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Latest Episodes:

Is Blog Commenting Dead? | Ep. #367 Aug 02, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #367, Eric and Neil discuss whether blog commenting is dead. Tune in to learn why blog commenting is NOT dead in Eric and Neil’s opinion. They’ll list the reasons why they still do it and explain the benefits you can gain from interacting with your audience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: Is Blog Commenting Dead?
01:05 – Nowadays, blog commenting still drives traffic, but not as much as it did before
01:13 – For niche blogs, blog commenting will still work
01:17 – What works is that people come to your blog and you build a rapport with them—because of this relationship, they are more likely to convert
01:45 – Some big publications have shut off their blog comments
02:00 – For Neil’s blog, which has educational value, people leave productive comments and build a relationship with him
- 02:15 – Neil has dedicated time to respond to the comments
02:42 – Even if there’s only one person who leaves a comment, you still have to respond
03:00 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which is a visual analytics tool
- 03:45 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries
03:54 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Blog commenting STILL works when it comes to driving traffic to your site.
Build a rapport and relationship with your blog followers by responding to their comments.
Blog commenting is NOT dead; in fact, it’s a tool that will help you increase your conversion rates.

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Growth Is Getting Harder (And What You Can Do About It) | Ep. #366 Aug 01, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #366, Eric and Neil discuss how growth is getting harder and what you can do about it. In terms of marketing, it seems that everything repeats itself. Now, more than ever, is the time to get CREATIVE in order to stand out. Tune in to learn how you can deal with the fast-paced, competitive market out there and the importance of keeping it fresh and original.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: Growth Is Getting Harder (And What You Can Do About It)
00:36 – Today’s episode is inspired by Uber’s Andrew Chen who is well known in the growth network
00:55 – CPCs and the rise of ad blockers are getting higher
- 01:18 – “As growth gets harder, you have no choice but to get more creative”
01:24 – The main way to grow is to think outside the box and go after different channels
01:43 – Facebook has a saturation point and the ad prices are higher
01:57 – Aside from the sending people to landing pages from your Facebook ads, take your people to educational/press type articles
02:15 – It will all come down to CREATIVITY
02:38 – Everyone is getting smarter in regards to growth
- 02:50 – The competition is tougher
03:09 – Facebook and Google are still on the top list of apps
03:19 – Develop your own brand to stand out
03:37 – Building your brand with corporate personnel
- 03:50 – Amazon’s customers are loyal therefore, they will always have high conversion rates
- 04:08 – Beats by Dre entered a saturated market, but still manages to make sales
  - 04:21 – Beats by Dre has a great design that becomes part of one’s lifestyle
  - 04:30 – They pay celebrities to use Beats by Dre
- 04:40 – Alternatively, you can give out equity in exchange for promotion
  - 04:45 – Vitamin Water gave out equity to promote their product
- 05:05 – Social media channels are copying each other
- 05:24 – You have to figure out a way to differentiate yourself from the competitors
- 06:00 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate
  - 06:33 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries
- 06:45 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Leverage all channels that are available to grow your brand.
The more creative you are, the more you will be able to adapt to the market and compete.
Giving out equity is another way you can promote your brand.

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3 Creative Ways to Mine For Leads | Ep. #365 Jul 31, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #365, Eric and Neil discuss 3 creative ways to mine for leads. Sifting through your inbox for relevant leads is a real time-killer. Eric can get anywhere from 2K to 25K emails a month for his agency and, therefore, knows why it’s important to have a system in place to find those relevant leads. Tune-in to hear how Eric and Neil cut through the thousands of emails to find those key potential emails.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: 3 Creative Ways to Mine For Leads
00:37 – Eric gets 2K to 25K emails a month for the agency
- 00:54 – Eric used to use Drip to get through their emails
- 01:04 – Now they use Clearbit Enrichment API and have plugged it into Slack
- 01:10 – When a big company comes in, the data will automatically be pushed into Slack, then to Salesforce, so people can jump on it and reach out
01:36 – Neil goes to their email list to check who’s there
- 01:45 – They’ll check the emails against their LinkedIn to see which connections are ones relevant
- 01:55 – They then send an email with a small introduction to those relevant leads
- 02:18 – When you get an introduction from another organization,you will more likely close a sale
- 02:31 – You can do targeted ads on LinkedIn, find people within an organization and send out a blast making sure they’re opening up their email
02:48 – Use Dux-Soup combined with LinkedIn Recruiter or Sales Navigator
- 03:13 – It will allow you to scroll around different profiles
03:44 – Datanyze can scrape the web and search for companies within a certain category
- 04:03 – It’s the enterprise version of Built With
04:27 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate
- 05:25 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries
03:50 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Leverage the tools that will help you find the relevant leads from your emails.
LinkedIn is an excellent platform to employ targeted ads and find those relevant leads.
Try to get referrals from organizations you already know; it’s almost a guaranteed sale.

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7 Apps That Marketers Should Install On Their Phone | Ep. #364 Jul 30, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #364, Eric and Neil discuss 7 apps that marketers should install on their phone. The ideas don’t stop flowing even though you’re on the move, so that’s why it’s good to have the right apps on mobile so you don’t miss a beat. Tune-in to know why these 7 apps are MUST-HAVES and how they can make your life as a marketer more convenient.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Apps That Marketers Should Install On Their Phone
00:35 – Hype Type app allows you to enhance your Instagram story
- 00:49 – It will make it look more engaging and professional
01:06 – Google Analytics app lets you see your website performance
01:23 – Facebook ads and AdWords apps let you manage your ads through your phone
01:41 – Adhawk helps you manage your AdWords and it has a better interface than Google AdWords
- 02:09 – The better interface makes it easier to use on mobile
02:14 – Fifth app is Buffer
- 02:22 – If you’re reading an article on mobile, there’s a Buffer button that allows you to share the article automatically
- 02:32 – You can also share saved articles in Pocket through Buffer
02:53 – Sixth app is Evernote
- 02:58 – You can put anything on Evernote
- 03:35 – It can be a notebook for your ideas
- 03:51 – Make sure to still be organized with your ideas when you write your notes
04:30 – Nuzzle surfaces the people you’re been following and identifies the signal from the noise
05:05 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate
- 05:52 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries
06:00 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Track your performance even while on mobile incase you need to act on a problem ASAP.
Don’t let those ideas slip by, write them down on your trusted note-taking app.
Leverage your mobile phone with the right apps to help ease your workflows.

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How to Get Traffic From Google News | Ep. #363 Jul 29, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #363, Eric and Neil discuss how to get more traffic from Google News. Eric is currently going through the process of what it takes to be featured on Google News. He breaks down the requirements of Google News as well as the BENEFITS for your company to be featured by this incredible source.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Get Traffic From Google News
00:37 – Google News is an incredible place where you can be featured
- 01:00 – Being featured as a company will drive more traffic
01:10 – You have to pass certain requirements in order to be featured
- 01:23 – You need unique URLS
- 01:33 – You need HTML articles
- 01:43 – They don’t accept audio files
- 01:46 – Create a Google news site map
01:54 – Eric is currently in the process of going through the Google News’ requirements
- 02:00 – They use Yoast plugin
02:18 – For Google News, you need to write content that is broad in scope
- 02:25 – If you do an article about Google, your traffic will boost
- 02:40 – The more broad the article is coupled with a higher click-through rate, the more people will tend to keep reading and generate more traffic
02:55 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate
- 03:42 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries
03:50 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Being featured on Google News WILL drive more traffic to your website.
Write articles with topics that are broad in scope and which lead to high click-through rate.
Do your best to comply to every one of the requirements needed to be featured on Google News.

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How Marketing Can Help Your Sales Team | Ep. #362 Jul 28, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #362, Eric and Neil discuss how marketing can help your sales team. These two teams have the tendency to be at odds with each other when there is so much opportunity to benefit from one another. In fact, when marketers are successful at their job, it is easier for sales to close a deal as that brand awareness is already top of mind. Tune-in to learn how marketing helps your sales teams and why teamwork is always the way to success.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: How Marketing Can Help Your Sales Team
00:43 – The more people that see your brand, the more your sales team can close a deal
00:58 – Neil does marketing case studies that focus on content marketing and press
01:28 – When Eric hears “I see your stuff everywhere,” that’s when he knows the marketing is working
01:46 – People can get to know you more on an intimate level from videos or podcasts
02:48 – A sales team isn’t as data driven as is the marketing team
02:59 – Marketing teams should use tools that will help the sales team understand what needs to be done
03:36 – Hubspot has tools for marketing and sales teams
03:55 – The worst thing you could do is participate in the “blame game”
- 04:12 – Sales and marketing teams should work together
04:38 – Look at the data and don’t focus on the complaints from your team
05:07 – Make sure you’re tracking your numbers
05:15 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which will help you see people’s behavior on your website
- 06:00 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway to know more details
06:10 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

The more people see your brand, the easier it is for the sales team to close a deal.
Marketing should work closely with their sales team—planning hand-in-hand and helping with each other’s weaknesses.
Stay data driven; this will inform each and every step you make for your business.

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How to Create Engaging Instagram Story Ads | Ep. #361 Jul 27, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #361, Eric and Neil discuss how to create engaging Instagram story ads. Instagram is an effective tool that can be leveraged for your marketing strategy, but you need to know how to use it right. Tune in to learn how you construct an effective Instagram story and why Instagram is more beneficial for increasing brand awareness than it is for ROI.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Create Engaging Instagram Story Ads
00:55 – Instagram story ads are the ads that pop up in between Instagram stories
01:04 – Instagram story ads are similar to Snapchat story ads
01:15 – The only time that Eric watched an Instagram story ad was when it was from Brendon Buchard
- 01:21 – Brendon made his story ad look like the usual Instagram story
- 01:38 – It was a selfie video where Brendon was teaching
01:58 – Target who you need and want
- 02:33 – Your conversion will go up if you’re targeting the right profiles
- 02:40 – Most ads aren’t relevant to a person’s profile
02:58 – It is more advantageous for you to try and get 10K followers and above
- 03:11 – The swipe-up option is powerful and you can push people directly to your website
03:18 – Every Instagram ad needs to run for a long time for it to be effective
03:27 – Instagram is more for branding
03:42 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Olark which is a live chat software tool
- 03:56 – Subscribe, rate and review Marketing School
- 03:59 – Text MARKETINGSCHOOL to 33444 for those in the US
04:04 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Any ad on Instagram needs a long period of time to work, there’s no instant ROI.
Create Instagram story ads that are natural and don’t feel or look like an ad at all.
Stay relevant to your target profiles.

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7 Growth Hacking Examples You Can Learn From | Ep. #360 Jul 26, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #360, Eric and Neil discuss 7 growth hacking examples you can learn from. Tune in to be inspired by how these companies skyrocketed their branding and acquired more customers using a few tactical strategies. If you want to grow your company effectively, it doesn’t hurt to look to the best!

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Growth Hacking Examples You Can Learn From
00:37 – First is Dropbox
- 00:40 – Dropbox used pay-per-click to acquire more users
- 00:51 – Dropbox was making $60 in revenue per customer
01:23 – Second is Airbnb’s growth story
- 01:29 – Airbnb got people to post on Craigslist
02:08 – Third is SEMrush
- 02:16 – SEMrush started with a free usage model with the option to upgrade
02:56 – Fourth is Hotmail
- 03:05 – Hotmail added “sent from Hotmail” at the end of their email to generate signups
03:38 – Fifth is Hubspot
- 03:43 – Hubspot is a content marketing machine which drives a lot of signups
- 04:00 – Hubspot also decided to create free tools
- 04:10 – Hubspot can generate more leads from their free tools at a lesser cost
04:26 – Sixth is the Paypal case study
- 04:31 – For every signup, they gave away $20, then reduced this amount over time
- 04:46 – eBay was originally owned by Paypal
05:00 – Startups create press
- 05:20 – Startups are directing Facebook and Google’s paid traffic to pages that have incredible content written about them
- 05:54 – By directing traffic, PPC isn’t that bad and the conversion is quite high
- 06:18 – This only works for an authoritative site; the quality of content you have is what attracts people to sign up
06:35 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Olark which is live chat software tool
- 06:48 – Subscribe, rate and review Marketing School
- 06:52 – Text MARKETINGSCHOOL to 33444 for those in the US
07:00 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Make people WANT to know more about you and your product; the quality of your content is the means to do this.
Offering an initial incentive can drive signups to your product.
Create great press around your product to show the value of your product.

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5 Tools That'll Help You Track Your Search Engine Rankings | Ep. #359 Jul 25, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #359, Eric and Neil discuss 5 tools that’ll help you track your search engine rankings. Tune in to know the benefits of SEO tracking, why it’s good to see how your competitors are doing and how tracking can help you see what you need to tweak with your SEO.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: 5 Tools That'll Help You Track Your Search Engine Rankings
00:36 – Search engine rankings are important if SEO rankings are important to you
00:46 – First is Google Search Console
- 00:58 – It’s not the best, but it’s a good starting point
01:04 – Second tool is Ahrefs
- 01:18 – You can compare your performance and your competitors’ performance as well
01:29 – Third is Authority Labs
- 01:38 – It is geared towards ranking
- 01:47 – You can see if your SEO efforts are paying off
- 02:01 – A Now Provided report shows you keyword opportunities
02:05 – Fourth is SerpBook which tracks your ranking accurately
02:31 – Fifth tool is SEMrush
- 02:41 – It is growing and updating quite fast
03:15 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Olark which is a live chat software tool
- 03:22 – Subscribe, rate and review Marketing School
- 03:26 – Text MARKETINGSCHOOL to 33444 for those in the US
03:32 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

Track your search engine ranking, especially if your SEO ranking is important to you.
Consistently checking your ranking will help you see if your campaigns and efforts are working.
If you track your competitor’s rankings as well, you will have an idea of how you can improve and revamp your strategies.

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Are Focus Groups Still Worth the Investment for Market Research? | Ep. #358 Jul 24, 2017

Show notes

In Episode #358, Eric and Neil discuss whether a focus group is still worth the investment for market research. Tune in to learn more about focus groups and how technology has played a major role in how we conduct market research today!

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:27 – Today’s topic: Are Focus Groups Still Worth the Investment for Market Research?
00:38 – A focus group is when a group of people that are your ideal customers come to discuss a certain product that you may be launching
00:56 – Neil did a focus group that was paid by Yahoo
- 01:09 – The people discussed Yahoo and its competitors
01:50 – Focus groups were very effective before, but it won’t be as effective now
01:58 – Technology has changed the face of market research, people can find their answers online and surveys to collect information are done online as well
02:32 – Eric doesn’t see the need for an in-person focus group
03:02 – Mileage may still vary
03:12 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Olark which is a live chat software tool
- 03:24 – Subscribe, rate and review Marketing School
- 03:30 – Text MARKETINGSCHOOL to 33444 for those in the US
03:26 – That’s it for today’s episode!

3 Key Points:

A focus group is a group of your ideal customers who meet you in person to discuss a product.
Focus groups were effective for market research before mass improvements were made in technology.
If your targeted customers are seniors, focus groups might still work as they prefer face-to-face surveys and conversations.

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