Marketing School | Digital Marketing | Online Marketing

In episode #521, Eric and Neil discuss how you can start to be successful with marketing. Tune in to hear specific ways you can achieve daily success as a content marketer. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Start Being Successful with Marketing [00:33] Establish a goal first, so you are not just shooting in the dark. [00:51] When you don’t have any set KPIs, it’s hard to nail anything down. [01:16] Once you have your KPIs, you want to break them down into specific small tasks that you need to complete in order to achieve them. [01:33] This way, as a marketer, you have a daily plan in order to hit your numbers. [01:48] A more specific goal would be to say, “I need to rank on Google for all the marketing-related terms.” [01:52] Then you do that by writing content and break your tasks down from there. You keep setting goal, upon goal, upon goal. It helps to break everything down into smaller bite-sized tasks. [02:26] You have to hold people accountable. [02:30] Their goal is to r

In episode #520, Eric and Neil talk about the year ahead in marketing and cover it all in six minutes. Tune in to hear what’s going to change and how to stay ahead of the curve in 2018. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 6 Minutes of Marketing that Will Get You Ready for 2018 [00:35] It’s important to start looking at video and working on your video strategy. [01:10] The rate at which video is growing, it’s important to grab a slice of that pie. [01:30] Even Instagram has video! [01:42] Look at the struggling platforms. Facebook is trying to compete with YouTube, but they want different types of content from YouTube. You will get way more reach with certain types of video on Facebook. [02:25] Neil has 900,000 Facebook fans, 30,000 LinkedIn Connections, but his video views on LinkedIn equate to same amount as Facebook. [02:50] Snapchat has been getting their butts handed to them by Instagram. So, they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win. They will tweak their algorithms to your adv

In episode #519, Eric and Neil give a few tips that they wish they had known when they were first starting out. Tune in to hear important tips that will help you succeed at content marketing. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Simple Marketing Tips that We Would Give Our Younger Selves [00:34] Happy New Year! Welcome to 2018! [00:44] Tip #1: Build a brand. [01:08] One of the biggest thing Neil learned, is that you must always build your brand. Tactics are not as important as branding. [01:37] Whether you like a brand or not, the bigger it is, the more successful it is. [01:53] This doesn’t mean you can’t be a micro-influencer. Unity Influence compiles micro-influencers. [02:20] The first site Eric created was called “Light Show Videos” and he was obsessed with rankings, but when he tried to sell his site, he only got a $50 offer. [02:49] He would look at Black Hat Forums and Wicked Fire to learn all of the tactics that he thought would help him build his site. [03:05] To play the long

In episode #518, Eric and Neil explain why it is very important to travel in order to successfully market to other countries and regions. Tune in to hear how traveling will help alter your perspective and the differences between some countries around the world.  Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How Traveling Helps You Become a Better Marketer [00:34] Eric just got back from Japan and the trip gave him a lot of perspective. [00:49] He was invited to speak at an event and was given the opportunity to meet a lot of Japanese marketers. [00:52] He learned that LinkedIn isn’t popular there and people are more traditional in the work force. [01:15] A guy Eric met has his employees working from 7am to 10pm, which is a big difference from the American work culture. [02:15] The majority of the people in this world do not live in the US. If you really want to learn how to market to people in other countries, you have to travel. [02:35] Neil learned that Brazilians prefer to purchase from America

In episode #517, Eric and Neil explain why you should be patient and play the long game. Tune in to hear what's changed in content marketing over the years, how long you can expect to wait to see results, and how many followers you need before things start really snowballing. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why You Should Play the Long Game [00:35] When Eric and Neil first started, you could get results within six months. [00:52] Now there are many potential marketing channels, so it takes different techniques and more time. [01:15] Now, it takes a year to a year and a half. [01:20] In the US, during 2017, Facebook had more advertisers than inventory. [01:37] The question is: when is it going to be too expensive to do paid advertising? [01:48] Go for the organic route, do it for two or three years: you will succeed. [02:13] The Panchenko marketing agency started small, but now is publicly traded and does $200,000,000 in business, [02:54] Americans tend to move onto the next thing o

In Episode #516, Eric and Neil discuss ROI and how it takes time to see the results of your hard work. Tune in to hear why patience is a virtue when working with content marketing. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: What the ROI Is of Content Marketing [00:51] With any kind of content marketing, it takes time; about a 12-18 month journey. [01:05] Eric’s first podcast, Growth Everywhere was only getting nine downloads per day during his first year. [01:22] By the second year, he was still only getting thirty downloads per day. Now he’s pushing 100,000 per month. [01:48] Meeting face to face is helpful to ROI. [02:03] When they started, content marketing was text-based. Now it goes across all mediums and channels. [02:48] The Sexy Confidence YouTube channel gets millions of views per month. [03:16] It may take you a year to two years to see results from your content marketing. [03:33] If you got into content marketing four or five years ago, you would probably see ROI in six months. [0

In Episode #515, Eric and Neil discuss how although marketing is fundamentally quite gray (“We’ll help get you some impressions.”), nowadays you are able to hold marketers accountable. Tune in to learn how to make things less ambiguous by assigning your team specific, bit-sized tasks and goals. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:28] - Today's topic: How to Hold Marketers Accountable [00:32] - Marketing is fundamentally quite gray (we’ll help get you more reach, some impressions, etc.), but nowadays you are able to hold marketers accountable. [00:50] - However, it’s still easy to make things ambiguous and wiggle out of being held accountable. [01:10] - As manager, you want to hold your team accountable, too. [01:15] - Eric likes to hold his team accountable for just one priority metric, like a CPA (cost per acquistion) goal or a certain return on ad spend. [01:45] - If you’re not tracking these numbers, it’s too easy to get off your goal. [02:04] - Neil finds that if you give a marketer too many thin

In Episode #514, Eric and Neil discuss marketing funnels to convert visitors into customers. Contrary to what you may believe, you don’t need to have a complex funnel, so when you’re just starting off, keep it simple. Tune in to hear specific examples of simple funnels. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:28] - Today's topic: How We Convert Visitors into Customers [00:55] - Everyone thinks you’ve got to have these complex marketing funnels, but when you’re starting off, complex funnels are a disaster. [01:18] - Start simple. Neil just launched a new website that pitches agency services and his flow is really simple: you put in a URL, they analyze your site, and before they give you the results, you enter in your contact details. That’s it. [02:04] – They key, espeically for lead generation, is to give some sort of value before you ask for their information. [02:20] - Eric has talked about the use of live chat on your site before, and now it’s even easier. Recently Facebook added the ability for you to add li

In Episode #513, Eric and Neil discuss how important it is to find places where you can buy back your time so you can focus on what’s important to your business and making money. They also share some apps that will prove helpful in showing you how to become more efficient with your time. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:28] - Today's topic: How to Buy Back Your Time so You Can Make More Money [00:52] - Hiring people for certain jobs doesn’t mean you think you’re better than somebody else. [01:10] - Hiring others can allow you to focus on the high-leverage things you can be doing. [02:04] - Eating at restaurants and ridesharing services are examples of ways you can buy back your time. [02:17] - Hiring people to help you do things gets you the leverage to have the maximum impact. [02:24] - It is easier to buy back your time now than ever before. [03:12] - Focus on your efficiencies. [03:35] - Use the RescueTime app to show you the places where you are inefficient. [04:07] - Applying the Pareto Principle

In Episode #512, Eric and Neil talk about how marketing is where all the attention is and today that attention is split in many different ways. Tune in to learn how marketing has evolved from just content marketing to much more, the need to be omnipresent, and how audiences differ not just on channels but also on devices. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] - Today's topic: The Biggest Thing that Will Change in Marketing in 2018 and Beyond [00:45] - Years ago most marketing being done was strictly content marketing. [01:19] - Attention is so very split now and because of that a marketing plan needs to use all available channels. [02:33] - Some examples of people, such as Tai Lopez, who are making the most of all channels. [03:10] - Make sure you are omnipresent. When people start telling you that they are seeing you everywhere, you’re doing something right. [04:19] - People are seeing what’s happening in the world through social media and it often serves as a major new source. [05:20] - In the beginnin

In episode #511, Eric and Neil discuss how it's possible to turn a failing company around. Tune in to hear their advice for turning shit into sugar. Time-Stamped Show Notes:  [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Turn Shit into Sugar [00:32] Before Eric worked for Single Grain, they were an SEO agency. When Google made adjustments, Single Grain turned to shit, because what they were doing no longer worked. [01:00] When Eric took over, the balance was negative. [01:31] In the first year, his podcast was only getting nine downloads per day, but he kept going because he knew something great was beginning to happen. [01:49] He knew he would make things happen if he stuck to his goals. [02:04] Eric was afraid to lay people off, but when things are shitty, you have to make quick decisions in order to turn things around. [02:22] Getting help from his peers was extremely helpful. [02:39] Neil has learned that anytime you think you can turn shit into sugar, it doesn’t happen overnight. [03:02] Analyze your busines

On episode #510, Eric and Neil discuss how logical conclusions are not always the best marketing techniques. Tune in to hear how they flip the script and explain why common sense is no longer common. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How We Live in a World Where Common Sense Is No Longer Common [00:40] Even ignoring the current political climate, the world is crazy right now. [01:00] E-commerce checkout pages: does it convert better to have all the form fields on one page or does it make sense to break it down into two steps and force people to click through? [01:14] Most people would break it down into two steps, because it converts better than the first option. [01:40] You get people to micro-commit by breaking it down into two steps. [02:00] Most people would assume it would be common sense to put it all on one page. [02:20] Mike Chang (fitness expert) would ask you to fill out a quiz to see if you qualify to buy his product. [02:44] This converted into greater sales. [02:52] Inst

In episode #509, Eric and Neil give 5 tips on how to become the best marketer. Tune in to hear their insightful list and why retaining new information is an important facet.  Time-Stamped Show Notes:  [00:27] Today’s Topic: 5 Tips to Become the Best Marketer [00:34] Tip #1: Run an experiment every single week. [00:49] At Crazy Egg, they used to have people sign up using Google Authentication, which increase conversions by 30% because it was so much easier. [01:14] Because people are now worried about privacy, just asking for name, email, and password is more effective. [01:29] Tip #2: Create your own Mastermind (a group of like-minded people who come together to learn what they don’t know) [01:51] Find a few people in your area and meet up about once a month. [02:28] Tip #3: Learn from other podcasts. [02:37] Podcasts with founders usually reveal growth numbers and how they got there. [03:45] Tip #4: Create content! Creating content helps you articulate your thoughts. [04:20] Tip #5: Pay for inf

On episode #508, Eric and Neil explain how you can make money without having to speak. Tune in to hear the steps to making this possible and other great silent marketing tips. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Sell Millions Without Ever Opening Your Mouth [00:34] Start with blogs: you start to build an audience this way. [00:59] After building an audience, you can then sell them something. [01:15] Neil believes blogging is one of the most powerful tools out there. [01:43] Eventually, through following free advice or info from a blogger, you’ll end up digging deeper into their resources and buying something. [02:25] A woman who worked for Blackberry was following Neil’s advice and if he'd had an option to offer marketing services, she most likely would have spent money on him. [03:30] By building and audience, you are building a relationship. [03:51] Eventually, you will have to open your mouth, but at the beginning you can build a relationship with written content. [04:17] Go

On episode #507, Eric and Neil explain why they believe that marketing is the best education you can get. Tune in to hear how being good at marketing is not just a business maneuver, but an important life skill. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why Marketing Is Your Most Important Education [00:44] Learning to be good at marketing, gets you what you need in business and in life. [00:57] Neil loves marketing because, no matter what you’re doing in life, you’re pitching, selling, building relationships. [01:20] If you don’t know how to talk to people or communicate effectively, you are not going to do well in life. [01:30] If you ask your boss for a promotion, beyond doing a good job, you also have to market yourself in order to get that promotion. [02:07] You must figure out how to relate to people, communicate effectively, and position yourself so that you’re looked upon positively. [02:50] Neil did an experiment where he updated his wardrobe in order to look stylish and professional.

In episode #506, Eric and Neil explain why they believe college is an outdated process that isn’t necessary for everyone. They believe you can learn everything you need to know about marketing through Internet research, online courses, and real-world experience. Tune in to hear more about their thoughts on why college may be an expensive waste of time.  Time-Stamped Show Notes:  [00:27] Today’s Topic: Why You'll Lose Money by Going to College [00:59] Neil believes the advice and information you’re going to learn in college is outdated. [01:14] The internet has the most recent and updated information about your field. [01:56] Eric says that if you are motivated enough, you can learn just as quickly. [02:00] Eric always disliked school, because it was a process or system he didn’t enjoy. [02:45] Eric learned everything about marketing that he uses after college on his own time. [03:15] The only time you need college is if you’re going to be an engineer or a doctor. [03:28] Education is not a waste of

On Episode #505, Eric and Neil discuss the best financial advice for getting rich as an entrepreneur. Tune in to hear what Eric and Neil say is the best possible thing to do in order to achieve financial and professional success. Time-Stamped Show Notes:  [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Best Financial Advice for Getting Rich as an Entrepreneur [00:35] Eric poses the question: When you’re starting out and you make money, what are you going to do with said money? [00:50] Eric’s best advice is to re-invest your profits in your company. [01:02] Elon Musk has said that the best investment is in yourself; it’s something you can control. [01:21] Neil’s advice is to focus on one thing in terms of your investments. [01:45] If you want to get rich and do well, focus on one thing and become an expert at it. [02:43] Figure out what you’re the best at and monetize it. [03:03] Neil attempts to monetize being a great digital marketer. [03:30] Eric says to think of being successful as a circle. Think of the edge of th

On episode #504, Eric and Neil discuss the four fundamental things you need to master in marketing. Tune in to hear what these four elements are and how they can massively improve your business. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: 4 Fundamental Things You Need to Master in Marketing [00:34] Element #1: Consistency when it comes to running tests. [01:10] Neil finds that what works in marketing today, won’t necessarily work tomorrow. By running tests, you figure out what is working and what is not. [01:35] For instance, Neil decided to use Google Authentication as a method of signing up for his email list, which produced better results than asking for names and addresses. [02:05] Element #2: Having a growth mindset. Looking at your peers, assessing new options, and not being closed-off. [02:46] Element #3: Be data driven. Numbers are all that matter! [03:21] When Neil spoke with his team recently, they listed changes they wanted to make, but the changes weren’t based on data. [04:00] Ele

On episode #503, Eric and Neil talk about the quickest ways to make a 6-figure salary. Tune in for great tips on how to build your customer and financial base! Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s Topic: The Quickest Way to Make a 6-Figure Income as a Marketer [00:48] The best way to start building up your salary is to start consulting. [00:55] If you charge $1,000/client, you only need about 8 clients per month to get you to your goal. [01:15] Even if you don’t have traffic or good sales, there’s a simple strategy you can use to build your foundation (see following points) [01:32] Go to CrunchBase, because they list all the recent venture-funded startups. Look for companies that were started on $5-10 million. Find the investors, founder, and CEO. [02:15] Email the lead investor with the subject line of the company name in which they just invested. [02:45] Neil emailed a lead investor and broke down how he was going to lose money on this particular investment. [03:23] If you follow Neil’s step

On episode #502, Eric and Neil talk about what makes billionaires different from millionaires. Tune in to hear about the attitude and outlook that drive these successful people. Time-Stamped Show Notes: [00:27] Today’s topic: How Billionaires Are Different From Millionaires [00:35] Eric shares his experience speaking with billionaire, Naveen Jain. [00:59] Based on his encounter, he believes billionaires are more hands-on, think bigger, and respond more quickly to calls and emails. [01:38] Neil thinks billionaires are really big on solving problems. [02:31] Eric uses AirBnb as an example of being a company based on problem solving. [02:54] Uber is another example of a company that made money solving a basic problem. [03:26] Jeff Bezos has been quoted as saying, “Your margin is my opportunity.” [04:05] Billionaires are billionaires because they think “big”. [04:20] Money indicates how much value someone brings at the end of the day. [04:37] Billionaires don’t know when to quit; never say die. [0