Expert Interview Series: Shamsher Khan of Click Perfect on launching a digital marketing business

Shamsher Khan is founder and trainer at Click Perfect, where he helps bloggers and entrepreneurs achieve their internet marketing goals and earn money online. He also manages a digital marketing blog at: blog.shamsherkhan.com and authored the book The Ultimate Picture Guide to Creating WordPress Website – A Simple Step by Step Tutorial.

We recently checked in with Shamsher to learn more about his background in blogging and digital marketing and to get his advice for freelancers on best practices for working with clients. Here’s what he shared:

Can you tell us about your professional background? How did you get into digital marketing?

I started blogging and getting into internet marketing as a student. My goal was to have financial freedom and the lifestyle of a freelancer, so this is the primary reason the digital marketing world was more attractive to me than any other industry.

What is your approach to digital marketing? How does your strategy differ from other online marketing consultants?

I approach each client differently. I care about the objectives behind a project my client assigns to me more than what they are saying to do. This is strategy fulfills the real objective of client.

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned so far in your career as an online marketing consultant?

I have learned a lot things about clients and how to retain them. The primary lesson is that clients are like gold, so it’s important to always deliver good results so they can refer more clients and projects without my having to spend extra money on marketing my business.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced running your business?

One thing I have seen is that in the internet marketing industry every employee wants to become the boss no matter how much experience he or she has, and they don’t want to wait and learn the depth of the industry. So you have to be a little bit strategic if you want someone work to your company for a long time –  you have to give them reason to want to work with you.

What have been the most effective methods you’ve found for finding clients? What hasn’t worked?

I found that PPC is a very effective method for getting clients. Good SEO on your website can give you good clients as well because if the client is coming through organic rank they will not even ask that you show them your previous client’s rank and portfolio.

What advice can you offer other online consultants on developing good relationships with their clients?

Your clients are the backbone of your business so always respond to them quickly in any situation. You must follow your clients’ demands. If you are new in the industry, the very first thing you should work on is to build your portfolio – don’t focus on money when you’re starting out.

What are your favorite tools and/or resources for running your online consulting business?

My favorite website designing tools is WordPress, a widely used CMS that can be used to build any kind of website. For email marketing I use MailChimp, for social media management I use BufferApp, for hosting clients’ websites and email servers I use Bigrock Hosting and for managing clients’ data I use Microsoft Excel.

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