How to Make Money with Digital Marketing: My Exact Blueprint

Step 1: Pick Your Market First

A lot of people jump into digital marketing and try to serve everyone. That’s a mistake. The best way to get clients and results is to specialize in one market (or niche).

How Do You Pick a Market?

Start with something you already know or have experience with.

• Example 1: If your dad is a dentist, you already understand the world of dentistry. That could be your niche.

• Example 2: If you love sports, think about who within sports you’d want to work with—athletes, coaches, sports facilities, etc.

The goal is to serve people you resonate with, because you’ll understand their problems and the solutions they need.

Step 2: Identify Their Biggest Problem

Most businesses have one core problem: They need more customers.

For me, I originally started with local businesses because both my parents were local business owners—my dad owns a flooring company, and my mom owns a therapy business.

At first, I thought this was niche enough. But then I realized local businesses are too broad. Eventually, my mentor gave me a pest control client, and I decided to go all-in on pest control marketing.

The biggest problem pest control companies have? Lead generation.

For your niche, ask yourself:
✅ What do they struggle with most?
✅ How do they currently get new customers?
✅ What marketing strategies work best in their industry?

Step 3: Choose ONE Skill to Solve That Problem

This is where most new digital marketers mess up. They try to do everything—SEO, paid ads, social media, web design, email marketing, etc.

I started out doing all kinds of marketing for my first pest control client. Then I quickly realized:
✅ SEO was the most effective long-term strategy.
✅ Trying to do everything was overwhelming.

I also noticed that pest control is a demand capture business, not a demand generation business. Meaning: people are already searching for pest control services—they just need to find the right company. That’s why SEO works so well.

For your niche, figure out:
✅ Are customers searching for this service, or does it need to be pushed through ads/social media?
✅ What marketing channel gets the best, most consistent results?
✅ What one skill can you master and become known for?

Once I realized SEO was the best fit for my market, I went all-in on it, and it was the best decision I made.

Step 4: Freelance vs. Agency Model

Once you’ve picked your niche and skill, you need to decide how to structure your business.

1️⃣ Freelance: Work with a few clients, keep things simple, and charge higher retainers.
2️⃣ Agency Model: Scale up, hire a team, and take on more clients.

Both work—it just depends on what you're comfortable with.

I personally chose the agency model because I wanted to help more businesses and grow beyond just myself.

Step 5: Get Clients & Scale Up

The best way to get clients? Get results for your first few clients and put it everywhere.

• Showcase results on social media (organic content).

• Use paid ads to amplify your success stories.

• Send outbound messages to potential clients who fit your niche.

For me, having an industry connection (getting gifted my first pest control client) was a game-changer. But even if you don’t have a connection, you can still land clients by proving you can get results.

Final Thoughts

If you want to make money in digital marketing:
✅ Pick a niche you know and understand.
✅ Find their biggest marketing problem.
✅ Choose one skill and master it.
✅ Decide if you want to freelance or build an agency.
✅ Get results, showcase them, and attract more clients.

This is exactly how I built my Pest Control SEO agency, and it’s a repeatable formula for anyone serious about digital marketing.

Hope this helps! This is Danny Leibrandt, signing off—go get those clients!