Guides for growing a small marketing agency
Each guide here takes one question a small agency owner asks and answers it in plain words. The guides are grouped by topic below, and each one ends with its sources.
Niche, positioning and winning clients
How to pick a niche, say who you serve in one line, and find the clients who fit.
- How to pick a niche for your agency, and when to narrow it
How to pick an agency niche from the clients you already have: look for a pattern, test the pick on real leads, and know when it's time to narrow it again.
- Agency positioning: how to stand apart without a rebrand
Agency positioning in one line: who you serve, what you fix and why a client should pick you. How to write yours and put it to work without a rebrand.
- How to get more clients for a marketing agency that already has some
How to get clients for a marketing agency that already has some: the client channels to add next, in the order to try them, and when to add another.
- Ad agency clients: which ones fit and where to find them
Ad agency clients: the kinds of business that suit an ad agency best, compared side by side in a table, and where to look for each kind of client.
Lead generation and referrals
The channels that bring in leads, what to do when referrals slow down, and how to set up a referral program.
- Lead generation for a marketing agency: the channels and the four steps
Marketing agency lead generation: the channels that bring in leads, compared in a table, the four steps from first contact to client, and what to measure.
- How to get leads for a digital marketing agency when referrals slow down
How to get leads for a digital marketing agency when referrals slow down: a short plan for this month that starts with the clients and contacts you have.
- How to set up an agency referral program
How to set up an agency referral program: who to ask, what reward to offer, the terms to put in writing, how to track each referral and an email that asks.
Pitches, proposals and client forms
What goes in a pitch deck, the parts of a proposal, and the questions to ask a new client.
- What goes in a creative agency pitch deck, slide by slide
What goes in a creative agency pitch deck, slide by slide: the slides in order, how a digital agency's deck differs, and a simple template to start from.
- Marketing agency proposal template: what each section must say
A marketing agency proposal template, part by part: the problem, the scope, the timeline, the price and the terms, and how it differs from a pitch deck.
- Marketing agency onboarding questionnaire: what to ask a new client
A marketing agency onboarding questionnaire by section: what to ask a new client about the business, goals, logins, brand and contacts, and how to send it.
Pricing, retainers and offers
The ways an agency can price its work, how retainers work, how to set the fee, and the software behind a packaged service.
- Agency pricing: the models and how to pick one
Agency pricing explained: the hourly, project, retainer, value and productized models side by side, what each one rewards, and how to pick yours.
- How agency retainers work, and how to structure one
How an agency retainer works: what the client gets each month, the retainer models you can choose from, and what to put in writing in the agreement.
- How to set an agency retainer fee
Set an agency retainer fee from your own numbers: the hours the work takes, what those hours cost you, your margin, a minimum term and a review date.
- Productized service software: what runs one from order to invoice
The productized service software an agency needs, by job: an order page, intake and onboarding, a delivery queue and billing, and what to ask of each tool.
Profit and the books
How to work out your profit margin, the levers that raise profit, and the books to set up first.
- Marketing agency profit margins: how to work them out and what moves them
How to work out marketing agency profit margins, gross and net, from your own numbers, what moves each one, and how to tell if the agency is profitable.
- How to increase agency profit without raising every price
How to increase agency profit without raising every price: tighten scope, lift utilization, change the service mix, hand off production work, and track it.
- Accounting for a marketing agency: the basics to set up first
Accounting for a marketing agency: cash or accrual in the IRS's words, profit by client, the reports to read each month, and the California taxes to know.
Choosing and setting up a CRM
How to pick a CRM for a small agency, the kinds side by side, and what to track once it's set up.
- Choosing a CRM for a small marketing agency
What the best CRM for a small marketing agency has to do: the must-haves, a short trial with real deals, and how your CRM needs change as the team grows.
- CRMs for agencies, compared by kind
The best CRM for agencies starts with the kind: a sales CRM, an all-in-one agency system, a project tool with contacts or a marketing automation platform.
- Setting up agency CRM software: what to track from lead to renewal
Set up agency CRM software: the stages and fields to track from first lead to renewal, importing contacts, first automations and passing won work on.
Agency software and tools
The software an agency runs, by job, how to choose and set up a project tool, and what a client portal is for.
- Marketing agency software: what a small agency needs, by job
What marketing agency software a small agency needs, sorted by job: winning work, delivering it, billing for it and reporting on it, and which to add first.
- Agency project management software: how to choose it
How to choose agency project management software: what it should track on retainers and campaigns, how it's charged, and when one all-in-one system fits.
- How to set up a project management tool for a marketing agency
Set up a marketing agency project management tool step by step: boards for retainer and campaign work, task templates, statuses, and what each client sees.
- Agency client portals: what they do and when you need one
An agency client portal gives clients one place for status, files, approvals and reports. See what it should show and when a project tool can do the job.
Process, time and capacity
The processes worth writing down, how one job moves from brief to delivery, tracking time, planning the week, utilization and the org chart.
- Marketing agency processes, from winning work to renewal
The core marketing agency processes, from winning a client to onboarding, delivery, reporting and renewal, drawn as one process flow so the gaps show.
- Marketing agency workflow: one job from brief to delivery
Follow one piece of client work through a marketing agency workflow, from brief to delivery: the steps, what moves on, review rounds and who owns each.
- Agency time tracking software: why and how to track hours
Why agencies track time, what agency time tracking software should record, how often to log hours, and how the hours feed your pricing and planning.
- Creative agency resource management: planning next week's work
Creative agency resource management in plain steps: build a weekly plan of who works on what, spot overload early, and decide what to do when it won't fit.
- Agency utilization rate: the number that says you're full
Your agency utilization rate says when the team is full. See how to work it out from your own hours, and what to do when the number stays too high.
- Marketing agency org charts: boxes, reporting lines and new layers
A marketing agency org chart shows who wins, runs and makes the work. Draw the boxes, set who reports to whom, and spot the signs it needs a new layer.
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