Ekta Gupta was nominated for a PPC spotlight profile in September of 2022.
How long have you been working in PPC?
About 5 years.
How did you get started in PPC?
I had no clue about what the heck marketing or PPC was earlier.
When I completed high school, even after being a topper in my schools and high school, cracking almost all the top business college admission exams in the country, the college management lost the documents I submitted and there were some issues due to which I ended up leaving the college without getting admissions.
After that, I started looking for things I can do with no college degree and make money. I started an Instagram page about book summaries, and that is when I got my first social media marketing gig. And that was my PPC story.
If you went to college or university, what did you study? If not college, do you have any other degrees or certifications?
Nope, no college.
I took two cohort-based courses in marketing, one was for performance marketing, and the second was for full-stack marketing from a startup marketing agency called Avalon which is now turned into a full-fledged B2B community-building platform.
Apart from this, I have taken so many certification and non-certification courses from the advertising platforms, masterclasses, communities, interacting with people, Youtube, Google, and free Torrent courses, you name it.
I am humbled by the fact that I get the ability to learn so much without investing a lot of cash upfront so I try my best to share what I learned.
What was your first job that involved PPC?
I got my first social media marketing gig for an education page for Current Affairs. They needed some paid promotions on Instagram.
The second was to run a promotion for a $5 ticket sale for the Best Food Recipe Competition.
The third gig was to run brand awareness promotions for a media company.
I kept working in different roles of marketing, for different brands, for different locations and that is how I become a full-stack marketer specializing in customer acquisition.
What is your current position and how long have you been in it?
Currently, I am working as a freelance consultant for customer acquisition via PPC. I work under my brand name Witrame. I have been working under this for almost 3 years.
What kinds of things do you currently handle or manage in PPC?
Strategizing the full funnel acquisition and retention strategies and executing them along with different teams.
My role includes constant collaboration with the marketing, sales, tech, and product team to make sure that our customer journey is smooth across the whole funnel and that we are getting all the data from all the teams in one place and getting profitable paying customers who retain with the business.
Has your career path had any hiccups or nontraditional aspects that you’d like to share?
I think mine was the most interesting one.
Every step of my career has been a trial by fire to make me the fittest survivor in the game.
I do not regret any part of it till now because I might not be in the same place if I hadn’t been through this roller coaster ride.
I met with the top VCs and talked life lessons, and spoke with many founders, marketers, and sales leaders.
I helped companies scale to millions of dollars in ARR.
I have intellectual sparring partners from almost every industry.
I wouldn’t have gotten these from a traditional career path.
What are you most proud of in your PPC career?
Meeting with so many people.
PPC had been a medium for me to connect with so many people across the globe. It gave me the ability to figure out how I can solve one of the biggest problems of the businesses i.e., how to get paying customers.
And the best thing about PPC is that it is for everyone. You don’t need to be a million dollar company to run ads. You can get the desired data and results even when you are an SMB. That is amazing.
What, if anything, do you wish you could “do over” in your PPC career?
I might have started earlier. Although it might not be feasible now, only if it was possible, I might have started working after school and more on the paid side of marketing. But I still doubt if it might have made me consciously aware to the level I am at right now.
So, no regrets 🙂
If you could give advice to someone either considering or just starting out in PPC, what would that be?
Until now, I have been figuring out everything based on my ability to put bets. My experience taught me that is what is important for anyone in the beginning.
To find out the opportunities that will help you rise while you learn, grow and help others solve their problems. For this, you need that ability to filter out the opportunity worth putting your bet on. It comes when you have been consistently putting bets on so many things that you get the eye for mapping the right opportunities and being present to grab them.
So, say yes to most things but try to learn when to say no and when you should leave and take a leap of faith.
Know that if you are here, you are already in the game. You step up and become stronger or die, the choice is upon you.
Are you interested in speaking opportunities? If so, what topics are your jam?
Absolutely. I am an ambivert, creative-tech nerd marketer who can sell. Any and everything that is at the intersection of these is my jam. I also like to talk about human psychology and philosophy. I have been learning it unofficially though …
Well, that is for another story 🙂
Anything else you’d like to share?
I am thankful for this opportunity to get my name among these fantastic marketers. I wasn’t hoping this though but Julie F Bacchini texted me regarding this, so I am very thankful.
I like communities where people share knowledge without judging you based on anything and help each other grow and #ppcchat is one of those. I will do my best to share my learning and experiences with everyone as freely as possible to the level it seems like a scam.
Where can people find you to connect (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)?
You can reach out to me with your questions, and I will figure out something that can help you or connect you with someone who can help you.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/witrame/
Twitter: @1tagupta