9 Tools to Run and Scale Your Marketing Agency The smaller your team, the larger your tool box needs to be.
By Steve Young Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Did you know that you always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but now that you are, you feel like you are drowning, and it isn't as much fun as all the entrepreneurs on Instagram and Snapchat are making it out to be?
I feel your pain.
In his popular book, E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do about It, Michael Gerber points out that business owners need to work on their business, not in their business. Underneath the success that comes with running my own agency, is the heartache of feeling like I'm just a highly overpaid consultant.
I never sought to run an app marketing agency, it is something that my podcast audience asked of me so I said yes, because it was the easiest path to entrepreneurship and has become something I enjoy doing. However, after three years of running the agency, I finally feel like I'm starting to work on my business instead of in my business.
Here are some tools that have helped me run and scale my app marketing agency.
1. Track your emails with Bananatag.
Whether you are trying to close a deal or cold email a potential client, it's important to know if your emails are actually being opened. While there are a few other tools out there, I've found that Bananatag is one of the simplest and easiest to track email opens and clicks.
You get an email whenever your recipient opens or clicks on any of your links, so if a potential client clicks on your proposal link, you can follow-up by asking if they had any questions.
2. Schedule multiple posts to your Buffer profiles with BulkPublish.
As a huge Buffer fan, I became frustrated that I had to continually fill my queue especially when I have hundreds of blog posts and podcast episodes that I can continually share.
BulkPublish allows me to bulk upload a list of posts and more importantly, include inline images. Buffer reports that image posts get 18 percent more clicks, 89 percent more favorites and 150 percent more retweets. With BulkPublish, you can easily add images to scheduled posts with a simple CSV upload.
3. Chat with your customers via Chat Center.
Founded by TechCrunch Co-Founder, Keith Teare, Chat Center allows you to be available to your customers when they need you the most. Think of the tool as an easy way to give your customers chat access to you without having to give away your phone number, become Facebook friends with them or use another app.
I use the tool as a chat window on my website and as a way for my customers to text me anytime. The app costs a mere $3.99 a month and comes with a 30-day trial. There are also mobile versions of the app so you can respond to customers whichever device you are on.
4. Create sales funnels with ClickFunnels.
Having tried many landing page and website builders, I have absolutely fallen in love with ClickFunnels. I can build optin pages, webinar funnels, and my favorite, one-click upsell and downsell pages.
The tool integrates with popular email marketing services and payment providers. It's an all-in-one solution when building sales pages and funnels.
5. Find anyone's email with Email Hunter.
Email Hunter is a simple tool that allows you to find any email address you need in seconds. You can find email addresses while you are on a website; find email addresses on a LinkedIn profile; and save your leads with one click from LinkedIn's search page.
6. Create a Facebook Group.
Facebook Groups have been a great source of leads for my business. I've found that there's no better engagement source, when sharing my blog posts, webinars, ebooks and courses.
I also try to spend a few minutes each day trying to add value and answer any questions from others in the group.
Search for relevant groups for your business, and start interacting and sharing your popular blog posts. There are huge communities within Facebook that will help you grow your business.
Related: 10 Free Marketing Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Know About
7. Create your own live show with Live Air Solo.
Jason Swenk, who sold his digital agency in 2012 for more than seven-figures, recommends using the Live:Air Solo app.
The app lets you broadcast live video to Facebook and YouTube, allowing you to be the director, producer and star of your own show. Uniquely designed for the iPhone, Live:Air Solo is packed with real-time creative tools such as graphics, overlays, transitions and support for all of the popular live streaming destinations.
Related: 5 Must-Have Instagram Tools
8. Use the scheduling app, ScheduleOnce.
Running an agency and a popular app business podcast keeps my calendar full most weeks. From client calls to team meetings to podcast interviews I need to be able to manage my calendar with as little back-and-forth as possible.
ScheduleOnce allows me to pick times and dates that I want to be available, and share links with my clients so they can pick a time that works for them. For example, I do all my client calls on Tuesdays, and I can send a specific link that allows clients to pick a time that is convenient for them. In addition, ScheduleOnce will send out reminders to make sure no one misses the meeting.
Related: 15 Free Tools to Take Your Side-Hustle to the Next Level
9. Use WorkGroup for business messaging.
I was getting so much email that I started avoiding looking at my emails and thus falling behind on servicing my clients. I wanted emails to be for potential clients and another platform for current clients.
With WorkGroup, I'm able to create a group for each client, provide real-time communication, and more importantly, create action items for my team and my clients. Unlike other tools, like Slack and Basecamp, I found WorkGroup to be as simple as text messaging but powerful enough to ensure action items were taken care of.
