaries with clients so that you wont be undervaluing your work. Good luck on your journey dude!
 
Update #3
Got my first client(previous companies I was working for doesn't count)
So, got this from my neighbour city, They are an drop shipping brand, looking for almost everything and I think we are the best they will get,
I am also planning to approach some local brands for smm and will offer them this at lowest charges for now, my plan for now is to build a decent team.
 
#4 the day at office
Already worked 16 Hours today and still raining outside,
Closed 2 Deals today, will probably manage payments for of team with those.
Started Learning about affiliate articles ranking, Targeting some Social Media management clients as well as content and SEO for product review sites.
Currently workin on, Content writing(6), Social media management(3), Performance marketing(1), SEO(4), and lead generation(2). Number of clients in bracket, but still makig less that an average Writer, Probably cause of wages and Low Charges. but expecting growth in next week.
 
Sorry for no updates, I dont even know if someone is been following this But i will still write all the updates,
1. So, the affiliate site's project going okay and i am able to cover the basic costs from it.
2. Completed one course today on Cont writing services, so i am adding that service from now on, What i will provide is SEO optimized content for affiliate website to Tier 1 Clients at Average price.
3. Connevcted with an startup today, Discussed for their marketing and social presense building, They have very tight budget but they are offering many non monetary benefits so i am taking that project, they cold bring me more clients, and i am betting on it.
4. Looking to connect with freelancers so i could bring more revenue by selling their services(I am good at getting leads)
 
So, Another update, I havent Made an significant revenue yet.
My current Schedule is-
waking up 5:30, 30 minutes of exercise, 50 minutes to prepare breakfast and lunch and prepare myself for college,
6:50 leaving on bike to college bus, Getting to bus at 7:15, from 7:15 to 8:40 in the bus learning new way to generate leads for my business, And some relaxing music too, some seo courses doing all this everyday.
From 9:00 to 12:10 i have classes( I am studying Business Administration and Business Intelligence Analytics)(Btw i do lunch during lectures), After 12:10 i play cricket and Football till 1 and Just After that i start Working on Cient Projects by bunking that one class. After that i have some imp classes so i attend them,
After 3:30 i get to the bus, But while returning i learn Programming in Bus(Python and R) am also Learning Stats(I cant use Laptop in Bus, as i have said i am from Tier 3 city in india and bus arent much comfortable here). After reaching my drop at 5:20, I reach my office by 5:30 which i recently rented.
After 5:30( I get An second lunch in office thanks to a friend), i work on my projects and 1 hour learning(Includes clg and IM). i have a in-office team which spends 2-3 hour a day(They are dissapointing me), I am Totally Dependent on freelancers for now, and offcourse i am into almost Everything so i take care of every project by myself,
I leave my office by 9:40 and reach home by 10:10 i spend some time with family and have a dinner, At 11:00 i start reading books or sometime games till 11;30 and sleeps after that. cause i think i get tired i take like 1-2 minutes to enter the Hard sleep Mode.

All above is just about my current Schedule(The Part time jobs i do are also considered as projects)

Currently i am have 4 Affililiate sites to manage, 2 Marketing projects, and Som small Social and Website Management projects,
i am looking for some projects as well as some works where i have to perform quality works like lead generation or something which requires thinking and analyzing things rather than just writing and creating content for social media.
 
What is your percent share with these companies? I feel that they are underpaying you because 10k in 3 years is very less amount.
 
You remind me of myself 2005 2nd year of my college degree when I started freelancing.
Internet and resources were very limited back then I had a Desktop and a phone with GPRS internet in my room.
It all started there and now it's almost 19 years still loving doing it and happy making a full-time career out of it.
vikash6767 said:
I won’t charge much to clients.
Click to expand...
Don't do that unless you cannot find clients.
You need to charge what you deserve.
Finding and closing client deals if you have the right skills is easier today with access to businesses online so no need to compromise on price.
I had a nice female friend :p and she used to take care of the cold calling.
I've always found a soft-spoken female cold caller gives better conversions.
Get your agency registered sometime after college and look for govt projects and big clients this will help you to grow as well as reduce your work stress.
Don't drop out you need to get that degree at least.
Dropping out is a very bad trend you don't just miss education but they way to see and move in life too.
vikash6767 said:
Please share anything I should keep in mind. I am based in India, 20M, in full-time college, and yes, I have the spirit to run. I’ve been planning to start for the past year.
Click to expand...
Health is something you need to prioritize.
Your lifestyle will determine your future when you're nearing the 40's you will feel it difficult to keep up with the same pace.
So, unlike the current Genz's spending a lot please save enough money and plan your future.
Get married and have your family on time do go beyond 28 please.
Maintain healthy lifestyle get enough sleep, move your body don't just sit and eat and work.
Avoid processed food and junk food.

Wishing you good luck with your career and future enjoy everything.
 
@vikash6767 great to see your organized plan and interest in business. Hope you will do great in the future.

Try to fix your service cost for a decent amount and notify all your existing clients. In India, if we provide service for free and cheap, they always expect us to do forever. Register your company as proprietorship or partnership. Don't go with private limited now.

Try to get high quality and high paying clients. If you get 5 high paying clients instead of 50 low paying clients, your work, tention, stress, time, etc everything is from just 5 clients instead of 50.

Once you get few high paying clients, then scale it and also expand your team.

Also, go to sleep little earlier from your current timing. All the best for your future.
 
savitaprasad said:
What is your percent share with these companies? I feel that they are underpaying you because 10k in 3 years is very less amount.
Click to expand...
when i started i started with 20-30$ month, and 10k is what i saved during this time i probably got more than 30k which i spent on many things like starting new website, experimenting and many things just to learn something new, and i am still doing something same, But now with clear motive of earning.
 
MKSKS said:
You remind me of myself 2005 2nd year of my college degree when I started freelancing.
Internet and resources were very limited back then I had a Desktop and a phone with GPRS internet in my room.
It all started there and now it's almost 19 years still loving doing it and happy making a full-time career out of it.

Don't do that unless you cannot find clients.
You need to charge what you deserve.
Finding and closing client deals if you have the right skills is easier today with access to businesses online so no need to compromise on price.
I had a nice female friend :p and she used to take care of the cold calling.
I've always found a soft-spoken female cold caller gives better conversions.
Get your agency registered sometime after college and look for govt projects and big clients this will help you to grow as well as reduce your work stress.
Don't drop out you need to get that degree at least.
Dropping out is a very bad trend you don't just miss education but they way to see and move in life too.

Health is something you need to prioritize.
Your lifestyle will determine your future when you're nearing the 40's you will feel it difficult to keep up with the same pace.
So, unlike the current Genz's spending a lot please save enough money and plan your future.
Get married and have your family on time do go beyond 28 please.
Maintain healthy lifestyle get enough sleep, move your body don't just sit and eat and work.
Avoid processed food and junk food.

Wishing you good luck with your career and future enjoy everything.
Click to expand...
Thankyou so much with all this tips,
1. I will get Married by 24, and this is 100% sure.
2. I will not drop out of college, that's sure too.
3. With budy, I play cricket passionately, 50 Minutes daily, As a Fast Bowler.
4. Thanks for the cold calling idea.
5. I want to charge less because i want to build a network, But i guess now i have enough low paying clients, I wont compromise from now on.
6. In 4 Months i will Shift to Tier 2 city where i have the clg and will save lot of time and will do some change in lifestyle(Planning for multiple offices).
 
buhari4u said:
@vikash6767 great to see your organized plan and interest in business. Hope you will do great in the future.

Try to fix your service cost for a decent amount and notify all your existing clients. In India, if we provide service for free and cheap, they always expect us to do forever. Register your company as proprietorship or partnership. Don't go with private limited now.

Try to get high quality and high paying clients. If you get 5 high paying clients instead of 50 low paying clients, your work, tention, stress, time, etc everything is from just 5 clients instead of 50.

Once you get few high paying clients, then scale it and also expand your team.

Also, go to sleep little earlier from your current timing. All the best for your future.
Click to expand...
Will shift 30 minutes in sleep schedule and 3 Hours on both weekends
Yes, From Now on i will focus on big Clients, and will start outsourcing some tasks.
 
So, Previous 2 Weeks were good, I am less tired and Got some of my friends back to talk so less stress of work.\
1. Got 1 Order from Fiverr for link building, and Delievered it .
2. I got 2 order for Ranking their Website on some Commercial Keywords i am working on them.
3. An Web design project is started and delievered this week.
4. The affiliate Website are working Well, Already Reached 3k impressions withing the first month can expect 3x in next month.
5. If everythint go well i can expect 1 good seo project to be in hands in next week.
6. i have Been planning to generate some money by creating some theme pages is it a good idea?
 
vikash6767 said:
So, Another update, I havent Made an significant revenue yet.
My current Schedule is-
waking up 5:30, 30 minutes of exercise, 50 minutes to prepare breakfast and lunch and prepare myself for college,
6:50 leaving on bike to college bus, Getting to bus at 7:15, from 7:15 to 8:40 in the bus learning new way to generate leads for my business, And some relaxing music too, some seo courses doing all this everyday.
From 9:00 to 12:10 i have classes( I am studying Business Administration and Business Intelligence Analytics)(Btw i do lunch during lectures), After 12:10 i play cricket and Football till 1 and Just After that i start Working on Cient Projects by bunking that one class. After that i have some imp classes so i attend them,
After 3:30 i get to the bus, But while returning i learn Programming in Bus(Python and R) am also Learning Stats(I cant use Laptop in Bus, as i have said i am from Tier 3 city in india and bus arent much comfortable here). After reaching my drop at 5:20, I reach my office by 5:30 which i recently rented.
After 5:30( I get An second lunch in office thanks to a friend), i work on my projects and 1 hour learning(Includes clg and IM). i have a in-office team which spends 2-3 hour a day(They are dissapointing me), I am Totally Dependent on freelancers for now, and offcourse i am into almost Everything so i take care of every project by myself,
I leave my office by 9:40 and reach home by 10:10 i spend some time with family and have a dinner, At 11:00 i start reading books or sometime games till 11;30 and sleeps after that. cause i think i get tired i take like 1-2 minutes to enter the Hard sleep Mode.

All above is just about my current Schedule(The Part time jobs i do are also considered as projects)

Currently i am have 4 Affililiate sites to manage, 2 Marketing projects, and Som small Social and Website Management projects,
i am looking for some projects as well as some works where i have to perform quality works like lead generation or something which requires thinking and analyzing things rather than just writing and creating content for social media.
Click to expand...
You are a person who has a plan for yourself. I believe you will succeed.:)
 
So, almost a month of no updates. Sorry for that; I was busy doing "projects."

1. So, As my team was not showing up to office i fired all them and hired people on remote and everything is better now.

2. I got 2 full SEO project they are paying enough now so that i dont have to overtime my jobs after college.

3. I learned some key link building techniques and i can surely target for big projects soon.

4. Shifting to Tier 2 City next month where my college is located so that i can catch up more time and energy.

5. I have a social media management team there. I have someone else as COO. It is getting easier. I just have to hunt for clients now. He can take care of operations.

6. I'm planning to start dropshipping next month. I found a project with good demand but no online availability. There is not much investment in the beginning. I can spend up to $400 and need to make at least 3X after delivery, packaging, and marketing costs.

7. I will start my Foundation to feed kids on January 1st. I will name it after my best friend who died in 2017. Luckily, some people are supporting it. Hope i get sucess in it.

8. In the last 20 days, 4 affiliate sites got 21k impressions, 255 clicks, 36 affiliate clicks, and 19 sales. This made $80. I'm dreaming of generating hundreds of thousands with them.

I am thankfull for every suggestion here
 
You are doing great mate, I live in UK and I am also planning to start, Would love to connect, can I have your Instagram? mine is @notarooz
Good luck with your journey
Thanks
 
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