Digital marketer Dylan Ogline was able to grow a hyper profitable agency by applying his focus to a winning strategy. Having achieved 7 figure profits for his own business, Dylan Ogline is now training others how to replicate his success with professional training programs designed to teach students how to build a profitable digital agency from the ground up.
Below, Dylan answered some questions.
How did you first discover digital marketing and find your passion for it?
I first heard about digital marketing when I was about 15 or 16 years old, and I was fascinated by it from then on. I learned that when digital marketing was done well, it could basically allow a business to purchase growth for itself. I was in awe of the fact that sales could be bought directly when your business has an optimized funnel, enabled by digital marketing.
What was the biggest challenge you initially faced when building Ogline Digital?
Certainly, focus was the one thing I struggled with. Funnily enough, my lack of focus was something I was aware of but didn’t know how to face until an old mentor helped me out.
I had multiple different businesses that weren’t growing, so I learned to cut everything back and focus on a single agency with a single core offering. Within a month of this change, I had doubled the business and ended up growing it to almost 10 times the size in the same year.
When did you choose to switch your focus from your digital agency to helping others grow their own?
Since I grew up in a middle-income household, my priority was never to own an expensive sports car or other luxury items. I wanted to achieve financial freedom, freedom from worrying about being able to pay for things like utility bills on time. I worked as hard as I could to reach that goal.
As I achieved higher levels of profit for my agency, I realized that I had already achieved financial freedom. Once I had hit 7 figures of profit, I knew that I could take a step back and find fulfillment in mentoring others who are struggling to start their own digital marketing agency.
I love my agency and the opportunities it has given me, but now I’m eager to help others and share the expertise I have accumulated. Coaching and mentorship had a big impact on my success, so I naturally want to return the favor to others who are trying to get started.
At this stage, my agency almost works in an automated way such that my direct attention is not absolutely required, and I’m able to live the “4 Hour Work Week” lifestyle.
For around a year, I have been pivoting my focus on developing my training program to educate others.
Can you explain how your training program is structured to educate others so they can start their own digital marketing agency?
My training program has always been evolving. The fundamental goal is to help anyone build their own digital agency, no matter what level of prior knowledge they have about the industry.
Some of my students are experienced digital executives who want to be their own boss, while others are people with no experience in the industry. My program caters to everyone.
Through my training, I’ve discovered that there are a lot of unknowns that can hold people back. One example I like to use is teaching someone how to drive.
You might start teaching someone to drive by telling them to “get in and start the engine”. As simple as this sounds, it would not be simple to someone who has never seen a car before. While everyone knows what a car is, not everyone knows exactly what digital marketing is when they want to get started.
Things that seem second nature to me, like setting up a website or LLC, are things that are totally alien to others. The basic fundamentals can be especially daunting to some because they are so new, and this is something I try to address with my training program.
In the latest iteration of my training program, I am not only teaching advanced stuff like Google and Facebook ads, but also the basic skills required for starting an agency, along with high-level mindset training.
What are some changes you’ve seen in the digital marketing industry since you started?
I would have to say the biggest changes I’ve seen are in precision and targeting. When I started, it was much cheaper to spread spending across lots of keywords for Google ads – but now the higher cost per click on average means targeting is much more important.
It’s no longer cost-efficient to take stabs in the dark, campaigns need to be well-researched and targeted to get the best value out of your dollar. However, with social media like Facebook you can get a lot of useful information on your target customers, including deep psychological triggers that persuade them to engage, triggers that the average business owner has no clue about.
What’s the #1 thing you would want to change about the industry?
I think the idea that customers need to be ‘convinced’ is a terrible one. The ultimate goal of digital marketing should be to put a product or service in front of ideal customers – nothing more.
The correct type of customer won’t need to be convinced – they will convince themselves once they discover what you have to offer. Many ideal customers don’t even know the business exists until it reaches them via digital, and this is why you see comments on social media like “This is amazing, I didn’t know this existed!” THIS is the kind of thing we are looking for.
Digital is growing quickly – why is now the best time for people to start their own agency?
Every business basically needs digital to succeed these days, but there are so many that haven’t engaged in digital marketing before. There are also plenty of businesses that have only tried to use Google or Facebook ads and got poor results – these businesses can benefit from professional help.
With only 3 or 4 clients, you can easily build a 6 figure digital firm. Since there are over 30 million businesses in the US, there is plenty of room for new agencies to come in and make a big profit on the growing demand for digital marketing.
Thank you Dylan for your time!
You can follow up with Dylan Ogline at www.dylanogline.com
