Marketing School | Digital Marketing | Online Marketing

In episode #764, Eric and Neil Discuss whose advice you should follow. Tune in to hear how you know who to trust. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Which Marketers Should You Listen To [00:45] Take what most people say with a grain of salt, until you've tested out the tactics. [01:05] Until you run tests, you don’t know if a tactic will drive results. [01:40] Podcasts and books are great for ideas. [02:25] If someone gives you a tactic and it works, you can begin to trust his or her advice. [03:03] It’s not about the person, it is about the strategy. [03:24] A Canadian SEO gave Neil a 40% increase in search traffic. However, the other advice wasn’t helpful and didn’t work. [03:55] Neil knew there was a risk in working with this company, because only one piece of advice worked. [04:35] You have to be open-minded when listening to advice. [05:29] That’s it for today!! [05:33] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we 

In episode #763, Eric and Neil discuss how you can reduce refund rates. Tune in to hear how you can provide better service to avoid refund rates. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic:  How to Reduce Your Refund Rates [00:35] First, understand why people are asking for refunds. [00:58] When someone wants a refund, ask them why. [01:11] Whether that is an email or a survey, the info will be helpful. [01:27] Once you have about 50 answers, you will probably start to see a pattern. [01:45] Jump Cut has an action-based guarantee. They will refund if the customer proves they went through the entire online course they offer. [02:20] Their refund rate dropped to 5%. [02:42] Expand your refund period. The longer it drags out, the fewer refunds you will have. [03:01] Adjust your pricing. [03:25] Offer to drop the price instead of refunding. [03:47] When you do that, customers like and respect you more. [04:10] Offer products and services for a limited or set period of time. [04:59] That’s it f

In episode #762, Eric and Neil discuss why you should stick to one marketing channel. Tune in to hear why focusing on one channel is so important. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why You Should Only Stick to One Marketing Channel [00:36] When Eric has tried too many channels at once, he has failed. [00:50] Doing too much spreads you too thin and can lead to disastrous results. [01:06] Focus on the thing that is most successful. [01:30] Marketing is not just one channel, it has to encompasses everything. [01:50] Each individual should focus on their strongest skill set. [03:10] Neil is not great at Instagram, so he doesn’t bother with it. [04:00] Look at the most successful marketers. They crush it at social media, but they don’t ignore the other channels available (they just have another team member take care of it). [04:19] That’s it for today! [04:34] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Ple

In episode #761, Eric and Neil discuss how many funnels you need. Tune in to hear why more funnels doesn’t always equal greater success. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How Many Marketing Funnels Do You Need [00:40] ConvertKit and Drift are useful funnels. [00:55] Using too many gets confusing. [01:11] Neil has one marketing funnel. [01:27] He segments inside the funnel, so by segmenting he can pitch offers based on the path the customer follows. [01:44] Even people who love funnels, tend to pare it down to one main funnel. [02:08] With too many funnels, you can easily lose track of things. [02:44] Once you have one advanced funnel, it’s easier to improve upon it. [03:08] Testing and improving on efunnel is better than having multiple, complicated funnels. [03:40] Base your upsells and downsells from the info gained in the first funnel. [03:55] Make your funnel like a “Choose Your Own Adventure”, so it can be personalized to each visitor. [04:25] It’s important to see how people

In episode #760, Eric and Neil discuss putting a phone number on your website. Tune in to hear if this is a necessary tactic. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Should You Place a Phone Number on Your Website? [00:38] Eric gets 10-15 calls per day. [00:56] Neil thinks it’s a waste of time to field random calls. [01:15] Use chat services instead. [01:30] Most of the calls are junk. [01:45] Consider segmentation and only reveal your number to US visitors. [03:00] It’s easier to collect a lead and call them. [03:35] You can use Drift or Intercom to help segment your visitors and leads. [03:57] That’s all for today! [03:59] If you could take two minutes out of your day, we are trying to improve the listening experience for you, so go to Singlegrain.com/survey and help us gain some insight into what matters to our listeners. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review.

In episode #759, Eric and Neil discuss easy SEO tactics. Tune in to hear some of the easiest things you can do to improve your traffic. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Low Hanging Fruit - SEO Tactics That Easy And Effective [00:40] Make the most of what you have already. [01:25] Upgrade posts and content. [01:45] Remove the dates from URLs. [01:55] Making URLs more generic is beneficial for your Google ranking. [02:33] Shorten URLs to increase your traffic. [02:57] Neil has deleted content before. [03:15] Pruning your content could negatively affect your traffic. [03:57] When pruning, look at what the post is doing for you. If it isn’t performing well, it won’t hurt to delete, but it’s better to fix what’s there. [04:45] Speed up your site. [04:50] GTMetrix will help you see how fast your site is. [05:08] You may find that there are useless tags slowing down your load times. [05:28] The best hack is building a brand. [05:37] This is the most reliable long-term tactic. [06:15]

In episode #758, Eric and Neil tell you how you can find freelancers that don’t suck. Tune in to hear how your hiring process could be improved. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Find Cheap Freelancers That Don't Suck [00:43] Eric has been using AngelList to find freelancers, while Neil has been using Upwork and Problogger. [01:20] Eric has found great recruiters on Upwork. [02:00] Make sure you choose people who have good reviews, high success ratio, and a lot of completed projects. [02:30] Neil likes to skype with potential freelancers. [03:00] Just talk to people and figure out what they can do for your business. [03:20] Basecamp has written about their hiring process. [03:50] Pay potential employees for a small test project. [04:15] This will give you an idea about the quality of their work. [05:10] Neil would find freelancers and test out 5 at the same time. [05:26] That’s all for today! [05:28] If you could take two minutes out of your day, we are trying to improve th

In episode #757, Eric and Neil discuss 7 powerful marketing tools. Tune in to hear about some lesser-known marketing tools. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Powerful Marketing Tools You May Not Have Heard Of [00:35] 1: Supermetrics is top of mind for Eric, because they are putting together reports for an all-hands meeting and it helps to make powerful reports. [01:11] 2: Clickflow is Eric’s tool, but Neil likes it because it allows you to do A/B testing. [01:58] 3: Bonjouro allows you to customize and personalize videos to your customers. [02:30] 4: Profit Well helps you find the lifetime value of your customer. [03:33] 5: LTV Plus has agents that can man your chatbots. [04:23] 6: AimTell creates push notifications that helps bring traffic to your website. [05:00] It also helps send notifications to those who did not purchase anything. [05:22] 7: Answer Force provides an agent to man your phone lines. [05:54] This is helpful if you are in a service business. [06:06] That’s all f

In episode #756, Eric and Neil discuss whether it is better to charge a monthly fee or a one-time fee. Tune in to hear which is more lucrative. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Is It Better to Charge a Monthly Fee or a One-Time Fee [00:40] If you have a monthly fee, look at the lifetime value of your customer. [00:45] Think about charging a one-time that is more or equivalent to your LTV and see if that generates more revenue. [01:05] People like the concept of a one-time fee. [01:24] It’s a much more appealing marketing message. [01:33] You have to be testing! [02:37] If your average customer only lasts one year, it’s more beneficial to charge up front. [02:56] Neil tested out up-front payment and a payment plan and found that up-front was the best system for his business. [03:25] If you charge a one-time fee for a lot of stuff, this holds greater appeal. [04:05] It’s all about the lifetime value of your customer: this is the best way to determine your pricing structure. [04:43]

In episode #755, Eric and Neil discuss whether you should give up on marketing campaigns that don’t work right away. Tune in to hear whether you should stay the course or drop dead weight. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Should You Give Up On Marketing Campaigns That Don't Work Initially [00:40] Singlegrain is trying to do what ClickFunnels has done in terms of bundling software with online courses. [01:00] Eric made an elaborate webinar and found that people really liked it. [01:17] However, no one bought immediately afterwards. [01:35] Eric was so disappointed, but he decided it would take more work to succeed pitching bundles. [02:04] The feedback he received let him know that he was downplaying his teaching skills too much. [02:15] So, sometimes you need to take a step back and re-jigger things and understand that everything takes time. [02:35] Don’t give up. [03:00] Marketing isn’t easy: you’re not going to get the results you want unless you put in a lot of work. [03:10] It

In episode 754, Eric and Neil discuss ways to reduce spending. Tune in to hear what you can do to cut spending without affecting your traffic. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Reduce Your Marketing Spend Without Hurting Your Traffic [00:40] It’s the most expensive at the very beginning. [00:53] You’ll find that over time, the methods you use to get traffic will go into automatic maintenance mode. [01:00] If something is in maintenance mode,  you shouldn’t be spending as much money. [01:18] Why spend the same amount of money when it takes a third of the effort to get results? [01:30] If you take your eye off the campaign, numbers get worse. [01:45] Make sure you are always looking at the basics, optimizing, and cutting what doesn’t work. [02:02] You will struggle to find where you can cut. [02:12] Neil recommends looking at credit card statements to understand your expenses and where to cut. [02:30] Cutting small things will have an impact and you will save money. [02:45] Si

In episode 753, Eric and Neil discuss the best way to write a cold email. Tune in to hear why you shouldn’t pitch someone right off the bat. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Best Way to Write a Cold Email [00:35] When Eric started emailing people, he would write epic novels. [00:53] It’s important that your emails are concise. No one wants to read a novel! [01:03] Make sure you personalize it in some way. [01:15] For instance, Neil like bottled water, so you could find a way to incorporate that into your pitch. [01:40] Don’t make a sales pitch, pitch a call or a smaller ask. [02:00] Neil has found that when you pitch in your very first email, it is so much harder to close or convert that customer. [02:07] Build a conversation. [02:22] Ask people for their feedback, then maybe get on the phone with them. [02:28] Ask if certain changes would sweeten the pot for the customer. [03:26] Build a relationship before you pitch your customer. [03:52] Most people fail at emailing because th

In episode #752, Eric and Neil discuss an easy alternative to content marketing. Tune in to hear how you can get great content for free. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Easy Alternative to Content Marketing [00:38] Have your users create content for you! [00:44] Consulting.com and its proprietor didn’t enjoy content marketing, but he thought it would be a great idea to get users, customers, etc. to created video testimonials for him. [01:34] Consulting.com has thousands of video testimonials that ultimately help drive sales and conversions. [02:10] Kissmetrics asked everyone who was part a competition they were running to write a piece for the blog. [02:28] Because of this, they got 7 blog posts per week for free. [03:05] The content was also high-quality. [03:15] Yelp and Trip Advisor do so well because they have user-generated content. [03:30] Screen the content to make sure it’s quality work. [03:45] Listen Notes pulls people’s reviews and notes about podcasts from the web

In episode #751, Eric and Neil discuss how to properly hire interns. Tune in to hear tips on making the most of internships. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Hire Marketing Interns [00:45] Interns are awesome because they aren’t jaded and are basically blank slates. [00:55] They are often quick learners and you can train them to have a future in your company. [01:35] Eric had an intern that didn’t have a college degree, but he is one of their best employees now. [01:55] You never know where good talent will come from. [02:05] One intern earned his spot at Singlegrain by writing an 800-word blog post about what he would do to improve the site. [02:18] Eric pays his interns. [02:25] AngelList has been a great resource for finding interns. [02:36] Neil goes to colleges directly. [02:48] The schools help with recruiting. [03:10] As your potential interns what they are looking for in a career. [03:25] Don’t make false promises. [03:45] Don’t string interns along with the hopes

In episode #750, Eric and Neil discuss how you can get more traffic just by making your site load quickly. Tune in to hear how you can speed up your website. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Get More Traffic From The Google Page Speed Update [00:55] Page speed has always been a factor, but now they are rolling out page speed algorithm updates. [01:45] Eric’s site was run through GTMetrix to show him what was slowing it down. [02:21] He then cleaned up the slow parts and tested out the site again. [02:48] He got a substantial bump in visitors once he sped up his site. [03:25] Neil uses Google AMP and MaxCDN to make sure his site loads quickly and is routing through local servers across the globe. [03:45] Neil’s site also uses lazy loading, so things load as you scroll. [04:07] Make sure to compress images and reduce javascripts. [04:30] Bad code will ruin a site. [04:53] Make sure to make the most of what you already have instead of chasing new, shiny objects. [05:34] That’s

In episode #749, Eric and Neil discuss whether riches are in the niches. Tune in to hear whether you need to focus on a niche market. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Are The Riches Really In The Niches? [00:55] If they are, then why do we do different things? [01:15] In the beginning, you can go after a niche, because it is too expensive to go after a huge category. [01:20] Once you are established, you should expand and get beyond a niche market. [01:22] For example, ConvertKit tried to compete in the email marketing space and it didn’t work out. When they changed course to be a service for bloggers, they started succeeding. Now, they are Seva and have a larger business. [02:00] It is hard to make millions working within a niche. [02:35] If you are going to swing, swing for the fences. [02:54] If you don’t have a lot of cash, go for a niche. If you have the money, go for a huge market from day one. [03:25] Eric interviewed someone who works for Kahuna. [03:44] They focused on one

In episode #748, Eric and Neil discuss how you could learn the best marketing hacks from the top 1%. Tune in to hear how you can get the best hacks from the best people. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Learn the Best Marketing Hacks From the Top 1% [00:40] When learning marketing, you are not getting the best tactics from the best people. [01:15] Marketers don’t necessarily want to reveal their best, most effective tactics. [01:30] If they share everything that is working, the more people that use that tactic, the less effective it becomes. [02:08] If you network enough, eventually, people will share tactics with you. [02:28] Eric and Neil share tactics all the time. [03:07] You can throw dinner parties, attend conferences, join groups like EO or YPO and you will build relationships. [03:25] You don’t need internet-famous people to get people to attend your events. [03:45] The goal is to build relationships and learn from others in your field. [05:00] Build relationships wi

In episode #747, Eric and Neil discuss how Seinfeld emails can increase your sales. Tune in to hear why you should be writing Seinfeld emails. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How Seinfeld Emails Will Grow Your Sales [00:45] Ben Settle has a service called “Email Players” and shares a bunch of email marketing tactics. [01:20] Seinfeld Emails are so-called, because the emails don’t talk about the product or anything related to your business (it’s an email about nothing), but then you find a way to tie it in to your product. [02:26] There are so many different email sequences. [03:25] If people just wrote emails for different parts of their sequence, their conversions would go up. [03:40] You need to send out as many emails as you can. [03:50] Sam Evans earns over $20 Million/year doing his consulting course. [04:00] He puts out an email every single day. [04:25] It’s not just using the Seinfeld method, it should be about storytelling. [05:06] That’s all for today! [05:10] If you co

In episode #746, Eric and Neil discuss the best way to build links without actually building them. Tune in to hear the long-term method for link building. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Best Way To Build Links Without Building Them [00:34] Relationships! [00:38] When you get to know more people, they will naturally link to you. [00:52] Neil knows a lot of people in the industry (including Eric). He and Eric have linked to each other without even asking. [01:20] Neil links to Eric not only because he is a friend, but because his content is good and relevant to his business. [01:50] You shouldn’t ask your friends and taint the friendship. [02:04] Noah Kagan did a video about this very subject. [02:25] Build relationships without expecting anything and it will pay dividends in the future. [03:10] Attend conferences, join slack groups, join LinkedIn groups to build relationships. [03:33] Everyone starts at zero and it will pay to build relationships. Say yes to everything at firs

In episode #745, Eric and Neil discuss the “land and expand” content marketing strategy. Tune in to learn about this method and how to apply it to your site. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Land and Expand Content Marketing Strategy [01:05] Eric and Neil have a domain for this podcast, but they haven't been paying much attention to it. [01:55] Over the last seven days, they have gotten over 1000 visitors. This means they get about 6000 visitors per month. [02:12] They are planning to expand the content to see if it positively affects their traffic. [02:30] If you take all the pages you have and just add more content, you are wasting your time; look at which page gets the most traffic and expand upon it. [03:18] Use AHREFS and see how your keywords are ranking. [03:20] If the keywords drive 500-1000 visits per month, go ahead and expand. Otherwise, ignore that page or those keywords. [03:45] Within 30 days you may see an increase in traffic, but never more than double your curren