4 Basic Mistakes to Overcome get your First Digital Marketing Clients

Pay scale of a full-time digital marketing job is not always sufficient enough to fulfill extra needs be it freshers or experience one. So every single digital marketing professional who just finished digital marketing course or working full-time digital marketing job for a few years wants at least 1-5 clients to earn money either as a full-time income or recurring income respectively. No one can deny this fact.

Before generating clients there are 4 basic mistakes need to overcome initially.

Mistake 1 - Lack of Business Development Knowledge

The fact is Digital marketing professionals, be it content writer, SEO specialists, PPC manager, Social Media executive are not much aware of Business Development job roles and responsibilities on how to generate clients. And this part doesn't come under digital marketing training and also while we are working as a digital marketing professional.

Actual Business - Business sales and marketing happen through business development last 100 years and still going on. As a digital marketer one can generate clients for themselves and for clients as well if they learn and work as a business developer first for their business and then clients business.

Mistake 2 - Lack of knowledge about Target Clients

This happens because they lack business development knowledge. So always end up the wrong set of clients while choosing clients.

Not only individual digital marketing professionals, every single digital marketing company from startups to established one with 15 years of experience is looking for clients. So just imagine how many people are trying to sell their digital marketing services.

So everybody is not your clients or you can't reach everyone for service as well.

Mistake 3 - Lack of knowledge of Pitching

It's pitching faults make the ultimate difference between newcomers and experienced those who already started and got success and failure both. Pitching of present marketing techniques and execution thoughts sharing, conversation with clients, the actual process of execution, deliverable, and final results.

Ex: You are good at SEO and organic lead generation.

Through your SEO service pitch got a client from any industry and fix deliverable keywords ranking and leads.

But when you start you get to know that there is no one to give content or what content they give that is not enough to get results.

Now if you lack content writing skills or don't have content writing friend you may lose client and get bad impression.

Second financially you can't charge again for content writing separate. Again bad impression.

You should know what you are pitching and how you execute and how much need to charge if there is probability to hire other professionals like content writer, designer, developer.

Mistake 4 - Mindset Adaptation

It is the mindset what sets you apart from the rest in terms of long term thinking and short term thinking. If you think just about work, deliverable, payment before approaching clients it will be difficult for you to convert clients. You never able to predict your clients goals what they need from digital marketing until you speak them. Every client need leads but its unique for everyone.

Short term

Short term thinking is the Most dangerous process of clients generation. This B2B transaction happens only based on couple of factors like

Work experience

Past results

Reputation building

Reviews generation

Portfolio showcase

Now all of that criteria you can't fulfill immediately and need to do a lot of hard work to get all. So short term thinking is the worst method to start with.

Long-term

Even though I am telling it long term thinking but need to break this long term thinking into various parts of short term goals so that you can execute it short time frame.

One can execute above mentioned factors as short terms goals inside that limited time frames for bigger results. 

Through long term thinking one not only can generate some passive income as a freelancer and ultimately open a digital marketing agency.

Now let break long term thinking into short terms goals and implement SSL Identification techniques to execute it.

S = Skills Identification

S = Source Identification

L = Leads Identification

It actually works. In my 11 years of digital marketing working experience I not only generate clients for my employers, also through this SSL techniques also generate digit marketing clients for myself as well. This SSL techniques are well proved by industry leaders.

A) What is Skills Identification

To convert any types of digital marketing clients first you need to identify your best digital marketing skills. Basically first mistake newcomers do that they pitch for the whole digital marketing because they feel that they know all digital marketing and can generate business as soon as they sign contract or at least talk. If your mindset is this way your forget getting one left building clients or clients lists.

Digital marketing consists basically 14 major parts.

Content

Branding

Local Marketing

Marketing Tools

Website Management

Search Engine Optimization (basics - advance )

Social Media

Webmasters

Web Analytics

PPC (Google ads, Facebook ads, Display ads)

Email Marketing

Apps Marketing

Mobile Marketing

Reporting

It is highly impossible to become good digital marketer just after 6 months digital marketing training or even after 1 2 years of job experience. Just knowing about each parts of digital marketing its not your final skills. So first identify your most valuable skills which can be chargeable and make value for your clients.

Out of those 14 digital marketing parts only few are valuable for clients and also paid better because those results can change bottom line or results can seen from outside.

Trending Digital Marketing Skills

1. Content Curation and Amplification
2. Web Analytics
3. Social Media
4. Branding
5. Email Marketing
6. Paid advertising

So first try to identify any of the trending digital marketing skills you own or not and become master/ specialists in any of those trending digital marketing skills.

When you master about any of these trending digital marketing skills you can talk better with your clients and can give clear vision what they can expect from their investment.

B) What is Source Identification

Source is such a place where digital marketing clients waiting to get connected or to be contacted. But the fact is people are searching Digital marketing clients everywhere.

Once you identify the right skills and become master any trending digital marketing skills it will be easier for you to identify right source from where you can generate leads or clients. Without identifying right sources it is highly impossible to generate digital marketing clients.

This source can be 2 types

Inbound source

Outbound source

Inbound Source Identification

Once you identify your skills you need to bring it online and offline and it works as an Inbound source. If you work constantly to build inbound source this can help you to become a better Brand as a digital marketing professional.

Lists of Inbound Source of Digital Marketing Clients

Resume - Believe me or not, without a proper resume you can't move. Until you can write your skills and strength on paper for what you need to get paid, no one will pay you. Offline in forms hard resume. Online in forms video resume, visual resume.

Social Profiles - Create as many as proper social media profiles. Like accounts in various top authority websites in digital marketing domain. Use LinkedIn, Urbanpro, Facebook Page, Facebook Group admin, Twitter, YouTube in maximum extend.

Website - One can have a professional website and Free/Paid blog for better search engine visibility and can help you get right attention from those who are searching digital marketing professionals.

Guest Article - Try to published your own views on Digital Marketing Industry and solution of those problems on authorized websites like Yourstory, Entrepreneurs, Moz etc as a leader. This can capture right eyeballs among potential clients.

Reviews - Try as hard as possible generate original reviews from your work and showcase them on LinkedIn, Google Business Listing, Facebook Page.

Forum/Groups - Start participate on great platforms like Warrior Forums, Moz. Actively participate on Facebook, LinkedIn groups of digital marketing and it's other parts like SEO, social media, PPC, email etc.

Lead Magnet - Whatever content you are producing all are your lead magnet. Wherever platforms you are publishing all are lead magnet. But there is only one piece of content which outperform other 10 content and one platforms which outperform other all 50 sources. That 1 content and source is your actual lead magnet.

Landing Pages - Having a landing page work as your sales funnel medium. Like whatever traffic you builds throughout personal branding and other work that needs to stop at one final page. This is not your contact page, a page which can convert visitors into subscribing newsletter, calling, giving some valuable information about him/her.

Sales Funnel - This is a system where landing page and lead magnet works together.

Facebook and Display ads - Using Facebook ads and display ads can help you to generate leads dramatically fast if you have the right skills to execute the paid campaign and showcase your past results. Use re marketing campaign for higher visibility among potential customers.

Email Marketing - 2 most important details traffic give that is email id and phone no. So using email marketing at great effect can help to convert those interested leads into paid customers.

Readying this process takes some time but the results are permanent. So take a little time to build all kind inbound source if you are serious about long term digital marketing leads generation.

Outbound Source Identification

Friends family - Friends family are the friends are the biggest source of getting your first digital marketing clients. Approach friends and family members and their networks who are into any kind of business. Try to convert that business into digital business or try to get leads for that business through digitally.

Pro tips

1. Don't Charge anything. I mean nothing and get results.
2. Don't try to do so many things at once.
3. Try fb page, take business images, create description about service, products.
4. Create social media profiles, create personal brand of that owners.
5. Don't get ego related problems while exploring friends and family network.

Networking - This comes into 2 parts. Your existing job network and events network in your domain. While job network doesn't cost anything but most of digital marketing events cost something. So choose carefully while using event networking for client generation.

Job Network - This network can build if you worked with any organisation specially digital marketing organization. There are so much probability that you get connect a lot of businessmen. You can explore them except company clients while you start individual capacity.

Events Network - This is another huge source of clients and this is very vital sources to explore. You will not only get like minded people also get a lot of business owners to talk with, learn exact need of clients, can tweak your services according to market need.

Check sites like meetup.com for events happening in your area. A couple of tips to remember when attending these types of events like Bring business cards, Have a quick elevator pitch ready, Follow up within 48 hours

Freelancing Websites - This clients source not only used by individuals but also for digital marketing organization. There are many good freelancing websites like upwork, guru, freelancer, truelancer can help you to get clients. But using each of those platforms are very different from each other and need dedicated attention to be successful.

Pro tips

1. Don't try to approach just digital marketing clients and same pitch every time.
2. First read whole requirements and act accordingly.
3. Also approach seo, facebook ads, content, email, database, every possible type of digital marketing clients with different pitch.
4. About this process you can be more sure when you can identify your best digital marketing skills
5. Must have prepared introduction message and if they reply what will be your first message

Agency Partnership - To start this process you need to create some kind of reputation, reviews and work references. This model is called outsourcing. One of the most popular and effective models to get constant clients. You can explore following types of agency partnership for outsourcing their work.

Partner with a Small Business Incubator, Strategic Partnerships with Non-Competing Businesses, Partner with Another Agency. You can explore Local agency partnership, National agency partnership, International agency partnership

Digital Marketing Company’s Clients Lists - I don't know how many of you ever try to explore this mind-boggling clients sources. There are 1000s of digital marketing companies in available with their websites. First make lists of it.

Find their portfolio or clients page or sections. List those clients and find your competitor have done any satisfying work or not.

If their clients results can do better then approach again and there are chances if they weren't satisfied old results they may hire you based on your projection.

Also explore digital marketing company's clients competitors by using Google search.

Job Search Websites - One of the best sources to find digital marketing clients from job listing websites. Be it Naukri, Timesjob, Indeed, Monsters, Shine, Facebook Job, etc.

After identifying job listing websites platforms you can easily find what are the company are looking for digital marketing professional and have various digital marketing requirements.

Pro tips

Try State wise, country wise job listing websites.

Try all parts of digital marketing services like SEO, content, social media, PPC etc.

Business Listings Websites - There are 1000s of business listings websites in India and across the world. For example Just Dial, Sulekha, IndiaMART, BBC, Yelp. Make a lists of business listings websites. Find who are promoting their business over those platforms.

Using Google- Google is the biggest source of getting digital marketing clients.Once you make a list of potential digital marketing clients from all above mentioned sources.

Find similar company in your local market, then find in national market, and global markets. Try to pitch low ranked website and have good potential to grow business.

Study their online presence pattern and compare with competitor online presence pattern. Find mistakes and make a note of important mistake and immediate to do correction. 

Try to reach decision makers and start a conversation based on your findings and work need to be. If they don't hire you or give any work, you are going to create a long lasting impression based on your opinions.

If given opinion works without you means they might turn up to you for further help. You should have different strategies to convert clients for each outbound sources. You must know how to use those platforms, how to approach the right decision makers.

C) What is Leads Identification

The 3rd most important factor to generate leads is identifying the perfect lead. It is totally different from identifying skills and source.

Company size & Decision makers - In big companies there are many people involved in decision making process. But in a small company there will be only one person to make marketing decisions. So target carefully based on company size and decision makers.

This will helps immensely break the mid level barriers.

Introduction Message - Once you reach decision makers without a good introduction no one is not giving you any notice. A well crafted introduction message can help you start the conversation most sophisticated way.

Digital Audit Report - Digital audit report is the Bramarstra of your pitching arsenal. Let me tell you why I called it as Bramarstra. This is a report which consists of all faults and error about that business digital presence.

Prepare an extensive digital audit report before having the clients so not only clients feel that you know his business also care how you grow it.

I charge 5000 rs for digital marketing audit any Inbound digital marketing clients but I do it free for any outbound digital marketing clients.

Right Work fit -  Another important part of this lead. You need to fix your deliverable and results. So that clients will be sure what you will work and what they will get as a digital marketing results. 

Work ethics and communication can play a vital role here.

Right Culture fit - You are doing great work in your marketing and getting results but your clients are not ready to match up your results and vice versa. You must cultural fit with organization or clients.

Here are a total of 18 digital marketing client sources I mentioned in the form of 10 inbound sources and 8 outbound sources for freshers to experience digital marketing professionals.

I hope if any digital marketing professional who have some practical working experience they can easily crack multiple digital marketing clients by identifying right digital marketing skills by themselves, right sources to focus to find clients and ultimately right leads aka clients by putting in the given framework which named as SSL identification techniques to find digital marketing clients. This clients generation techniques cant learn by attending any digital marketing course.