Today I am presenting yet another written interview with an Experienced Digital Marketing specialist based in Memphis, Tennessee. He has helped many businesses to grow their revenue by driving targeted traffic to their websites.
Checkout the interview:
1. Who is Rafi Chowdhury? share your story.
Well, I am an Entrepreneur and Digital Marketing Specialist from
Memphis, Tennessee. I was born in Bangladesh and then moved to the U.S.
when I was 12. I grew up in Memphis and then graduated from The
University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in
2014. I then entered the world of entrepreneurship by launching my first
company, which was a chess and leadership coaching program. Next, I
co-founded a social networking website for students at my college,
called myCampusHacks.com,
with a business partner. Then, eventually, I moved into digital
marketing by working with local companies and helping them establish a
presence on the web and by directing targeted traffic to their websites.
Right now, I am working on my newest venture, Chowdhury’s Digital,
which is a marketing/web development company I am in the process of
launching. I also work as a Digital Marketing Specialist for a local
graphic design company, Eco Signs and Banners.
2. What was it like for you when you first ventured into digital marketing business?
The learning curve is extremely sharp. I learn something new just
about every single day. In this industry, you have to constantly keep up
with the latest developments or else there is really no way to succeed.
You are pretty much dependent on Google’s algorithm changes and
updates. Based on the latest updates from Google, I adapt and determine
my marketing strategies. What works today is almost certain to not work
tomorrow. For me, what helped most is doing a lot of work just for free
to help out my clients. I would only charge them money if my work gave
them any measurable results. This way, I was quickly gaining industry
experience while also earning a little money from my work. However, my
biggest learning curve is happening right now as I am working as a
professional Digital Marketer for Eco Signs and Banners. I am focusing
on learning all about local SEO.
3. What got you interested in starting rafichowdhury.com?
I just wanted a personal website so that I can use it as an online
resume. I was getting pretty close to graduating from college, so I knew
I needed to have a website when I start to apply to jobs. Also, one of
my fraternity brothers made his own personal website around that same
time. Seeing how successful his website was and how great it looked, I
also wanted to make my own. So, I hired a developer to make me the
initial design and hired a photographer to get some professional
pictures done. It was a huge struggle, and I had to work with 3 or 4
developers before rafichowdhury.com
was fully established as a professional website. I learned so much
about websites and the internet from developing my personal site. I am
so glad I decided to do it because this is what ultimately got me into
internet marketing and web design.
4. As a digital marketing specialist, what are some ways your services can be beneficial for business owners?
Well, the internet is kinda like the gold rush of the twentieth
century. Those small, local businesses who take advantage of its powers
will most certainly sit at the top and will inevitably grow. So, what I
do is figure out how I can take a small local business that has done
very little or no online marketing at all, and expose them to the vast
number of potential customers on the internet. I focus on first making
sure my client has a website. Then I work diligently to do extensive
research to figure out exactly where the customers are hanging out, what
keywords they are using to search for these products and services
locally, etc. Once I know where they are, and define their buyer
persona, I do keyword research to figure out what keywords the business
should be trying to rank for. Based on this data, I use strategies such
as content marketing, adwords investment, social media marketing,
link-earning, and search engine optimization strategies to rank these
sites at the top of Google searches for those selected keywords. It’s
not hard to see that if you can rank a website for commercial-intent
keywords, it leads to sales and profit for the business.
5. What are some challenges you face as regards helping people in growing their business with your expertise?
Getting local business owners to understand that investing time,
money, and resources to develop their online presence can actually be a
hugely successful way to build their business and take it to the next
level. A city like Memphis does not really have a big market for online
marketers, but the good thing is that competition is not so high. So,
even a little bit of work, can be converted into a sizable advantage
over competing businesses with a lesser online presence. Another
challenge for me is making sure that I am learning my stuff from trusted
sources. There are so many people out there talking about the best ways
to market on the internet, but not all of them have the most accurate
information. So, I only follow reliable sources such as Search Engine Land, Quick Sprout, MOZ, and Matt Cutts to learn more about online marketing.
6. Where do you see Rafi Chowdhury in the next 3 years from now?
My initial plan is to get my marketing/web development company off
the ground and running smoothly. In regards to my role at Eco Signs and
Banners, my goal is to see that company grow to twice its current size
due to my work on the web. As I gain more experience with web marketing,
I want to grow my own marketing company, Chowdhury’s Digital, to a
pretty good size and sell it at some point. I am also working on
re-launching the myCampusHacks.com project. So, who knows where that
project will take me? But for now, and for the next 3 years, my primary
focus is to grow and develop my current projects to be all successful
business ventures. Once I get to that point, I will start going into
software and real estate! But, I am not going to disclose all of my
future plans just yet. Just keep following me to see what interesting
projects I get into next 😉
To get in touch with Rafi Chowdhury check out his Contact Info below:
Website: www.rafichowdhury.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/_rafichowdhury
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rafichowdhury
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/RafiChowdhury1
Thanks, Rafi!
