Marketing School | Digital Marketing | Online Marketing

In episode #589, Eric and Neil explain why you should hire developers to work as marketers. Tune in to hear why developers are so good at marketing. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why You Should Hire Developers as Marketers [00:35] Neil think developers are really good at understanding data and making changes. [00:54] They are amazing marketers because they are creative, make changes, and run tests without relying too heavily on others. [01:04] Marketers on the other hand, may have good ideas, but have to figure out how to get them implemented by someone else. [01:26] During Eric’s time at Treehouse, the CTO was a developer who would help him get things done. [01:36] The CTO didn’t know marketing, but learned as he went. [01:52] Engineers/Developers are self-motivated. [02:27] What Neil loves, is that they believe in the “quick and dirty” approach. [02:53] The one danger in hiring developers as marketers, is that they will sometimes run a lot of bad tests and you will lose revenue

In episode #588, Eric and Neil discuss marketing tools that can help you grow your business. Tune in to hear which tools Eric and Neil swear by. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Unusual Marketing Tools That'll Help You Grow [00:37] Tool #1: Frame.io is a cool tool that allows you to leave feedback on videos to help push them through the creation process. [01:17] Tool #2: Zapier helps automate a lot of your marketing apps. It can connect with HubSpot or Drip. [01:50] Your marketing team doesn’t have to create systems to organize their output, because Zapier does it for you. [02:00] Tool #3: TubeBuddy allows you to AB test different thumbnails, schedule things ahead of time, and see which tags are viable for your YouTube videos. [02:15] It can also show you how other channels are doing in comparison to yours. [02:27] Tool #4: Full Story allows you to do user recordings “on steroids”. [03:00] Tool #5: Front is a collaborative email inbox. [03:15] You can assign emails to other people

In episode #587, Eric and Neil tell you what to put in the very first email you send to customers. Tune in to hear why on-boarding is so vital to your success. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Here's the Very First Email that You Should Send to Customers [00:35] Send an email that helps them throughout their journey and experience. [00:47] Setting them up properly will give customers a positive experience and makes them more likely to remain satisfied customers. [01:24] Getting people on-boarded the right way is key. [02:10] On-boarding is one of the most important levers you can pull and can translate to long-term growth. [02:30] Intercom’s initial email explains how everything works and how you can get started. [02:49] Pat Flynn will send an email introducing himself and uses the tags in Convert Kit. [03:20] Neil’s Co-Founder did a test with About.me and he was able to get their revenue to increase 40 or 50%, just by creating a nice “getting started flow”. [03:52] Make sure to inc

In episode #586, Eric and Neil explain how you can get rich people to part with their money. Tune in to hear how you can convince rich people to invest or become clients themselves. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Get Money out of Rich People [00:43] Eric has gotten money from people by networking and then identifying what their companies’ challenges were and coming up with solutions. [01:04] He waited a few months to hit these people up for money. [01:30] Get to know people before you ask for money! [01:50] Give help, show your value, and offer something. [02:15] Always ask what challenges they are facing, which is a great conversation starter. [02:45] Have multiple touchpoints and remain top-of-mind. [03:20] Nextiva was founded by the guys who created Endurance International and iPowerWeb. [03:40] Eric didn’t pitch the Nextiva founder; the founder reached out to get Eric speak at a conference. [04:00] Eric went because he saw Steve Wozniak would be speaking at this confer

 In episode #585, Eric and Neil give you seven simple hacks that will increase your business. Tune in to hear how you can improve your ROI. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Age-Old Sales Hacks that Still Work Today [00:38] Hack #1:  Build a dream 100 (a list of clients you want to go after). [01:00] You can even build a dream 25, if that seems like a more attainable or realistic goal. [01:05] Hack #2: When trying to close a deal with a Fortune 100 company, send an email to the CEO that points out some weaknesses and solutions. [02:23] Hack #3: “The fortune is in the follow-up” -John Maxwell [02:42] If you follow up with the right people a couple of times, you will eventually receive a response. [03:10] Hack #4: Give before you ask. [03:20] Solve problems and educate people and they will be likely to become a paying customer. [03:50] Hack #5: Do something that stands out. [04:02] Some people bring a bottle of champagne or order tacos for the whole office, which will be sure to ma

In episode #584, Eric and Neil explain why spending lavishly on business expenses is worth it. Tune in to hear what you should be spending your money on! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic:  Lavish Business Costs that Are Actually Worth It [00:38] Masterminds, which can cost $20,000/year, allow you to build great relationships with high caliber people. [01:22] If you have extra money, fly Business or First Class, because you can meet really interesting people who are valuable to network with. [02:35] Attend and speak at conferences. [02:49] “Brain Dates” at conferences allow you to speak to people you normally wouldn’t have the chance to speak with. [03:20] Even though they are expensive, it’s worth the splurge for the networking. [03:34] Spend a lot of money on your team. [03:45] Richard Branson told Neil, “You don’t build a big company without the team; it’s the team that makes the company. Don’t forget to take care of your team members.” [03:58] Gifts, bonuses, and perks like free l

In episode #583, Eric and Neil explain how you can boost your conversion rate by accepting bitcoin as a payment option. Tune in to hear if your business can handle a shift towards cryptocurrency payments. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Boost Your Conversion Rate by Offering Bitcoin as a Payment Option [00:45] On average, bitcoin has a daily fluctuation rate of 5%. [01:15] There are a lot of people who use bitcoin, so even though most people don’t, you could open up your business if you offer bitcoin as a payment option. [01:40] You will lose money in the short-term, but in the long run, you will make more. [02:06] Eric spent the most marketing dollars on Coinmarketcap.com and they only accepted cryptocurrency as payment. [02:28] Bitcoin has gone up in price, meaning that Coinmarketcap.com made money just by hanging on to it. [03:05] Stripe recently removed bitcoin as a payment option, because they didn’t think it was practical. [03:20] However, bitcoin is still popular. [03

In episode #582, Eric and Neil explain why you shouldn’t be too patient. Tune in to hear why patience in the short-term will kill your business. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Fact That You're Not Growing Fast Enough Because of 1 Thing - You're Too Patient [00:36] The moment you’re too satisfied, someone is going to come around and beat you at your own game. [00:56] The moment you’re patient in marketing, means you have decided to remain complacent. [01:15] Consider your business a fight to the death. [01:40] There are two things to consider: short-term, there needs to be urgency; long term, it’s important to be patient with some aspects of your job. [02:20] Business takes time, but in the short-term experiment! [02:40] Neil always says, “what else could we do to get better results right away?” [03:11] Push forward and look for new ways to grow. [03:30] Do the tactics that require long-term patience, but consider other marketing avenues at the same time. [04:09] Look for peop

In episode #581, Eric and Neil explain how you can beat your established, monied competition. Tune in to hear steps you can take to beat your competitors at their own game! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How You Can Beat Your Competition When They Have More Money and Have Been in Business Longer [00:36] Neil gives away stuff for a cheaper price. [00:49] You can always undercut your competitors by offering the same thing for less. [01:16] Use the newest and greatest tech, because the competitors are probably using old, archaic technology. [01:26] Neil is going to do this to compete with Moz. Moz charges $99/month for their SEO tool, so he’s going to offer his SEO tool for FREE. [01:44] He can do what their doing for under $10,000. [02:01] These other companies have boards, executive teams, etc. While Neil can make decisions and act more quickly, because he doesn’t have to have all these groups weigh in. [02:16] Go where the competitors aren’t going. [02:25] These other agencies are

In episode #580, Eric and Neil discuss what you must know about Amazon advertising before anyone else. Tune in to hear how you can leverage Amazon Advertising for your business. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: What You Ought to Know About Amazon Advertising Before Everyone Else [00:35] Eric read a report that stated Amazon did $60 Billion in ad revenue and grew by possibly 60%. [01:12] Neil believes the stats are that Amazon ad revenue could reach $4.5 billion in 2018. [01:29] Eric and Neil suggest you start getting into the Amazon ad revenue game. [02:01] If you are doing America-based advertising, it’s time to pay attention. [02:09] Amazon Echo presents an advertising opportunity. [02:30] The profit margins on advertising are huge. [02:44] In another five to ten years, they may have wiped out brick and mortar retailers. [03:02] There are a lot more areas of advertising when you consider options with Amazon. [03:30] Make sure you jump on board, play with the advertising, and fin

In episode #579, Eric and Neil explain how you can create great content when you suck at writing. Tune in to hear great tips on creating killer content with less-than-stellar writing skills. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How You Can Leverage Content Marketing When You Suck at Writing [00:45] Just because you’re not good at writing, it’s ok! Everyone starts somewhere. [01:04] Think about your strong suit (what Eric calls your “content foundation”) and build out from there. [01:15] If Eric and Neil didn’t like writing, they could have just started with this podcast. [01:25] They have the podcast transcribed by Rev and they also get shownotes written by Podcast Motor; this means that things are being written without them having to write a single word. [01:46] Go to Jobs.problogger.net and hire a writer. [02:12] Use short and to the point paragraphs; this makes it easier to skim. [02:27] Use subheadings in your posts. [02:32] You need to have an intro with a hook. [02:55] A strong h

In episode #578, Eric and Neil talk about more affordable marketing avenues. Tune in to hear how you can spend less money marketing your business.  TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How You Can Discover Affordable Marketing Channels That Have Huge Potential [00:40] It’s important to figure out who your target audience is and where they “hang out”. [00:58] Similar Web is a great way to see where your audience is. Alexa is another great option for this. [01:30] It’s important to see how people are using things. [01:45] The easiest marketing channels tend to get crowded fast, which causes cost to go up. [02:00] Similar Web will also tell you about email lists. [02:38] Neil likes to hit up websites directly. [03:14] Most people in the marketing world are doing online transactions, which means face-to-face meetings carry more weight. [03:54] Podcasting is underpriced attention. [04:05] Podcast advertising is affordable based on metrics Eric and Neil have used. [04:24] What’s old someti

In episode #577, Eric and Neil talk about when you should give up on marketing. Tune in to hear if, how, and when you need to call it quits. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How Long Should You Spend on Marketing Before You Give Up? [00:41] Neil gives up on tactics, instead of marketing as a whole. [01:00] He’ll try out five to ten tactics and keep whatever works. [01:20] In many cases, if you don’t experiment, you will just spin your wheels. [01:50] Eric was hanging out with the Zapier CEO and they agreed it is difficult to hand off marketing. [02:45] There are constantly new tactics, so you need to incorporate those into your workload. [03:15] Keep trying to improve all the time and integrate new techniques into your workflow. [03:35] You won’t see traction with SEO within the first six months. [04:00] Ahrefs will help you track your impressions and any traction you’re getting. [04:40] Be patient when working with long-term solutions. [04:45] With paid advertising, you need to m

In episode #576, Eric and Neil explain how you can get away with charging more and still be successful. Tune in to hear what “niching down” is and why it can help your business.  TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:  [00:27] Today’s Topic: How You Can Steal Business Away From Your Competition - While Charging More Money [00:38] Niche down! [00:51] Make your business really specific (ex. a Facebook ad agency that specializes in working with educational companies). [01:08] You can charge more because you’re niching down and have specialized skills. [01:37] Campaign Monitor set out to be email marketing for designers. Niching down allowed them to make money and gain success, because they kept the job specific. [02:38] Drip just rebranded to be e-mail marketing for e-commerce. [03:07] Look at your “dream one hundred” and reach out to them and do a free analysis. [03:28] When you tailor your messaging to target a specific group, it will be easier for you to make things happen. [03:50] Apple started with a single c

In episode #575, Eric and Neil discuss the secret that Google doesn’t want you to know. Tune in to hear how branding and industry niches play a part. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Something Google Doesn't Want You to Know [00:36] Google is emphasizing brands right now. [00:52] The most popular brands within a niche will be the top results. [01:20] If you focus on building a brand, you will do better in the long run. [01:41] Neil noticed that by leveraging branding, his ranking skyrocketed. [02:00] He took a lot of the currently popular models and had them hold up signs that said, “Who is Neil Patel?” [02:09] This caused people to increase searches for Neil. [02:23] He ranked high for online marketing after that. [02:55] Warren Buffett talks about building a moat (something to protect your business). [03:21] The new moat is building a brand. [04:22] By dominating the brand within your niche, you are guaranteed to do well. [05:03] By leveraging marketing channels with your brand

In episode #574, Eric and Neil explain what makes content addictive. Tune in to hear specific ways you can create addictive content.  TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:  [00:27] Today’s Topic: How You Can Make Your Content Addictive [00:52] Eric tends to follow long-form case studies. [01:10] He likes reports, custom data, and short videos. [01:28] Eric prefers Alex Becker’s content, because his videos are concise. [01:42] Neil thinks evergreen content is addictive. It should have these factors: entertaining, educational, or actionable. [02:06] Some visual aspect is always helpful. [02:18] The “How a Car Engine Works” animagraffs is a great example. [03:12] Brian Dean has a great SEO blog and Eric always reads his content, because there is always a unique spin. [03:48] Bucket brigade: a format where each paragraph is two to three sentences max. [04:15] Brian Dean attracts a lot of social sharing because of his great posts. [04:35] Neil finds that people like text and images in one post. [04:56] He is con

In episode #573, Eric and Neil explain why you can’t count on standardized techniques to grow your business. Tune in to hear why success is a numbers game.  TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The One Thing That No Marketer Is Going to Tell You [00:35] The best tactics are not what's in marketers’ podcasts and blogs. [01:10] Marketers will not share their number one “thing”. [01:40] Marketers won’t necessarily know how to grow your business; their tactics will be standardized. [02:19] Facebook was naturally awesome, your product may not be that good. [02:30] Even the best marketers may not know how to solve your growth issues. [02:50] It’s all experimentation and it’s a numbers game. [03:37] Marketers will steal each other’s tactics and try to use them, even though they may not work for their specific problem. [04:08] Make sure you have a system of process to follow when experimenting. [04:29] Don’t expect the world from marketers: what worked in the past, won’t work today; what worke

In episode #572, Eric and Neil explain ways that you can easily make 6 figures as a marketer. Tune in to hear how to prove yourself to be a valuable asset. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:  [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Simplest Way to Make 6 Figures as a Marketer [00:37] Go work for someone! [00:56] Working for someone was educational and lucrative for Eric. [01:45] Don’t switch jobs too frequently, because you will be seen as a job hopper. [02:10] However, switching companies can be more lucrative (raises, better benefits). [02:28] The easiest way to make 6 figures is to do a tear-down of a website. [02:52] Break down in Google Docs or Word where they can improve and how to fix it. [03:20] Email the document to the founder and CEO in separate chains. [04:29] There’s a good chance they will find you valuable and pay you just to solve the problems you outlined. [04:55] Eric used this method and emailed the CEO of Zynga. [05:19] It doesn’t matter if you’ve been marketing for 20 years or 1 year, identifying

In episode #571, Eric and Neil explain why it may be worth paying to join a Mastermind group. Tune in to hear if joining a Mastermind is right for you and how you can get the most out of the membership.  TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Is It Worth It to Pay $20K for a Mastermind? [00:35] There are many Masterminds out there. [01:30] In the last episode, we talked about investing in yourself and attending these events is also investing in yourself. [01:51] Neil doesn’t attend these events anymore. [02:03] He has built up a great circle over the years and doesn’t necessarily need to go to Masterminds anymore. [02:28] Eric built a custom Mastermind, where they would have dinner and talk about business. [02:39] If you want to figure out how to set up your own Mastermind, Google “Mastermind Talks” or “Mastermind Dinners”. [02:47] Eric considers his Entrepreneur’s Organization to be a Mastermind group. [03:05] Creating this group has been the best decision he’s ever made. [03:37] Neil n

In episode #570, Eric and Neil discuss how the rich get richer. Tune in to hear in which businesses you should be investing in. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How the Rich Get Richer [00:37] The way Neil makes more money is that he “invests in what he knows”. [00:53] He invests in his business and its marketing. [01:08] If you invest in yourself, you’ll get the highest ROI. [01:15] Neil has lost the most money investing in things he didn’t really understand. [01:48] Warren Buffett says the best investment you can make is in yourself. [01:55] There are two ways to invest in yourself: knowledge and your business. [02:15] When you invest in yourself, no one can take that away from you. [02:59] Once you build a business, you’re able to see your goals more clearly and see that you should invest in yourself. [03:50] Neil was doing a wire transfer the other day and the banker tried to pitch him on investments. [04:20] The perfect response to this kind of pitch is to tell them you don’t