Digital Marketing

Checklist

By Mohan K. Sarma
https://www.linkedin.com/in/but

March 2017
 2nd Edition

ISBN-10:
0-9882687-2-8

ISBN-13:
978-0-9882687-2-2
 2017 Copyright
eBookMarketingPlus.com
LLC
Richmond, Virginia
United States of
America
www.ebookmarketingplus
This ebook is dedicated
to my wife Bettie. She is
my greatest fan, honest
critic, editor, and best
friend.
2017 Digital Marketing Checklist

I wrote this checklist as a tool for myself

because I like having a system and a
workflow perspective. The digital
marketing field is new and still
evolving, so having a plan is better than
no plan. The genesis for this checklist
began in my Evernote app as a
collection of web clippings and project
tasks. From there, I built my checklists
and system. A system helps you build
your digital marketing plan and then
develop the regular workflows that lead
to successful goals.

I am an adjunct instructor for the

Marketing Department at Virginia
Commonwealth University, where I
lecture on digital marketing.

For 2017, I revised this checklist in an

expanded outline format to keep it easy
to read. In the Fall 2016, I published the
Digital Marketing Technology Stack on
Amazon. It is my hope that these ebooks
will provide digital marketers with a
toolbox that will help them be
successful.

This checklist should be helpful to

entrepreneurs, students, and staff with
new digital marketing responsibilities.

The early 2017 revisions are based upon

the feedback I have received asking for
more details with each of my Top 10.

Www.Vidjaa.com is the digital

marketing e-learning website for small
businesses. More digital marketing
content is available there.
Digital Marketing Checklist
Here are my top 10 items with details

1. Solid product or service

The product or service that you are
offering should be ready to go online.
Can you describe your offer in 30
seconds? Do you know what problem
you solve? Is your solution available
now? If not, online can be a great
pre-market launch tool to build
awareness. Also, build into your
product or service plans to collect
data that will be useful and get you to
 your goal.
1. Four Ps: Price, Promotion, Place,
and Product/service
2. Your distinctive competency
3. Revenue forecast
4. Budget for digital marketing
5. Micro and macro data collection
6. Define the goals and KPIs

2. Choose a cool URL

Choosing your domain should be
made with the same consideration as
the company name and logo. The URL
might be used in ads, radio, and other
media, so make sure it supports your
overall branding efforts. Be sure to
consider how it reads in the
 secondary languages used in your
country or region. Be sure to do
several Google searches on the draft
url to see what the results are.
1. Something unique that you can own
and brand
2. Think international if that applies
(i.e. www.yourbusiness.co.uk)
3. What extension makes sense for
your organization, (i.e. .com, .biz.
.org, etc.)

3. Your Website
This is your real estate on the
Internet. Make it easy to navigate and
useful to your goals. WordPress is an
easy tool to start with. There are
many themes that you can use to give
your website a unique look. There are
many resources and experts to help.
Think about how fast it loads and will
it work on a smartphone?

Given each step in the classic buyer

behavior model: 1-Need recognition,
I have this problem that I want to
solve; 2-Information search, starts
with family & friends, then moves to
online and legacy media; 3-Evaluate,
compare two or more offers for price
and fit tradeoffs; 4-Purchase, choose
the best price, delivery, and features;
and 5-Post-purchase, how do they feel
about this purchase months later, will
they like this on social media. Can
your website work at each step?

1. A basic structure that is easy to

navigate
1. Home page
2. Product or service offer page
3. Our distinctive competency page
4. About Us page
5. Contact page
2. Search engine thinking
1. Product/service descriptions
2. Search terms that prospects are
likely to type in search engines
3. Competitor’s keywords they are
buying
4. Can you be #1 in a niche?
3. Footer
1. Copyright
2. Links, definitely include
3. Additional navigation, like the
privacy or terms & conditions
pages
4. Ask for emails
5. Leverage your affiliates,
representatives, and distributors
and get them to link to your site or
help prepare content
6. Data collection, do you want
contact details, emails, web
metrics, etc.?
7. Be mobile friendly, check the
website on as many different
smartphone and tablets as possible
 8. Test out different phrases, images,
and user action elements (i.e.
buttons, icons, key phrases)

4. Social media and PR

Communication is two-way now.
Customers can easily share their likes
and dislikes in real time. Keep the
conversation authentic and timely.
Think of social media as a B2C pre-
sale and post-sale tool. Pre-sales
happen because your current
customers mention or like your brand
and that ripples to their network on
the platform. Post-sale happens the
same way. B2B involves sharing your
content and getting prospects to your
 content for early stage awareness and
solution assessment.
1. Choose platforms that make sense
(i.e. B2B LinkedIn, B2C Facebook
& Instagram, product overview
videos on YouTube, etc.)
2. Setup a weekly posting plan using a
tool like Buffer
3. Issue Press Releases and make
yourself available to reporters
4. Setup Google Alerts to monitor
your reputation, competitors, and
key industry terms
5. Make time for social media every
day

5. Website analytics
Your website can deliver all kinds of
data on your prospects and
customers. Consider building a
framework to help you evaluate
opening new markets or expanding
your offerings based upon the data
that you get. The major numbers to
review are unique users, visits, page
views, bounce rate, and goals. Some
of this data can be real time, which is
fun to watch!
1. Describe your lead funnel
1. Inbound - what ways do
prospects get to your website?
2. Outbound - emails, demos,
webinars and calls to prospects
3. What does conversion mean to
 you? (i.e. gave their email,
downloaded a whitepaper, item
gets added to cart, shared
content on social media, etc.)
2. Google Analytics is easy to deploy
and delivers useful information
1. Build dashboards to describe
your lead funnel
2. Use events to record on page
user activity
3. Determine what your benchmark
bounce, abandonment, and
conversion rates are and how
they relate to you goals
3. SEO
1. Directories - add your company
to sites where prospects might
 go to gather information
2. Ask customers to review the
product or service on the
directory sites
3. Place links to industry
associations, partners, thought
leaders, and groups
4. Landing pages - one page that
focuses on a specific search
term or target segment
5. Link your social media to the
website
6. Add testimonials to your
website
7. Ask for links to your website
from high quality sites
4. SEM
 1. Invest in AdWords, even a small
amount each month gives great
new keyword data for Google
Analytics
2. Retargeting
5. Connecting digital to print, radio,
TV with path analysis, are the
URLs or hash tags on legacy media
working?

6. Create new content

Words matter. Search engines love
words. Prospects like words that
answer their search query. Planning
your content is critical. Don’t let the
content get stale and be sure to
leverage it to social media. Content
helps you speak to the different buyer
personas that you are targeting. C-
level content is very different from
young adults. Match the tone and
voice to the buyer persona. Content
can be blog posts, short YouTube help
videos, detailed install instructions,
product images in actual use, etc.
1. What to write about? (i.e. products,
new features, walkthroughs, case
studies, Q&A and FAQs)
2. Images should be original or
purchased with digital use rights
(i.e. iStock)
3. Where to put your content? (i.e.
website, blog, social media,
contributing writer)
 4. Blog
1. When to post
2. Make it authentic
3. How many words
4. SEO goodness

7. Email
Email is still #1 for effectiveness.
Prospects and customers have
accepted your invitation to send them
emails. Make the most of that direct
access but do not saturate them with
too many emails. Moderation is the
key.

There are two types of email:

marketing and transactional. Each
has unique purposes and described in
the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
Marketing emails may announce new
features, offer holiday greetings, be
co-branded offers with selected
partners, or suggested content to
read. Transactional emails are
receipts for purchases, notice that an
item has shipped, data storage %
limit is close to capacity, etc.
Basically they are communications
that are relevant to the product or
service the customer purchased.
1. Use an email management tool like
MailChimp
2. Send regular emails by segments
(or buyer personas)
 1. Current customers
2. Past customers
3. Opt-in marketing contacts on
your email list
3. There are many options for
transactional emails, some direct
from your database or through tools
like SendGrid
4. Determine the strategic value of an
user’s email, does the size of the
email directly correlate to sales or
company value?

8. Online customer service

What is the plan when a customer
asks a question on Facebook? Make
sure that customers can get help in
 the way they want.
1. Support through social media
platforms
2. Direct contact via chat, email, or
ticketing system
3. Asking for feedback should happen
with every interaction

9. Virtual Assistants, Freelancers,

Interns, and Contractors
You cannot do everything. I learned a
lot about specialization in the US
Army. Having supporting roles staffed
by specialists in their respective area
can leverage your time to focus on the
strategic work to be done.
Virtual Assistants (VA) can manage
your support emails, work special
projects and events. I like to have VAs
living in countries where their
workday matches my overnight
period. That way when I login in the
morning, I can see what was
accomplished and prepared for my
day ahead. Basically you delegate
what they need to get the job done.
Freelancers and contractors are task
specific specialists that can quickly
join a team or handle a last minute
detail. Upwork is great site to find
VAs, freelancers or contractors.
Interns can be useful if managed well.
You need to correlate the work they do
with their chosen filed of study. Note
there can be tax and other issues
relating to these non-employees, so be
sure to check with your CPA or legal
advisor.
1. Repetitive chores (i.e. summing
data from many sources, and
preparing month-end lead funnel
charts)
2. Creative work (i.e. designing new
images, graphics, display ads, trade
show handouts, etc.)
3. Technical support (i.e. CRM
support, staff software setup)
4. Competitive research (i.e.
recording competitors’ pricing or
keywords)
 5. Lead Generation (i.e. researching
prospects, sending emails, and
making calls)

0. Keeping it going
Whether you use the balanced
scorecard, Inc Magazine templates,
or the book “Traction” by Gino
Wickman, having a system is
important. Digital marketing has a lot
of moving pieces and using a tool to
manage them is key.
1. Build a daily/weekly/monthly list
2. Use a project management tool like
Trello
3. Capture things to read, new ideas,
and notes with Evernote
4. Keep learning every week
5. Experiment a little on new images,
keywords, call to actions, unique
descriptions
6. Track your progress to goals and
KPIs
My favorite links for Digital
Marketing

Website design
● 10 Crucial Elements for Any
Website Design
https://designshack.net/articles/layouts/10
crucial-elements-for-any-website-
design/

● The 8 Elements of Modern Web

Design (And Web Design Trends to
Watch)
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/elemen
of-modern-web-design-list
Analytics
● The difference between AdWords
Clicks, and Sessions, Users,
Entrances, Pageviews, and Unique
Pageviews in Analytics
https://support.google.com/analytics/answ
hl=en

● Creative Uses to 5 Google

Analytics Features
http://online-
behavior.com/analytics/creative-uses

● The Digital Marketing Metrics

Pyramid
http://marketingland.com/the-digital-
marketing-metrics-pyramid-51282

● 5 Reasons You Are Failing At

Google Analytics
http://www.marketing-mojo.com/blog/5-
reasons-your-google-analytics-fails/

● Google Analytics eCommerce

Roadmap:
Best in Class – Implementation &
Tracking Enhancements
http://clickvoyance.com/whitepaper/clickv
google-analytics-roadmap.pdf

● Web Analytics
http://www.bruceclay.com/analytics/goog
analytics.htm
A/B Testing
● 23 Tips on How to A/B Test Like
a Badass
https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-
to/2223888/23-tips-on-how-to-a-b-test-
like-a-badass

Search Engine Optimization

● Holy Grail of eCommerce
Conversion Optimization - 91 Point
Checklist and Infographic
http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/holygrail-
of-ecommerce-conversion-optimization-
91-points-checklist
Metrics
● Best Web Metrics / KPIs for a
Small, Medium or Large Sized
Business
http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/best-
web-metrics-kpis-small-medium-large-
business/

● Digital Marketing and

Measurement Model
http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-
marketing-and-measurement-model/

● How Target Figured Out A Teen

Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father
 Did
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2
target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-
pregnant-before-her-father-
did/#392b07fb34c6

Social Media
● Social media metrics
https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-
media-metrics

● 7-Step Social Media Management

Strategy for B2B Marketers
http://www.oktopost.com/blog/7-step-
social-media-management-strategy-b2b-
marketers/
Content
● Measuring Content: You’re Doing
it Wrong
https://moz.com/blog/measuring-content-
youre-doing-it-wrong?

● Content Marketing Tools: The

Ultimate List
http://www.curata.com/blog/content-
marketing-tools-ultimate-list/

● Organic click-through rates in

2014
http://www.mediative.com/organic-
click-through-rates-2014/
 ● IT TAKES A CONTENT
FACTORY! The Ultimate Guide to
Content Marketing
http://offers.openviewpartners.com/conten
marketing-guide

Track competitors
● Crunchbase
https://www.crunchbase.com/#/home/inde
Acronyms used in the checklist

B2B Business to Business. A business

that sells its products and services to
other businesses.

B2C Business to Consumer. A business

that sells its products and services to
consumers.

CRM Customer Relationship

Management. A software database that
records all prospect and customer
interactions.

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions.

Content based on user requests, these are
the most often asked questions. Similar
to Q&A (questions and answers).

KPI Key Performance Indicators. The

unique to your business operating
performance metrics that you use to
measure respective functional areas of
the business.

PR Press Release. A one page company

announcement sent to media outlets.

SEM Search Engine Marketing. Buying

keywords in the paid slots on the search
engine results pages. Also includes
retargeting based upon website visits
and certain hybrid text-display ads.

SEO Search Engine Optimization.

Website content and structure to improve
the organic ranking by search engines.

URL Uniform Resource Locator. The

plain English web address that connects
to the numeric website address on a host
server.
 Digital Marketing Checklist
By Mohan K. Sarma

Bio
Mohan is an entrepreneurial digital
marketer that builds brands and grows
revenues.

His digital marketing work includes

building applications & mobile apps,
web analytics, SEM, email marketing,
social media, display advertising, and
content management. He has managed
numerous AdWords campaigns in his
VCU classes for clients. His team’s
B2B mobile apps have been
downloaded thousands times in both iOS
and Android smart phones. His solutions
for SaaS online signup and churn
reduction have delivered recurring
revenue growth. His work in content
creation is to build SEO value, drive
brand engagement, complete online
signups, and reduce churn.

He founded a website,
www.RVAtourism.com built using
students’ social media platforms to drive
page views and digital downloads. His
newest project is www.Vidjaa.com, a
digital marketing e-learning site for
small businesses.

His leadership skills include running

cross-functional teams in an agile
environment. He has designed
workflows that scale.

Currently, he is an adjunct faculty at

Virginia Commonwealth University
focused on digital marketing courses at
the MBA level.

He is a US Army veteran from the 10th

Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY.

His family lives in Richmond, Virginia.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/but
Thank you for reading this ebook. I hope
that you found it useful.

Digital Marketing Checklist