Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

In episode #703, Eric and Neil discuss ways to optimize your website. Tune in to hear how you can increase conversions with simple SEO tricks. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The SEO Hack You've Never Optimized For [00:40]  No one is focusing on site speed, which is important. Hosting deeply affects your rankings. [00:55] Google has a mobile-first index, which means fast sites will get ranked higher. [01:22] You also need to use a content delivery network. [01:48] There is a Google Page Speed tool or GT Metrix which will help you measure speed. [02:30] Eric’s website was too slow for 3G. They used GTMetrix to discover all their tags were slowing them down. [02:56] Ping Them is another great resource. [03:10] Don’t take servers for granted. [03:30] Optimize for faster load times, which will help with your conversions. [03:51] WP Engine has been a great resource for this. [04:33] However, WP Engine has been charging exorbitant rates. [05:20] Content Distribution Networks distribute your content through servers all throughout the world (it pings your content to closer networks). [06:01] Cloudflare is another option besides WP Engine. [06:50] That’s it for today! [06:54] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #702, Eric and Neil discuss the seven ways to get more engagement on your Facebook ads. Tune in to hear some neat tips and tricks. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Simple Hacks to Get You The Most Engagement on Your Facebook Ads [00:40] 1: Hit the “Boost Post” button in Facebook and drive it as a message. [00:55] This is a way to build up Messenger subscribers. [01:07] 2: When creating a Facebook ad, they give new ads premiere placement to judge its performance. [01:38] If you keep rotating your ads, you will get premiere placement and your cost per click will go down. [02:00] 3: Go for cost per engagement bidding. [02:05] Facebook is going to optimize for people who are apt to engage with your ad. [02:55] 4: Most visitors aren’t going to be buyers. So, you should set up a remarketing ad for those people. [03:33] 5: Ask for engagement in the ad itself. [03:48] You can coax people into commenting, liking, etc. [04:04] 6: Make sure you are using video ads. These drive the most conversions. [04:22] Don’t forget to use CC’s on your videos, so people can watch without sound. [04:50] 7: Run a contest. [05:10] If you over a giveaway or contest, it will help you get more engagement. [05:30] That’s all for today! [05:37] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #701, Eric and Neil discuss what happens when you buy links. Tune in to hear why this isn’t the best practice. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Here's What Happens When You Buy Links [00:35] When Eric was first doing SEO, he would peruse black hat forums. [00:47] Wicked Fire has a lot of offers for paid tools. [01:01] Eric would buy links for sites and his sites would shoot up in the rankings. [01:15] He was using cheap content brokers and they would blast a bunch of links, his rankings would increase, but then go back down after a couple days. [01:45] Neil tried this with sponsoring an online poker contest. [02:05] Sometimes these things work, but more often than not: you get burned. [02:27] It’s cheaper and smarter to build your own site with quality content. [02:41] Your rankings will maintain when you build your own site. [03:26] Always play the long game. [03:40] Build an audience. [03:50] Investors are burned from buying high-ranking SEO sites. [04:00] Sites that are built just to get to the top never last. [04:54] Don’t waste your time buying links. [05:02] That’s it for today! [05:06] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #700, Eric and Neil discuss the blue check mark and what it means. Tune in to hear how you can become a verified user on social media. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Get a Blue Checkmark on Social Media [00:35] The blue check mark means that you are “verified”. [01:05] On Twitter, there is a form where you can submit your name and argue why you should be verified. [01:30] It’s a way for famous people to safeguard their reps and not be easily impersonated. [01:50] To be verified on YouTube, you need more than 100,000 subscribers. [02:05] Proving that there are impersonators is another easy way to get verified. [02:25] If you are running ads on Facebook, you can talk to the ads manager about getting verified. [03:13] Don’t pay people who claim they can help you get verified. They are scammers! [03:30] A blue check mark hasn’t gotten anything for Eric or Neil, so it may not be worth it. [04:09] That’s it for today! [04:12] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #699, Eric and Neil count out productivity hacks. Tune in to hear the seven things you should be doing to enhance your success. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 7 Productivity Hacks For Marketers [00:32] #1: Build checklists. [00:45] Eric’s team has a blogging checklist for all the writers they employ. [01:05] Checklists help you standardize processes. [01:12] #2: Use “If, then, this, that”. [01:20] When you publish, push to social media outlets, push to email, etc. [01:45] It will save you time not to do these things manually. [01:48] #3: Use dashboards. Try Domo or Scythe. [02:02] It’s a great way to track analytics. [02:11] #4: Stick with one marketing tactic at a time. [02:25] Don’t spread yourself thin and become adept at whatever you do. [03:00] #5: Use BuzzSumo alerts. [03:12] This will keep you up to date on how you are doing versus your competitors. [03:26] #6: Use Un-enroll Me. [03:36] It will help you unsubscribe from unwanted junk mail and clear your inbox. [03:50] #7: Use Supermetrics. [04:00] The reports are the most in-depth reports you can get. A great resource when presenting to investors. [04:25] That’s all for today! [04:28] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #698, Eric and Neil discuss why daily blogging is unnecessary. Tune in to hear what pace at which you should be producing content. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why We Don't Blog Daily (and You Shouldn't Either) [00:36] Neil used to blog seven times per day as an experiment. [00:55] It got him a ton of traffic, but he burnt out working at that pace. [01:15] HubSpot gets a ton of traffic and posts multiple articles on a daily basis, but they are able to keep that pace. [01:40] If you want to scale up and generate more traffic, blog every single day. [01:52] If you’re in the B2B world, don’t blog every day. It’s unnecessary. [02:13] The Kleiner-Perkins Internet Trends report comes out every year. [02:35] It is a popular guide that serves a huge community. [02:50] If you want high-quality leads, don’t blog every day. Write content that shows off how smart you are and what you have to offer. [03:15] Techcrunch is no longer the end-all, be-all that it used to be. [04:05] When you are starting out, doing one really good piece per week or month will do the trick. [04:25] Eric and Neil record three times every two months and record in batches of 20. This gives them a lot of shows in advance. [04:55] This helps them stay top-of-mind and provide high-quality content. [05:15] If you can’t provide value, don’t blog or podcast. [05:45] Everything has been done to death, which is why blogging is a hard game. [05:59] That’s all for today! [06:02] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #697, Eric and Neil discuss why they spend so much money on this podcast. Tune in to hear why giving something away for free can be a good idea. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why We Spent $46,452 on Marketing School [00:42] Eric and Neil enjoy doing this podcast. [01:15] They struggled with quality and methods at first, but eventually found their stride. [01:21] Now, they spend money on intro and outro music, editing, studio time, etc. [01:40] Ads and hosting are another expense. [02:05] Neil doesn’t like spending money if he doesn’t have to. [02:49] Eric thinks he has made at least $100,000 from producing this podcast, while Neil thinks he has made $0. [03:22] Neil does the podcast because he believes in the “rule of seven”. [03:40] The podcast is one of the seven touchpoints he uses to remain top-of-mind. [04:20] Marketing is going to get harder and harder, so having multiple touchpoints is important. [05:00] Eric and Neil could make more money monetizing the podcast, but they have decided it’s more beneficial to keep it free. [05:15] This podcast was on the Entrepreneur Network, but they didn't want to read ads during the show, so they got booted. [05:50] Conservatively, they could be making $200,000/year off the podcast alone. [06:10] They believe you should do things for free as long as you enjoy it and something good comes from it. [06:50] They are playing the long game. [07:10] Sometimes, they get great ideas while working on the podcasts the end up making them money. [07:50] That’s it for today! [07:53] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 696, Eric and Neil discuss why Google and Facebook aren’t your only options. Tune in to figure out where else you can market yourself. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Internet Doesn't Start and Stop With Facebook and Google [00:35] Facebook and Google are the two largest platforms out there. [01:05] There are still so many different advertising platforms you can use besides the top two. [01:20] Figure out where your audience is hanging out. [01:25] In general, you will make more money from Facebook and Google AdWords, because they scale more quickly. [01:35] However, other avenues can be nearly as successful. [01:46] The people who are doing the best right now, have teams who are reaching out to different outlets and working out custom partnerships. [02:00] These teams are cutting out the middle-man. [02:24] People are still using direct mail and it still works for certain targets. [03:13] Figure out who your audience is and how they would like to be targeted. [03:35] Pay-per-click ad costs go down when you simultaneously run ads on other outlets. [04:05] You need to keep your brand top-of-mind. [04:15] A midwestern businessman runs a billboard ad for a few months per year and it increases his business. [04:40] No one wants to do billboards anymore, but they still work! [05:00] Zappos advertised on the bins at airport security and it was genius. [05:07] That’s all for today! [05:11] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #695, Eric and Neil discuss why you should work for someone else before you start your own company. Tune in to hear why you should learn the ropes from someone else. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: You Shouldn't be an Entrepreneur First, You Should be an Employee [00:38] Neil hasn’t been an employee since he was 18 or 19 when he worked at Hollywood Video. [01:02] Eric found the structure about being an employee was helpful to understanding what makes a company work. [01:35] He switched jobs often, because he was chasing the next opportunity. Each time, he learned something new about what makes a successful company. [02:15] You should start out as an employee, because you need to try things out to see what you like. [02:35] Bill Ackman, successful hedge funder, thinks you shouldn’t start your own company until you’ve worked in the industry for some time. [03:15] You need to learn from others before you go out and make your own mistakes. [03:40] If you learn from other’s good examples first, you are more likely to succeed in the future. [04:18] The Ali Baba CEO, Jack Ma, made a video about this very topic and he agrees with Eric and Neil. [04:48] You don’t have to make all your money when you’re young. [05:05] Be prepared to fail before you succeed. [05:17] That’s it for today! [05:20] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode #694, Eric and Neil discuss a simple hack that will up your LinkedIn views. Tune in to hear what you should be doing to increase your LinkedIn presence. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: One Simple Hack That'll 10X Your LinkedIn Views [00:36] Lead Quizzes founder, Jeremy Ellins, has given Eric and Neil some great advice. [00:54] Jeremy posted a video of an interview and tagged certain influencers on LinkedIn. [01:40] Tagging influencers gets their attention and will get them to comment. [01:55] The influencer has to be relevant to what you are doing. [01:58] Ultimately, the download’s on Jeremy’s podcast doubled. [02:20] Eric and Neil get request to re-post and comment on LinkedIn pages and most times, it gets their attention. [02:42] “Bro Language” does really well. [02:55] Bro language is concise, to-the-point sentences. It’s not always great prose, but it gets the job done. [03:30] Bro language is becoming overused and is getting filtered out, but as long as you don’t use it too often or at length, it can still be effective. [04:12] That’s all for today! [04:14] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special marketing tool giveaway! 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. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.