As with many aspects of business, implementing a new digital marketing strategy can sometimes feel like a risky endeavor. When you’re new or have limited experience in business ownership, testing out new tactics and investing money in projects and initiatives that may or may not fail can feel like a waste of money and resources.

And while there’s no way to ever fully guarantee a strategy will work, there are some steps you can take to help ensure you obtain a return on your investment. Here, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights on those steps and explain why they find them so beneficial.

1. Incorporate Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketers can be a great option to guarantee ROI for digital marketing campaigns. Many digital marketers will only charge for “conversions” rather than “traffic.” A conversion is typically defined as someone who completes a contact form on the website or even someone who makes a purchase (if selling goods online). Further, many customers give more value to a referral or endorsement from an affiliate than a normal paid ad run by the company directly. With an affiliate business model, you can position yourself for no risk, and only pay after you have the new customer! – Bill Mulholland, ARC Relocation

2. Establish Key Performance Indicators

In today’s marketplace, digital marketing is essential, but businesses cannot afford to waste money by throwing it at the “next best thing.” To give yourself the best chances of a return on your investment when implementing a new digital campaign, you need to establish key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs measure the progress of your goals (Are you getting what you want?). KPIs should be specific and number based. Five KPIs worth tracking include the number of visitors, leads, qualified leads, opportunities and conversion rates. Use analytic tools to track your numbers. Analyzing the data allows you to shift the campaign based on what’s working and what isn’t. Google Analytics is an excellent tool that you can set up to track specific goals as well as customize the analytics for your website. – Jared Weitz, United Capital Source Inc.

3. Leverage Promotional Codes

Advertise with a unique promotional code that gives a special digital download gift with purchase. You will be able to measure exactly how many purchases came from that marketing strategy. You can change the codes with each channel of advertising and see which channel is working the best for you so you know where to invest more of your funds in the future and where you should be pulling back from. The customer also feels special because they are getting something extra and unique for their purchase. – Mary Harcourt, CosmoGlo

4. Research Your Target Customer

Research is the most important way to ensure a return. You should establish exactly who you are targeting because reaching people who don’t care is a waste of funds. In recent years, it’s become increasingly important to know where your customers are online. Research may tell you that your customers break toward one social media platform more than others. – Matt Doyle, Excel Builders

5. Take A Balanced, Holistic Approach

A well-rounded digital marketing strategy with clear goals, objectives and metrics is more likely to show a return on investment than one that neglects any of these key components. One way to ensure a digital marketing strategy will show a return on investment is to create a balanced strategy that covers not only a single digital marketing channel but also multiple channels. This way, you can measure and compare results across channels to see which ones are performing well and adjust your budget and approach accordingly. By taking the time to create a holistic strategy, you can set your business up for success in the ever-changing digital landscape. – Sujay Pawar, Astra

6. Automate Your Processes

In order to achieve better ROI, businesses must focus on automating their marketing processes. Automation tools help by managing and executing campaigns, analyzing customer data and providing insights that allow businesses to make better-informed decisions. Optimizing and streamlining tasks are a breeze with automation. When used effectively, automation tools can take your digital marketing efforts to the next level and help you achieve better ROI. Automation can deliver this by managing and executing campaigns flawlessly right from launch to execution to analysis. This not only saves you valuable time and resources, but it also ensures that your campaigns are executed flawlessly, resulting in higher ROI. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Day

7. Add Value Through Quality Content

Your digital marketing efforts will always work if you can create high-quality content that adds value to your users’ lives. For that, you need to have a good understanding of the market and your users’ needs, demands and more. When you know that, it becomes easier to create content that will help your users satisfy their needs, conquer their fears and solve their problems. It helps them relate to your business and return to you in the future. – Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite

8. Utilize Split Testing

The key to getting a return on your digital marketing efforts is to implement split testing when possible. Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is a method of comparing two versions of a piece of content to see which one performs better. For example, you could create two variations of an ad and test which one gets more clicks. By doing this, you can ensure that your digital marketing efforts are effective and are providing a return on your investment. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

9. Double Down On What’s Currently Working

Identify what’s currently getting you sales in your business and double down on those initiatives. Whether it’s SEO, pay-per-click or email marketing, determine what’s making you the most money right now and throw your budget at that endeavor. In time, you’ll hopefully find that your business is making more money and outperforming your goals. From there, you can evaluate other avenues that need growth and invest your enhanced budget in these initiatives. What’s essential is that you keep the same momentum you had on the first initiative so you don’t fall short. If you can execute this method successfully, the sky’s the limit. – Nick Venditti, StitchGolf

10. Ask Your Customers For Feedback

If you want a noticeable ROI for your new digital marketing strategy, ask your customers for feedback along the way. People will gladly tell you what they like or don’t like about your marketing. Use this information to fine-tune your strategy and create value for your audience. If you continuously improve, you’ll likely see a return on your investment. – John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC