Rakesh, Founder of Digital Marketing Expert Rakesh
Introduction: From Excel Sheets to Expert Strategies
The path to becoming a digital marketing expert isn’t paved with shortcuts or luck—it’s built on failures, late nights, and relentless learning. My journey began not in a glamorous agency, but in the back office of a company, staring at Excel sheets. Over 13 years, I’ve climbed from data entry to leading teams, cold-calling strangers to advising global brands, and surviving layoffs to building my own business. Here’s my unfiltered story and the lessons that transformed me into the expert I am today.
Phase 1: The Back Office Grind (2009–2012)
Role: Back Office Executive
Skills Learned: Excel, PowerPoint, Reporting, Precision
What I Did:
- Created daily reports tracking sales, inventory, and client data.
- Mastered pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and data visualization.
- Presented findings to managers in crisp PowerPoint decks.
Brutal Lessons:
- Data is Power: Excel taught me that numbers don’t lie—they reveal gaps, opportunities, and truths.
- Details Matter: A misplaced decimal in a report once cost my team a client. Never again.
- Adapt or Die: When my company shifted to cloud tools, I taught myself Google Sheets overnight.
Quote I Lived By:
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” – Peter Drucker
Phase 2: The Digital Marketing Bootcamp (2013–2015)
Role: PCF Executive → Lead Manager
Skills Learned: Lead Generation, Cold Emailing, Team Leadership
What I Did:
- Scraped data from LinkedIn and directories to build email lists.
- Sent 50000+ cold emails/day (yes, manually).
- Led a 20-person team to generate leads for international clients.
Brutal Lessons:
- Rejection is Your Teacher: 95% of cold calls ended with “No.” But the 5% paid my bills.
- Automate or Suffer: After sending 10,000 emails manually, I discovered Mailchimp. Life changed.
- Leadership ≠ Authority: Yelling at my team got deadlines met but killed morale. Empathy worked better.
Anecdote:
My first “big lead” came from a typo-ridden email to a Canadian startup. They replied: “Your persistence is annoying, but your hustle is admirable.” We closed a ₹5L deal.
Phase 3: The Sales Manager Hustle (2016–2018)
Role: Sales Manager → Certified Expert
Skills Learned: Pitching, Negotiation, Certifications
What I Did:
- Closed deals for SEO, social media, and Google Ads.
- Got certified in Google Analytics, HubSpot, SEMrush, and Meta Blueprint.
- Turned a struggling agency’s revenue from ₹10L to ₹1Cr/year.
Brutal Lessons:
- Trust > Transactions: Clients don’t buy services—they buy you.
- Certifications ≠ Competence: My Google Ads cert looked great on LinkedIn, but A/B testing taught me more.
- Burnout is Real: Working 16-hour days landed me in the hospital. I learned to delegate.
Lowest Moment:
Losing a ₹20L client because I oversold results. I refunded their money and vowed: “Underpromise, overdeliver.”
Phase 4: The Expert Era (2019–Present)
Role: Digital Marketing Expert & Entrepreneur
Skills Mastered: Strategy, Scalability, Business Acumen
What I Do Now:
- Audit businesses to find hidden growth opportunities.
- Build ROI-driven campaigns (SEO, PPC, content) for clients like schools, hospitals, and e-commerce brands.
- Mentor startups on avoiding the mistakes I made.
Brutal Lessons:
- Your Network is Your Net Worth: 80% of my clients come from referrals.
- Fail Fast, Learn Faster: A ₹3L Facebook Ads flop taught me to test audiences with ₹500/day budgets first.
- Adapt or Become Irrelevant: When AI tools like ChatGPT emerged, I spent weekends mastering them—not fearing them.
Proudest Moment:
Helping a small Jaipur jewelry brand rank #1 for “handmade silver earrings” and hit ₹50L/month in sales.
13 Lessons I Wish I’d Known Earlier
- Skills > Degrees: Certifications opened doors, but grit kept them open.
- Listen to Data, Not Egos: Let analytics guide decisions, not hunches.
- Cold Email Formula: “Hi [Name], I noticed [specific pain point]. Can I fix it in [timeframe]?”
- Fire Toxic Clients: The 20% draining your energy? Replace them.
- Charge Your Worth: Doubling my rates scared me—but attracted better clients.
- Automate the Boring Stuff: Tools like Zapier save 10+ hours/week.
- Never Stop Learning: I still take 1 course/month.
- Your Team is Your Legacy: Invest in their growth.
- Track ROI Religiously: If you can’t tie efforts to revenue, stop doing it.
- Brand Yourself Early: I waited too long to build “DMER.” Don’t.
Conclusion: The Trenches Never Leave You
This journey wasn’t about becoming an “expert”—it was about surviving setbacks, outworking doubters, and staying curious. Today, when I see a rookie struggling with Excel or a founder scared of SEO, I see my younger self. The trenches taught me that expertise isn’t a title; it’s the scars you earn and the lessons you share.
To anyone starting out: Embrace the grind. Your “overnight success” is 13 years away.
Need an expert who’s been in your shoes?
Let’s Talk about turning your chaos into strategy.
About the Author:
Rakesh is a Digital Marketing Expert with 13+ years of experience. From Excel sheets to 7-figure campaigns, he’s helped 100+ businesses scale online. Follow his journey on LinkedIn.
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