Marketing School | Digital Marketing | Online Marketing

In episode #609, Eric and Neil discuss whether you really need more backlinks to outrank your competition. Tune in to hear what you can do to improve your ranking. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Do You Really Need More Backlinks to Outrank Your Competition? [00:34] Eric doesn’t think you need more backlinks. [00:54] Sometimes, a wikipedia post will rank higher than others because they have domain authority. [01:15] However, Eric and Neil don’t even check their domain authority anymore. [01:21] When you’re starting off, this is something you need to check, but once you are more established, it doesn’t matter. [01:41] Neither Eric or Neil even knows how many backlinks they have. [02:15] To win business, Eric’s company will show companies how many backlinks they have as compared to their competitors. [02:30] Once you’ve been working with a customer for a year or two, you produce good content, build natural links, create videos, create podcasts, and you no longer check on backlinks. [

In episode #608, Eric and Neil discuss what you should do in light of the fact that email marketing is dying. Tune in to hear what avenues you should pursue to mitigate the loss of traffic through email marketing. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Email Marketing Is Dying (and Here's What You Should Do Next) [00:34] Everyone thinks no one uses email anymore, which is a false assumption, especially if you work in the corporate world. [00:55] Although email marketing is dying, that is only for the younger demographics. [01:15] Email isn’t as effective as it used to be, but as long as you leverage all the other channels, you can still do well. [01:40] Combine emails, push notifications, and chat bots; you will get back some of the traffic you lost through email marketing. [02:00] Neil spoke to someone who works in Dubai and he still makes all his money through email marketing to an older audience. [02:21] Eric loves to use Subscribers.com, Many Chat, and text messaging to market to a youn

In episode #607, Eric and Neil discuss what happened when they purchased backlinks. Tune in to hear whether this is still a valid marketing method. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: We Bought $100,000 Worth of Backlinks (and Here's What Happened Next) [00:40] Eric and Neil no longer buy links, but did so during the earlier parts of their careers. [00:55] They purchased random sites with no relevance to their industries. [01:30] Link buying is bigger than it used to be and Google isn’t banning any of the purchased sites. [01:55] Sites will spend $100,000 on backlinks, but they are not getting the traffic that they used to. [02:02] Google is now using a lot of factors such as brand queries, user metrics, on-page SEO, Hummingbird, and Rank Brain. [02:45] Paid advertising is the biggest trend right now and it’s working. [03:00] Buying links is the old SEO, instead you should think about ways to repurpose and create great content. [03:26] Neil uses blogging, video, and podcasting as mar

In episode #606, Eric and Neil discuss how you can outrank your competitors simply by copying them. Tune in to hear how and what you should be copying. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Outrank Your Competitors by Copying [00:53] Single Grain went from 4000 visitors/month to 100,000 visitors/month by copying great ideas from his competitors. [01:20] Take the best techniques, posts, podcasts and spin it to make it more useful. [01:36] Dr. Axe is a website that crushed the competition. [01:58] Dr. Axe checked which of their competitors’ URLS were getting the most traffic, had the fewest backlinks, and then wrote better versions of those pages. [02:57] This got them to 20 Million visitors per month. [03:34] AHREFS is one of Eric and Neil’s favorite tools. It can do a content gap analysis, which will help you see where others are failing. Fill in that gap! [04:25] Neil wrote The Beginners’ Guide to Online Marketing. It cost him around $20,000 or $30,000. [04:51] It was a combinat

In episode #605, Eric and Neil discuss whether you should focus on quantity or quality when it comes to link building. Tune in to hear what you might be doing wrong. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Quantity vs Quality: What's Better For Link Building? [00:43] Neil finds that neither proves more useful than the other. Slow and steady wins the race. [01:02] This means whether you post ten links per month or three with high quality content, consistency is the only thing that matters. [01:52] You never consider link-building when you’re starting your business, but it matters. [02:20] When starting out, focus on letting people know who you are and what your brand is. [02:45] Eric builds the majority of his links on Singlegrain. [02:56] He and his company focus on quantity and find that quality isn’t always a factor. [03:15] Now, Singlegrain pulls in 100,000 visitors per month. [03:25] Don’t post junk, but quality rarely matters. [03:45] Don’t always link back to your homepage, rather p

In episode #604, Eric and Neil discuss ways you can convert site visitors into repeat visitors. Tune in to hear how you can increase your conversions and revenue. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Convert Your Visitors Into Repeat Visitors [00:45] 25-30% of Single Grain’s visitors are repeat visitors. [00:48] Most people will have this percentage of repeat visitors. [01:12] Collect email addresses and re-market to them. [01:30] People on your email list will be the highest converting channel. [01:36] Emails account for 30% of Overstock’s sales. [01:55] Made a lead magnet. [02:10] Use Beacon.by to make checklists and ebooks. Other helpful tools are: Canva and Hello Bar. [02:40] Use multiple channels; try push notifications. [02:45] To facilitate this, try Subscribers, Push Crew, or One Signal. [03:00] Chat bots are still effective (not as much as last year). You can get 40% of those people to your website. [03:24] You can use RSS to blog. [03:50] It’s a quick and easy way t

In episode #603, Eric and Neil discuss ways you should emulate HubSpot. Tune in to hear the ways in which HubSpot is successfully converting people into customers. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Growth Hack Your Company by Copying Hubspot [00:35] Eric had one of the HubSpot VP’s, David Cancil, who is now the CEO of Drift, on Growth Everywhere. [00:47] David said that Hubspot got a lot of its clients/sales from it website grader tool. [01:04] When it comes to software, you want to give away something everyone wants. [01:18] Even if you release a cheaper version of coveted software and give it away for free, you will get a lot more traffic. [01:43] You can even apply this to physical products. [02:10] “Marketing is a race to the bottom.” -Neil [02:25] Neil bought and re-launched UberSuggest; did little to no marketing; and offered free versions of his competitors apps or software. [02:50] Russell Brunson offered a free book for which you only had to pay shipping. [03:15] Ou

In episode #602, Eric and Neil count out 7 hacks that will help you increase your revenue. Tune in to hear these great hacks! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Simple Copy Hacks That'll Allow You to Sell Anything [00:35] #1: Take a look at what everyone in your space is doing. [01:03] Focus your copy on a niche instead of directly competing with others content. [01:33] By tailoring to a specific audience, your conversions will go up. [01:54] #2: Check out Backlinko. [02:01] All the posts are easy to read. Model yoru content after this. [02:40] #3: Integrate testimonials and case studies that prove your point. [03:10] Make sure you include more than one testimonial. [03:20] Make it more of a story. [03:33] #4: Emaildrips will help you draw inspiration on what to do next. [03:59] #5: Do the opposite pitch of what is on your landing page. [04:30] Most of your visitors won’t convert, but re-market to your core audience. Send them to a different landing page and try a more emotional

In episode #601, Eric and Neil discuss the one thing that Marketers tend to overlook. Tune in to hear what you might be neglecting in your business plan. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic:The One Essential Thing That Most Marketers Miss [00:50] You can’t build something great without a great team. [01:22] Hiring and recruiting are the biggest marketing hacks out there, but people often don’t think about this. [01:41] Algorithms always change and it makes it hard to stay popular or “on top”. [02:20] It doesn’t matter what channel you’re marketing through, but rather your brand is most important. [02:41] Focus on providing an amazing customer experience. [02:48] Use Zappos as an example of great customer service, [03:51] The CEO of Priceline realized that at the end of the day, it was all about his team and the people that make up the company. [04:49] Who? Is a great book that will teach you about the psychology of team building. [05:04] Primal Branding is another good resource. [05

In episode #600, Eric and Neil explain how you can generate traffic on Instagram. Tune in to hear how you can leverage social media in order to grow your business. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Generate Traffic From Instagram When You Have No Followers [00:40] Make sure you’re using the right tags. [00:43] There are tools like RiteTags to help you with this. [01:04] Promote your Instagram on your other social accounts. [01:10] Get the most engaged people to follow you. [01:18] The more engaged your followers, the more viral your post will end up being. [01:28] Eric finds the most engaged users in his industry and engages them on social media. [01:52] Start doing stories and when people watch, get them to go to your website. [02:13] Instagram Pods are a way of getting people together and like each other’s posts. [02:57] Eric likes Unity Influence, which is a platform where you can find influencers (NOTE: Eric has invested in this company). [03:22] When someone likes 20 pi

In episode #599, Eric and Neil discuss how you can run a virtual marketing team. Tune in for tips on how to manage remote workers. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How To Run A Virtual Marketing Team [00:33] Neil was listening to Masters of Scale and the CEO of Zoom was talking about how 50% of their talent are remote workers. [01:05] Eric hires people from all over and they work remotely. [01:17] He does it not because remote workers are cheaper (they aren’t), but because they are talented. [01:45] Eric and Neil have been tapping into the virtual market for 10-15 years. [02:07] When running a virtual team, people have to specialize. [02:31] Neil finds that communication is better when everyone is on site. [03:10] 1:1 meetings are key for direct reports. [04:17] When you want people to perform their best, give them KPIs and other marks to hit; goal-setting is key. [05:40] Eric’s team uses Bonusly, which allows you to award points to people, which then translate to online dollars. I

In episode #598, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 crazy ways you can improve your business. Tune in to hear how you can attract more customers and increase revenue! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Crazy Marketing Experiments That Will Change Your Business [00:40] #1: Run brand-related experiments. [01:04] Google relies on many factors when it comes to ranking and if people are searching for you, your rank will probably be higher. [01:47] #2: Build a repurposing framework. [02:35] Over 10% of podcast listeners make over 6 figures! [02:53] #3: Create your own podcast or advertise on some. [03:20] #4: Build a remarketing funnel that uses videos to tell your story. [04:19] Video has ten times more brand awareness than text or other forms of marketing. [04:30] #5: Showcase your daily life. [04:45] By documenting your work life, you will find that you will have an engaged community. [05:18] #6: What’s old is new again. [05:29] While people are spending on digital, this doesn’t negate the

In episode #597, Eric and Neil discuss how you should market an ICO. Tune in to hear tips on how to approach marketing this new industry. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Market an ICO [00:33] An ICO is an “Initial Coin Offering”. [00:36] A lot of people are releasing cryptocurrencies. [01:03] If you are a marketing agency, when working with an ICO, you have to “cover your ass”. [01:55] Some of the ICO’s have bad websites. [02:21] They’re using bad animations and insider lingo that doesn’t help to further their business. [02:40] You will do much better if you don’t use insider lingo and instead create a simplistic video explaining your product and its value. [03:10] Keep it simple! [03:17] ICO are now maxing out their Telegram groups (which means they have more than 75,000 people in that group). [03:45] One way to grow your telegram group is to blast your email list. Eric did this when working with Polygram. [04:00] The first email drove people to the Telegram group. [04:

In episode #596, Eric and Neil explain how you can convert leads into customers. Tune in to hear what steps you can take to increase your sales revenue. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Convert Leads into Customers [00:34] Eric and Neil both get leads from their website, but only convert about 5% into customers. [00:52] Converting comes down to nurturing, because you have to coax people into being ready to buy. [01:05] If 5% of your leads are qualified, you could follow up in various ways, but it could take a long time. [01:48] Eric’s company sends an introductory email. [02:02] He has also created a great channel via the Growth Everywhere podcast. [02:29] Nurture people with content over and over. [02:39] Most of your site visitors and leads will buy right away, but many will be hard to convert over time. [03:03] Real-person engagement helps convert people who aren’t sure. [03:14] This means attending conferences, hosting live events, Facebook Live Q&A’s, etc. [03:40] When

In episode #595, Eric and Neil discuss the best ways to engage people on social media. Tune in to hear what you could be doing differently. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Engage with Your Social Media Fans When They Keep Ignoring You [00:36] Facebook recently tweaked their algorithm, which means you will probably have to pay more for paid ads. [00:56] Even if you do it wrong, you will get more engagement. [01:15] Neil used to only do text-based articles, but he found that videos gives him more reach and engagement. [01:41] Create more than one type of engagement. [02:27] Offer a giveaway that encourages referrals in order to participate. [03:01] Video is the content that currently drives the most engagement. [03:20] Eric and Neil were called out on their Facebook page for not engaging their followers and just leaving the page to operate on its own. [03:36] Ultimately, the person who called them out was right. [03:52] If you see people asking industry-related questions on s

In episode #594, Eric and Neil count the 7 unique marketing systems that always work. Tune in to hear what steps you should be taking to increase your revenue. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Unique Marketing Systems that Work [00:36] #1: Neil likes doing three meetings each week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). [00:49] Every Monday, they split up into teams of three and brainstorm ways to further the business. On Wednesday, they implement those ideas, and on Friday they discuss the results. [01:18] #2: At Eric’s company, they have an “innovation meeting” twice a month. [01:25] They do it over lunch in a conference room and they discuss movements in the industry. Everyone must participate and share. [02:10] #3: Create a team and a system to make your content more popular. [02:19] In Neil’s company, they have a team that specializes in improving previous content. [02:54] #4: Refer to Traction: The Entrepreneur’s Operating System. [03:14] Eric’s team has this type of meeting every Mond

In episode #593, Eric and Neil debate whether you need to spend money on a nice office. Tune in to hear the reasons you may need a great office space. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Is it Worth it Spending Money on a Nice Office? [00:51] In a collaborative environment, it’s good to have everyone in the same space. [01:14] Eric pays about $11,000 for three sections in co-working spaces. [01:35] Now, they’re moving into their own dedicated space. [01:49] Offices are good for recruiting, it’s a great space to bring clients into, and it’s nice to have a home base. [02:13] If you are looking to build a culture, you need to have your own dedicated space. [02:27] A crappy space creates a crappy feeling. [02:45]However, Neil thinks it’s a waste of money to have a nice office, even though offices do serve an important purpose. [03:10] He would rather save money on the office and spend it on food or other community-related activities and things that build culture. [04:07] Nice offices are

In episode #592, Eric and Neil discuss what you should do with your profits. Tune in to hear in what you should be investing. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: You Made a Bunch of Money. Now What? [00:45] If you make six figures, pay your expenses and live a minimalist lifestyle. [01:05] Put all your money back into your business. [01:28] Ray Dalio’s book has been helpful for determining what to do with your money. [01:54] Ray is a hedge fund manager; his book discusses the benefits and diversifying. [02:18] Warren Buffett typically makes ten to twenty investments at a time. [02:37] Invest back in yourself! [02:50] Invest back into your business! [03:22] Neil would take his profits and invest in more businesses. [03:40] He lost a lot of money this way. Focus on your core business. [03:44] Neil spoke with Brian Lee, head of Shoe Dazzle and Legal Zoom. He told Neil to have laser-sharp focus on his core business. [04:14] Only consider expanding when your core business has leveled of

In episode #591, Eric and Neil discuss the secret to engaging your customers in order to produce greater revenue. Tune in to hear the main thing you can do to generate sales. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Little Known Secret to Generating More Revenue From Every Customer [00:54] When you first sign up with Intercom, they have a great on-boarding email. [01:35] On-boarding is the biggest lever you can pull to generate more revenue. [01:53] When you buy a meal at McDonalds, they are always upselling (Fries? Super size?) [02:22] Upsell or downsell when people are checking out. [03:12] The upsell could be a software that does the work for you. [03:32] Your solution should be both speed and automation. [03:49] Dotcom Secrets is a great book about upselling and on-boarding. [04:05] Eric recommends Appcues, a cheaper option, or Intercom, which is known for their chat feature. [04:34] On-boarding isn’t just the first week, it’s about keeping customers engaged. [05:03] Customers who

In episode #590, Eric and Neil talk about delivering a remarkable customer service experience. Tune in to find out what it takes to create amazing experiences for your customers. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Secret to Delivering a Remarkable Customer Experience [00:35] If you really want to create amazing experiences that your customers love, you have to care about them. [01:00] Zappos goes above and beyond to delight their customers (fast shipping and easy returns). [01:45] Amazon bought Zappos some time ago and they are also a customer-focused company. [02:20] When Eric was in Japan, he stayed at the Prince Gallery and he found the customer service aspects remarkable. [02:36] He felt special and even minor details were attended to. [03:00] Think about creating remarkable experiences. [03:05] The Ritz Carlton does training in terms of customer experience and service; you can send your team there (for an expense), but they will learn a great deal. [03:30] Neil stayed in the