Smart Agency Masterclass With Jason Swenk: Podcast For Digital Marketing Agencies

Wondering how you can use Instagram to drum up new business? Want to break through social media clutter and build your agency’s brand and authority? Then it’s not too late to get on the Instagram train. This is one simple, easy inbound marketing strategy you can start implementing right now to build your community and fill your new business pipeline. In this episode, we’ll cover: One easy approach to niching down. Can Instagram work for marketing agencies? A simple Instagram content formula. Today I chatted with Steve Larosiliere, founder and president of the non-profit, Stoked, as well as founder and owner of SawmillBusiness.com, a super-niched marketing agency. With an extremely focused industry specialization, Steve has been able to become the authority in the portable sawmill, wood and lumber industry. He has an easy tactic to find the niche for his agency and a simple Instagram strategy to build a community that comes to him for their marketing needs. Steve shares tips with us on building authority, co

Ready for your agency sales to takeoff? Want to drive traffic, generate leads, and create new opportunities that will grow and scale your agency? Digital marketing agency guru Neil Patel shares his #1 outbound strategy for scoring the clients you want to work with. In this episode, we’ll cover: 3 Steps to growing new agency business. One big growth challenge and advice to overcome it. Neil Patel is a serial entrepreneur focused on helping businesses grow through digital marketing. He is well-known in the digital marketing space as an author, speaker, and agency co-founder at Neil Patel. I’m honored to have him as a guest on the show so he can share his experience as a startup agency owner. Today Neil shares some really valuable tips on getting scrappy so you can scale your agency. Beginning as a self-taught marketer at the age of 16, Neil has become one of the best digital marketing. Like many of us, he’s an accidental agency owner who knew how to do something cool that people are willing to pay for, and tu

Are you worried about your digital agency's competition? Don't be! Instead focus that energy on building your agency brand and improving your authority. Learn how to become a major influencer, so you can eliminate the competition and develop collaborative relationships with them instead. In today’s episode, we’ll cover: Which type of agency owner are you? 4 benefits of building your agency’s authority. 3 things you should be doing to increase your agency’s authority. Why you need to stop competing and start collaborating. Today I talked with Josh Elledge, consumer expert, speaker and Founder/CEO of his PR program Up My Influence. He understood the importance of the media and harnessed that to $6 million in revenue for his other startup venture, Savings Angel, while spending less than $500 in advertising. He talked with me about some tips and insight to upping your influencer game so your agency can build its brand and authority in the your niche. Which Type of Agency Owner Are You? Artists... These are the

Is your employee training process non-existent or too cumbersome? Do you want your team, contractors and clients to understand the fundamentals of what makes your agency unique? Then don’t overlook the power of a solid training process! With these three easy steps you can start onboarding your digital agency’s new hires and provide them with a consistent set of experiences and expectations on how you want to work with them. In this episode, we’ll cover: Helping your new hires with systemized onboarding. 3 easy steps to build your agency’s training process. Measuring the success of your agency’s training process. Today I chatted with Tom Kulzer, CEO and founder of AWeber, the successful email marketing platform agency he started over 20 years ago. Tom has built his business to over 100 employees and has helped over 100,000 clients.He is a well-respect expert in building a strong business with core values that are ingrained in every employee. Today he shares three quick tips for building your agency’s employe

Do you lack the knowledge on how to grow and scale your digital agency? Overwhelmed by not knowing what role to hire first? Afraid to niche down, and afraid what might happen if you don't? You're not alone! Learn how to tackle these very important tasks in order to grow and scale your digital agency. In this episode, we’ll cover: Overcoming common challenges of starting an agency. Hiring based on your agency’s needs. Why and how to choose your agency’s niche. Benefits of an agency mastermind. On today’s show, I talked with Jeremiah Smith, President and CEO of Simple Tiger, a digital agency which focuses on SEO for SAAS clients. With over 12 years of SEO experience, Jeremiah has watched Simple Tiger go through many changes and has had to face the difficult decisions we all face with our agencies. He shares some of his big challenges and decisions with us and some guidance on how he knew, it was time to act. He is, admittedly, still working on some aspects, so don’t beat yourself up if your agency has some to

Want to build your agency’s authority in your niche? How about a content marketing strategy that delivers high return with little effort? Then adopting this combo blogging/podcasting strategy could be the shift to get quality clicks, organic backlinks and make your agency’s service offering more attractive to your ideal clients. In this episode, we’ll cover: 7 benefits of being a podcast guest. The blogging strategy your agency needs to implement. 7 easy steps to building a blog strategy calendar. A bonus lead gen strategy. Today I talked with Phil Singleton, founder and CEO at Kansas City Web Design & SEO and co-author of SEO for Growth. With over a decade of experience, Phil has a passion for SEO and has learned the need to include it into a holistic marketing plan to help his clients move the needle. Phil has implemented a really interesting strategy for personal branding and authority campaigns for his clients and today he shares how your agency can do it too, in order to build authority and attract

Want to know the key to finding and retaining the best agency employees? Looking for ways to find and hire top talent? Your team is your agency's #1 most valuable asset. Turnover and training is difficult and expensive. So in this episode, you'll discover some simple tips to hiring, managing and keeping loyal employees who want to stay and grow with your business. In this episode, we’ll cover: Hiring top agency talent. 3 Steps to developing loyal employees. How to retain talent that wants to grow with your agency. Today I talked with Scott Love, former Navy leadership trainer (thank you for your service) and current high-stakes headhunter. With over two decades experience recruiting professionals, Scott shares some simple tips you can take build and continue to retain your team. You can start implementing his tips immediately and start building a loyal team that will never want to leave. Hiring Top Agency Talent When going through the hiring process the main thing that you want to think of is hiring based o

Are you frustrated working with freelancers? Does your agency experience high freelancer turnover that leaves you stuck, or sometimes screwed? The struggle is real! Learn the 5 big mistakes agencies make using freelancers and what you can do to avoid frustration. In this episode, we’ll cover: 5 big mistakes agencies make using freelancers. How to avoid pitfalls of working with freelancers. Today I talked with Nathan Hirsch, CEO and founder of FreeeUp, the agency he formed after numerous frustrating accounts with the freelance/hiring process. FreeeUp connects businesses, of all sizes, with vetted freelancers. Today he shares the five mistakes he sees agencies make when using freelancers and is here to help us avoid those pitfalls. 5 Big Mistakes Agencies Working With Freelancers MISTAKE 1: Hiring one freelancer to do a multitude of tasks. It can seem like a great idea to hire one talented person with a large skill set to manage a large portion of the agency work, but what happens when they leave? You are lef

Does the thought of committing your agency to a niche market makes you nervous? Are you worried your agency will lose clients and miss out on revenue? Stop the madness of trying to be everything to everyone and start focusing on what it is your agency does best. You will reap major benefits of having a niche market, including increased clients and revenue. In this episode, we’ll cover: Finding your agency’s niche market and niches within niches. 3 benefits of choosing a niche. Is your agency charging enough? Today I spoke with Raman Sehgal, founder and managing director of the super niche agency, Ramarketing. With over a decade of experience in his agency’s niche market, Ramarketing is still servicing their very first retainer client, eight years later. Raman provides great insight into the importance of niching down and the benefits it can bring to your agency. Is It Time To Declare A Niche Market? Has your agency had a painful project with an unrealistic client ultimately ending in dissatisfaction? Were y

Want to find a way to interact and engage with your prospects? If you’re relying on an old-school “chat box” you could be missing out. Chatbots are the best way to generate more agency new business. They create interact conversational experiences with your prospects so you can engage with them when it matters most. In this episode, we’ll cover: What is a chatbot? Why use chatbots? 2 key features of bots. How to use chatbots to generate more agency new business. Today I chatted with Peter Lisoskie, founder of Bot Nation the innovative chatbot agency he created in 2017. He’s also the CEO of inViral, a business and product incubator. He has a background neurological research as well as development of hardware, software and firmware for companies like Hewlett-Packard and Nike. Peter's here to bring us great insights into the shift toward chatbots for the ultimate user-experience so you can capture more leads for your agency… No ifs, ands or “bots” about it! :) What Is A Chatbot? A chatbot is a software service

Would you like to scale your agency? Is the thought of hiring a full-time employee overwhelming? Does your agency have a speciality that other agencies might need? Consider this tactic of collaboration and contractors as a means to grow your agency. In this episode, we’ll cover: Growing your agency without hiring. Maintaining quality, without overseeing everything. Managing contractors and inspiring the good ones to stay. Today I talked with Mandy McEwen, Founder and CEO of Mod Girl Marketing, which not only manages their own client base in healthcare and technology, but also provides services to other agencies looking to stand out and scale. Not hiring her first full-time employee until over four years of being in business, Mandy found the beauty and benefit of collaboration. Today she shares with us tips on using collaboration and contractors as a growth tactic. How to Grow Your Agency Without Hiring? Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate When you are in the beginning stages of growing your agency, it sho

Are you asking your client questions? Are you asking the right one? Do you listen in client meetings more than you talk? If you want to land more agency clients, it’s time to start asking a lot of questions and identifying what your clients need, rather than just giving them what they think they want. In this episode, we’ll cover: Getting over the hump of hiring. Getting to the bottom of what the client really needs. What questions you should be asking every client. When is the right time to hire? Today I talked with Pete Polgar, partner at Clikz Digital which started just a mere 6 months before this interview and is already at a team of five. Pete brings a background of consulting with agencies struggling with operational problems. He sheds some light on those early struggles at Clikz Digital and walks us through the steps he has taken to overcome them and grow his agency. Getting Over the Hump of Hiring There is a high turnover in this industry. You need to stop hiring based on an immediate need and start

Are the unknowns of the agency industry overwhelming? Do you sometimes feel like maybe it’s time to close shop? Learn about the 4 phases of successful agency growth from an owner with over two decades of experience. Hear all his ups and downs plus learn what to expect as you scale and grow. In this episode, we’ll cover: 4 phases of successful agency growth. How to manage a growing agency. Deciding whether to bring on a partner or not. Today I talked with Chris Emergui, CEO of BAM Strategy, the agency he founded in 1996. With over 20 years of agency ownership experience he's seen his agency grow, deplete and grow again. He learned a couple things along the way and shares with us some of those nuggets of knowledge as well as the 4 phases his agency went through to get to reach the success they enjoy today. Sometimes just knowing what other agency owners have gone through can provide the encouragement and support we need in this lonely entrepreneurial world. 4 Phases of a Successful Agency Journey Phase 1: The

Would you like to grow your agency faster by increasing recurring revenue? Do you feel like your agency is on a constant roller coaster gaining and losing clients? Then learn about innovative agency pricing,  a licensing model, that can set you on a stable path. Plus, turn the tables on the industry standard of always fearing losing clients. Instead, discover how to make your clients fear losing you. In this episode, we’ll cover: What is an agency licensing pricing model? How and why does a licensing model work? 5 Benefits of the licensing model. Today I chatted with Andrey Polston, a man who has been obsessed with marketing and sales since he was 11 years old mowing lawns. He ended up self taught in SEO and web design, and his motivation and knowledge is impressive. Andrey now plans and operates his own virtual summits, including The Agency Summit. On today’s episode, he shares his ingenious licensing model and the benefits it can bring to your agency. What is a Licensing Pricing Model? In short, a licensi

Are you "that" agency? Do you tend to talk a lot about how smart you are? The awards you have won? It’s easy to fall into this trap of trying to sell your agency as the best, but sometimes it’s to the detriment of the client /agency relationship. Not anymore. Learn how to scale your agency by collaborating with your client to make their lives easier. Be the agency that keeps things simple and lets the client shine. In this episode, we’ll cover: The best way to scale your agency. Which clients you should be paying attention to. How to make your client shine. How to prove your agency’s worth. Today I chatted with Melinda Byerly, founder of her digital consultancy Time Share CMO. She’s got over fifteen years experience in Silicon Valley working in tech with start-ups and becoming an expert in digital marketing and analytic attribution. She’s also learned a thing or two about clients needs when it comes to data and analytics, as well as how to manage those expectations. Melinda is sharing all this and more with

Do you feel stuck in a rut? Overwhelmed or uncertain? You are not alone! A lot of agency owners feel the same way. If you need help finding clarity or getting focused, check out this episode. This is the perfect time of year to look at where you’re at and where you’re headed. Get re-energized and meet your goals in the new year. In this episode, we’ll cover: 3 characteristics you need to build a successful agency. Finding clarity in your agency life. How to find and keep your focus. #1 thing holding you back. Today’s guest is Aaron Walker, successful businessman and life coach at the third business he’s built, View from the Top. Through his mastermind, Iron Sharpens Iron, Aaron helps people be their best selves and how to carry that into their professional lives. Aaron’s passion in coaching and today he shares with us some advice and nuggets of knowledge on how to take that first step towards clarity and success. 3 Characteristics Necessary To Build A Successful Agency Lots of us who are out there trying to

Having a hard time scaling your agency? Finding it difficult to stop doing it all, all by yourself? Thinking of building an agency team but don’t know where to begin? Learn how to find and hire the right people for your agency and how to set them up for immediate success. In this episode, we’ll cover: How to avoid common pitfalls of a virtual agency team. How to find top agency talent that fits with your core values. What to look for when hiring and building your team. Today I was excited to talk to Ralph Burns, founder and CEO of Antares Enterprises, Inc. As one of the premier Facebook direct response marketers in the industry, he has built an agency around an interesting business model. Ralph’s agency team is entirely virtual, and everyone is certified in his agency’s processes before they even start on the job! Learning things the hard way, or the long way, Ralph shares how he overcame challenges by building and leading a successful team. How to Overcome Common Pitfalls of a Virtual Agency Team The bigge

Do you feel like your agency sales needs to grow beyond you, the owner? Are you having a hard time recruiting and training successful salespeople? Then it’s time to start putting the right systems in place in order to build a scalable agency sales team. In this episode, we’ll cover: 2 things to be aware of before a sales hire. Is it the right time to hire for agency sales? Key traits to look for when hiring a salesperson. How long until a new salesperson is successful? Top 7 take away tips. Today I got to talk with Wayne Herring, owner of Herring Coach, where he specializes in coaching and consulting business owners who are looking to scale their agency sales team. Wayne is the guy who teaches business owners to hire, train, hold accountable, and basically build their sales team. Today he’s giving us tips on how you can do the same for your agency. 2 Important Things To Be Aware Of Before You Hire Owner’s advantage. Even if you aren’t stating it when you’re selling, if you’re the owner and you’re selling -

Ever had a client that just didn’t feel like a good fit right off the bat? Ever taken on the wrong agency projects out of desperation to pay bills and meet payroll? If it doesn’t feel right or there are some red flags, pay attention and go with your gut. Listen to the hard lesson this 25 year agency owner learned, how it knocked him down, and how he got back up again. In this episode, we’ll cover: How to avoid the wrong agency projects or clients. Setting up a successful agency structure. Tips on improving your search for inbound leads. Today I got to talk with Jim Stewart, industry pioneer and CEO of StewArt Media and SEO/Digital Marketing Evangelist on his YouTube channel, Jimboot. With more than 25 years experience, Jim has good insight into both the struggles on the business side as well as great information on maximizing search. Avoiding the Wrong Agency Projects or Clients Jim’s biggest piece of advice is: Trust your gut instincts! If something doesn’t feel right or there are some red flags, pay atten

Are you avoiding video? Afraid you’re not interesting enough or don’t have enough content to produce? Does it look too hard or are you worrying about production quality? Find out how to build your digital communication with a video presence. It’s more accessible and approachable than you think! In this episode, we’ll cover: Understanding the importance of vlogging. Finding a style that works for you and/or your client. How to avoid getting discouraged. How to turn viewers into subscribers. Today I’m chatting with Amy Schmittauer, a media triple threat as a successful YouTuber, with her channel Savvy Sexy Social, best selling author of Vlog Like A Boss and keynote speaker. If anyone understands the power and importance of video in digital communication it’s Amy. She's looked to as the authority in the how-to vlogging space and actually one of the influencers of my vlog, SwenkToday. Understanding the Importance of Vlogging Digital communications is becoming a big need for businesses, both large and small. Thi