Are you looking to start a content marketing agency from home but have no experience? If so, here we have covered a complete step-by-step guide on how you can start a home-based content marketing business.
The Internet has played a vital role in changing the way how marketing and promotions work.
Businesses are moving away from traditional online marketing. Ads or free promotions no more bring in sales. Currently, the best medium of marketing is either through influencing medium or content. While influencer marketing campaigns are easy to do, content marketing needs more planning and management.
Here are the 10 Steps to Start a Content Marketing Business
Step 1. Selecting A Writing Niche
The competition is stiff in the content marketing business. There are already some big companies operating in the field. But, operating in a niche will help you to cater to a segmented target audience. For example, if you only carry out content marketing campaigns for restaurants, the food business companies will only contact you.
Some of the services that you can offer as a content marketing specialist are as follows:
- Creating Content
- Distribution of Content
- SEO Services
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Content Analytics & Reporting
Read: How to Get a Freelance Writing Job
Step 2. Creating a Content Marketing Agency Business Plan
Once you finalize a niche, you should chalk out a clearly defined business plan. Have a vivid idea about what others are doing. As a content marketer in a niche, you should have a clear understanding of your industry in terms of needs and demand.
Step 3. Defining Your USP
Being a content marketing agency, you need to present yourself to different clients. This is where you need to play smart. Remember, there are already some big guns doing the job, so why would a company choose you for its content marketing operations?
Instead, pick up your USPs and market them to your clients.
As you choose to operate in a single niche industry, this will allow you to produce quality content based on a specific industry.
Step 4. Legality & Licenses
As you choose to work with content, you may need a few licenses in regard to content handling and copywriting. Also, make sure that you register your business to be legal. There’s no specific license.
Check with your city and zoning requirements to make sure you are clear on all the legal fronts.
Step 5. Fixing Up The Prices
If you are a beginner, and your niche already has a number of players, try to price your services below the competition. In case your niche has only a few players, set the prices around your competition, preferably a bit below.
Also, have a set of services for every budget and almost every size of business.
Step 6. Choosing Content Marketing Agency Services
You will primarily deal with content creation and promotion. There are several other verticals attached to it as well, like content marketing channels, social media marketing, online marketing, email marketing, web analytics setup, and online PR.
You can also offer additional services like web designing, web pages, and SEO.
Step 7. Helping Your Clients With a Long-Term Solution
Content marketing also deals with consultation. It’s not only about instant results but looking at the bigger picture. Content promotion works in the long term, as this will help the company to improve it’s sales and brand image in many years to come.
You should help your clients with a long-term solution with the best content marketing practices and an elongated strategy.
Step 8. Hiring Staff
You will need a team. You can divide it into two parts. The first team needs to do the editing, controlling, and distribution, while the second team should deal with content creation. So, the first team in a content marketing business has to be fairly regular.
You may hire in-house staff, while the content creation team can have freelance writers and editors.
Step 9. Creating Your Content Marketing Channels
You will need to have a robust content distribution network. The content needs to have a steady flow into different forms of media. So, you need to ensure a good team of different bloggers, video creators, internet influencers, social media marketers, social pages, and more.
Your network will help you stay ahead of your competitors.
Step 10. Marketing Your Content Marketing Business
You need to play smart here. Being a content expert, you need to market your own business via content marketing. So you need to target content created around content marketing. You can also use social media and videos to engage your audience.
FAQs
What’s Content Marketing?
In simple words, content marketing can be defined as a medium of promotion through different media. As a content marketing agency, you will have to create and share online material videos, blogs, and social media posts.
In content marketing, you don’t explicitly promote a brand. Your motive is to stimulate interest in a company’s products or services.
How much does it cost to start a content marketing agency?
The cost of starting a content marketing agency varies depending on a variety of factors. Some of the main aspects are the size of the agency, the services offered, and the location. On average, the cost to start a small content marketing agency will cost you around $10,000 to $20,000.
How do I find clients for my content marketing agency?
It is without saying, networking is extremely important to find clients in the initial phase of a content marketing agency. Also, try to attend industry events and explore social media to build your brand personality.
Why do Companies Choose Content Marketing Over Traditional Forms of Marketing?
The primary reason is the changing preferences of customers. Customers no more feel attracted to a product just because it’s been extensively marketed by some celebrity or it’s sponsoring some big match or event.
Content marketing intends to create interest. You can also call it soft marketing, where it doesn’t directly promote a product or service.
What do You Need to do As a Content Marketing Business?
You need to help companies channel their marketing. Find ways how a company can promote its product or service without explicitly marketing it. You will have to tie up with different bloggers, video creators, social media pages, and others for promotions.
These mediums will use the company’s product or service in their content indirectly without promoting it directly.
With traditional marketing yielding no effective results now, content marketing is the next big thing happening in the marketing industry. The content marketing agency business is still evolving, and has a lot of opportunities to explore!
Editorial Team at 99BusinessIdeas is a team of experts led by Rupak Chakrabarty with over 25 years of experience in starting and running small businesses. Started in 2010, 99BusinessIdeas is now one of the largest free small business resources in the industry.