The Digital Marketing Podcast by Exposure Ninja

From handing out flyers in a local park for proof of concept, to a consumer base of thousands of satisfied return users – all in just over 24 months. Sounds like the sort of business success story you’d want to learn more about, right? Mark Hughes is the co-founder of the Tutora and our latest guest on the Exposure Ninja Digital Marketing Podcast. Hughes has played an integral role (alongside fellow co-founder Scott Woodley) in Tutora defying the odds and flourishing as a business, less than three years since its inception. Not only that, but Mark and the team have achieved this in a relatively crowded market, populated by established names with considerable financial backing. This success was achieved via a somewhat untraditional form of investment, too: crowdfunding. And all this has been carried out with a ‘chicken and egg’ business model, which many have tried and failed to, shall we say, crack. The company connects students and tutors in all manner of different contacts – from academic studies to piano lessons. For Tutora to succeed, tutors are required to join up so the students can find what they’re looking for… but the tutors need students on the system to be convinced to join. It’s a tricky platform to master, but Tutora has nailed it, thanks in no small part to some awesome digital marketing strategies. Mark talks us through the company’s use of PPC, SEO, Facebook remarketing and plenty more to help them dominate their market, as well as a glimpse into what the future holds for this trailblazing business. From the techniques used, to the mind-set that’s driven the business to incredible heights, there are plenty of actionable tips and theories in this podcast episode to carry over to your own projects and experiences. Enjoy! For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode70

With so many tactics, tips, tricks and tools involved in digital marketing, no-one would blame you for losing sight of what it’s all in the name of: generating more leads and making sales. Whatever path you go down on your online marketing journey, every step you take should be in the name of encouraging users to invest in your service, product, company or business. Perhaps there’s no greater example of this than with calls to action. A small, yet significant and emphasised feature on your web pages, a call to action is a crystallisation of everything you’re trying to achieve with your website and online activity. Whether it’s just a handful of words, a contact form, or a redirection to further down the conversion funnel, your aim with a CTA is to gently guide interested onlookers into becoming fully-fledged customers. In this podcast episode, our very own Lozz Newton chats to Head Ninja Tim Kitchen about crafting the perfect CTA. Outlining your main goal, avoiding classic conversion blockers and keeping things simple for users are just a few of the key techniques Lozz and Tim explain in-depth. The quality of your call to action is often the defining factor in the conversion rate of your entire website, so this is our way of helping you ensure those CTAs are doing their vital job well. And the thing is: if you nail this aspect of your website, you can see your leads and sales soar - without having to worry about increasing your website traffic! It's not always about expanding your reach to find more customers; it's often about improving what you already use to make that traffic more efficient. There's no greater example of this than with calls to action. For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode69

We love chatting to the head honchos of similarly progressive, ambitious companies to see what tactics they’re utilising to push the business forward. Hearing from successful, modern businesses about how they use online marketing to prosper always provides us with plenty of insight and tips that we can all tweak and use in our own way. And trust us: there aren’t many more projects right now that are moving along more rapidly than Doctify. Featured in national newspapers and international news outlets like Sky and CNBC, Doctify has digitalised and simplified the process of searching for and booking medical specialists. This young team of doctors and online experts only started up in 2015, but have already emerged as a major player in their market, with some insane SEO statistics boosting online visibility. Doctify’s CMO, Adam Beainy, has been a large part of that success, and we chat to him in this podcast episode. Adam talks us through the wide-scale tasks he’s been heading at the company to make them an authority online and generate some serious interest. As well as emphasising unique features and utilising automation, we hear all about Doctify’s superb amount of website content that has helped their SEO efforts no end. And it’s not just about the quantity, either; Adam works alongside medical professionals and SEO experts to ensure that each page of the website includes information and features that benefit users and make the Google-bots happy, too. This is a pretty hardcore digital marketing podcast episode, with a real deep dive into how Doctify has risen so quickly to the top. Just a glance at its website, online activity and stats, though, tells you how effectively Adam and co. have used SEO and more marketing techniques that we all use every day. So settle in, get your geek on and prepare to receive some serious knowledge. For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode68

The wonderful world of content marketing may well be an online-focused industry, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for some face-to-face interaction.   It’s very clear that events such as these can produce leads, brand exposure and some incredible results. Hosting your own digital marketing event takes it to the next level, with people attending purely to see you and your company in action. You create a more personal connection with those in attendance and can turn fleeting visitors into fully-fledged members and supporters of your brand. But, for it to be a success, you need bums on seats – and a way to spread the word to interested parties about the event. Sounds like a pretty expensive advertising job, right? Well… In this podcast episode, we chat to someone who defied this logic. Chris Marr is the founder of Content Marketing Academy, along with its popular annual live event CMA Live. The event brings CMA’s members together, offering them some invaluable advice and insight, along with the chance to exchange tips with fellow members. The true beauty of CMA Live, though, is how Chris has spent barely a penny on advertising the event. No paid ads. No expensive deal with advertising networks. Nada. Yet, Chris has managed to take CMA Live from a gate of 25 or 30 members and friends, to an annual sell-out show of returning supporters, in well under five years. Chris tells us how content marketing played a significant role in this rapid growth, spreading the word organically through targeted content and consistent outreach. He talks us through how the “Oversubscribe” technique has been used to great effect, creating a sense of scarcity and urgency that has catalysed interest. He also stresses the importance of networking and growing a community of passionate people has helped drive that success. “Build it and they will come” is an expression that rings true in the case of CMA Live, as they have built an event so beneficial that members want to make their own contribution to the event, as well as implore others to come along and be a part of it. If you’re looking for more cost-effective ways to generate exposure than throwing money at paid ads, listening to our chat with Chris should give you plenty of inspiration. For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode67

If you’re an expert in something, there are people out there that will pay for your expertise. No matter the topic, no matter the niche, there is a market for you to work with and use as a source of income. Perhaps your business has a range of skills and processes that you’ve acquired and refined through practice over the years. Maybe you’re just an ambitious entrepreneur, immersing yourself in knowledge of a particular field so you can pass it on to others. Whatever your situation, it’s worth staying aware of all the knowledge you’ve gathered, so you can try to monetise all the time and effort you spent gaining that insight. In this episode, we chat to someone who has made use of her incredible depth of knowledge and successfully productised it in many ways. Laura Phillips is a digital marketing coach and success mentor, guiding individuals and businesses alike towards success. Laura has scratched and clawed her way to the top by constantly acquiring new skills and taking on key information with regards to web design and online marketing, switching from “done for you” work to helping others gain the skills they need. It’s all about understanding what your customers want and need to know in order to achieve their goal. A business might be keen to start email marketing, which you’ve carried out in the past. Maybe a business wants to know the ins and outs of WordPress, which you’ve been using for donkey’s years. More often than not, this knowledge they crave is buried within your company’s processes. All you need to do is identify it, format it and make the customer aware that they can acquire it. Laura takes us through the process of how she has done exactly that in recent years to productise the incredible efforts she has made in recent years. For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode66

The importance of copy on your website simply cannot be underestimated. Like all other aspects of making your business website easily visible and high-converting, spot-on web copy has benefits for both search engines and the web user. Whilst targeted keywords and high word counts lay the groundworks for Google to treat your website pages kindly, it’s how you then present that text that can be the determining factor between a confused, put-off viewer, and an engaged, satisfied customer. In this episode of the Exposure Ninja Digital Marketing Podcast, we chat to our very own Head of Editorial, Chris Groves. Chris is responsible for editing and proofreading each and every piece of content our Ninjas write for clients – from blog posts and outreach articles, to web copy and metadata. With an array of customers to keep in mind, Chris not only checks for grammatical and SEO accuracy, but also ensures the copy is targeted towards a specific audience and has every chance of keeping people on the page. Head Ninja Tim and Chris go through the approaches you can take to entertain and engage viewers with text, how poor copy can be a nightmare for bounce rate and conversions, and the importance of correct grammar – but also how grammar must be balanced with an audience’s expectations to succeed. For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode65

Heard about the Skyscraper technique in online marketing but never tried it out? Had a go at using it but didn’t get results? Then this episode of the Exposure Ninja Digital Marketing Podcast is for you! Listen to our chat with Paul Kortman of nomadtogether.com on how this relatively new approach to link building can be pulled off effectively to benefit your website’s visibility. In essence, the Skyscraper technique begins with identifying a blog post or web page that’s both relevant to your audience and has been linked to by many authoritative websites. The idea is to then see a weakness in the post and write your own, on your business’ website and/or blog. Then, contact the websites that linked to the original post and aim to convince them to link to yours – or, even better, get them to switch their link from the old post to yours! With links, it’s about quantity as well as quality. To get a high amount of authoritative website linking to content on your website, you need to give them a reason to do so. The Skyscraper technique focuses on this, centring in on a piece of content that websites have already seen fit to link to, and then offering something even better affiliate themselves with. Paul and Head Ninja Tim take us step-by-step through the entire process of how to successfully pull this strategy off. They look at the traditional marketing techniques it riffs off and how to refine your approach to make it a consistent link builder for your website. For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode64

Presentation is something that is more prevalent in online marketing than you might assume. Whether you’re presenting a product, an aspect of your company, or the business as a whole, getting your point across successfully and in the right way is a key factor in successful customer engagement. Voice coaches know exactly what it takes to inspire people through the spoken word, so in this podcast episode, we chat to one of the best. Andrew Bennett from Toastmasters, a vocal performer and President of Berkley Square Speakers, talks about the importance of conveying trust and clarity of message in your voice. Andrew explains how the likes of mumbling or a monotonous tone can damage your intentions, and encourages us to embrace impromptu speaking, rather than fear it. Speak in a way that oozes authority and demands respect (while remaining respectful yourself) in the likes of audio interviews and webinars, and your brand will appear authoritative as a result. What’s more, if you’re engaging with your public speaking, that success will bleed over to your writing, opening up new avenues to market your business in a more appealing way. From product descriptions to blog posts, social media activity to written presentations, filling your writing full of those skills you learned to improve your public speaking can take the perception of your business to the next level. So, enjoy picking up some valuable skills for Andrew, as well as just enjoying his dulcet tones! For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode63

Like so many other areas of SEO and content marketing, anchor text is all about relevance to your brand and value to your audience. When done right, anchor text plays a major role in the online visibility of your website, meaning you risk being behind plenty of competitors if you don’t utilise it. However, going in all guns blazing without knowing your stuff could prove ineffective or even costly for your business, as search engines view your scattergun approach as spammy and hit you with a penalty. We’re always telling you how awesome our Ninjas are here at Exposure Ninja, but don’t just take our word for it. To break down the rules and importance of anchor text, we couldn’t think of anyone more qualified to chat to than Andy Tuxford – one of our resident SEO experts. Andy tells us how the days of keyword stuffing and Google-bombing are over thanks to updates and smarter algorithms, creating a more difficult, but fairer platform for all SEO strategies to compete. He outlines the seven types of anchor text you can use, stressing the importance of using each naturally, and gives some easy-to-implement examples of what makes for correct and beneficial anchor text. With Google’s algorithms constantly improving, it actually makes SEO strategies like anchor text use simpler than you might think. Google is looking to reward content that is useful and relevant to web users, so you should be creating content on your website that does exactly that. Using anchor text within blog posts and web copy that takes users to appropriate pages and helps readers answer questions is of massive importance. In this episode, the Exposure Ninja team tells you how to do exactly that. For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode62

Success stories. As an entrepreneur or small business owner looking to carve your own path to prominence, success stories are something you should be paying VERY close attention to. They’re not unattainable, irrelevant tales, and they’re certainly not just another business bragging about its big numbers and rise to fame and fortune. They’re paths to success that always, without fail, hold some kind of strategy, tip, or piece of information that you can bring into your own approach to guiding your projects. On this episode of the Exposure Ninja Digital Marketing Podcast, we go under the hood of an awesome modern success story. Co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of voices.com, Stephanie Ciccarelli, was kind enough to chat with us about the rapid progress of her business. Voices.com is a platform for companies and voiceover artists from over 130 countries to find each other and work together on projects. Stephanie spoke to us just days after a global leader in investment banking, Morgan Stanley, chose to invest in her business. That’s just the latest giant step forward voices.com has taken in recent years, as the brand has quickly grown from just Stephanie and her husband doing their own voiceovers, to a globally recognised brand that over 500,000 voiceover artists and major businesses use to set up projects. So, what does Stephanie put that success down to? As well as that necessary, heavy dose of determination and business savvy, voices.com has benefitted massively from the use of content marketing strategies. From understanding which marketing channels to focus on, to the importance of regular and targeted blog posts, to the tips which saw the website rocket up the search engine results, Stephanie talks us through the strategies which guided her brand to the top. It’s a shining example of how content marketing can, when utilised correctly, give your business a nitrous boost of energy. So take the relevant tips from this success story and turbocharge your own journey to the top! For show notes and to get a free review of your website and digital marketing, complete with a tailored plan to increase your leads and sales online, head to https://exposureninja.com/episode61