15 Digital Marketing Consulting Success Stories [2024]
Have a knack for navigating the digital landscape? Consider starting a digital marketing consulting business. In simple terms, digital marketing consultants help businesses enhance their online presence through targeted strategies and campaigns.
You'll be crafting personalized marketing plans, managing social media accounts, optimizing search engine results, and analyzing data to boost client visibility. It's a field ripe with opportunity as more companies shift their focus online.
The potential for growth is significant, and there's always a demand for experts who can navigate the complexities of digital marketing. If you're someone who enjoys creativity paired with analytics, it's a viable and potentially rewarding business venture to dive into.
In this list, you'll find real-world digital marketing consulting success stories and very profitable examples of starting a digital marketing consulting that makes money.
1. Pricing I/O ($3M/year)
Marcos Rivera, the founder of Pricing I/O, came up with the idea for his business after realizing that pricing was considered a black art to many B2B SaaS leaders. With his deep experience in building and growing software products, as well as his expertise in pricing and packaging from his time at Vista Equity Partners, Marcos decided to help software companies shift pricing from guesswork to a framework. Despite the risks involved, Marcos took the leap and started Pricing I/O, quickly signing his first client within a week of launching. Since then, the company has experienced significant growth, attracting and retaining customers through a community-focused approach, an authority position on pricing, and bite-sized content that resonates with their target audience.
How much money it makes: $3M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 9
Pricing I/O, a pricing consultancy for B2B software companies, doubled their team size and tripled revenue in only their second year in business, helping 106 SaaS companies all during a pandemic without any marketing spend.
2. Impressions Agency ($1.2M/year)
Travis and his wife started Impressions Agency while on their honeymoon in Costa Rica, with the initial goal of making $800 per month. They began by offering affordable online marketing services, but quickly realized the need to provide a more comprehensive solution. Through hard work and a focus on customer service, Impressions has grown into a successful digital marketing agency.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 20
From a honeymoon in Costa Rica to a successful global digital marketing agency generating $100k a month, Travis Richardson shares his journey of building Impressions Agency without taking any loans or money from friends by keeping costs low, adapting quickly, testing out new strategies that produce results, and focusing on building long-term customer relationships.
3. Kreatix ($1.02M/year)
Oliver Op de Beeck and William Matthynssens started Kreatix, a digital/marketing agency, while in university to supplement their studies. They attracted their first client through a Facebook post and built a successful business through word-of-mouth marketing, showcasing their human side and commitment to understanding their clients. They have now built a solid foundation and attract daily leads through their inbound marketing strategy, with plans to become one of the top agencies in their province.
How much money it makes: $1.02M/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 1
Two friends started a digital marketing agency, Kreatix, from their shared love of the internet, and built a thriving business with over 150 clients using inbound leads and storytelling on social media platforms despite having not studied in the field.
4. ModumUp ($996K/year)
Olga Bondareva, the founder of ModumUp, came up with the idea for her social selling agency after realizing the high demand for managing personal profiles on social media for business goals. With her background in social media marketing and Microsoft digital marketing, she saw the opportunity to help clients attract new customers, partners, and employees through the development of their profiles on social media. Since launching, Bondareva has focused on growing the brand through her own personal social media presence, speaking at events and conferences, and promoting case studies to attract and retain customers.
How much money it makes: $996K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 44
Meet Olga Bondareva, founder of ModumUp, a social selling agency with an ARR of $1M and 30+ b2b clients, specializing in managing personal social media profiles to generate leads, offering consulting, employee advocacy, and training services.
5. Black Goat Media ($600K/year)
After a failed startup idea, Tudor and his friends decided to offer web development and marketing services to support their growth. Over time, they focused on e-commerce brands and now average around $15,000/month, with plans to reach $50,000/month in the next year.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How many people on the team: 12
Black Goat Media is a paid marketing agency that helps e-commerce brands grow through Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and email marketing, averaging around $15,000/month and aiming to reach $50,000/month in the near future.
6. OrangeBall Creative ($480K/year)
Beau Nordby, along with his partners, launched OrangeBall Creative in 2012, initially offering print and digital creative services. However, they realized that their clients struggled with finding the right words to describe their businesses and differentiate themselves. This led them to create Brand Bounce Bootcamp, a set of exercises designed to help businesses simplify their marketing messages and tell their stories. They now offer these exercises in a downloadable, online format, bringing affordable marketing help to small and mid-sized businesses.
How much money it makes: $480K/year
How many people on the team: 3
OrangeBall Creative's co-founder shares how they launched Brand Bounce Bootcamp, a set of brand messaging exercises that has helped hundreds of businesses simplify their marketing messages, differentiate themselves, and understand their audience's driving forces.
7. OneHourProfessor.com ($360K/year)
Ron Stefanski, the founder of OneHourProfessor.com, came up with the idea for his online business when his step-brother asked for help finding a job with a felony record. Seeing a need for employment resources for those with criminal records, Stefanski launched a website that quickly went viral, attracting thousands of visitors in a short period of time. The business has since become highly profitable, with Stefanski making over $1 million in profit and earning $30-$40k per month.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $140
How many people on the team: 3
Learn how Ron Stefanski generated over $1 million in profit from his online business, OneHourProfessor.com by obsessively measuring and following data, using SEO, and focusing on reinvesting profits into growth.
8. Paper Box SEO ($336K/year)
Russell Michelson, the founder of Paper Box SEO, originally began as a freelance web designer. However, after clients consistently asked him for help with driving traffic to their websites, he transitioned into the world of SEO. Through teaching himself about digital marketing and experimenting with different methods, he developed a passion for SEO and eventually started his own boutique SEO agency, Paper Box SEO. Today, the company brings in $20k/month in revenue and focuses solely on providing comprehensive SEO services to small to medium-sized businesses.
How much money it makes: $336K/year
How many people on the team: 2
This case study describes the journey of Russell Michelson who, after leaving his corporate job, turned his WordPress skills into a thriving boutique SEO agency earning $20k/month, thanks to client referrals and Upwork.
9. Watson Digital ($233K/year)
Jacob Dazzeo, founder of Watson Digital, came up with the idea for his online marketing company after working in a digital marketing company and realizing he could offer services in conversion rate optimization, pay-per-click advertising, and social media remarketing. By leveraging his expertise and forming strategic partnerships, Dazzeo was able to replace his corporate salary and achieve a four-hour workweek within a year of starting his business.
How much money it makes: $233K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0
Founder Jacob Dazzeo shares his success story of building Watson Digital, an online marketing company, in less than a year which completely replaced his corporate salary and cut his workweek while focusing on products that help businesses grow their online sales funnel.
10. GoEdison ($216K/year)
James Harper, the founder of GoEdison, started the business after seeing a major need in the small business realm for better marketing. With experience in the industry and a desire to provide a better service, Harper launched GoEdison and quickly gained positive cash flow. The company has since evolved and now focuses on specific services such as B2B lead-generation email marketing and Google advertising. A content strategy proved successful in attracting clients, and GoEdison is now planning for major growth in 2020.
How much money it makes: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 1
James Harper founded GoEdison, a small business marketing agency that specializes in B2B email drip campaigns for service-based businesses specializing in strange niches, achieving $17,000 - $20,000 in recurring revenue, attributing their success to keeping their business model simple and evolving over time.
11. The Profit Finder ($168K/year)
Disillusioned by repeated failures from hired marketing experts, Brian Carmody tripled his company's revenue and expanded from 1 to 48 states by employing his own strategies. This sparked the idea for The Profit Finders, now generating up to $15k monthly.
How much money it makes: $168K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 1
Case Study: Founder of The Profit Finders tripled revenue, expanded to 48 states, and lowered break-even by 70%, using specific strategies and a proprietary software built on 1 billion weighted algorithms.
12. Understanding eCommerce ($120K/year)
Mike Doherty, the founder of Understanding eCommerce, came up with the idea for his business after experiencing frustration with limited options and unreliable hosting services while building eCommerce sites for friends. He discovered the flexibility of WordPress, became an expert in WordPress-related issues, and realized the need for a reliable hosting service that specifically supports WordPress. Through his expertise and commitment to customer service, Understanding eCommerce has grown into a trusted provider for various digital marketing services.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
How many people on the team: 3
Understanding eCommerce is a business that offers worry-free hosting for WordPress sites, including maintenance, performance, and security, to help innovative companies build their brand awareness, grow their online reach, and convert visitors into customers.
13. Ba6 Marketing ($54K/year)
Christine Laureano, founder of Ba6 Marketing, made a 180o pivot from being a natural product maker to a conversion copywriter and marketing strategist for product-based businesses. She noticed that many product makers hated marketing and decided to put her marketing talent to use by helping them with their copywriting and marketing strategies.
How much money it makes: $54K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 0
Ba6 Marketing founder Christine Laureano pivoted from natural product maker to conversion copywriter, helping brands in the natural beauty and personal care industries with marketing strategy and copywriting. She found her biggest success with email marketing, catalogs and postcards, and gathering emails at events and talks. Laureano stresses understanding customers and being patient with oneself, and offers online classes for copywriting and marketing and a Maker Marketing Academy to help makers understand marketing.
14. DesignPac ($50.4K/year)
SumanJung, a young entrepreneur from Nepal, co-founded DesignPac after experiencing the limitations of freelancers and tight budgets. By renting out a team of web experts on a monthly or hourly basis, DesignPac offers a cost-effective solution for startups and small businesses to get top-quality web services. With a vetted team and a user-friendly project management tool, DesignPac aims to make web development hassle-free and accessible to anyone with a dream.
How much money it makes: $50.4K/year
How many people on the team: 5
DesignPac provides a unique productized service that rents out skilled web professionals on a monthly/hourly basis, allowing startups, small businesses, and agencies to access a full-service web agency at an affordable price.
15. Startupily ($18K/year)
Safwan Khan, founder of Startupily, came up with the idea for his blog when he was struggling to find a job and needed to earn an income. Inspired by the trend of blogging for side income, he started interviewing entrepreneurs and publishing their interviews on Startupily. Over time, he expanded the blog by adding business articles, templates, and documents, attracting traffic and positive response from entrepreneurs worldwide.
How much money it makes: $18K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
How many people on the team: 0
Founder Safwan Khan started Startupily, a blog for entrepreneurs seeking business articles and resources, after being inspired by Pat Flynn's podcast and networking app DUST, providing free PR services for small business owners, before expanding into publishing business articles and selling business plan templates and documents, resulting in partnerships with global sites Influencive and Thrive Global.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
