How I Turned $2 Into $14M/Year Digital Marketing Agency

Рет қаралды 123,595

Күн бұрын

This video has been sponsored by Brave. Download Brave at brave.com/upflip to get started. Enter code UPFLIP at checkout for 25% off your first 3 months!
You might know Eric Siu as a co-host of the Marketing School podcast, where he and Neil Patel share daily digital marketing insights. He’s also the founder of Single Grain, a $1 million a month SMMA agency, and he explains how to start a marketing agency in this interview.
When Eric bought Single Grain in 2014 it was a struggling SEO agency. With a combination of an all-star team and state-of-the-art technology, Eric brought it back from the brink of failure. Now his digital marketing agency is among the top in the industry. He’ll share how he achieved this impressive transformation, and his advice for how to start a digital marketing agency with no experience.
Eric is also an avid gamer, and viewing life like a game is part of how he’s achieved success with his marketing agency. He explains this mindset in his book, Leveling Up, and he’ll share some key concepts for how to level up your life and business in this interview. Resilience is a big part of this. He’ll share how he recovers from setbacks with his digital agency and his advice for how to develop more resilience as an entrepreneur.
One surprising tip Eric has: offering free work can help you build a business. He’ll explain when and why this is a good idea and how to get SMMA clients using this approach. You’ll also learn about the missteps he’s taken in his entrepreneurial journey and the lessons he learned in the process that helped him keep leveling up his life.
If you liked this video, check out some of our past interviews with marketing experts:
How Jason Built $500K/Year Social Media Marketing Agency ►
• How Jason Built $500K/...
Reyes the Entrepreneur: How He Makes $210K a Year from KZfaq ►
• Reyes the Entrepreneur...
Resources
www.singlegrain.com/ - Learn more about Single Grain on their website
www.upflip.com/academy - Launch and scale your business with our expert-led Academy
Timestamps:
00:00 - START
00:38 - How he started
01:26 - Buying the business
03:12 - Value of books
04:45 - Mistakes made
05:56 - Social media dos and don’ts
07:01 - What he’d change
07:45 - Key digital marketing strategies
11:10 - Resilience
12:28 - Best advertising websites
13:57 - Podcast
15:01 - Digital marketing myth
15:54 - Fan Blitz
16:59 - AI’s role in digital marketing
18:45 - Running the business
20:20 - Landing big clients
21:23 - Hiring employees
22:57 - Continuous growth
24:07 - Dealing with burnout
25:00 - Retaining employees
26:24 - Advice on starting an agency
27:11 - Role of self-belief
28:05 - Writing a book
29:06 - Best platforms to gain traffic
30:04 - Daily habits for success
31:32 - Platform to scale
33:03 - Outro
#howtostartadigitalmarketingagency #digitalmarketingagency #smma

Пікірлер: 92

@UpFlip 10 ай бұрын

From start-up to scaling: everything you need at www.upflip.com/academy

@mirceaandrei1271 3 ай бұрын

Greaaat perspective! I learn a loooottt from this video. I'm going to apply. Thank you

@richardnwachukwu234 8 ай бұрын

This really came up to my feed at the right time especially as i am at the dilemma of building my first digital marketing agency right now! Thank You @Upflip

@Flakecorns796 2 ай бұрын

So much great knowledge in one video!

@raghavkumar9258 8 ай бұрын

Really sharp and valuable information

@pransuwimon3147 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for the great content

@MaracasEmbroidery 6 ай бұрын

This right here is gold. 8 minutes in and I have to stop and take notes because already he's hitting me with these nuggets that I must master. I bow down to your greatness guys!

@user-gy7dr2ui9h 4 ай бұрын

Immense value in this video. Thank you!

@UpFlip 4 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@Jonbontabas 10 ай бұрын

"The grass is greener where you water it" This video is full of valuable info!

@creatorsmafia 10 ай бұрын

The key takeaway for me is the importance of laser-focused determination and building a loyal audience.

@EngineerDJ_Julius 10 ай бұрын

one of the biggest flexes out there is using a $3000 Nikon or Canon as a webcam camera

@James_r5 8 ай бұрын

amazing episode

@dotpenji 9 ай бұрын

Great interview with Eric! His story and insights are truly inspiring. It's impressive how he turned Single Grain around from a struggling agency to a thriving business. One key takeaway from his journey is the importance of resilience and the willingness to learn from setbacks. His ability to adapt and focus on his core values, like 'improvement obsession,' is admirable. Btw, I'm curious, considering his experience, what advice would he give to someone who is just starting their entrepreneurial journey, especially in the fast-paced world of digital marketing?

@UpFlip 9 ай бұрын

That's fantastic to hear about all the knowledge you gained! Eric suggests that for those looking to start, it's essential to produce plenty of sample content and proactively connect with individuals. You can even begin marketing with a budget of $0, with the goal of attracting organic traffic.

@angelachanelhuang1651 8 ай бұрын

congrats

@City2567 9 ай бұрын

Brilliant video

@copywriting101 10 ай бұрын

This episode was amazing! Thank you!

@Midnightcrawler5790 8 ай бұрын

he was a vp at marketing before he started he did not start with pennys and he had a knowledge headstart

@iamthegeorgebest Ай бұрын

That's the unfair advantage most people don't want to acknowledge

@maybeyoureright4334 5 күн бұрын

If that's what you took away from this video, your mindset has already beat you.

@messagesfromlife 10 ай бұрын

I love your content. very unique and high production value. a must for enterpreneurs. however... please ask more business questions. in many episodes I am left wondering - cost of customer aquisition - life time customer value - what about returns, what about shipping costs, - what about unhappy customers - what do you pay your employees, what incentives do they have? how do you keep them`? when do you fire them? how do you manage them? specifics are key. everyone says their biggest cost are employees---yes but break it down, explain it, what is revenue per employee "we have the best customer service" ...yes but everyone says that. more specifics. we get 50 000 orders - yes but where do the customers from come, are they repeat customers, how much does a new customer cost? what if sth goes missing, breaks, how do you handle customer complaints what mistakes did they make setting up the warehouse, how did they improve it? those are the nitty gritty details that i would love to see in your videos. the interviewer is usually just impressed by what the guys says - and does not dive deep enough. i noticed that especially in the Joes repair shop and i heart dogs. it would have been so cool to know more.

@Prattyandfood 3 ай бұрын

this are some great questions! And i agree - i too am often left wondering about some of these. and sometimes i find answers from different sources and different videos about businesses. would be great to have them answered based on one business itself. so my accumulation of knowledge isnt scattered and loopholed

@AgencyAnalytics 7 ай бұрын

This was such a great interview! Lots of value 🎉

@UpFlip 7 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful! Were you inspired to start your own digital marketing business? ☺️

@victoriakreative 9 ай бұрын

“Outlast” that hits hard.

@UpFlip 9 ай бұрын

It does! Any business you want to see next? 🤔

@frankfurter505 10 ай бұрын

The quality of Upflip is rapidly declining. Would love to see content about people who dont get lucky breaks, or at least not another 'finance/business' guru. This video and the last are straight up antithetical to your "how their success can be replicated". Start with picking businesses that are repeatable..

@Tyiion 10 ай бұрын

Why do you think that what he did is not replicable? Do you have a thing against digital marketing businesses in general or is it something about this particular video? Digital marketing does not require a degree, that is why I ask.

@HassanAhmed-tl3mu 9 ай бұрын

Valuable content

@UpFlip 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and supporting our channel! Hope you also watch our other content and find value in them. Any business you want to see next? ☺️

@batonrouge6446 6 ай бұрын

Eric dropped a bowl of Rhodium nuggets! Have to watch a second time to take copious notes.

@producermind9030 6 ай бұрын

inspirational

@UpFlip 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and supporting our channel! ☺️

@trushatg 8 ай бұрын

Neil Patel is a famous seo already. This is a Bs success story.

@edr.2642 10 ай бұрын

What business is thiss? 10mins into the video I still dont get what his business is.

@king_charlie 10 ай бұрын

Digital Marketing Agency

@Insight-.- 8 ай бұрын

Single Grain

@afromagic1764 10 ай бұрын

eiii, you did it!! Shukran

@creditperception2468 10 ай бұрын

Everybody I’m listening to in these comments are NPC and that’s why you are very average . He could of started the company even a new one with $0 it literally takes having the correct knowledge and having great communication skills (which not a lot of you seem to have) with a little bit of networking and you can create anything even to the point where it will generate you millions . I started my cleaning company from 0 to $100,000 a year in revenue it isn’t a lot but in under 4 months . And all I did was basically hustle everyday and reach out to anybody I Can using these free platforms to network with the correct . Had them pay me and I also broke off with the cleaner , while being fully remote . He’s right when he said you just have to be a little bit smarter than average.

@myles.905 8 ай бұрын

Dude that’s awesome I started a mini dorm cleaning business when I was at College and wanted to start my own legit cleaning business do you have an email or linkedin that I could ask you a few questions on?

@usman6857 5 ай бұрын

Impressive!

@UpFlip 5 ай бұрын

We appreciate you tuning in! Thank you! ☺️

@User-hr9oo 3 ай бұрын

Please post a video with successful law firms

@UpFlip 3 ай бұрын

That's fantastic! Any ideas on who we could invite for interviews? 😊

@INSIGHTCO 10 ай бұрын

Nice!

@captainclean342 10 ай бұрын

Definitely ran it into the ground knowing the whole time he had altered motives

@Luke.-cv9uv 8 ай бұрын

No he did seller finance so he paid the same with the profits

@Wheelztotheworld 10 ай бұрын

Yessir

@mohdnazam6466 10 ай бұрын

❤

@Tyiion 10 ай бұрын

He gets most of his clients from SEO and referrals but he doesn’t recommend that new SMMA agencies use SEO???

@michealadedirann 6 ай бұрын

I'm an SEO and the reason is because SEO takes weeks to months to work and possibly by then you'd be tired and give up

@curttimmbch 10 ай бұрын

Sounds like he ran a business into the ground so he could buy it for pennies, to fix it once he owned it.

@beastmodessss4220 10 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂

@LevelingUpOfficial 10 ай бұрын

The founder was tired and wanted to go do something else. We still talk today and are on good terms.

@bully1676 10 ай бұрын

😂🤣😂🤣

@beastmodessss4220 10 ай бұрын

@@LevelingUpOfficial we believe you

@sat4ever1 10 ай бұрын

@@LevelingUpOfficial would you use gpt for seo content? Or Google autgoritme will flag it?

@Editnamehere 10 ай бұрын

Damn Eric is still alive?

@vincentchuvc 10 ай бұрын

What do you mean?

@nickdiaz6095 10 ай бұрын

Did you guys take down the wes watson video

@bart1meuz 10 ай бұрын

Yeah it’s gone lol😂. This channel is toast

@nickdiaz6095 10 ай бұрын

@@bart1meuz Whats goin on with the channel?

@rebecca1146 8 ай бұрын

"I've only read 10% of these book and I like Nassim Taleb." At which point I closed this video.

@daved5023 9 ай бұрын

Ah..... the book case , row 12 , 3rd book in what book is it and what did you learn? I bet he didn't read them all.

@alwaysbelievechrist4688 5 ай бұрын

The difference between poor and rich today is no comparison to 40 years ago in terms of choosing a product that’s good quality for all, now it’s obvious product quality separates us yet poor people will see a Porsche commercial and a mustang commercial and Kia PICANTO commercial!!! Blind if you don’t see it!

@luciavurchio1613 10 ай бұрын

Why do you guys keep deleting videos? Where is the One with Wes watson

@dilankabuddhika1455 9 ай бұрын

Please do a electrical service company, You already do many of business video, but didn't do a electrical service company.

@caribguy2007 8 ай бұрын

This is not an upflip video, this is just an interview. Learned zero about starting an agency or what it involves or anything. Didnt even see the office or anything, we saw ballrooms for events.

@justtrend5730 3 ай бұрын

Good

@justtrend5730 3 ай бұрын

❤❤❤❤

@deolly 8 ай бұрын

18:03 “costs have decreased by 80%” also means… people are losing their jobs. So fantastic 😒

@UpFlip 8 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, in some industries, especially in his niche, jobs can be automated using AI. It's an unavoidable trend as companies seek to reduce expenses and cut costs wherever possible.

@ZRPLAce_ 10 ай бұрын

nah man cocomelon has more subs

@atlanticgirl2432 6 ай бұрын

👍👍

@journeyeu 8 ай бұрын

Be focus and offer free trial 🎉

@UpFlip 8 ай бұрын

That one sacrifice can take you places 🙏

@iamtheemsee 2 ай бұрын

Dude, go learn how to interview. Eric: you're really need to know how to work each platform. Interviewer: oh I see. Eric: yeah, you really need to understand what works natively on each platform. Interviewer: wow, that's great. 🤦🏻‍♂️. Ask him what!!!! How!!! Dig in!!! What a bozo.

@barberjungle 10 ай бұрын

One day I'll be able to give 1,000,000 to every person in the world.

@Embole-uk1tl 9 ай бұрын

@@fastfowardbutton1965 me second just 1mil is good enough for me😁😁

@spatzilly 10 күн бұрын

I'm surprised about the comments. I find this channel very frustrating to watch. Just constant scene changes and fluff comments. It's like you're more focused on changing scenes than providing value to the audience. Unbelievably frustrating to watch the interviewee say 2 sentences and then get ANOTHER SCENE CHANGE. Good lord.