Marketing School | Digital Marketing | Online Marketing

Welcome to The Marketing School Podcast—your resource to learn, grown, and nurture your passion for online marketing! In Episode #23 Eric and Neil help you figure out whether it's actually worth it to attend marketing events. The biggest mistake that people make when they go to a marketing conference is that they don't have a value proposition.  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.

Welcome to The Marketing School Podcast—your resource to learn, grown, and nurture your passion for online marketing! In Episode #22 Eric and Neil discuss the importance of being a t-shaped marketer. There are specialists and there are t-shaped marketers -- also called growth hackers -- who understand a lot of different concepts of digital marketing. Enjoy! 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.

Welcome to The Marketing School Podcast—your resource to learn, grown, and nurture your passion for online marketing! In Episode #21 Eric and Neil talk about what A/B testing is and why you should be doing it. Enjoy! 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 #20 Eric and Neil teach you how to become a better marketer. Start taking advantage of new technology and new strategies, and study the marketing tactics of the pros. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – How to become a better marketer 00:50 – Talking to the highest performers 01:20 – Find what’s working and what’s not 01:38 – Learning through reading 01:45 – Looking for case studies and then trying it out yourself 02:30 – Look for recent studies 03:00 – Where to find these case studies 03:10 – land-book.com, swiped.co, Growth Hacker 04:00 – What Runs Where, Which Test Won 04:30 – Looking for innovative stuff 04:40 – Infographics that are animated 05:30 – Going to social sites to see what’s new and replicating those strategies 06:30 – Having the right mindset 06:40 – Persistence and stubbornness 08:00 – Don’t give up too quickly 08:15 – Look at your data and survey your customers 09:00 – Find out where people are dropping off and why they aren’t buying 09:20 – Quantitative and qualit

In Episode #19 Eric and Neil give you the ins and outs of marketing your consulting company. From when you’re first starting out to when you have a more stable revenue, they’ll teach you the best tactics to get more leads fast. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – How to market a consulting company 00:55 – Blogging to get more traffic 01:28 – Content marketing is the number-one channel for leads 01:40 – In the beginning, you need to generate revenue as quick as possible. 01:50 – Identifying your ideal clients 02:15 – Finding the smaller companies, and showing them how they can improve 03:00 – Sending that info out to multiple employees and their investors 03:50 – Do the things most people aren’t willing to do 04:00 – Using webinars once you have money coming in 04:37 – Creating a tool 05:20 – Associating yourself with the biggest brands 06:25 – Podcasting can lead to business opportunities 07:15 – Using videos to show how you analyze websites 08:15 – Specialization 08:30 – Find a niche for your company

In Episode #18 Eric and Neil talk about how to get people to open up your emails. They’ll teach you how to up your open rates and avoid the spam folder. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – How to get more people to open up your email. 00:50 – Don’t just test the subject line 01:05 – The sender name makes a huge impact 02:10 – Use a person’s name or a company name 02:30 – What are good open rates? 02:40 – Look at unique opens. 03:00 – Don’t let your open rates drop under 20% 03:20 – Remove people who aren’t opening your emails for several months 03:40 – Don’t waste money sending emails to people who aren’t interested 04:00 – Maropost and Infusionsoft 04:15 – An email hack 04:25 – Put emojis in your subject line to get people’s attention 05:00 – Lower-cased, casual subject lines 05:50 – Examples of good subject lines 07:00 – Personalized subject lines, using the first name 07:40 – It makes it more relevant 09:10 – Doing something that makes you stand out 09:25 – Watch out for being marked as spam 10:

In Episode #17 Eric and Neil explain what a marketing funnel is. Then they’ll walk you through how to create your own marketing funnel, with advice on automated tools to help you get the best results.  Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:23 – What is a marketing funnel? 00:25 – Google a “marketing funnel” and see Neil’s site at the top 01:00 – Funneling down from 100 to one or two people 01:44 – A marketing funnel is a great way to get people to convert 01:55 – The chances of a random person on the street to agree to marry you vs. agree to go on a date with you 02:50 – Getting to know your visitors over time 03:10 – Collect emails and educate people to build trust 03:28 – They will be much more likely to say ‘yes’ a month or so later 02:55 – The top of the funnel 04:12 – The middle of the funnel 04:33 – The bottom of the funnel, closing them on an offer 04:49 – The importance of collecting emails 05:02 – Drip is an easy email automation tool 05:20 – Acquired by Leadpages 05:28 – Infusionsoft has more advance

In Episode #16 Eric and Neil talk about how to create great links that boost your website’s ranking. Hear about specific strategies that you can implement to create stellar links with high relevancy. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:23 – What goes into a great link? 00:40 – The more people link to you, the better you will rank. 00:55 – Not all links are created equal. 01:20 – Look for domain authority 02:00 – Look at how relevant a link is 02:30 – Linking sites with related topics 02:55 – Do-follow links vs. no-follow links 03:50 – Study by Moz: The effects of links and where you’re linking from 04:30 – How easy is it for someone to build a certain link? 05:05 – Google knows the difference between user-generated content and non-user-generated content 05:30 – Links that can’t be easily manipulated are much more powerful. 06:00 – Don’t make too many links too quickly. 06:38 – Continuing with the same velocity will eventually make your ranking jump 07:00 – Stay consistent with your speed as you build links.

In Episode #15 Eric and Neil talk about link building. When you want to up your rating on Google, you need to have strong links to sites with a good standing. Build relationships with sites similar to your industry, and put in the effort to get your links out there. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – What is link building? 00:40 – Google and the value of links 01:05 – You get to the top ranking on Google by having strong content and links 01:30 – Not all links are created equal 01:45 – Google can discern the authority of your links 02:00 – How to build great links 02:10 – Ahrefs.com pulls up links on your competitors’ sites and ranks those links based on domain authority 02:30 – It’s like a richter scale 02:45 – You want a domain authority of 60 or higher 03:00 – Hit up those sites and ask if they would be willing to link to your content 03:35 – Email relevant sites to get them to link to you 04:00 – Tools like Outreach.io and PersistIQ will send emails out for you 04:30 – Don’t automate the process too

In Episode #14 Eric and Neil encourage you to use cu. Learn how to create engaging videos and build up your brand and customer base. Eric and Neil will give you simple, straightforward guidelines to leverage the future of Facebook. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – How to leverage Facebook Live 00:35 – It allows you to broadcast what you’re doing live. 01:00 – It’s a more personal experience with your customers 01:15 – Videos on Facebook will continue to grow 01:30 – The importance of Facebook Live 01:40 – Videos are pushed to the top of a newsfeed 02:00 – You get more comments, views, and shares 2:30 – Competitors, like Snapchat and YouTube 03:00 – This is one way to build a brand 03:15 – An opportunity to stand out and get people to buy from you 03:30 – Neil’s experience with Facebook Live is that the longer you stay on, the more people will view it 04:00 – Likes, shares, and comments will get your video to do better 04:30 – Neil does a Q and A on his live videos to get more comments 04:50 – Waiting

In Episode #13 Eric and Neil provide useful tips to help you stay consistent with your blog content. They’ll talk about the value of consistent posts, and they’ll give you the resources you need to keep producing content and stay organized. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – How to stay consistent with content output 00:55 – Neil’s blog Quick Sprout and what happened when he took a break from blogging 01:15 – Keep on top of your blog 01:40 – Block out time to create your content 02:27 – If you’re not sure what to write on, go to Buzzsumo.com 02:40 – Find a blogger online and clearly label what you need from them. Ask for writing samples and know their rate. 03:20 – Pay should be between $50 to $200 for one blog post 03:40 – Schedule out your content with your writers 03:55 – Publish posts once you have a backlog of posts 04:10 – You will speed up with blog writing as you keep doing it 04:30 – You have to have a content bank 04:50 – Create an editorial calendar 05:20 – See what’s going to be posted in the

In Episode #11 Eric and Neil discuss premium quality backlinks. They’ll explain what the heck that means, and they’ll give you clear tools to help you create the best backlinks. As you find ways to connect people with your content, using the resources available to you and being proactive will drive up your rankings in no time. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – How can you build premium quality backlinks? 00:45 – Get to the top of Google with backlinks and content 01:00 – Big websites have a high domain authority 01:25 – Backlinks are a vote of confidence 01:40 – You will up your rankings with better backlinks 01:55 – Network with people you know already 02:10 – Give each other value by posting on each other’s blogs 02:30 – Buzzsumo ranks most popular blog posts 2:45 – Take those posts and turn them into infographics 03:00 – Use Dribbble.com and Ahrefs.com to see who has linked to that post, and share your infographics with those readers 03:40 – Infographics can do even better than the original data-driven

In Episode #11 Eric and Neil discuss the value of customer feedback. Reaching out to your audience when you’re starting your business and as your business is developing will help your company to continue to grow and see success. Find ways to consistently get the truth from your customers—take even the negative feedback into consideration. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – Why and how should you collect customer feedback? 00:40 – What is customer feedback? 01:09 – “All that matters is what your customers are telling you.” 01:25 – The value of negative feedback 01:40 – “You can’t live in the black box.” 02:10 – Solve the customer’s problem 02:30 – Eric and Neil’s mistake when they built a blog was to leave out the audience 03:15 – Customers will drive your business in the long run 03:30 – Why people choose certain brands 03:50 – “Delight your customers.” 04:15 – Survey your customers and your competitor’s customers 04:50 – How often do you survey your customers? – Once a month at least. 05:00 – Do somethi

In Episode #10 Eric and Neil help you decide where to start out for your first marketing job. They weigh the pros and cons of an agency or working in house, and they discuss what really matters most—your learning and growth.    Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – What should your first marketing job be? 00:45 – Agency vs. in house 01:10 – Where should people should go? – Agency. 01:40 – The poker analogy 02:10 – Becoming a well-rounded marketer 02:45 – Getting into the agency world 03:05 – Growth potential 03:45 – Break Media 04:25 – Agency people typically have higher skills and more experience 05:25 – Neil’s experience at a startup 06:45 – Where’s the company at? 07:10 – “Are you growing or not?” 07:30 – Opportunities will continue to come as you learn and grow 08:20 – Experience is worth more than the pay 08:40 – Subscribe to this podcast and leave a rating and review! 3 Key Points: Starting at an agency will give you a better learning environment. Your first salary should not be as important a

In Episode #9 Eric and Neil break down retargeting. Today, retargeting has made huge leaps and is a great resource that you should utilize in your marketing.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – What’s retargeting? -- Ads the follow you from website to website 01:00 – Now retargeting has grown a lot 01:50 – Helping you build relationships with people 02:05 – Options today 02:20 – Example of an ad on marketing funnels 02:50 – Giving people more opportunities to act, or to buy 03:20 – “Turn all those people who said no into saying yes.” 03:35 – “Show them something different.” 04:00 – “Remarketing is like marriage and dating.” 05:05 – Digital Marketer Traffic Temperatures 05:40 – Cold traffic 06:30 – Segmenting who you’re going after 07:20 – Marketing for a local business 07:40 – Look-alike audiences 08:30 – An option to target cold audiences 08:45 – Start with Google and Facebook 10:05 – Targeting people from your email list 10:45 – Subscribe to this podcast and leave a rating and review!

In Episode #8 Eric and Neil talk about starting your first marketing campaign. When your business is brand new, you may want to try to get as much traffic as possible—but what you really need to worry about is creating one-on-one relationships with your first few customers. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – Where should you start your first marketing campaign? – “What worked for someone else won’t necessarily work for you.” 01:00 – Neil’s experience copying the campaigns of other companies 01:20 – “Throwing spaghetti on the wall.” 01:35 – Finding what sticks 02:00 – Picking one tactic that has the most potential 02:15 – Adding tools as you see success 03:00 – What’s your take on focusing on one area? – “That’s fine, just pick the one that sticks.” 04:00 – Growth for entrepreneurs 04:10 – one-on-one contact 04:30 – An example of this strategy 05:11 – “First hundred customers are all being acquired manually.” 05:30 – Those first customers are important 05:50 – Bad press when you’re starting out

In Episode #7 Eric and Neil talk about why you need a blog in today’s age. Blogging is a free marketing tool, but it takes certain tactics and skills to be successful at it. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – Why do you need a blog today? – “Best way to get free visitors to your website.” 01:10 – “This will help you generate more leads.” 01:20 – Providing value 01:35 – The Points Guy 02:00 – A home base 02:10 – Blogs generate as much traffic as paid advertising 02:45 – Facebook’s fan pages 03:15 – What are some tactics to starting a successful blog? – Consistency 03:30 – A long-term journey 04:00 – Having patience 04:35 – Traffic changes when blogs stop 04:50 – Corporate blogs 05:10 – A conversational tone 05:45 – Your headline 06:10 – Copy Blogger’s post on how to write good headlines 06:20 – YouTubers 06:45 – Your headline drives readers 07:00 – It must match your content 07:10 – “Make sure your content is relevant.” 07:20 – Kissmetrics 08:15 -- Repurposing your content 08:30 – Au

In Episode #6 Eric and Neil talk about personal branding. The image that you put out for yourself can carry a lot of weight—even more weight than your company’s brand or philosophy. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:25 – Why is personal branding important? – “You connect more with the individual than you do with the corporate brand.” 01:30 – Gary Vaynerchuk 1:50 – “You can control what you want to do with your audience.” 2:15 – What are some tactics to build personal branding? – Start out with social media and accept more friends and followers. 02:55 – Cross-promote on different platforms 03:20 – Twitter tools 03:30 – Following tools 04:10 – The growth of Eric’s business and brand 05:00 – How can you show the value of your service to your audience and help your brand grow? – Writing a book 06:00 – Blogging 06:15 -- How to reach out to be a guest poster on a blog 07:00 – Creating networks and relationships 08:00 – Finding opportunities as a writer 08:40 -- “You just have to start somewhere.” 09:10 – “Peop

Summary: Welcome to The Marketing School Podcast—your resource to learn, grown, and nurture your passion for online marketing! In Episode #5 Eric and Neil center the conversation on, The Biggest SEO Mistakes of Their Career. Enjoy! Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:38 – Eric kicks off with blackhat, whitehat, and greyhat SEO 01:29 – Building low-quality links to a brand-new sites 02:00 – Google’s Algorithm’s are smarter than you—they will always find out if something shady is going on 02:20 – That being said, it’s worth it to dabble in some “shady” business if it’s your own site as an experiment, to learn about both sides of the coin 02:48 – Back in the day, Neil would do whatever it would take to turn quick buck 04:12 – Don’t think short-term, you need to think LONG term 04:40 – Go whitehat and build for endurance 05:05 – Eric talks blackhat SEO in-depth 06:01 – Take blackhat tactics and use them in a whitehat matter 06:27 – Do not crank low-quality content 07:23 – The Google Panda Penalty 08:19

Episode 4 Summary: Welcome to The Marketing School Podcast—your resource to learn, grown, and nurture your passion for online marketing! In Episode #4 Eric and Neil center the conversation on, How to Get a Job in Marketing. Enjoy! Time Stamped Show Notes:   00:47 – Neil has lots of experience hiring marketers 01:03 – Never read resumes—they’re bullshit 01:25 – Put wannabe marketers on the hot seat 02:25 – If you don’t have your own website, how can you say you’ve ever marketed? 03:50 – Hire people to add value, not just fill rolls 04:15 – Stand out from the crowd 04:54 – Eric’s first marketing job 05:29 – Deliver work that is above and beyond 05:44 – Don’t obsess about theory in job interviews—share your wins, your actions and results 06:22 – The best marketers out there know how to think outside the box 07:45 – Creativity is the key to shining 08:23 – IF you want to show people you know what you’re talking about—create content for your application, a PDF, a screencast, SOMETHING 09:43 – Put yourself in t