Anthony Tran

We have a special guest on the Digital Evolution podcast today, Anthony Tran. Anthony is the co-founder of “Marketing Access Pass” a web design company that has helped hundreds of small business owners get online. He’s also the owner of “AccessWP” a WordPress support service company that helps website owners.

Anthony’s work has been featured on Entrepreneur, HuffPost, GoDaddy, Podcast Movement and more.

Table of Contents

• Who is Anthony Tran?
• Current Projects that Excite Anthony
• Tactical and Strategic Digital Marketing Advice from Anthony
• Where Does Anthony See the Future Going in Digital Marketing?
• How to Get in Contact with Anthony
• Additional Insights from Anthony’s Journey
• Advice to His Younger Self
• Final Thoughts

Who is Anthony Tran?

From Fighter Pilot Dreams to Digital Marketing Success

Anthony Tran’s story is a lesson in adaptability and resilience. Growing up in California, Anthony’s childhood dream was to be a fighter pilot. He was inspired by the movie Top Gun and the air shows near his home.

“I lived in El Toro or Lake Forest, California back then, and there was a marine air base there. They always had an annual air show,” Anthony says. “Me and my dad would always go to the air show, and I just loved watching the jets fly.”

Anthony loved flying so much he joined the Air Force ROTC in college and got a pilot slot. But fate had other plans. Two weeks before pilot training Anthony was medically disqualified due to an issue with his eyes.

Career Transitions

Not deterred Anthony didn’t let this setback stop him. He served as a logistics officer in the Air Force while getting his MBA at night. After his service he transitioned to the corporate world and took an operations role in an automotive company.

While successful in his corporate role Anthony was working long hours and feeling burnt out. This led him to explore other career paths and he found himself down the rabbit hole of online marketing and blogging.

“I went down this rabbit hole about blogging and online marketing,” Anthony says. “I was fascinated by these people who’d left the workforce, worked from home and created websites.”

The Leap

After 3 years of learning and preparation Anthony made the bold decision to quit his corporate job and go all in on digital marketing. With his wife’s support he launched his own business and focused on podcasting and digital marketing services.

Within 13 months, Anthony’s business had grown enough for his wife to join him full-time, marking the beginning of their joint entrepreneurial journey.

Current Projects that Excite Anthony

Business Ventures

Anthony’s business has changed a lot over the last 11 years. What started as a podcast and digital marketing agency has grown into multiple successful ventures:

1. Marketing Access Pass: A web design company for small business
2. AccessWP: A WordPress support and maintenance service
3. Director of Marketing at Beaver Builder: Anthony has been in this role for 5 years

“I’m just glad we’re still in business,” Anthony says. “We’ve been in business for 11 years now and it’s continued to evolve over time.”

Scaling

As the business grew Anthony and his wife realized their strengths and adapted. His wife took over managing client projects and the design team and Anthony was free to focus on new opportunities.

This flexibility led to Anthony getting his role with Beaver Builder, the page builder company they use in their agency. “I am the director of marketing for Beaver Builder and I’ve been with them for 5 years,” Anthony says. “They’ve been great people to work with and I’ve learned so much from them.”

Tactical and Strategic Digital Marketing Advice from Anthony

Focus on Core Digital Marketing Strategies

For small business owners looking to improve their online presence, Anthony recommends focusing on a few key areas:

1. Build a great website: “Nowadays, a lot of people definitely judge first impressions off of a website. So having a good, strong online presence and brand is very important.”
2. Leverage local SEO: “When people Google ‘dentists near me’ or whatever the small business owner has, your goal is to be able to be found when someone’s searching for you.”
3. Utilize social media advertising: “If they have a presence on Facebook or Instagram, you can run some targeted local ads to people who live in the area to continue to bring awareness to your business.”

Local SEO Tactics

To improve local search rankings, Anthony suggests:

1. Create location-specific service pages: “If you’re a service-based business and you can service a wide area, create service location pages. For example, ‘Chandler Web Design’ or ‘Gilbert Web Design’.”
2. Optimize Google Business Profile: Ensure your business information is accurate and up-to-date on Google My Business.
3. Collect and manage reviews: “Anytime you create a Google Business Profile, you can collect reviews on your Google My Business page, and also on Yelp. That’s a big local SEO ranking factor.”

Gathering Authentic Reviews

Anthony shares some tactics for encouraging customers to leave reviews:

1. Ask at the right time: “Usually when we finish a website project, that’s a great time to ask. They’ve had a great experience, and it’s a perfect opportunity to ask for a small favor.”
2. Follow up after additional services: “If you didn’t get their review initially and you continue to service them, you can ask after completing a new project or providing additional assistance.”

WordPress Website Development

As a WordPress expert, Anthony highly recommends the platform for business websites:

1. Trusted and widely used: “Over 44% of all websites on the web are built on WordPress. You’re going to be working on a platform that is trusted and has been through the process.”
2. Flexibility: “You can build any type of website with WordPress – e-commerce, blog, membership site, or just a service-based brochure website.”
3. Abundant resources: “There’s so much information about WordPress, so many resources, service providers, developers, training tutorials.”

Getting Started with WordPress

For business owners new to WordPress, Anthony recommends preparing the following:

1. Logo and branding: “When you’re creating a logo, you’re kind of developing your color scheme, typography style, and just a basic essence of what you’re looking for.”
2. Professional photos: “If you have a brick-and-mortar business, take professional photos of your facility. If you’re a coach or consultant, take some professional headshots.”
3. Testimonials: “Having testimonials that you can put on your website is helpful.”
4. Basic content: “Provide some basic content to your designer so they’re not working with a blank slate. Create an about page, list your services, etc.”

Essential Website Pages

Every business website should include:

1. Homepage
2. Contact Us page
3. About page
4. Terms and Conditions page
5. Privacy Policy page
6. Services page
7. Blog section (optional)

Where Does Anthony See the Future Going in Digital Marketing?

Anthony believes that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a significant role in the future of digital marketing:

1. Content creation: “AI and ChatGPT have definitely helped accelerate content creation. You can leverage AI to help you write communication online easier and quicker.”
2. Visual content: “You might be able to spin up pictures and images, edit videos and audio, and create social media graphics using AI.”
3. Enhanced efficiency: “I think it’s going to be a lot of the same communication, but leveraging more AI is what I see.”

However, Anthony emphasizes that human input remains crucial: “AI does cut down on a lot of the time, but you still need to humanize it. You still need to polish it up.”

How to Get in Contact with Anthony

For those interested in connecting with Anthony or learning more about his services, he can be reached through the following channels:

1. Twitter: @AnthonyTranMAP
2. Website: Marketing Access Pass

Anthony encourages listeners to reach out and connect, whether they have questions about digital marketing, WordPress development, or entrepreneurship.

Additional Insights from Anthony’s Journey

The Importance of Focus

Throughout the podcast, Anthony emphasizes the value of focusing on what works best in business. He shares his experience of starting with multiple income streams and then narrowing down to the most profitable areas:

“I basically said, wow, this web design business is really taking off. It’s making the majority of the income. Why don’t I focus more on that and trim the fat on other things that were not doing as well?”

This approach aligns with the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, which suggests that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts.

Balancing DIY and Outsourcing

Anthony acknowledges that while it’s possible for business owners to learn and implement digital marketing strategies themselves, there’s value in knowing when to outsource:

“Time is money. You have to figure out where to spend your time. For any software, there is a learning curve. If you’re willing to dive in and take a course, you can definitely learn it. But if you don’t want to mess with it, you can always outsource it to someone who’s already been doing it.”

The Power of Teamwork

Anthony’s success story highlights the importance of building a strong team and recognizing individual strengths:

“Sometimes business owners try to do everything themselves, and that’s where you have to trust and build out your team. If you can find a good digital marketer, a local SEO person, a good WordPress website person that you can rely on to focus on all the marketing tactical stuff, it’ll allow you to focus on running your business and catering to your customers.”

Adapting to Change

Anthony’s career journey, from aspiring fighter pilot to successful digital marketing entrepreneur, underscores the importance of adaptability in today’s rapidly changing business landscape:

“Life happens the way it’s supposed to be, and everything still turned out just fine for me.”

This mindset has allowed Anthony to pivot when necessary and seize new opportunities as they arise.

Continuous Learning and Growth

Throughout the podcast, Anthony emphasizes the importance of ongoing education and skill development in the digital marketing field:

“Every opportunity I had after work or free time I had, I would really just dive into it. I was so excited about the opportunity, and I just wouldn’t let it go.”

This commitment to learning has enabled Anthony to stay ahead of industry trends and provide valuable services to his clients.

Work-Life Balance

Anthony’s decision to leave the corporate world was largely driven by a desire for better work-life balance:

“I was working 60-hour weeks, nights, weekends, holidays, graveyard shift, you name it. I was working. But I was young and I was hungry and I was motivated. So I didn’t mind putting in the work. But I also got to a point where I kind of hit burnout.”

This experience shaped his approach to entrepreneurship, allowing him to create a lifestyle that balances professional success with personal well-being.

The Value of Support Systems

Anthony frequently mentions the support of his wife and family throughout his entrepreneurial journey:

“She was amazing. She was very supportive. She said, ‘I will support you. I will continue to work. We will have to obviously cut back on a lot of things on expenses, but if you can make the numbers work and we can survive while you do this, let’s go for it.'”

This highlights the importance of having a strong support system when taking entrepreneurial risks.

Advice to His Younger Self

What advice would he give to his younger self? Anthony thought for a moment:

“I think one good piece of advice is I used to care a lot about what others think. And as I’ve gotten older over the years I’ve kind of learned that what others think shouldn’t matter. Just focus on what you can control and focus on your own personal growth. All the other stuff is just noise and distractions.”

Anthony said this is especially true for the younger generation who struggle with social media:

“I try to tell a lot of the younger generation, especially with social media, they care so much about how they appear online, what people think about them online. But a lot of that doesn’t matter. Through time and age and maturity they do finally get to understand that.

Books, Podcasts, and Leaders That Inspire Anthony

What he recommends for books, podcasts and leaders:

“My go to book I would recommend any business owner read is ‘The One Thing’. I think it applies to a lot of what I mentioned today where sometimes you just have to focus on one thing at a time and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll get because it just adds up.

Anthony is clearly a fan:

“I’ve read it multiple times. I’ve recommended it to friends and family and business owners all the time.”

That aligns with what Anthony said earlier about focusing on core strategies and the most important parts of your business. “The One Thing” is all about narrowing your focus to get extraordinary results and that has definitely worked for Anthony throughout his entrepreneurial career.

Final Thoughts

Anthony Tran’s journey from Air Force to digital marketing entrepreneur is a great read for business owners and digital marketers.

By sharing his knowledge on local SEO, WordPress development and digital marketing strategies Anthony gives small business owners a roadmap to improve their online presence. As the digital landscape changes Anthony’s insights on AI in marketing gives us a glimpse into what’s to come.

In the end Anthony’s story is an inspiration for those who want to navigate the ever changing world of digital marketing and entrepreneurship. Focus on core strategies, use the tools and resources you have and be willing to adapt and learn and you’ll succeed in the digital age.