Growing my SEO Business from 0 to $10K in 2.5 months
In the middle of January, I decided to launch a productized service business
around my SEO skillset. I remember telling
Robin Vander Heyden
my goal was to get to $10K MRR by the end of Q1.
I'm happy to say that I have reached that goal!
This post might be somewhat long, but here's what worked, my challenges, and
what I plan to do to get to $30K MRR by the end of Q2.
What worked:
1. Positioning: I changed my positioning from Done for You SEO Content to "We'll
turn your content into your biggest lead gen engine". With Done for You SEO
Content, I was competing a lot on price. The #1 thing prospects would say is
"XYZ company offers this cheaper."
2. I raised my prices: Before, my pricing was $750 - $1500 per month. Now our
min. pricing is $2000 per month.
3. I created a simple sales presentation that allows me to clearly explain my
value. I walk people step by step through how I'm going to create and execute
their SEO strategy. I HIGHLY recommend doing this for your business. People want
to see how you're going to deliver results in a concrete way.
Challenges
1. I have not been able to find a good way to systemize keyword research. While
it's not all that hard to teach, there's no good way of really making it a
step-by-step process - or at least I'm unable to.
2. I have not been able to get cold email outreach to work... at all. I'll share
more of my marketing strategy, beyond personal networking, below.
3. Finding a good organization/scheduling system. Right now, I'm publishing 20
posts per month on 4 different sites. It's not overwhelming yet, but I can
definitely see how it can become overwhelming if I double my clients. Right now
it's all done in Google Docs and email. (Mission #1 is to figure this out!)
4. Cashflow. My payment terms are net 15. With a $500/month service, it's
reasonable to charge up front. I think with $2500 per month, it's not. (I could
be wrong though.)
Marketing Efforts
Right now, I'm generating about 5-7 leads per week. I would say that 80% of the
leads that I receive aren't a great fit for a number of reasons. (company is too
small, or the product/industry is too technical, etc.)
Of the remaining 20%, many of the folks that I speak with aren't ready yet. SEO
is an investment.
How I'm generating leads:
1. Personal Network. I've been blogging or talking about marketing for 10+ years
now. I've been fortunate enough to meet a lot of amazing people.
2. Facebook Groups: Building in public in this group has allowed me to meet some
amazing people.
3. Partnerships: This is one of my favorite ways to promote myself. Basically,
you get in front of other people's audiences and teach them something. My goal
for Q2 is to do 12 podcasts (I have two scheduled), 3 webinars (I have one
scheduled), and get featured on 10 blogs (I just secured my first feature today!
)
4. SEO: I plan on continuing to publish seo content regularly and build links to
the content. Right now, I'm publishing one post per week and building about 20
links per month. I would like to up the link acquisition.
Key Hires
I'm looking to make 2 key hires:
1. Head of Link Acquisition: This person is going to be in charge of link
building for clients.
2. Marketing VA: This person is going to help me reach out to perform all of the
partnerships that I plan on doing this quarter.
I think that's about all. As always, feel free to ask me anything and I'll do my
best to answer.
In the middle of January, I decided to launch a productized service business
around my SEO skillset. I remember telling
Robin Vander Heyden
my goal was to get to $10K MRR by the end of Q1.
I'm happy to say that I have reached that goal!
This post might be somewhat long, but here's what worked, my challenges, and
what I plan to do to get to $30K MRR by the end of Q2.
What worked:
1. Positioning: I changed my positioning from Done for You SEO Content to "We'll
turn your content into your biggest lead gen engine". With Done for You SEO
Content, I was competing a lot on price. The #1 thing prospects would say is
"XYZ company offers this cheaper."
2. I raised my prices: Before, my pricing was $750 - $1500 per month. Now our
min. pricing is $2000 per month.
3. I created a simple sales presentation that allows me to clearly explain my
value. I walk people step by step through how I'm going to create and execute
their SEO strategy. I HIGHLY recommend doing this for your business. People want
to see how you're going to deliver results in a concrete way.
Challenges
1. I have not been able to find a good way to systemize keyword research. While
it's not all that hard to teach, there's no good way of really making it a
step-by-step process - or at least I'm unable to.
2. I have not been able to get cold email outreach to work... at all. I'll share
more of my marketing strategy, beyond personal networking, below.
3. Finding a good organization/scheduling system. Right now, I'm publishing 20
posts per month on 4 different sites. It's not overwhelming yet, but I can
definitely see how it can become overwhelming if I double my clients. Right now
it's all done in Google Docs and email. (Mission #1 is to figure this out!)
4. Cashflow. My payment terms are net 15. With a $500/month service, it's
reasonable to charge up front. I think with $2500 per month, it's not. (I could
be wrong though.)
Marketing Efforts
Right now, I'm generating about 5-7 leads per week. I would say that 80% of the
leads that I receive aren't a great fit for a number of reasons. (company is too
small, or the product/industry is too technical, etc.)
Of the remaining 20%, many of the folks that I speak with aren't ready yet. SEO
is an investment.
How I'm generating leads:
1. Personal Network. I've been blogging or talking about marketing for 10+ years
now. I've been fortunate enough to meet a lot of amazing people.
2. Facebook Groups: Building in public in this group has allowed me to meet some
amazing people.
3. Partnerships: This is one of my favorite ways to promote myself. Basically,
you get in front of other people's audiences and teach them something. My goal
for Q2 is to do 12 podcasts (I have two scheduled), 3 webinars (I have one
scheduled), and get featured on 10 blogs (I just secured my first feature today!
)
4. SEO: I plan on continuing to publish seo content regularly and build links to
the content. Right now, I'm publishing one post per week and building about 20
links per month. I would like to up the link acquisition.
Key Hires
I'm looking to make 2 key hires:
1. Head of Link Acquisition: This person is going to be in charge of link
building for clients.
2. Marketing VA: This person is going to help me reach out to perform all of the
partnerships that I plan on doing this quarter.
I think that's about all. As always, feel free to ask me anything and I'll do my
best to answer.