Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

In Episode #214, Eric and Neil discuss how you can efficiently manage your marketing projects. Tune in to learn a few project management tools that you can use today. Find out also how marketing experiments and campaigns are worth the effort and the importance of having the whole team on board. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Efficiently Manage Your Marketing Projects 00:35 – Eric uses growth hacker experiments and combines them with Google sheets 00:50 – Run 3 experiments in a week and have 2 new ideas added into the Growth Hackers Project weekly 01:01 – Growth Hackers Project is a tool for running projects 01:09 – Someone should assess how the company is doing using these experiments 01:34 – Just continue experimenting over time 01:45 – Managing your marketing is more about cutting back what you’re doing 02:04 – Neil doesn’t do a lot of marketing 02:11 – Do one or two things at a time, once you get it right, add more 02:17 – Don’t keep adding more to your plate just because 02:33 – The key to managing your marketing is do less, but do it well 02:45 – Two people worth mentioning that are doing these experiments well: Brian Balfour of HubSpot and CoElevate 03:02 – Sean Ellis, the founder of GrowthHackers 03:20 – If you don’t have a process to follow, everything will fall apart easily 03:29 – Move and respond quickly 03:45 – Experimenting is a team effort and requires team work 03:54 – Make sure you’re annotating on your Google analytics when you are running the projects 04:15 – When you’re running a campaign or project, create a list 04:41 – Go after the things that are more difficult to achieve, then move to the easiest 04:49 – Prioritize those in your list with the highest potential of return 05:02 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Continually brainstorm ideas to better your experiments—vote on the best idea that can significantly impact the success of your growth experiment. The key to management is not doing everything at once, but doing a few things and doing them well. Experiments and projects are a team effort; make sure everyone knows their role and is on track. 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 #213, Eric and Neil discuss whether or not black hat SEO still works. Black hat SEO refers to any practice that you use to boost your website’s ranking in a way that violates the search engine’s terms of service. Tune in to find out if black hat SEO still works and the advantages and disadvantages of using this practice. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Does Black Hat SEO Still Work? 00:35 – PBN is also considered black hat SEO 00:41 – Black hat SEO still works 00:45 – Black hat SEO isn’t really for business or marketing 01:07 – Neil used to do black hat SEO 01:27 – “It never did last” 01:37 – Black hat SEO can give you short term income, but not recommended for a client’s website 01:55 – The only good thing about black hat SEO is that it can help you be more creative and adapt its concept to white hat SEO 02:13 – It is not worth the time and energy 02:41 – The link wheel tactic of black hat SEO described 03:26 – Build your own blog network the legitimate way 03:47 – If you’re just starting, you can try black hat SEO with your own website 03:55 – Eric did it before for a game review website 04:20 – The website was earning for some time, but then it got flagged and Eric lost his money 04:36 – Watch out for your website when you’re about to get filtered by Google 05:07 – Do not use black hat SEO if you want to play the good game 05:15 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Black hat SEO still works, but it is definitely not for business or marketing. Black hat SEO is only good for a short period of time. Do not use black hat SEO if you want to play the good game. 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 #212, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 ideal tasks to give your new marketing intern. Tune in and take note of how to maximize your intern’s time. These specific tasks will contribute to your company’s growth and improve your processes. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Ideal Tasks to Give Your New Marketing Intern 00:35 – First task is to list out all your competitors and track their growth and activities using a spreadsheet on a daily and weekly basis 01:11 – You can check how your activities are comparing with your competitors 01:25 – The diminishing return explained 01:46 – Have an on-going link building process 02:00 – Use BuzzSumo to find the right people to reach out to 02:09 – Use BuzzStream to keep track of the report 02:30 – Your intern should focus on social media and respond to anyone who is upset in your space 02:45 – They don’t have to be necessarily picking on your product 02:50 – Helping out will build trust and royalty 02:57 – Do reporting 03:00 – Manual reporting is still a good way to do it 03:12 – Use Screenflow for screencasting to make records 03:38 – “Each week, have your intern talk to customers who signed up and 5 people who didn’t sign up” 03:54 – Keep in touch with those people and understand their user experience 04:10 – Make your intern boost Facebook posts or run basic ads using Facebook and Google 04:40 – Have your intern monitor Ahrefs for bad links 04:48 – The intern should update your bad links on a daily basis 05:17 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Having the right tasks to assign your intern will make their stay in the company worthwhile. Your intern should focus on building your online presence—this can include reaching out to customers and being more engaged online. Make your intern track growth and activities on a daily basis to see how you’re measuring up. 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 #211, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 key elements of a high converting homepage. Your homepage should be the star as this is the page that generates the most traffic. Tune in to find out how you can convert your traffic to sales making these important changes to your homepage—creating that successful funnel. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Key Elements of a High Converting Homepage 00:35 – Make sure you have a great headline that emphasizes what you do 00:49 – Have a call-to-action that goes with the headline 01:08 – Answer objections: 01:20 – People are more likely to buy and be more comfortable if you will answer their objections 01:30 – Talk to people and ask about their hesitations in buying a product 01:39 – Use Qualaroo to put up a quick survey 01:52 – Use testimonials and case studies 02:14 – Fourth is to add a benefit-driven headline 02:21 – Talk to your paying customers and ask them why they bought your product 03:17 – Fifth is page load speed 03:46 – Think of your homepage as a funnel 04:39 – “Whatever your funnel is, make sure all flows together” 04:54 – Don’t forget about your pixels 05:05 – Start collecting data when people visit your site 05:18 – You can’t advertise effectively to your target audience without your pixels 05:24 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: A benefit driven headline can attract a greater audience and this can turn into sales. Consider your homepage as a funnel as this is what gets the most traffic. Know your pixels to reach your targeted audience effectively. 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 #210, Eric and Neil discuss what a private blog network (PBN) is and its usefulness. Tune in to learn why you should avoid PBNs as well as the alternatives that you can use in the SEO space to grow your following. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: What Is a PBN? 00:35 – A PBN is a private blog network that can be used to make your SEO more effective 01:16 – Build My Rank is one of the most popular blog networks 01:27 – People thought blog networks wouldn’t leave a footprint on their website, but Google found them 01:42 – PBN still works, but is not recommended 01:58 – PBN is not a good viable solution for the long-term 02:08 – Focus on creating amazing sites with amazing content 02:36 – ViperChill has a blog regarding the effectivity of PBNs 03:21 – The typical PBNs price 04:25 – Use a blog network, like SitePoint 05:03 – “Try avoiding PBNs at all cost” 05:24 – Instead, think about black hat and white hat SEO 05:35 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: PBN used to be effective, but Google can track websites using PBN and “de-index” them. PBN is not a good viable solution for long-term – it’s best to avoid it. Create your own blog network with valuable content that will gradually attract and build an audience. 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 #209, Eric and Neil discuss how to recruit great marketers. Tune in to learn how you can recruit someone who is the BEST in the marketing field and why going to local marketing meetups or conferences are fantastic places to find that next hire. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Recruit Great Marketers 00:45 – Use your website as a source of referrals or ask friends 01:09 – Force the hiring concept from Hubstaff 01:47 – Reach out to other sites which can help guide you 02:10 – Some of the best hires are from local meetups that are marketing related 03:15 – Recruiters are also an option 03:33 – They bring results because of their network 03:40 – Use Workable—it allows job postings to seed into different sites 04:00 – Eric’s job site is SingleGrain.com/jobs 04:10 – Eric can retarget the people who have visited his website 04:37 – People will then go to Eric’s interview video using Spark Hire 05:04 – Look at performance 05:10 – Check marketers’ blogs or websites and see how they work 05:26 – They don’t have to be marketers—just pay attention to what they are good at and see if it fits your needs 05:58 – Hire people based on tangible points 06:20 – Test someone, first, by giving them part-time work to see if things will work out 06:35 – There should be consistency in their work 07:00 – They should go through a test or trial 07:58 – Give them specific scenarios of what you will require of them 08:10 – Eric and Neil are always hiring people so reach out to them 08:20 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Getting referrals is one of the easiest ways to look for an addition for your team – you can get feedback, too. Hire people based on tangible points and see if their skillsets will fit your needs. By giving applicants a trial, you get to check how they work and their consistency, as well, before making that commitment to hire them. 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 #208, Eric and Neil discuss how effective 301 redirects are. Tune in to know how 301 and 302 redirects work, when you would use either of them, and what Eric and Neil did to boost their website traffic. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How Effective Are 301 Redirects? 00:35 – A 301 redirect is you signaling that links have been moved 01:03 – 2 ways to do a 301 redirect is through direct links 01:26 – Eric bought a gun website and a site that was inactive 01:55 – The inactive site had a hundred backlinks 02:00 – The number of visitors from Google per day 02:10 – Eric’s backlinks number 02:36 – Eric’s site is now getting a thousand visitors a month 02:50 – Took him two weeks before he started seeing the traffic 03:00 – After 3 months, traffic went up to 40K a month 03:10 – Eric spent $2500 for the domain 03:27 – It is helpful, depending on your niche 04:00 – Neil did a 301 redirect recently 04:20 – The traffic is changing 04:41 – Neil submitted the website to webmaster in order to crawl it 04:56 – Neil changed all his internal links 05:10 – Neil got a 40% boost in traffic 05:20 – Use 301 for more permanent redirects and 302 for temporary 05:34 – Use a redirect checker and redirect the right way 05:44 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Use a redirect checker to make sure you are redirecting the right way. Spending some money for the right domain can help you boost your traffic. Research before buying a website – make sure you are not wasting your money. 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 #207, Eric and Neil discuss how you can build a sellable website. Tune in to learn how to create a sellable website, why you should think long-term in regards to what you build, and how to choose a niche big enough to leave room for growth. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Build a Sellable Website 00:35 – “Don’t think about trying to make a cookbook and sell it off the bat” 00:41 – Create value 00:53 – Check FEInternational for resources on how to value your website 01:06 – Look for something with repeatable and scalable traffic sources 01:32 – Check acquisitions, all your traffic, and your channels 01:45 – Make sure your website has clean code 01:52 – Neil doesn’t buy websites with messy code 02:25 – Have a clean layout and design 02:35 – “Nicely designed websites convert better” 02:55 – Have a clean backlink profile 03:01 – Use Ahrefs or SEMrush 03:12 – Check for the bad links coming in 03:34 – Think long-term 03:45 – Don’t do shady stuff or use shady content 04:20 – Doing unethical things will it make it more difficult to sell your website 04:38 – Stability of income 04:45 – People check your website if there’s a potential for growth 05:30 – Make sure you have a big enough market for your website 05:48 – Don’t pick a niche that is too small, making you dominant, but not profitable 06:28 – Check FEInternational on how they value websites 06:55 – Flippa and Empire Flipper 07:10 – Put a process in place 07:47 – Sweet Process can help you document your process 08:00 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Create a website that is valuable and nicely designed. Be in a larger niche—there’s more room for growth and increase of sales. Document your process making it easier for future buyers to work around your website. 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 #206, Eric and Neil discuss the 7 key strategies that you must learn from Apple’s marketing. Apple stresses the importance of keeping things simple—from their written copy to how they display their products. Tune in to find out how Apple’s products reach a vast audience with ease and how you can adopt their marketing principles. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Key Strategies You Can Learn from Apple’s Marketing 00:35 – First is simplicity 00:43 – Great design is invisible 00:57 – Second, rethink how you do product placing 01:16 – Get influencers to have product placements 01:42 – Third, don’t be afraid to stand-out 02:00 – Apple’s Airpods is getting good reviews 02:26 – Fourth, avoid price wars 02:34 – If you have a great product, price it as is 03:06 – Apple emphasizes why their products are amazing 03:09 – Fifth, have a different ecosystem 03:27 – “When iTunes came out, it changed everything” 04:00 – Sixth, know your audience and talk to them in their language 04:08 – Apple’s ads are simplistic 04:46 – Connect with the audience in a language that they can understand 04:55 – Seventh, hire people to explore the best opportunities 05:10 – Have the best people in your team 05:45 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Simplicity is everything – don’t over-decorate things. Know your product’s worth and don’t get into price wars. Have the crème de la crème in your team – do NOT settle for less. 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 #205, Eric and Neil discuss how to get 300 real targeted followers in Instagram per day. Tune in to learn how you can grow your following on Instagram from zero to 300K. Also find out how Neil Patel's powerful campaign made his presence known to people outside of his field. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Get 300 Real Targeted Followers in Instagram per Day 00:46 – Eric interviewed Nathan Chan of Foundr Magazine 00:57 – Nathan got his Instagram following from 0 to 300K 01:10 – Nathan used the tool, Crowdstrike 01:42 – Crowdstrike looks “spammy”, but it works 02:02 – After establishing legitimacy, do shout for shout 02:40 – Use hashtags 03:10 – Pay powerful influencers to like your photos 03:23 – Your photos will start spreading 03:50 – Neil Patel’s Instagram campaign explained 04:30 – The campaign worked really well 05:08 – It is a lot of work to get to your first 300 followers 05:28 – Follow and unfollow people 05:34 – Every time you upload a photo, use 30 hashtags 05:53 – Post consistently 06:08 – Post Instagram stories and live videos daily 06:50 – Use hashtags in the comment 07:07 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Growing your following from zero to hundreds of thousands is possible by using the right tools and strategies. Increasing your Instagram presence demands time and consistency. Leveraging hashtags and spending some money for key influencers to “like” your photos is proven to work. 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.