Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

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 lunch keep team morale up. [04:32] When you invest in your team, they will stick out the hard times. [05:15] Think about what your core values are and figure out how to help your team better their skills. [05:53] Consider nice clothes and expensive watches, which gives you the appearance of success and changes the way you are perceived. [06:22] Neil spent thousands of dollars on clothing and accessories and his business relationships improved. [07:10] Eric and Neil agree that credit card fees are worth it, because of the benefits and leeway they provide. [07:30] Spend lavishly on dinners! Take care of your guests and don’t cheap out. [08:05] That’s it for today! [08:10] 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 #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. [03:45] If your margins aren’t that large, don’t accept crypto, because you may suffer cash flow issues. [04:08] You can always sell some off to pay for costs, but don’t accept crypto if you don’t have high margins. [04:21] That’s all for today! [04:25] 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 #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 people who focus on one aspect of marketing and follow their example in that area. [04:40] It’s important to hire specialists, but also have a rhythm or cadence where people can be held accountable. [04:56] Read Rocket Fuel, it's about the concept of having a visionary and integrator on your team. [05:11] Also read Traction.[05:39] Get the tool 15Five, that checks in with your team each week and helps you keep your finger on the pulse of your company. [05:50] Neil does Monday, Wednesday, Friday meetings with progressive goals for each meeting. [06:35] He rewards his team for results. [06:51] That’s it for today! [06:59]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 #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 aren’t doing content marketing, podcasts, speaking engagements, or releasing tools. Zig where they zag. [03:00] Dropbox wasn't the first cloud in the game, but they offered their services for free! [03:10] Take your existing users and get them to help promote you for a reward. [03:45] Eric recommends reading Zero to One, which will help you figure out other avenues of marketing and competition. [04:05] When you want to beat your competition, if you are starting out, it’s a good idea to niche down. [04:35] When you’re competing with bigger companies, look at what they are not focusing on. [04:52] Translate your services into other languages and markets, which will help you remain competitive and may be a smaller pool. [05:30] Neil does this and finds there is less competition abroad and is winning in those markets. [05:43] That’s all for today! [05:48]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 #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 fine tune! [03:45] With the purchase of Whole Foods and the opening of the Amazon Go store in Seattle, they are taking over retail. [03:52] Eric and Neil saw a report that said Amazon is considering taking on FedEx. [04:25] It’s a new channel, whoever leverages it first will benefit the most. [04:55] That’s all for today! [05:01] 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 #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 headline is key to getting readers. [03:22] Copyblogger will give you some examples of great headline formulas. [03:41] When you hire a writer, always give them an outline and make sure to get on the phone with them, so you’re on the same page. [04:06] You don’t have to be a good writer, you just have to be able to communicate well with a good writer. [04:25] Gary Vee doesn’t even write his own blogs; he gives ideas and outlines, but the content is written by someone else. [05:01] If you’re producing content, use the content re-usage workflow as a framework. [05:28] Content marketing is a 12-18 month journey from inception to results. [05:35] If you’re not the best writer and you can’t afford to hire someone, use Eric and Neil’s framework and just go out and write. The more you write, the better at it you will get. [05:55] You may notice that Neil has awful grammar and cannot spell; it’s ok, because he is providing valuable information. [06:35] That’s it for today! [06:38] 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 #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 sometimes becomes new again. [04:35] Direct mail is making a bit of a comeback. [05:11] Neil pays for email blasts through various bloggers (he pays them to email their lists). [05:45] You can do outreach to the blogs to work out custom deals. [05:59] Only pay out Net 30 or Net 60. [06:10] That’s it for today! [06:13] 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 #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 make it work right away, because you will lose a lot of money otherwise. [05:48] You should look to grow your organic keywords by 10% month by month; for SEO, you should look to grow your top three keywords by 10% month by month. [06:07] That’s all for today! [06:11] 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 #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 computer and now have a whole line of products. [04:08] When you’re working in a niche, your conversion rates will go up. [05:15] You are able to charge more and make more, because there is less competition and you are offering a very specific service. [05:45] Eric’s company specializes in helping SaaS, e-commerce, and educational companies. [05:55] You can’t be everything to everyone! [06:01] That’s all for today! [06:05] 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 #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, it will lead to success, but it will take a while to build. [05:24] It took 2-2.5 years for Eric to build his brand. [06:02] You can’t sell a personal brand, but you can sell a corporate brand with ease. [06:27] When you have a brand, you have more options available in terms of marketing. [06:45] A lot agency owners try to drag each other down, because it is so competitive. [07:04] Your brand opens you up to greater opportunities. [07:10] Listen to past episodes on how to build a brand. [07:23] That’s all for today! [07:27] 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.