I have been in the online business world for over 15 years. When I began I did not know anything so I certainly didn’t think I would end up here. If you have been reading my recent articles you know I’ve been sharing my business journey. After having the VA (virtual assistant) agency for a few years, I transitioned to a digital marketing agency. Let me share with you how I built my digital marketing agency.

Why Change

You may be asking, why would I change it if it was working? I struggled with that answer myself for some time. I eventually came to realize that our clients needed more and that was reason enough to transition.

Clients began coming to us more and more for social media management. Then we began having requests for email marketing and more. I knew our clients needed skilled help with their online marketing.

Process of Building A Digital Marketing Agency

Yes, it was difficult and it took more time than I would have liked. Yet, it was the right thing to do. I knew I had to transition the business from a VA agency to an albeit small digital marketing agency.

The most difficult aspect was making sure all of our team were educated in at least one aspect of digital marketing. This meant they needed to be trained. So, I went to FreelanceU.com to gain the skills needed for myself. This is the number one Freelancer training online. Later, I would also bring on a number of contracted team members from FreeU’s trained students as we grew.

Hint: Places to find good team members visit FreelanceU.com and view their directory.

Why do I say this is a good place to choose team members?

#1)Continued Education – They are enrolled in an online educational platform to up their skills. More than likely their skills will up to date with the industry.

#2)Teachable – they are teachable and able to take direction if they are willing to learn at an online educational platform. Training, if needed, should be relatively easy.

Type of Digital Marketing Services Provided

As we transitioned the company, we also changed the type of services we provided. While offering virtual assistant services we also provided social media management services. So the services that were added to make it a digital marketing agency were:

• Email Marketing
• SEO Blogging
• Social Media Management (we added more package options)
• Graphic Design

These services complimented one another well. Many clients started with one type of service but quickly upgrade to include all of our services.

Packages and Pricing Structure Change

This was probably the biggest change. Previously, with the VA services, we offered bulk hours purchased at the beginning of each month. This pricing, however, meant that we were also tied to the clock always, for every task. The pricing model for our digital agency, however, was based on tasks performed. And each service offered may have two to three price package options.

Example:

Package 1: Investment $____

• Manage 2 social platforms
• Create a custom quote template
• Create a monthly content calendar
• Create 4 quote posts
• Schedule daily content on each platform (Mon-Fri)
• Optimize content including hashtags
• Limited Engagement
• Monthly analytic reports
• Monthly strategy meeting

Package 2: Investment $____

• Manage 3 social platforms
• Create a custom quote template
• Create a monthly content calendar
• Create 4 quote posts
• Create monthly content
• Schedule daily content on each platform (Mon-Fri)
• Optimize content including hashtags
• Limited Engagement
• Monthly analytic reports
• Monthly strategy meeting

In the third package, we offered more personal scripted engagement, additional social platforms, and some other possibilities to make it worth it.

[These are only examples, please do not consider these full program packages.]

Final Thoughts

You may be wondering if it is worth it. I would say “yes” every day. It was part of my journey and helped me grow not only my business but also stretched me in so many ways professionally.

Some of the ways it stretch me are in what I learned. Some of the things I learned how to do were:

• Managing people better
• How to do package pricing based on tasks
• How to create additional free offers

And so much more! We learn so much through our own business journey. Remember what I always say,

“Business is a Journey, Not a Sprint”

-Tammy

As always, Thank you for reading this edition. I hope you realize how important it is to blog with SEO.