Traffic costs are rising on Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Google ads… across the board. We are at the fag end of the year as well as the most expensive quarter of the year. Consumers are open to loosening up the purse strings and advertisers and brands are scrambling for a race to the top of their minds for the prime space in the purchasing lifecycle.
At 1:12:
From the first minute on, we discuss why we see the rise in traffic costs. The reasons that contribute to you pulling your hair out each time your agency/marketing manager proposes higher digital marketing budgets are many, but there is a way to combat them.
At 3:35:
Just a quick insight into what is inventory and what it means for your ad campaigns
At 4:49:
We talk about the state of the digital universe today, for short-term activity as well. Why does the cost of reaching out to a consumer suddenly shoot up at this time of the year?
At 6:25:
From here onwards, we talk about how to deal with the most expensive quarter in all advertising campaigns and how to utilize your marketing budget effectively to get the most out of your paid advertising. Learn the importance of marketing automation that includes newsletters and all email marketing campaign activity, how SEO helps you stay ahead of the curve and how all your content fits in together to find the best working marketing cycle for your business
At 12:50:
“The proof of the pudding always lies in the eating” That’s what we firmly believe and thus, provide a brilliant example of how we’ve used our suggestions on combating the rising traffic costs for one of our clients as well
If you are struggling with limited budgets and rising traffic costs, especially at the end of the year when pressure to perform in terms of sales and revenue is skyrocketing and so is the competition, watch this episode to learn how to make the most of your current activity to get the best results.
As what we believed to be the right first episode for our homegrown series, This Week @ Above Digital talks of the importance of branding. We are a performance driven agency and all of our strategies are directed towards the taking of an immediate action from our clients’ potential customers.
As an agency that emphasizes on the revenue growth of a business, why are we then talking about why you should be running brand campaigns? Watch our views in this video (timestamped at 2:32) in terms of how branding contributes to performance-led activity. We discuss the methods to reach out to your potential audience, be it a cold audience or someone who is already aware of who you are.
This leads us into a natural segway of how to incorporate your branding activity into your existing marketing plan. Does it necessarily mean that all brands need to have KFC advertising budgets in order to build effective brand recall? The great part about branding activities is that it’s not only about pushing paid media activity but giving a true voice to the brand that’s unique to itself.
Give us a listen to know the steps you need to take to make your marketing approach a holistic one which includes a 360 degree brand activity that supports all your organic traffic and seo marketing as well as gives that additional boost to your facebook marketing, instagram ads and ppc activity, specifically with your Google Search campaigns and other avenues in Google ads.
This will be a weekly series released every Thursday, where we will share what’s happening in our digital world during the week @ Above Digital.
There is so much happening on the digital landscape on a daily basis, and it’s all evolving so fast; we thought the best way we can share our weekly learnings and insights is through a web/youtube series which is then re-shared as a podcast.
Click here to watch our first episode in this video series.
These conversations are very raw video footage from our offices shot by yours truly 🙂 but with genuine content.
When working on an account, optimizing a campaign, or strategising a new campaign, we often discuss many different aspects of what will make it work.
We intend to capture conversations like these and share them with you.
I am confident you will enjoy this series.
Our real-time experience in managing campaigns will surely help you in getting better results from your online activities.
I would need your support to make this initiative a success.
You can support us by doing any or all of the activities below 🙂
1. Follow our YouTube Channel so that you are notified each time we launch a new episode of This Week @ Above Digital. Don’t forget to click on the bell*.
These conversations are very raw video footage from our offices shot by yours truly 🙂 but with genuine content.
When working on an account, optimizing a campaign, or strategising a new campaign, we often discuss many different aspects of what will make it work.
We intend to capture conversations like these and share them with you.
I am confident you will enjoy this series.
Our real-time experience in managing campaigns will surely help you in getting better results from your online activities.
I would need your support to make this initiative a success.
You can support us by doing any or all of the activities below 🙂
1. Follow our YouTube Channel so that you are notified each time we launch a new episode of This Week @ Above Digital. Don’t forget to click on the bell*.
2. Share this email with a friend or colleague who will benefit from some training on all things marketing and digital!
3. Hit the “Reply” button to this email and ask me all your questions if you are running a digital campaign and not seeing the results you were expecting or any other marketing-related questions.
My biggest critique is my husband. More than the content, he will share his views on the photos I have shared ? or the other aesthetic elements of the email. Like the fonts! He kept critiquing the cursive font I was using in my emails. So I decided to give Source Sans Pro a try! 🙂 I hope this change has made your reading experience much more comfortable.
*PPS: When you subscribe to our channel, don’t forget to select the bell to get notified when our new video is published next week 🙂
This summer, my family and I travelled quite a bit.
My husband and I went to the Dolomites for a cycling trip for about ten days. (You read the last email about my Dolomites fiasco I did, right?)
Then we had the whole family reunion planned with my husband’s family in Thailand, after which we all flew to India to spend some more family time!
Family times are the best times, and they are important. Good food, games and lots of laughter.
However, travel is always tiring for me. I always indulge myself with a relaxing spa day whenever I return from my holidays.
A nice hammam followed by a relaxing massage was this time’s indulgence 😀
During this spa visit in the relaxation lounge, a group of friends were having a girls’ spa getaway. They were done with their treatment and were enjoying the facilities, chatting over a cup of tea & nuts.
Now, I am least interested in other people’s conversations, but this one sentence from their conversation slipped into my ears, and that was:
When you are out of sight, you are out of mind babe! You have to stay in touch!
Listening to this got me thinking…
As a performance marketing agency, we run paid ads to generate leads & calls or drive footfall or grow e-commerce revenue.
Of course, the point can be argued that paid ad campaigns focus on lead generation, which also creates brand awareness, but all our Ads are direct response Ads, asking for an action.
They push forward the intent of “performing an action” rather than subtly saying , “remember me.”
They are not making you connect with the brand as such!
They don’t force you to think about which business this is or who this brand is that’s following me around everywhere or being smart in their communication.
Have you seen the various billboards on Sheikh Zayad Road for KFC?
This type of ad campaign is called a brand awareness and recall campaign.
When you are hungry and craving chicken …, I bet you will think of KFC, as they have constantly been nudging you about how good and finger-licking their chicken strips are.
I am not a big fan of fried food or burgers but when I do eat once in a while, guess what comes to my mind these days! 🙂
Of course, their juicy, breaded and fried chicken strips!
I understand not all businesses have budgets like KFC to advertise on billboards around the city!.
And also, not all businesses need that level of advertising.
Brand awareness campaigns can be cost-effective, and when done right, they do their job fantastically, that is, create the “top of the mind recall effect”.
For example, a YouTube campaign with a video message running side by side with the direct response campaign, which has a CTA(call to action), will do magic in terms of generating results.
Other activities to generate top-of-mind recall are being consistent in your email marketing.
You already know that I am a big believer in sending regular Emails to your list 🙂
My last mailer confirms with proof that emails work.
But again, what kind of emails work?
Well-drafted, nicely designed email newsletters with clear messaging and action.
Another activity for branding can be supporting local events and networks.
As you already know, I am big-time into cycling, and there are many cycling groups you can be part of in Dubai.
One of the newly launched groups called UAE Randonneurs was coming out with the group jersey. So basically, we wear that jersey every week we ride with them.
I always support cycling as a sport.
I make sure Above Digital is part of such groups every time.
And yes, Above Digital also made it on the UAE Randonneurs jersey.
Now think about it. Say 100-120 cyclists are part of this group and own 2 Jerseys of the group.
They will wear it on every weekend ride. After the ride, we relax and have coffee; fellow riders see our logo and will register our brand.
Can you spot me in the above image?
Can you spot our logo on the riders jersey in the above image?
The Above Digital logo is now part of their cycling wardrobe, and at least once a week for the next year, if not more, they will be seeing our branding consistently week after week.
When they think of Digital Marketing, who do you think will come to mind? 🙂
I will give you one more example of supporting local networks. We did an 8-week digital marketing training for the Dubai Business Women Council in 2019.
About 100 people registered, and almost 30-40 would attend the workshops over eight weeks, with about 10-15 students who were consistent and attended all 8 sessions.
It was a complimentary workshop to support women business owners by giving our time and knowledge free of cost and educating them on how they can use online platforms to make their dream ventures thrive.
The exchange, in this case, was my and my team’s time. DBWC and Dubai Chamber promoted our workshops to their database and did a press release in Khaleej Times on the initiative to support women-owned businesses in Dubai.
I connected with the amazing Women Business Owners, which generated a lot of word-of-mouth marketing for Above Digital. Even today, I get leads from that workshop after almost four years!
Branding exercise does not have to be expensive or have budgets like KFC.
As long as your brand communicates and shows up consistently to its audience, your business will always be on top of mind.
The minute you stop. You will be out of sight. And out of sight is out of mind.
Would you agree now? 🙂
This mailer has gotten very long.
However, there’s one more example I would like to share with you.
After 2020, I stopped sending mailers.
You heard back from me only early this year.
After almost two years.
Were I or my agency, Above Digital, not out of sight, out of your mind until you heard back from me again?
On this note, until next time,
Yours truly,
N
PS: We have launched our new website… yayyyyy ??
Here is the link to our new website. There are still small fixes which are being made… I couldn’t wait to share this news with you. 🙂
PPS: We are launching something new… shhh! It’s still a secret, and I will reveal it in my next mailer.
The minute the mailer was sent, one of our training course students, Sangeeta, called to tell me how much she enjoyed reading the mailer and thanked me for recommending an interesting show to watch over the weekend.
I was touched by Sangeeta’s kind gesture.
Someone can actually pick up the phone and call to tell me how much they enjoyed my email!
While I was still digesting that…within the next 5 minutes, my email was flooded with replies…and I would love to share them with you here:
The best message was received from one of our most loyal clients, Mr Peter Obee, co-founder of Cool Aroma Gentleman’s Spa.
He has been with us for almost 12 years and counting. ?
And Mr Peter wanted to point out a mistake I had made in the spelling of “Dolomites” ?
Here is the screenshot of his email…
And of course, he had also attached the picture of the Triumph Dolomites Car in case I was wondering how that car looked! 🙂
Thank you Mr. Peter for your kind correction and also sharing the picture of the Triumph.
Now, this mailer was sent to 5 people for proofreading! And still, this error skipped our attention. ?
But what I would like to bring to your attention is that people read.
And that email marketing works.
The amount of replies I got from this email clearly proves that people enjoy reading good content.
By the way, I also got three requests for meeting to explore work opportunities.
The mailer was not related to our services or any offer!
And still, it generated new leads.
I genuinely believe in the power of email marketing. And when done right, you can build rapport and a connection with your email list.
It is one of the best ways to be on top of mind recall. Email marketing can help with retaining clients and also upselling services.
Most of my online shopping is because of the beautiful emails these e-commerce sites send me on their new collections… and I cannot resist but click to check out what’s new! And guess what happens next…I end up buying something. ?
*Hint Hint! If you own an eCommerce store, you must have an email marketing strategy and a fixed marketing calendar to ensure the emailers go on time.
For eCommerce, Email marketing is extremely important. Normally eCommerce stores should send at least 3-5 emails a week.
I love writing conversational emails.
Because if you think of it, Email is, in fact, one-to-one communication.
The user at the receiving end will be interacting with your email independently as an individual at that moment of time when reading your email.
Many marketers forget this and write emails as if they are talking to the whole list. This is where the email loses its power, either getting marked as spam or sent straight to the trash.
It is okay to be personal and vulnerable in your emails, as that is what gives it a human touch.
As it is rightly said,
Vulnerability Is The Only Bridge To Build Connection.
Author, Overlyxclusive
Until next time,
Yours Truly,
N
PS: Do you know that in 2014-2015, we were one of the region’s top-performing agencies for Google Ads?
Google offered me USD 5000 for buying any Apple products and a free shoot of a video testimonial of one of our clients, which they will share on their website as an agency success story case study.
I chose Cool Aroma Spa for the testimonial, and here is the link to the video Google made for us.
And for the USD 5000, I bought a fully upgraded MAC Book PRO for our office! ?
PPS: While I was digging for the Google video footage, I stumbled upon my old videos.
I have been making videos since 2012, and I found some weird videos I shot back then.
Yes, you are right…I judge myself the same way you would when you see your old photographs. 😀
I was way younger then. And I made so many mistakes with the video quality and the sound.
This time an early newsletter… and not waiting for months to send another one!
I spoke to one of our clients after the last newsletter was sent out, and she shared how she enjoyed reading my newsletters and why had it taken me this long to send the previous one? (Yes, the last newsletter was sent after almost three months)
She also shared that she was surprised to know I cycle almost every day, and the link to the cycling adventure with my husband in Italy was not working!
Now that shows that she actually read the whole newsletter as this information was right at the end in “PPPS” 😀
Before I forget, here is the link to our cycling trip to the Domolites, Italy. One of the best cycling trips I have ever done!
To be honest, so many things happen daily, and I have so many stories… I can literally churn one newsletter a day.
But that would mean flooding your inbox with all news about me and Above Digital, and I would never do that.
Spamming you is not my intention at all. 🙂
Enough of my banter! Going back to the subject of this mailer.
My sister-in-law recommended a series on Apple TV+ called Ted Lasso, and she insisted we watch it together.
She was watching the same series with me for the 5th time… and I was like, really… Do you want to watch it again?
She said, yes, of course. I love it, and every time I watch it, I learn something new.
She added that she shared a few learnings from this series in a client presentation at work last month.
That was enough. I was sold. And I thought to myself; I need to really watch this show.
We started with the first few episodes together, and I couldn’t help but binge-watch it.
Every episode of this series has amazing learnings, especially if you are an entrepreneur, CEO or managing a team.
Here are some of the leadership lessons I learned from this series without revealing much of the story:
Believe:I believe in hope. “I believe in belief,” he proclaims. Now it may not work out how you think it will or how you hope it does, but believe me, “It will all work out. Exactly as it’s supposed to.” And it’s impossible not to believe him.Belief is all in mind. And I agree with Ted on this. If you really believe in what you desire… it has to happen.
Build Relationships: Getting to know people on a personal level is foundational to creating high-performing teams and lasting client relationships. Remembering birthdays and anniversaries and being curious about people is one of the ways to achieve this.
Attention to details: By paying attention to details, you communicate, “I see you, I hear you, and I value you”. Recognising small details and understanding what’s important to others, Ted knows details matter.There is a lot to work on this one for me!One of our values at Above Digital is to Focus On The Details. And we do this while managing client campaigns. However, I think there is a lot to look into in other aspects of business relationships as well.
Be a Goldfish: This one is my favourite. “You know what the happiest animal on earth is? It’s a goldfish. Do you know why? It’s got a 10-second memory.” says Ted in one of the coaching sessions.Now here I am a bit better, and Thank God for that! Phew!Something good I can talk about myself for change. I think I, too, have a memory of a Goldfish. I forget everything very fast. I would be an elephant if I remembered the smallest mishaps, every misspelt word in an email, and every argument. :D.
The root cause of pain, as Buddha says, is our attachment, so by forgetting and letting ourselves be the blissfully unaffected goldfish, we’re detaching and thus allowing ourselves to be happy.
Unlock the potential in others:Ted has this amazing ability to see the potential in his team and holds them capable of excelling.The best thing a leader can do for others is to believe in them.Rather than judging people, what would it be like to start with the assumption that people are smart enough, resilient enough, competent enough, brave enough and good enough?
Taking Tough Calls: #spolieralert Ted decided to bench Jamie, one of his star goal-scoring players from the game, at a crucial moment because the player refused to recognize that he was part of a team. This showed he was a risk taker and was ok not to be popular for the greater good of the team.Leaders who tolerate individual behaviour at the expense of the team don’t build cohesive and high-functioning teams that deliver results.
Being Curious: Ted doesn’t believe he knows it all. He doesn’t have all the answers, but he has all the questions, which helps him understand people more, understand the game better and grow as a human being overall.Being curious and asking questions enables us to understand more, assume less, learn more, judge less, build stronger relationships and help others learn.
Positivity:Last but not least, Ted’s over-the-top enthusiasm and positivity help develop a soft spot for him despite the initial resistance from his team and his boss. Lasso’s “can-do” attitude does become contagious and raises the collective vibration of everyone around him.
It made me think how sometimes I get into negativity and self-sabotage just because something didn’t work out.
We all fall into this…would you agree?
This is the time I need to remind myself to be positive and keep the belief that this downturn is also on my path to achieving my goals and vision.
Whether it is about recognizing the potential in kit man “Nate the Great”, unlocking the leader in the sulky team caption Roy, breaking through Rebecca’s armour or instilling the value of teamwork in Jamie, Ted Lasso makes everyone around him a better person. He does this with unrelenting optimism, positivity and curiosity and a deep belief in people and their potential.
There are many other learnings I can share should I continue writing, but that would make this newsletter only longer. 🙂
I highly recommend watching this show. This is by far my favourite show and is going to be surely on a repeat for me.
Until next time,
Namita
PS: I would love to hear your thoughts on this newsletter. If you have seen the show, I would be keen to know your takeaways!
PPS: This is the first time I have been personal and shared something that is not related to digital marketing at all. This is huge for me, but this show has made such a big impact on my mindset that I cannot wait for everyone I know to watch it.
PPPS: A big apology for the wrong link to our cycling adventures. Here is the link again. Just click on View Story as you land on this page. If you are not able to get the link working, here is the link to my Instagram and in the highlights section you will see #Cycling
PPPPS: We will be launching our training and workshops soon. If you would like to be the first to know, Click here to subscribe for the launch mailers.
Covid has made it very clear that digital is the way to go for all businesses. Yes… even B2B.
I still remember when I started Above Digital in 2004, people barely understood the importance of a digital presence.
I was forced to provide branding services to ensure our bills were paid! 🙂
Even up until 2019-2020, no one took digital that seriously. Would you agree?
Covid has created this digital transformation with everyone getting up to speed using digital technologies to communicate.
And suddenly, everyone wants to have an online presence and be on every social channel possible.
Now, this is where it is important as a business owner/CEO/CMO to:
Invest your time and resources on the right platforms
Choose the right agency to work with
Because remember, you will be hiring an agency anywhere from 3 months to 3 years.
And that is a long-time commitment! Isn’t it?
The purpose of this email is to help you understand – How to hire the right marketing agency in 2022 and onwards to grow your business.
And the way you do this is by asking the RIGHTquestions because these questions will define how successful the marketing campaigns “they” run will be!
Here are my tips on the questions to ask and also the answers to expect! ☺️
Q1. How do they plan to audit your account?
The answer you should expect here should be largely structured into three main categories:
Identification and Diagnosis – This is where the agency will tear apart all campaigns you are running, if any, to find the minutest of deviations from the ideal setup. You will be able to decipher whether they are just looking for errors and simple misses or whether they are looking for actionable content that can drive value to your future campaigns.
Data Analysis and Interpretation – The agency will provide a deeper understanding in terms of the data they have collected during their research, what it means to them and how they have understood it to fit your brand’s future plans.
Strategy and Forward Planning – This is the culmination of the above two points wherein the agency will showcase its thinking capacity and the ability to transform data into results.
Q2. What will be the goals and KPIs for the campaigns?
First, it is very important that you know your own goals for your business, as only then you will be able to give the right goals and KPIs to the agency you will be working with.
Depending on what you are trying to achieve from the digital campaigns, your goals can vary from lead generation to ad impressions to footfall to phone call inquiries or online bookings. Be very clear on your goals, as these will define the objectives the agency will be working on.
Q3. How will they achieve the above goals and KPIs, and in what period?
Once you give the agency your main objective of the campaign, they should come back to you with a media plan and a rough or sometimes detailed strategy on how the KPIs will be achieved.
They should share with you the platforms they recommend using for advertising and how will be the budget split between the platforms (if more than one is used) or between the campaigns they plan to run.
How often do they optimize, and how do they track the performance of the campaigns?
Since the devil is in the details, you’ll want to know the details of the plan they have for you.
These three questions are vitally important—so insist on them being answered to your full and complete satisfaction.
Some of the other questions I would ask are as follows:
Q. How do they measure the quality of the leads/marketing efforts?
Q. What is the onboarding process?
Q. Who will be working on the account, and who will be liaising with you daily?
Q. How is the reporting going to be?
Q. What image and video assets do they need from you, or will they provide them to you?
Q. Any access they need from you like website, GTM, analytics etc.
Q. When and how will the review meetings take place?
…and anything you might think of when you receive the answers to the above questions.
Getting the right agency working for you will be the smartest decision you ever make to be honest.
Just as you know, when you are with the right partner, you should feel similar for the right agency partner for your business (of course, not in a romantic way! ;))
I hope this email has given you enough and more material to help you make the wise decision for your business.
If scaling your business is your goal this year, then I would like to invite you to book a relaxed, no pressure, no obligation call to discover how Above Digital can help.
Click here to book a zoom call meeting with me on Calendly right away!
Until we speak then,
Namita Ramani Founder and CEO Above Digital
PS: I am very keen on launching a digital training course as I have a lot of requests coming by email.
I would love to know what topics you would be interested in if you are looking for some training in the digital space as well!
Click here and share your thoughts with me, please?
PPPS: Do you know I am big time into cycling? I cycle almost every day and have been on three cycling trips already!
Would you be interested in knowing more about my cycling trip to the Dolomites, Italy, last week? Yup! We climbed mountains this time! And it was hard! Very hard.
Click here and check out some of the adventures my husband and I experienced during our cycling holiday.
I am becoming pretty consistent with my communications in 2022, would you agree?
This is my word for 2022.
Consistency. 🙂
Before I start pouring my thoughts on today’s topic, a quick reminder to catch up on my mailers this year in January and February. I write these mailers myself, share my experiences & learnings and if you are reading them, clearly you like what I share! ?
If you are looking for tips and tricks on campaign strategies for running Ads on Facebook or Instagram, then this is not what this email is about.
We teach those in our courses & workshops as it is impossible to explain all that information in a single email.
I learned this from the who’s who of direct response marketing at a copywriting conference I attended at Stanford, USA sometime in the spring of 2014.
The trip to this conference changed the game for my agency.
I understood that it’s not just about knowing the panels and running the Ads.
It’s more about who is seeing my ad and what are they seeing.
The latter is way more important these days as the algorithms are very smart and they don’t need much information about the “Who” anymore to be honest!
It’s all about What they see as Ads.
We spend most of our mind, energy, and resources on what we show to audiences when running Ads on digital platforms.
It’s about positioning the product/service in the minds of the prospective buyer on the value it brings when they buy.
It’s about using different emotional triggers along with the right hooks that will make the potential customer want to have the product or service at the price we want to sell.
It’s all about what you say and how you say it.
It’s all about the Copy.
To generate results from your ad campaigns, work on your copy and creatives.
This is what stops them and gets their attention when they are on social platforms browsing stories and feeds
This is what is making them click and go to the landing page
And this is what is going to make them buy your product or service vs your competitor
Now your copy and creatives depend on the stages of awareness of your chosen audience.
Well, the Copy and Creative of your ads will need to resonate with the target audience who would probably be in one of these stages.
The messaging changes based on who we are talking to and what is their stage of awareness.
Why should you know about this concept at all?
Well because this is what generates results.
When you show the right messaging to the right peopleat the right time, they will show interest in your products/services and eventually buy.
Here are some action steps I would like you to take after reading this far:
If you are runnings Ads on Facebook or Instagram, I want you to think of what stage of awareness is the audience you are targeting your ads to?
Then see the ad copy and creative and analyse if what you are showing is what will make sense to the potential customer to generate interest in your services?
The above questioning itself will help you fix the campaigns to generate better results!
We are now offering Facebook Audit free of cost for a limited time.
If you are running Ads yourself or you have an agency managing your campaigns and you would like to identify what’s blocking your growth, we can help you.
We will analyze the campaigns and find a way forward by uncovering insights on what to improve, what to do less of and specific actions to maximize your results.
Until next time,
To your success,
Namita Ramani
Founder & CEO
Above Digital
PS: We go more detailed into these concepts in our courses. Feel free to register your interest if you want to learn more about Customer Avatars and Audience Targeting.
PPS: I know I am delayed by a few days for the March Mailer but I still made it 😉
PPPS: I absolutely love feedback! I would love to hear your thoughts on these emails I am sending.
Is there anything particular you want to know about Digital marketing or if you’re struggling with any aspect of running ad campaigns feel free to hit the reply button and ask your questions!
I established Above Digital (formerly known as Salony Creations) as a web development agency in 2004.
I made the first website when I was 18 years old, in the year 1998!
Ok now, if you are calculating my age, let me make it easy for you… I turned 43 this year! ?
Back then I would make websites and try to rank them on Google, Ask Jeeves ( I wonder if any of you is from that ERA at all!), and not to forget Yahoo.
Fun times!
Rather I should say… easy days!
(For SEO!?)
I have always been passionate about the web and even though transitioning from a Web Development Agency to Digital Marketing has been a thorough and slow proces
s, I have enjoyed every bit of the journey.
In 2005 we introduced Google Ads and Email Marketing. Then came Facebook Ads in 2007-2008 and by then we had become a full-service digital agency.
In these 18 years, we have seen 3 recessions – 2008, 2014, and the most recent one 2020 and survived them all.
As I was waiting to renew my trade license at the Economics Department today, I started thinking of the most important lessons I have le
arned running my agency in the last 18 years and I would love to share them with you.
Lesson 1.
Never STOP learning
I truly believe the reason we have survived and grown is that I have never stopped learning.
I have never stopped investing in training and education of new tech, new software, writing effective copy, creating beautiful Ads for myself and my team.
Even today we spend more than USD 1000 a month in buying training, education, and coaching for myself and my team which helps us to stay on top of our game.
We need to constantly improve to become our best selves. Stephen Covey the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People calls this “Sharpening the Saw”; it is his 7th habit. He says that sharpening the saw “means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have which is – YOU!
Always invest time and resources in learning new skills in whatever you are doing. It will help you stay on top and be the best. Your clients (or customers) deserve nothing but your best efforts.
Lesson 2.
When my clients will win – I will win
I learned this very early from my sales coach Ramez Helou.
He would say, Namita the best way to survive and grow a company is by having repeat business. And why will customers come back to you? When you help them reach their goals with your services.
I took this advice of Ramez very seriously and made this our company philosophy.
We Grow When Our Clients Grow.
To prove this to our clients I started offering a 100% money-back guarantee, which means that if they don’t get results in what we are doing for them, we refund them their funds and part ways amicably with them.
Just the other day, my first-ever Spa client, Shahida – founder of Spa Dunya and owner of organic cosmetics brand Altearah, shared the conversation we had when we met for the first time, with her beautiful daughter while we were dining at a Greek restaurant at JLT.
Shahida started working with us in 2012 and what she told her daughter reinforced my belief that I grow when my clients grow.
She said:
Namita gave me a deal I couldn’t reject.! She said if you don’t see the results don’t pay us.
I thought to myself there is nothing to lose. Let’s give it a try!
And the rest is history. Our first-ever digital campaign for Spa Dunya was a huge success and we went on to do business together for years to come.
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As a boutique agency, we have a certain limit on the number of accounts we can handle.
And you would be surprised to hear that 90% of our current clients have been with us for 5+ years, with our oldest client having been with us for about 8 years.
Always give your best effort and best service to every client of yours. Because if they are happy and they are seeing the results they will keep coming back to you. They will also pay a premium to be with you.
I always say this in my presentations and public speaking seminars – Be the Apple (the company Apple ?) of your industry.
Make your clients your loyal fans so they don’t see anything beyond you and nothing can stop you from being successful.
Lesson 3.
Have the right people by your side. Your team
I learned this the hard way.
I started as a freelancer back in the year 2000. I was amazing at delegating. I created an outsourced team on Elance (now it’s called Upwork) and had my designer in Venezuela, Google Ads executive in Pakistan, and my development team in Serbia. Yup… I had an international team!
I would sell during the day and in the evening I would delegate all the deliverables.
As my outsourced team was in different time zones, I was able to get more done as by the time they would wake up they would have the tasks on the table and within 24 – 48 hours I would get the first draft.
I was churning projects fast!
As I grew I realized I was working 18 hours a day. And it was becoming very difficult and affecting my personal life.
That’s when I decided to start having an in-house team.
I started hiring one at a time.
Having an outsourced team is very different than having an in-house team.
Then came new problems. The struggle of managing people.
As I was a perfectionist, I would expect my people to be perfectionists as well. This is where I was wrong.
An acquaintance once told me…
Namita, stop being the Sachin Tendulkar of your company. Become Dhoni and you will be able to manage your team better and WIN. (Under Dhoni, India won the World Cup! remember? ?)
This changed everything. I started learning how to manage people and there was a time we had more than 50 people employed between our 2 offices (Dubai and a branch office in India)
Choose your team wisely. Invest time in hiring. And be quick to let go of the wrong people. Wrong people on your team will cost you more and affect your profitability.
There are many other lessons I have learned along the way. As I get Consistent in writing these mailers I will be surely sharing many more in the coming months.
Meanwhile, I want to thank you for being part of this journey with me. For reading my emails. For doing business with us. For joining our training. (However, we have met!)
I welcome your wishes for Above Digital’s 18th birthday with a quick reply.?
Wishing you success as always,
Namita Ramani
Founder & CEO
Above Digital
P.S
I received a tonne of replies on the first newsletter I sent about a month back. If you have missed reading it, here is the link!
If you would like to get your website or your Facebook ad campaigns audited click here to request for the same.
It has been almost 2 years since Covid hit us in 2020.
What a year it was!
The year of COVID.
It was one of the toughest years for me.
Yes, business-wise as well as personally.
A lot has happened in these 2 years in the online marketing world as well.
The lead costs have gone up by 5 times or more this year.
Yes, they have!
Everyone is now online promoting their businesses and as the inventory is limited, (by inventory I mean the number of people who are online consuming content on social platforms are the same just with more distractions of new apps like TikTok!) costs are constantly rising.
Back in the days when I started running Facebook and Instagram Ads for our clients in 2012, we could generate 300-400 leads with a spend of just 3000 dirhams a month.
Now the same clients are spending 20,000 dirhams just on Facebook and Instagram Ads alone! (Yes! Most of our clients are with us for years. Our oldest client is with us since 2012 :))
The CPC (cost per click) has gone up from 0.50 AED to 4 AED and sometimes it goes higher up to 10 AED per link click as well!
The same thing is happening with the Google platform too.
I think COVID has made everyone understand the power of an online presence and all companies big and small have got in the game by advertising online.
You must be wondering about this sudden email from me this afternoon!
I have always believed in the power of email. One of the best ways to connect and engage is by email. Would you agree?
I choose to reconnect with you in 2022.
You are receiving this email because either we know each other or you have interacted with me at some event, signed up for a course with us, or even attended one of our workshops!
No matter how we got connected I am happy to have you on my list and I promise never to spam you 🙂
In 2022 I plan to do something different and explore some new ways of marketing, document it all, and share it with you in emails. Would you like that?
Or would you like to attend some advanced Fb Ads workshops with us?
I would love to hear from you. Hit the reply button and do let me know about this!
Secondly, one of the most popular things during the 14-day digital marketing workshop we did in 2020 was the Website Audit.
We got a lot of websites for audit. And we truly enjoyed auditing them as well.
I am launching 2 new things this January 2022 🙂
1. Every month we will take 3 website audits for FREE
Website Audit will help you understand the gaps that you can fill, improve the conversions and make your website a 24×7 sales machine. Yes, that is what a website is supposed to be!
If you have attended any of my workshops you would know this.
A website is supposed to be your extended sales team and generate leads and serve as a 24X7 sales machine for your business!
I will personally audit the website and send the video to our private Facebook group (if you attended the course you should have access to the group!) for you to review and share with your team to optimize.
Click here to use this form and submit your website for Audit.
2. We are now offering Facebook AD Account audits as well
If you are running ad campaigns yourself or through an agency, and you need a different perspective, I or one of our ad account experts will go through the account and give you our perspective on what is going right with your campaigns and what can be improved.
If you are stuck and need better results, this Audit will provide you with the insights you need to optimize the campaigns.
Click here to use this form and submit your FB Ad account for an audit.
2022 is going to be an amazing year… ?
The year of growth and one full of opportunities.
You just need to seize them!
Just like how Jackson Brown Jr. says “Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.”
