With the agency I run, we use a flat fee (a monthly retainer), based on the size of the client. Some months you will work a lot more, some months a lot less but if the ROI is there for the client, they will be happy with paying the fees.

It all comes down to ROI and predictability with clients - I think that as long as they know what to expect each month and you deliver, you are a lot more likely to have long-term clients.

The #1 issue I see in getting paid by the hour or day is that you should deliver quality and not quantity - it's so counterproductive for both parties to clock in the hours on something that involves creative work and it can work against both.

From my experience with clients and their budgets, it all comes down to what they can afford and what they are willing to afford. The reason why they don't want to invest in analytics is because they don't yet see the value in it.

I recommend trying to highlight how much faulty data can cost them. They could get the same results with half the marketing budged if they spent some time and money to properly track and analyse everything.

It's impossible to come up with good solutions by working with bad data. Also, if they have a 1% conversion rate it means they are literally wasting 99% of their marketing spend so how would they not want to know how to get more out of it?

Hi there,

I've experimented quite a bit with list building for my clients and I'm working on my own email list now. Through a lot of testing I have found a way that seems to work better than others.

Here is my "technique" that has consistently brought good results so far:

1. Use a tool that helps you in collecting leads and asking for them at the right time. I use Justuno for my clients. If you're using wordpress, you can try one of the plugins for it (icegram is a good option).

2. Integrate your lead capturing system with your email marketing tool (if you're using mailchimp, you can integrate it with wordpress and create forms that automatically send the information to the list you want).

3. Create some piece of information that your public would want. A 5-page whitepaper on how to start saving up money for millenials, for example. Offer that whitepaper in exchange for their email address. Never sell their email address or spam them, of course :)
You should use a 2-step registration, although it can cause some friction with new subscribers, you are more likely to get a quality list this way.

4. Create an automated flow for all subscribers. I typically use a
- welcome email, describe what they subscribed to, how they will get value out of it, etc. (this gets sent instantly when they subscribe).
- valuable information email (something that would show your new subscribers that they made a good choice when they subscribed)
- consistent newsletter, they will be expecting an email every week, every two weeks, depends on your formula and content 100%.

Good luck with your newsletter! I hope this information helps.

I started my own conversion optimization agency over a year ago and I found out entrepreneurship takes all your time and focus.

You should be confident enough to know that you will make it, you will pay your bills and you'll launch the business. Of course, this depends a lot on your current status (I only had to provide for myself, I am 100% sure things change when you have children, for example).

The "safest" way to start is to continue working in your domain (the one you want to start your business in, I assume) and try and get one client on the side, in your spare time, without affecting your day job's performance. In the end, you have a name and that's what will help you succeed in your consulting business.

When you get that one client, you will feel much closer to your goal. You will have time to do your research and start promoting the business you are trying to build while being able to cover the bare minimum.

What I can tell you is that I started really giving it my all when I had no backup plan. Getting out of my comfort zone (as cliche as it may sound) helped a lot.

Good luck with your business!

Hi there.

It depends a lot on your budget and what is needed. If you are looking only for some initial site audits, which would include full qualitative and quantitative research, testing ideas, identifying low-hanging fruits, funnel drop-off points, etc or if you also want someone to implement the experiments.

The reasons for a high bounce rate are many but the first place I would look at would be the relevance between your clients' landing pages and the banners/content that are bringing the users to the site. Also, do they have a clear Unique Selling Proposition on their landing pages? Is it clear what the site is about and what they will find there?

If you are looking for more information and ways on how you can reduce their bounce rates, please feel free to message me and I will be more than happy to help.