Agency Journey

Amber Kemmis is the Chief Operating Officer of Revenue River, a sales and marketing agency.

With over a decade of digital marketing and agency leadership experience, Amber can solve almost any problem thrown her way. She also has a passion for people, psychology, MarTech, and driving revenue growth.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• The Difference Between a Traditional HubSpot Agency vs. HubSpot Agency Today.
• What does a Traditional HubSpot Agency Model look like?
• Amber's take on Client Retainers in Revenue River.
• Defining Retainers in an Agency Space
• The Core Responsibilities of a Chief Operating Officer in an Agency
• Different Types of Challenges in Measuring Profitability
• Different types of Client Engagements
• The Importance of Project Management on Operations

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Amber Kemmis on LinkedIn
• Revenue River
• Career Opportunities at Revenue River
• HubSpot
• Eric Pratt's Agency Journey Interview
• BugHerd - tool recommended by Amber
• Pastel - tool recommended by Gray
• 15Five - employee engagement tool recommended by Amber & Gray
  • ZenPilot is a 15Five partner - contact ZenPilot if you're interested in additional 15Five resources and special 15Five pricing.
• SmartBug
• Gray MacKenzie on LinkedIn
• Andrew Dymski on LinkedIn
• ZenPilot

  
  

Chase Clymer is the Co-founder of Electric Eye, an agency that increases sales for eCommerce brands. Chase is also the host of Honest Ecommerce, a weekly podcast, community & educational resource providing online store owners with honest, actionable advice to increase their sales and grow their business.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• Chase's story and the origins of Electric Eye
• The importance of removing yourself as an agency owner from day-to-day client services
• Leading and managing a team and the concept of swim lanes
• An intentional strategy for referral growth and partners
• How Chase approaches content marketing and his success with the Honest Ecommerce podcast

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

ZenPilot helps agencies build more productive, profitable, and healthy teams by streamlining their operations in ClickUp.

As ClickUp's largest implementation partner, we've served over 2,300 agencies and would love to help you scale operations.

Learn more about our agency solutions.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Chase Clymer on LinkedIn
• Electric Eye Website
• Honest Ecommerce Podcast
• ClickUp
• Andy Cabasso on LinkedIn
• Postaga
• Speero
• Google Analytics
• Justin Christianson on LinkedIn
• Conversion Fanatics
• CXL Institute
• Jason Swenk on LinkedIn
• Josh Nelson on LinkedIn
• Seven Figure Agency
• Dr. Jeremy Weisz on LinkedIn
• Rise25 Website
• Klaviyo
• Gray MacKenzie on LinkedIn
• Andrew Dymski on LinkedIn
• ZenPilot

Topics discussed in the episode:

• The Importance of Crafting a Content Strategy
• Marketing Content Strategy Best Practices shared by Ross Crooks
• The Evolution of Column Five's Content Strategy
• Career Opportunities with Column Five

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ross Crooks on LinkedIn
• ColumnFive
• Column Five Careers
• Mint.com
• Noah Kagan on LinkedIn
• Uber
• LinkedIn
• GitHub
• QuickBooks
• Turbo Chart
• Brex
• Ramp
• Gray MacKenzie on LinkedIn
• Andrew Dymski on LinkedIn
• ZenPilot

Dean Dutro is the CEO of Worth eCommerce, an email marketing agency. His team helps e-commerce companies increase revenue by up to 60% in six months with email marketing systems built in Klaviyo. Dean co-founded Worth eCommerce with the mission of boosting profits, engagement, and brand loyalty for clients.

Dean is also the Founder of Emailgrowthtraining.com, where he teaches clients how to grow their e-commerce revenue by 30-40% using email marketing. He has previously founded two other agencies, Instant Email Copy and GobySavvy.

In this episode…

The path to success is never straight — it often comes with surprising curves, rough patches, and hills. So, how can you take the lessons from each trying experience and turn them into a victory?

Dean Dutro’s path to CEO of a successful agency certainly wasn’t smooth. At the age of 24, he quit a comfortable job in aviation sales to co-found a startup — which sunk into debt. At the age of 26, he was living in his granpdarent’s basement and starting up an email marketing agency. It slowly grew, but he was met with competition from his previous business partner. Rather than butt heads, they decided to join forces, and now their combined experience has created an email marketing empire: Worth eCommerce.

In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray MacKenzie is joined by Dean Dutro, the CEO of Worth eCommerce, to discuss how he quickly scaled his agency. Dean talks about the inception of Worth eCommerce, what’s changed during SmartBug Media’s acquisition of the agency, and his goals for the future of the brand. Stay tuned.

Katie Street is the Founder and Managing Director of Street Agency, the “agency for agencies.” Street Agency helps clients develop marketing strategies to get noticed and attract more leads. Katie launched the company after realizing she could create an easier way for agencies to build engagement with brands and companies.

Katie is also the Co-founder of Tanba, The Agency New Business Academy. Tanba empowers agencies to grow by sharing content and insights from the best in the business. Additionally, Katie hosts the Word on the Street podcast and is a New Business Peer Network Chair for BIMA (British Interactive Media Association).

In this episode…

Agencies help clients with marketing, strategic planning, building out processes, and so much more. But who helps agencies find those clients in the first place?

Street Agency does — and that’s why it’s been dubbed as the “agency for agencies.” Street Agency’s team knows how to build a personalized content plan that will attract more clients and increase sales for any agency. Agencies are lining up to work with the company — business boomed by 300% last year alone. So, how is Street Agency working its magic?

In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray MacKenzie is joined by Katie Street, the Founder and Managing Director of Street Agency, to discuss how she develops marketing strategies to help agencies attract clients. Katie talks about the process of building up Street Agency, how she collaborates with clients to increase leads, and her tips for creating an engaging content strategy. She also gives the inside scoop on her new project, Tanba.

Mike Allton is an award-winning blogger, speaker, author at The Social Media Hat, and the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Agorapulse, a social media management solution. As Head of Strategic Partnerships, Mike strengthens relationships with social media educators, influencers, and partner brands.

Mike is also the co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing alongside Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson, and Eric Butow. Additionally, he is the Co-founder of 360 Marketing Squad, a private membership group where business owners can receive live training on the latest marketing trends and techniques.

In this episode…

Are you juggling so many client social media accounts that you’re afraid of dropping one? Or, are you looking for better ways to promote your virtual events and other content?

Breathe easy with Agorapulse’s simple social media solution. Whether you’re managing content for a client or promoting your agency’s livestream, Agorapulse has the tools for you. Combine your expert marketing knowledge with a user-friendly interface for a seamless promoting experience.

In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray MacKenzie is joined by Mike Allton, the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Agorapulse, to discuss his strategies for social media and virtual event success. Mike talks about his favorite Agorapulse features, his tips for promoting your agency’s events through social media, and Agorapulse’s new podcast, Agency Accelerated.

Rikki Lear is the Director of Digital 22, an Elite HubSpot inbound marketing agency. Digital 22 has rolled out HubSpot and inbound marketing with 73 companies to date, helping them reach their goals sooner without the pitfalls. In his role, Rikki oversees the heads of service departments like finance, marketing, and HR.

Previously, Rikki was on the Partner Advisory Council for HubSpot and worked in digital marketing for Workwear Express and Optimise Marketing. He holds several certifications from HubSpot, including HubSpot Trainer, Inbound Sales, Growth-Driven Design, and more.

In this episode…

Are you trying to optimize HubSpot’s features for your agency, but keep getting stuck? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a team of experts ready to help?

Digital 22 has the inbound marketing expertise you need. The agency’s team members specialize in HubSpot features and understand all the best practices for implementing them into your business. With their help, one client had an additional 167 blog views, a 140% increase in offline revenue, and a 174% increase in online revenue. So, how did Digital 22 become the powerhouse agency they are today?

In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray MacKenzie is joined by Rikki Lear, the Director of Digital 22, to discuss how he created the largest 100% HubSpot agency in the UK. Rikki talks about Digital 22’s bold jump from SEO and PPC agency to HubSpot partner, the agency’s decision to start accepting project-based clients, and how his team stays up-to-date with HubSpot features.

Adam Rundle is the Co-founder of CleverProfits, a firm that helps online businesses become more profitable. CleverProfit’s team excels in accounting, tax, and growth strategies. Adam founded the company with Bryan Nguyen after realizing that many online entrepreneurs were failing because they didn’t understand finances. Together, they created a solution that enabled business owners to plan, forecast, and predict their future financial performances and effectively scale their businesses.

Adam is also the Owner of CFO Coach and an Assistant Rugby Coach for the United States Naval Academy. Before starting CleverProfits, Adam was a Financial Manager for C&A Friedlander Attorneys and a Varsity Cup U20 Rugby Coach for the University of Cape Town’s rugby club.

In this episode…

No one wakes up in the morning and says, “I can’t wait to pay my accountant today.” But most businesses can’t survive without one, either. So, how can you find a happy and healthy partnership that will help you build a solid financial future?

CleverProfits is a financial firm with an innovative solution. Rather than signing your life away at step one, you can join their six-week Profit Accelerator program. With this process, they help you strengthen your company’s financial foundation, develop unique growth strategies, and create a personalized tax plan. If you find their services beneficial (and most participants do), you can partner with their team throughout your business journey to take advantage of their excellent financial intel and tax genius. 

In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray MacKenzie is joined by Adam Rundle, the Co-founder of CleverProfits, to discuss why a firm financial foundation is essential for your business. Adam talks about the services CleverProfits offers, how they develop unique solutions for each business they work with, and why simplicity is always the best option.

Chase Dimond is an email marketing expert who is currently a Partner at Structured and Boundless Labs and an Advisor for Triple Whale. He created the popular “$75M Ecommerce Email Marketer” course and offers an email marketing guide on his website, chasedimond.com. Chase is also an Angel Investor for several companies, including Gatsby, Miracle Brand, Gainful, and Newchip Accelerator.

Chase’s accomplishments include scaling a product he built, marketed, and managed to 500,000 visitors in 6 months, generating 1.5 million visitors for a dating site within the first two months of launch, and acquiring 500,000 subscribers in 10 months for a travel email newsletter he helped launch — all while spending either zero or very little traditional advertising dollars.

In this episode…

These days, businesses need help with social media advertising, email marketing, website design, and more. How can they meet all their needs without hiring 12 different agencies?

The team at Structured has your back. They handle social media, email, SMS, and content — and they do it really well. Chase Dimond leads the email marketing sector with years of success under his belt. He drove over 350,000 unique clicks and responses through cold email campaigns in 2017, acquired 20,000 users in three weeks for a polling app, and generated $175,000 in new revenue in three months while working as an intern. So, what’s Chase’s secret?

In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray MacKenzie is joined by e-commerce email marketing expert Chase Dimond to discuss how email can revolutionize your business. Chase talks about his email marketing course, how the services at Structured can benefit your company, and his favorite online e-commerce tools.