Marketing School | Digital Marketing | Online Marketing

In Episode #196, Eric and Neil discuss the 7-point content promotion checklist. Many people focus too much of their energy on the creating side of content, when really, their energy needs to be spent on promoting it. Tune in to see whether you’re hitting these 7 strategies that help in promoting your content. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7-Point Content Promotion Checklist 00:35 – 20% of your time should be spent creating the content and the 80% should be spent promoting it 00:59 – 1: Hit your social media channels 01:00 – Use Meet Edgar to schedule your posts 01:36 – 2: Think of websites you can link to 02:09 – 3: The paid channels can boost your post for only $1/day 02:33 – Facebook Insights can be used to boost your post 03:30 – 4: Look for who shares similar content 03:54 – Send them an email asking if they’d be willing to share it 04:23 – 5: Make sure you’re repurposing the content 04:58 – 6: Make your headline appealing 05:05 – Test your headline ideas on your f

In Episode #195, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 interview questions you should ask before hiring a marketer. There is a lot you can assess about a potential hire from interview questions alone. How do they respond when they’re put on the spot? What is their best achievement to date? Tune in to find out the questions you should be asking your future marketer and the reasons why it is important to find someone with similar work ethic and values. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Interview Questions You Should Ask Before You Hire a Marketer 00:35 – Tell me about the most impressive win in your career 01:00 – This is the question that Elon Musk uses 01:20 – What do you consider the most impressive win in your life so far, is an alternative question for juniors 01:50 – The answers should match where they are in life at the moment 01:55 – What would you change with my business from my website? How would you fix it? 02:20 – “In business, people have to come up with solutions at the most inco

In Episode #194, Eric and Neil discuss how to attract 9,000 visitors a month from Quora. Quora is a fantastic platform to increase your visibility and boost traffic to your site—all you have to do is answer some questions. Tune in to find out how Jason Lemkin leveraged Quora and how you can do it, too! Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Attract 9,000 Visitors a Month from Quora 00:40 – You can definitely generate traffic from Quora 00:54 – Jason Lemkin is leveraging out of Quora 01:11 – Respond to popular questions in your page and link relevant articles to your website to get traffic 01:47 – Quora is ranked 122nd for most popular website in the world 01:50 – Quora is 67th in USA 02:00 – Answer a new question on Quora that is gaining traction 02:32 – Add a “call to action” that links to your website at the end of your answer 02:40 – Eric was answering random questions on Quora 03:00 – Jason Lemkin built an entire conference and community 03:25 – Answers need to be concis

In Episode #193, Eric and Neil discuss why your SEO sucks and how to fix it. Your SEO isn’t something you just figure out once and then drop it. It needs to be maintained and deserves your attention in order to stay ahead of your competitors. Tune in to find out why your SEO is NOT working and the tips that will keep your SEO operating at its best. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Why Your SEO Sucks and How to Fix It 00:35 – The biggest reason is that everyone believes that they can install a plug-in, and that’s it 00:58 – People focus on off-page SEO and no one focuses on on-page 01:20 – For on-page SEO, do keyword research 01:26 – Check Google Trends to see how keywords are trending 01:32 – Use Keyword.io and Google Keyword Planner 01:46 – Have a goal that you want to achieve 02:00 – Content and links are what matters in SEO 02:09 – Another problem is people not checking their extra links, especially the ones that are irrelevant 02:16 – “The last thing you want to do is be

In Episode #192, Eric and Neil discuss 7 neat SEO tricks for 2017. There are smarter ways to increase your search engine traffic and Eric and Neil have the know-how. Tune in to find out how removing the dates on your Wordpress URL or building links to posts that are ranking high can be just the quick tip you need to boost your traffic. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Neat SEO Tricks for 2017 00:35 – First is to upgrade your post that is already doing well 00:49 – Check Ahrefs and Google Search Console 01:30 – Google “online marketing” and Eric is probably Top 5 01:50 – Second, when you add the year on the title tag, it can generate new click throughs 02:26 – Third is to buy a website 02:38 – Look for keywords you’re trying to link 02:40 – Reach out to the top 20 websites see who wants to sell 03:55 – Fourth, remove dates on the WordPress URL title to boost search traffic 04:19 – Fifth, focus on link building to posts that are ranking 5 to 25 04:39 – Build 10 links to your

In Episode #191, Eric and Neil discuss how to hire an SEO agency. What questions should you ask? What are great signs that prove the agency is and will be successful? Tune in to learn how to investigate a great SEO agency and why it’s worth doing your due diligence before you make that hire.  Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Hire an SEO Agency 00:46 – Always look at referrals 01:11 – A referral is the first line of offense and defense 01:25 – Look at the previous work of the SEO agency 01:50 – Before hiring an agency, ask them the changes they’d make to your website 02:02 – You can also ask what’s wrong with your website and how much traffic they can generate for you 02:40 – Ask the agency their process: 02:48 – Each agency is different 03:35 – Look at organic traffic and organic conversion 04:00 – There should be alignment from the get go 04:07 – Ask the agency to explain their expertise 04:50 – See what tools the agency uses internally 05:00 – Ahrefs and Keyword

In Episode #190, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 cost effective ways to rank in a competitive niche. From building your community on Facebook to repurposing your content—there are some cost effective ways that keep you competitive. Find out the tips and strategies that help you stand out among your competitors and, at the same time, keep your money in your pocket. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Cost Effective Ways to Rank in a Competitive Niche 00:35 – One way is to look for people who rank on the first six pages of Google, but who are not doing anything with their websites—then, buy their websites 00:51 – Redirect all their pages to your website 01:12 – Second, use the Skyscraper Technique 01:19 – This was created by Brian Dean 01:58 – Use BuzzSumo to find people linking to the top 3 results 02:03 – Ahrefs is also useful 02:23 – The Skyscraper technique takes time, but definitely works 02:39 – Third, look at your on-page SEO and topical relevancy 03:00 – Change your URL struc

In Episode #189, Eric and Neil discuss how to increase your e-commerce conversion rate. Tune it to learn valuable tips and strategies to make the online buying experience as positive and streamlined as possible. From ensuring that there are product reviews to offering free shipping, Eric and Neil disclose the tricks of the trade that are easy to implement and will increase your sales. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Increase Your E-commerce Conversion Rate 00:41 – First, add live chat to your web pages 01:03 – Use a 2-step check-out 01:12 – Name and email on the first page, then credit card details on the second 01:25 – Have a countdown timer on the checkout page 01:34 – Learn more about it in Conversion Excel 01:47 – Offer FREE shipping 02:12 – Increase the product cost to cover the free shipping fee 02:26 – Your page speed matters a lot 02:47 – Site speed means better user experience 02:57 – Make sure your site is mobile compatible 03:20 – Have reviews 03:41

In Episode #188, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 copywriting hacks that will double your conversions. What makes great copy? How do you fine tune your text to get people to convert? Tune in to learn some quick hacks that are tested and proven to boost your conversion rates this year. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Copywriting Hacks that Will Double Your Conversions 00:35 – First, within your headlines, consider integrating the city 00:40 – Use MaxMind which is an IP service that’ll integrate the person’s city 01:13 – Second, use specific statistics and numbers 01:07 – Check Quick Sprout or Neil Patel in BuzzSumo 02:08 – Third, copywriting is about answering objections 02:29 – Find out people’s objections by asking pointed questions and answer their objections in your copy 02:50 – Fourth, include the person’s name inside the copy when it’s relevant 03:14 – Fifth is to show vulnerability 03:20 – Neil showed how he made mistakes and how he fixed them 04:20 – Include all e

In Episode #187, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 unconventional marketing tactics that you can use for 2017. Tune in to hear what tactics are trending today and the online resources that can get you to speed. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Unconventional Marketing Tactics that You Can Use for 2017 00:35 – First, check out Russell Brunson’s ClickFunnels 00:56 – Soon, more and more businesses are going to do funnels 01:19 – Second, website personalization 01:21 – Hubspot provides you these options to personalize 01:53 – Third, try micro-retargeting 02:41 – Connect Leads can help you segment your Facebook retargeting 03:30 – Fourth, branding 04:05 – Gary Vaynerchuk is really gaining traffic 04:43 – Branding creates more business opportunities in the long run 04:53 – Google Trends can tell you a brand’s information 05:13 – Fifth, chat is becoming a great marketing tool 06:00 – Intercom and Drift are good tools to look up 06:14 – Sixth, work on your notifications 07:0

In Episode #186, Eric and Neil discuss if Twitter is still worth using. Tune in to find out if Twitter is really dead and what alternatives you can use to effectively increase your traffic. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Is Twitter Still Worth Using? 00:35 – Eric doesn’t use Twitter to engage with people 00:46 – Eric searches Twitter to find out what people are looking for on this platform 01:00 – Eric follows venture capitalists, founders, and SEOs 01:11 – Twitbot’s integration is useful for Eric to read news later 02:00 – “I wouldn’t use Twitter. It’s dead.” 02:27 – Neil’s number of followers is much bigger than the traffic he’s getting 02:47 – Neil’s Facebook traffic is 244K from his fan page 03:10 – Neil’s Twitter traffic is just 2% of his followers while he gets 38% traffic from Facebook 04:43 – Twitter is a waste of time to generate traffic 04:51 – Twitter is still relevant for content ideas 05:00 – You can now livestream for your Twitter app 05:28 – “Facebook is crushing

In Episode #185, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 ways you can get more engagement on social media. Tune in to learn some tips and tricks to grow your audience as well as some useful online tools that you can use to optimize engagement. It’s not just about growing your audience, but getting the RIGHT people to your website to boost that engagement. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Ways to Get More Engagement on Social Media 00:35 – First, go LIVE 00:47 – Instagram and Facebook are giving more priority to those who are live 00:55 – Second, repost content that did well after a month of posting 01:12 – Neil just reposted content and is doing well 01:30 – Third, Tag the people in your post 01:49 – Hashtagify can help you find the top hashtags on Instagram 02:05 – Fourth, build a community 02:18 – Interact and engage with people 02:35 – Fifth, make sure you’re scheduling at the right time 02:52 – Sixth, target the right audience 03:20 – Create a fan page in Facebook to know wh

In Episode #184, Eric and Neil discuss what you should do when your business stops growing. There are many different solutions and options you can explore before deciding to throw the towel. Tune in to find out what Eric and Neil used as solutions when their own businesses were struggling and how an outsider’s perspective can make all the difference in saving your business. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:30 – Today’s topic: What Should You Do When Your Business Stops Growing? 00:45 – First, look at your analytics and numbers and see what’s going on 00:53 – Are you losing traffic? Assess, then look at the actions you should take 02:00 – Do your due diligence, don’t necessarily give up 02:20 – Look at other businesses and see how they are growing, learn from them 03:37 – Sometimes you’re too close minded about your processes 04:00 – Neil shares an example from his own personal experience 04:14 – One small change like changing URL structure, does make the difference to growing your traffic 05:17 – The

In Episode #183, Eric and Neil discuss when you should give up on a marketing campaign. Tune in to find out if it is the right time to give up your current marketing campaign or whether it’s time to just pause it. Neil also shares from his own personal experience with spending on branding and how his return on investment didn’t come until years later. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: When Is It Time to Give Up on a Marketing Campaign? 00:58 – Have specific goals, objectives, and have a timeline 01:05 – Set your smart goal, initially 01:18 – Have the right mindset 01:36 – If a marketing campaign doesn’t work at first, you can pause it and not shut it down 02:06 – Neil had spent on branding, but it wasn’t generating money 02:30 – After 6 years, Neil is now getting a big ROI from branding 03:15 – Paid acquisition is a short term campaign where you should get a ROI in just a few months 04:05 – Marketing requires reiteration 04:30 – The traction of YouTube ads 05:25 – Always put a ti

In Episode #182, Eric and Neil discuss how you can effectively integrate design into your marketing collateral. Tune in to discover just how important design is in your marketing campaign and why you need to be more careful in picking the right design. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Effectively Integrate Design Into Your Marketing Collateral 01:00 – “Design shouldn’t just be used to make things look pretty, it should have a purpose. The purpose should be to help emphasize the message you’re trying to make and drive sales and conversion.” 01:15 – Having a styling guide will help you to be consistent 01:47 – Check Dribbble to get ideas from different portfolios 01:58 – Intercom is consistent in having a good-looking design 02:26 – “Make your designs very simplistic. Designs that are too overwhelming tend to not convert well” 02:35 – Make sure the text is legible and dark in color for easier reading 02:49 – “Text impacts conversion more than anything else” 02:58 – “Make t

In Episode #181, Eric and Neil discuss what kind of videos you should be creating when doing live streaming. They also delve into what interests viewers in terms of content and how you should carry yourself in your videos. Tune in to get some practical advice on how to connect with your viewers and make those conversions—in other words, how to make a successful video. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Live Streaming 101: What Kind of Videos Should You Be Creating? 00:40 – “Behind the scenes” videos are always a way to get people watching 01:03 – Second, do a Q&A as it builds relationship and interaction with the viewers 01:20 – Third, try to do an interview—perhaps an impromptu interview 01:30 – With Facebook live, you can also invite others to join your live stream 01:40 – Fourth, check Gary Vaynerchuk and his short clips of advice and try to mimic him 01:52 – Make sure it is general advice related to your audience, that will really help them 02:15 – Fifth, do a product or service

In Episode #180, Eric and Neil discuss how you can get started with affiliate marketing. What is affiliate marketing and how can this benefit your brand and company? Tune in to find out how to be successful in affiliate marketing and the essential guidelines for setting it up.  Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Get Started with Affiliate Marketing 00:35 – Affiliate marketing is performance marketing 01:10 – The commission will depend on the industry and products 01:39 – Affiliate marketing is getting other marketers to push your product 01:47 – Affiliate Marketing One Hour a Day by Evgenii Prussakov 02:06 – It’s about the traffic you can get and what you can promote that is relevant to the offer 02:52 – You can also do paid advertising 03:05 – Cheap traffic sources are Facebook and Pinterest 03:26 – LeadDyno and Getambassador are great tools 04:07 – Have specific guidelines set up so your brand won’t get destroyed by the affiliate 04:25 – Go to any popular affiliate netwo

In Episode #179, Eric and Neil discuss the type of content you should be creating when you can only blog one time a week. Tune in to learn how to make a blog that strikes its audience—and not just to read the blog—but compelling enough to share it, too! Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: What Type of Content Should You Create When You Can Only Blog 1x a Week? 00:39 – Neil was using Quick Sprout, just once a week 01:38 – You want to produce something that stands out and makes people want to link 01:49 – First, figure out who are you targeting and how you can help them 02:00 – Kissmetrics targets marketers 02:10 – Second, who are your ideal customers? 02:55 – Your content should be very specific 03:25 – Companies are looking at more detailed metrics 03:42 – Blogs should be actionable and thorough 04:00 – Groove HQ is a good example of a growing blog 05:08 – Help Scout blog posts are in-depth and well done, ranking 1 and 2 on Google 05:56 – Be specific and don’t go for volume; go fo

In Episode #178, Eric and Neil discuss how you can get sales and marketing to work together. Sales and marketing are a vital part of your company whose roles/tasks are mutually dependent on one another. Therefore, it’s wise to get these teams collaborating. Tune in to find out the benefits of having these two teams work together and how to streamline the communication process. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Get Sales and Marketing to Work Together 00:48 – Get both teams together to brainstorm great content and blog post ideas 01:07 – Objections can also be answered and conversion rates can go up 01:14 – Collaboration is key and people like to work together 01:35 – “Most sales organizations are data driven” 02:15 – Automate as much as possible 02:19 – Improve and keep adjusting the funnel 02:40 – Analyze the presentation and be analytical 03:16 – Marketing can have a clear understanding of how they can help sales and sales should start closing more 03:25 – Use Amplemarket on

In Episode #177, Eric and Neil discuss the ideal URL structure for SEO. People often overlook the importance of their URL address and end up losing out on organic traffic. Tune in as Eric and Neil discuss how to clean up your URL and share their own experiences about how they improved their own URLs. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: The Ideal URL Structure for SEO 01:00 – Usual structure of a webpage explained 01:40 – Having a lot of categories on your URL makes it difficult for Google to crawl it 01:55 – For example: NeilPatel.com/makeup/allthemakeup 02:10 – The categories tell Google the topical relevancy 02:30 – Neil’s current URL structure 02:45 – There are a lot of titles and categories—this confuses Google, making it difficult to discern what category it should fall under 02:56 – Neil’s blog posts don’t rank as well as his guide 03:30 – URL should NOT be taken for granted 03:45 – Neil shares what he learned from his searches 03:52 – Less than 6% of results on page one of r