Saying digital marketing is a competitive niche is a massive understatement. Gurus pitching their service are popping up in every corner of the internet. So, what can set your digital marketing agency apart?
Most agencies use aggressive social media ads or Google PPC campaigns. Relying solely on these strategies is a quick way to burn through your marketing budgets. You need a solid combination of inbound and outbound sales strategies to get clients.
That’s what we’re here to help you with. By the end of this guide, you’ll learn sustainable acquisition strategies for digital marketing agencies and the tools needed to succeed. To make the most out of these strategies, we need to learn the basics:
- Lead sources for digital marketing agencies
- Tools needed for finding and managing prospects
- Best strategy for acquiring clients for digital marketing
Lead Sources for Digital Marketing Agencies
One of the best things about digital marketing agencies is access to a global clientele. But to streamline client acquisition, we need to narrow down our target audience.
The first step is building our ICPs and buyer personas. Then, standardize qualification. Finally, we must find leads in the right places. Here are some of the most popular lead sources.
Prospecting on LinkedIn is great for personalization. You can learn a lot about your prospect, their company, and most importantly, their needs. Scraping tools can automate data collection for your email list. Use the tools with advanced filtering options to zero in on your ICPs.
Social Media
If you’re a digital marketing agency, you must have a strong social media presence. We don’t mean running ads 24/7. Think of your accounts as an accessible resource hub for your target audience. This is where inbound sales strategies like content marketing shine.
Your Website
All lead-generation strategies for your agency center around your website. Optimize your lead capture pages, ensure fast site speed, and publish great content. Done right, your website becomes a 24/7 lead generation machine.
Google Maps
Local businesses are gold mines for digital marketing agencies. And Google Maps is arguably the best place to find them. Like LinkedIn, you can also use scraping tools to collect lead data here. Use sales engagement tools to track lead activity, automate emails, and gather insight.
Lead Sellers
You’ll find a surplus of lead sellers online. They can provide lead data from sources like Apollo, LinkedIn, or even Crunchbase. However, be wary of how they got their data and its accuracy. If you do decide to buy leads, make sure the seller is reputable and always validate information.
Best Tools For Getting Clients for Digital Marketing Agencies
Manually finding leads for your digital marketing agency is a valiant and admirable effort. But to get sustainable revenue, you must fill your funnels with quality leads at scale. To do so, we need the proper tools. Here are the best marketing agency tools we recommend for getting clients:
Instantly
If you’re looking for a sustainable way to get clients for digital marketing, Instantly is your best bet. Users can easily find leads with Instantly B2B Finder, reach out with cold emails, and nurture them through personalized automation. Instantly can also automate emails based on triggers, making your outreach campaigns run on auto-pilot.
Hubspot
Hubspot is a strong option if you want to track and nurture leads as they go further down your sales pipelines. However, if you want access to powerful marketing automation features, it does come at a high price point of $800/month.
Apify Google Maps Scraper
Apify’s Google Maps Scraper extracts the names, contact details, and locations of local businesses within set parameters. All it takes is to input what you would search for in Google Maps, such as restaurants or jewelry stores. Then, Apify scrapes the data for you.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Users gain access to one of the largest databases for businesses of all shapes and sizes. With advanced filtering options, finding leads that fit your ICP is streamlined. Sales Navigator also gives insights into your prospects’ relevant updates to personalize engagement further.
How to Get Clients Using Cold Email Marketing
No matter which tool you use to get clients, you’d still need to send a cold email. Here’s a quick guide on how to send cold emails using Instantly. Once you know the basics, let’s look into effective cold email strategies for getting digital marketing clients.
Subject Line
Your subject lines should be engaging and relevant. Try using the formula “question + relevancy + personalization.” For example, you’re targeting local restaurants. The subject line for your cold email can be: “Is {{company name}} fully booked on weekends?”
Ice Breakers
After your intriguing subject line, you want to start your main body with an email icebreaker to keep your prospects engaged. It could be a compliment specific to the company, industry insights, or competitor information.
Pain points
Addressing pain points is a powerful way of maintaining a prospect’s interest. But keep it relevant to your own services; in our case, it's digital marketing. Here’s an example:
“I noticed that {{company name}} doesn’t show up on my initial search on {{social media platform}} when searching for “restaurant in {{city}}.”
Highlighting Opportunities
Every pain point can open up several opportunities once it’s solved. Highlighting these opportunities to prospects and reinforce them with data.
“Each month, {{number}} of social media users look for “restaurants in {{city}}” That could be a lot of potential customers for {{company name}}.”
Providing Immediate Value
Offering services immediately might look a little too self-centered. Instead, provide immediate value. But, always position yourself as the ultimate solution to their pain points. For example:
“We made a quick guide on how to improve your brand presence on {{social media platform}}. If you want a tailored strategy specific to your business, we already have a strategy in mind. Would you be open for a quick call to discuss it? I’ll share the strategies and competitor information.”
Key Takeaways
Learning how to get clients for your digital marketing agency can help generate sustainable and predictable revenue. The two things you’d need are the proper tools and the right strategy. Here’s a quick recap:
- Use Instantly if you want an intuitive tool for cold email outreach and nurturing.
- Try Hubspot if you need a solid CRM to track leads and send follow-ups.
- Agencies focusing on Google Maps leads should try out Apify.
- For finding businesses you can work with, use LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
If you want to get more clients for your digital marketing agency through cold email marketing, look no further than Instantly. Try it out for free today!