Growth Mapping Podcast

Today we’re going to be talking about marketing your business in 2018. It’s a new year and it’s time to consider new technologies, new channels of traffic, and other factors that might be new or upcoming in 2018. You won’t want to miss this guide to what to consider as you make your marketing plan for next year. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:40: Voice search: Will Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa change how you market in 2018? ● 4:15: How the changing Google algorithms and search methods will impact how you leverage SEO and the way you work your site. ● 5:30: Thoughts on differentiating yourself through your brand, particularly through content marketing and education. ● 8:00: How you can have a mini personal brand built around one specific niche. ● 9:45: Why personality matters. ● 10:40: Some “old school” strategies that still work.

Today we’re going to talk about how to use chatbots for sales and marketing. Everyone is jumping on chatbots as the new thing, and we are excited to cover the topic today. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:00: What Sujan has found chatbots work best for, as well as how he categorizes the different types used for various applications. ● 2:55: What a driftbot is and what they’re best for. ● 4:45: Why people might choose a chatbot over other types of marketing, as well as what type of people are more likely to use a chatbot and why. ● 8:00: Examples of companies that are using chatbots effectively. ● 10:30: Details about chatbots: How much they are, how long it takes to get it up and running, and whether it’s possible to build one on your own.

Creating leads with content is a time-honored and effective approach to building your sales funnel, but it’s also time-consuming. Today we’re going to talk about ways to build that funnel without relying on SEO and content marketing. If you want to add another strategy to your marketing, you won’t want to miss today’s episode. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:20: Why you should make sure you should understand and get into the heads of your clients and customers. ● 3:30: Getting immediate traffic using paid ads: where to start. ● 4:50: Ideas for an evergreen webinar: what you should include (and what you shouldn’t). ● 6:50: How to reel people in without handing them the solution to their problems. ● 10:00: How Sujan handles his webinars in a way that gets him signups.

Having a good marketer is essential to the success of your business. But how can you find a great one? Today we’re going to be talking about some of the questions you should ask during the hiring process. If you’ve wondered how to get a fantastic marketer, you won’t want to miss today’s episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:20: How you can tell the difference between people who know what they’re doing and people who just have a good online portfolio. ● 3:30: Why you should not necessarily be impressed with brand names on a resume. ● 5:20: Why some people who have had brilliant strategies at a large corporation might not work out well with a startup. ● 6:30: Why Sujan does not necessarily want to hire a manager to handle his marketing. ● 8:15: Tips on gauging how well the potential marketer will do in the real world. ● 9:50: Why team culture is an important factor.

Have you gotten to the horrible point when things with your company are plateauing? This can happen at many different stages during the course of your business and it’s frustrating no matter when it occurs. Today we’re going to talk about what to do when your business stops growing. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:05: How to use data to determine what has stopped working. Take a look at each channel in your analytics and find out what’s happening. ● 3:20: Why it’s a mistake to start dumping money into channels without knowing the math behind it. ● 4:20: Why talking to your customers is key. ● 6:50: Thoughts on reducing the churn rate, increasing the conversion rate, and helping people to want to keep using your service. ● 9:40: Thoughts on making a sales funnel through paid traffic sources. ● 10:30: When to determine that things aren’t working so you don’t spend money unnecessarily. Be willing to change courses, but figure out the math before you jump to a new channel.

Today we’re going to talk about how to get thousands of people on your email list when you’re literally starting with nothing. So many people will tell you that your email list is one of your most valuable assets. Here’s how you can grow yours. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:15: Why you should start big and what that means. ● 3:30: How to use your LinkedIn contacts to your advantage. ● 6:00: How to use email signatures and website banners to get people to sign up for your email list. ● 7:15: Tools to use to build your email list. ● 8:30: How you can use giveaways to encourage people to sign up for your list. ● 9:25: Tips on working with other people and co-marketing.

After a five-week break, we are back! Today we’re going to cover how to do a content audit and the importance of doing one in the first place. Whether you have a small site or a bigger business, you won’t want to miss today’s episode. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:25: Some of the things that Sujan did with his websites during his hiatus in terms of auditing his content. ● 3:30: What Sujan did when he found out that approximately six pages of content were getting a lot of attention. ● 6:30: How Aaron manages to gather data with some of the larger companies that he does work for. ● 9:00: Some ways to keep your data organized. ● 10:00 Why content strategy makes a difference and some encouragement if you are not getting the results you want. ● 11:20: Some simple tools to try to begin your content audit.

Today we’re going to talk about the differences between link-earning and link-building. These are both essential to SEO, but Google greatly prefers link-earning over link-building. Do you know the difference? Get ready to find out more about these strategies and how one can help the other. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:25: How link-earning works and how it compares with standard link development. ● 3:40: Where Sujan publishes the content that brings in links, as well as details on why his content works. ● 4:35: Why knowing your customers helps you earn links. ● 7:10: Aaron’s thoughts on the two most important qualities to have when you are trying to earn links,.as well as Sujan’s contrasting thoughts. ● 10:20: How gaps in the industry can help you build your brand and earn links. ● 11:55: Thoughts on creating a resource or anchor piece that does the work for you.

Today, Sujan is picking Aaron's brain on LinkedIn. We are going to talk about how to leverage LinkedIn as a platform. Aaron has been crushing it on LinkedIn and Sujan has been secretly stalking him. On this episode Aaron shares strategies and tactics that have helped him find and build an audience and speak to them directly. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 00:54 How LinkedIn has changed and how they are trying to be a popular social media network. ● 01:18 LinkedIn cares about natively created content and it is favored by their algorithm. ● 02:17 Crafting impactful stories for a status update. Using pure text with no outbound links. ● 04:48 Crafting careful updates with a structure that generates curiosity about what is behind the "see more" button. ● 06:09 We have a group for global marketing leaders which allows us to use LinkedIn to send direct messages and group announcements. So we use LinkedIn's targeting to create a group and use it almost like an email list. ● 07:54 Tactics of getting an audience together and being smart about the direct message strategy. ● 09:44 When opportunities come up it's a good idea to jump on them while they are still working. Right now status updates are working for creating a narrative and providing one impactful lesson. ● 10:47 Strategy of creating the story and then editing it down to 1300 characters. ● 11:44 Aaron creates at least one status update post a day. This is pretty much how pulse was early on. ● 12:39 How posts get sent to a sample audience. If there is engagement LinkedIn will show it to a wide range of people. Get engagement happening by asking for help from friends and co-workers. 14:04 Native video for LinkedIn has the potential for outstanding reach.

Today we’re going to talk about how to grow your business to a million dollars and beyond. A lot of people get stuck and aren’t sure how to reach that elusive 7-figure goal. If you want to be a millionaire, you won’t want to miss today’s episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:00: The method of breaking down your goal by month. In short, you need to reach $80K per month to reach one million dollars, so you need to decide how to get to that point. ● 2:30: The importance of breaking down your goal by the number of clients. How much does your typical client spend, and how many customers do you need to convert in order to reach $1M per year? ● 5:30: Evaluating what you need to do to get the traffic you need that will help you convert more visitors into customers, which will help you reach your goal. ● 7:50: The importance of team-building as well as creating a process that allows you and your team to function smoothly. Also, thoughts on why company culture is vital. ● 10:00: Why size matters. How big is your market? How big is your channel? These make a difference. ● 11:30: Why niching down might not be the best strategy. ● 14:20: How focusing on intangibles can help you get to a million dollars in revenue even if you don’t have a brand.

Today we’re going to talk about how to get your product, service, or brand in front of the journalists, editors, contributors and publishers who will cover your story, create content about you, and get your name out there. If you have nothing new happening or you’re a brand-new business, how can you get PR? That’s the topic of today’s discussion. Some of the highlights of the show include: ●‌ 1:45: How to create a pillar piece of content, whether that’s 10x content or something else that’s epic. You want to create value and show people how you’re changing the world. ● 2:50: Why you don’t have to necessarily talk about your own business or product and what you should do instead. ● 3:45: Why you should not create a press release but instead create a press kit. ● 6:15: A plan that will help you know who are the right people to contact. ● 9:50: How to go from having a list of the right people to getting yourself in front of them without spending a lot of money and without being annoying. ● 11:50: Tips on leveraging the power of social media and networking platforms.

Today we’re talking about SEO for e-commerce and what you can do to optimize your e-commerce site. There are a lot of big challenges and tons of competition when you are trying to market an e-commerce store. Sujan and Aaron will be sharing their best tips, so you won’t want to miss it! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:45: The differences between an e-commerce site and a regular website and how to deal with those differences by focusing on the right pages. ● 3:20: The importance of good, old-fashioned internal linking. ● 4:30: The number one mistake people make when creating their e-commerce sites. ● 8:20: The top factor on getting a site to rank well and how to bring that factor to your site. ● 10:00: Thoughts on optimizing for mobile-friendliness to increase clicks. ● 11:45: Tips on using rich snippets and various plugins to provide additional information about your products. ● 12:50: Recommended platforms to use for your e-commerce site.

On today’s show, we’re going to talk about social media: What’s actually working right now? There are so many different opinions and thoughts, and we all go through stages where specific things work on specific channels. Those are the things you need to focus on. Today we’re going to talk about where we’re finding success across different social networks. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:05: Quora: How Sujan and Aaron are making it work for them, including what to pay attention to if you want to use the platform to boost your brand and tips on how to format your answers for the biggest benefit. ● 4:40: How Sujan used Quora to drive sales to his ebook. ● 6:40: How to ask for engagement on social media and with popups and why this strategy can be more effective than email marketing. ● 10:20: Thoughts on what you can do on LinkedIn, how to add more contacts, and what types of posts tend to do well. ● 13:25: How to use automation to make your social media presence more successful. ● 16:45: How to use automation to benefit your Twitter profile.

Today we’re going to cover how to create a lead-nurturing process that works. It’s a vital topic to cover because most people worry a lot about getting traffic to their site, but then they don’t have the skills to actually get that traffic to convert. If you are ready to get results from your campaign, you won’t want to miss today’s show. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 3:00: How to repurpose existing content to begin the lead-nurturing process, as well as the importance of developing and focusing on your goal. ● 4:20: Some ideas on building trust with your potential customers and building your campaign based on that trust. ● 6:40: A discussion on an effective frequency of emails to send out depending on whether your campaign is B2B or B2C. ● 8:50: Tips on when you should send out your first “ask” during your campaign and what to do once you do make a sale. ● 10:20: Tools that Sujan and Aaron use to manage their campaigns. ● 13:15: The process of creating your content: Why outlining is so important.

Today we’re going to look at some of the SEO tools that we use in our agencies. It’s interesting for people to know what tools go into operating an agency, and we hope that some of these might help you as you develop and grow your own company. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:20: How some of the tools used every day can overlap and serve different purposes. ● 3:30: Some ideas on combining various tools to get a full picture with lots of different data points. ● 6:20: Thoughts on tools that aren’t the best for certain applications. ● 8:00: How tools can help you stay competitive when comparing your site to those of your competitors. ● 10:00: The first sources and tools Sujan and Aaron would recommend for keyword research. ● 13:40: Ideas for monitoring algorithm changes in Google.

Today we’re going to go through the famous saying that your network is your net worth. We’ll be talking about what that means and how it can lead into a profit. Join us for a relaxed conversation that we hope will inspire you to take action. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:10: How your network and your net worth go together and are intertwined. ● 2:15: How you can get your network started by getting out of your comfort zone, taking advantage of what’s available online, and making the most of short periods of quality time with others. ● 4:15: How you can begin a relationship with bloggers, thought leaders, and influencers in your industry when it’s out of your comfort zone. ● 6:40: Why having just one or two good people in your network can mean more to your net worth than the many people you don’t interact with or help much. ● 8:45: One way to fit networking into your busy day or week. ● 9:50: Why it’s important to get used to hearing “no” or nothing.

Today we’re going to talk about how to use content marketing to break into a competitive industry. It can be used to get into any industry, but it’s hard to do well with paid ads, SEO, and so on when the industry you’re pursuing is competitive. If you’re trying to get your content marketing to the point where you can get a slice of the competitive pie, you won’t want to miss today’s episode. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:20: Why it’s important to identify who is doing well in the industry by doing your own research and not believing what you see just by looking at competitors’ sites. ● 3:30: Why you shouldn’t consider your marketing competitors your actual business competitors: Look at those who are leading the industry itself. ● 4:45: Thoughts on creating something that is better than what your best competitor is creating: Consider various formats and aim for being the best. ● 7:20: Why skyscraping and 10X content work and why you should consider writing in-depth, updated pieces that are better than what currently exists. ● 9:15: Why voice and design are important: You can say the same thing as what’s out there but with a different attitude and an excellent design. ● 10:15: The 80/20 rule when it comes to creating content and promoting that content. ● 11:50: Why it’s important to be able to teach someone else to follow your process when it comes to creating and promoting content.

Today we are going to cover how enterprise companies can improve their efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to their content marketing. This isn’t only for enterprise people; it’s also important for small, growing companies. If you’re trying to kick-start your content marketing, you won’t want to miss this episode. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:00: Some of the problems that larger companies with several different departments have when it comes to keeping their processes efficient. ● 3:45: Why a brainstorming approach works better than having each department contribute to the blog by writing posts. ● 5:30: Why not to talk about your own product or service all the time: Being self-serving is not providing value to others. ● 8:50: The importance of communication: What to communicate and how to ensure that everyone is on the same page. ● 10:15: How to create brand style guidelines so that communication with customers is consistent. ● 14:15: Why you should start with an agency or a consultant to develop a strategy or process rather than try to develop something in-house.

Today we’re going to talk about scalable marketing strategies: What is scalable and what’s not? When you start digital marketing, you’re in the hustle mode and you make educated guesses and just do things rather than thinking them through. After a while, though, it’s time to start thinking about scalable marketing. If you are at this point or looking forward to being at this point soon, you won’t want to miss today’s episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:30: What scalable marketing is and what it is not, as well as why you need to start with non-scalable channels. ● 6:15: Why you need to prove out what you’re already doing before you start on the scaling process, as well as how to start once you’re ready to begin the scalable strategy. ● 8:30: Thoughts on why measuring what you’re doing is so essential and how often to check your progress. ● 10:00: How to have a scalable mindset or a mental checklist of what to do when to keep yourself on track.

There’s one thing that we each wish we’d started a decade ago, particularly when it comes to establishing our brand. Today we’re going to chat not only about what we wish we did, but also about what you can do to build your brand, even if you are just starting out. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:30: Why Aaron wishes he’d worked more on building his personal brand on day one and talks about what he was doing instead. ● 4:00: What held Aaron back from developing his brand more and what the tipping point was when he decided he needed to branch out more. ● 4:50: Why Sujan wishes he’d gotten out of his comfort zone earlier than he did when it came to growing his business. ● 8:15: Why harder work leads to more luck and how that pertains to brand-building. ● 10:20: Why being able to say no to things means that you’re achieving success. ● 11:05: Things everyone can do to boost their branding.

Today we’re going to be talking about how small businesses can compete with massive enterprise companies in the search engines and at SEO. So many business-owners have no idea how to go up against these big companies, and it’s something that Aaron and Sujan deal with on a regular basis. If you’re wondering how you can compete and win, sit back and listen to this informative episode. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:50: Some of the advantages of being the underdog when it comes to agility, speed, the ability to make changes, and the lack of red tape. ● 4:30: Some things you can do with your existing content to move up in the search engine results. ● 7:25: The correct ways to use backlinks and other strategies to boost your authority. ● 9:10: Using local optimization as a small-business owner: what to focus on and why this can help you beat the big guys. ● 11:10: Why you don’t have to create a lot of content if you focus on thought-leadership, promotion, and building ancillary content around a big piece that’s better than anything else.

Today we are going to cover how to get started leveraging video for marketing. This includes finding topics, shooting your video, and why you should be using it. Video can help you increase your conversion rates and build relationships. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:25: Why video is so popular and why people consume so much of it. Sujan and Aaron also talk about why video is less competitive than ads and SEO content. ● 4:00: Factors to consider when putting together your setup. Great lighting and great sound go a long way in making your videos easy and pleasant to watch. You’ll also learn how to get your videos edited properly. ● 7:00: Some low-cost advertising that you should consider to raise your views and improve your branding. ● 8:50: Some tools that you might use to promote your videos on Facebook and other sites. ● 11:30: Why links and embeds are so important when it comes to getting your videos out there. ● 13:50: The preparation that goes into creating video content. In many ways it’s similar to creating written content, but you’re done at the outlining stage. ● 17:30: Why to consider getting a professional video editor.

Today we are going to talk about the things you should avoid when it comes to marketing. There are a lot of things people read or misinterpret, and some of the tips for effective marketing are actually not going to help you at all. If you're thinking that some of the marketing ideas out there are just too good to be true, you’re right. Here are some of the top overrated marketing tactics. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 2:30: Social media: Why it’s not as effective as you would think when it comes to conversion, as well as what it is good for. ● 5:30: Why core audience targeting with Facebook ads will not be bringing you all the success in the world. ● 7:25: Why not to waste money buying ads when you don’t know the platform well or understand the buyer intent. ● 9:50: When guest-posting is ineffective and when it’s more likely to work. ● 12:45: Whether it’s effective to write highly controversial content or “newsjacking.” ● 14:35: Why memes might not work the way you hope they will, as well as how they might actually endanger your brand.

Today we are going to talk about how to create better content faster. Content really does fuel every channel that you’re marketing through. The reality is that you need a lot of good content, and we’re going to talk about how to create more content than you currently are putting up. Stay tuned for some great tips and tricks. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:50: Why it’s important to diversify your content and publish on the right platforms for your readership. Some people like to read blog posts, others prefer social media, and still others listen to audio books or watch videos. ● 4:50: Thoughts on repurposing content that you’ve already created to take advantage of different types of platforms. ● 6:00: How to use authority markers, which are things that can make you seem like the leading authority or an expert on your topic, as well as how to use user-generated content to boost your authority. ● 9:20: Tips on hacking the writing process: how to avoid distractions, when to edit, how to put all of your notes together, and more. ● 12:00: Tricks for coming up with ideas for content, as well as how to batch your processes for developing content. ● 15:50: How to track your metrics for more success: What to look for, what details to consider, and how to build upon what you’ve already written for faster creation. ● 17:45: Thoughts on delegation: How to decide what to delegate out and tips on outsourcing effectively.

Is your brand on Facebook? Do you know how to increase your organic reach and also how to make the most of Facebook ads? Today we’re going to explore these topics. We’ll talk about why you should be on Facebook and investing in ads, as well as how to best reach the people who can help you grow your business and your reach. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 3:00: How organic reach has changed over the past few years and how to increase it now. ● 6:00 Reasons to love Facebook ads and some ways to maximize its impact on your reach. ● 8:25: How Aaron and Sujan are using Facebook ads to find success, including how they use a lookalike audience and videos. ● 12:00: How to use Facebook ads for pixel-swaps. ● 15:10: Tips on how to use Facebook to drive traffic to a commerce site, and how the increased traffic to the commerce site can then boost your Facebook ad reach. ● 16:15: How Facebook Live can fit into your strategy for boosting your reach.

On today’s episode we’re covering how to use speaking gigs to benefit you and your brand. We’ve both had a lot of success in this area and we wanted to go over all the reasons it is worthwhile to get up on stage and speak. If you are interested in public speaking and want to get advice on getting involved and making the most of these opportunities, listen in to this episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:25: The power of public speaking to distinguish yourself ● 2:33: Speaking gigs as an income stream ● 4:20: Working your way up to the speaking circuit ● 7:50: Getting noticed and specific strategies to get your first gigs ● 11:28: Acting the part and positioning yourself ● 14:33: Paid advertising, cold outreach and other methods to get more opportunities ● 16:50: How to get better at public speaking

Today we’re going to be talking about enterprise sales and how to close some massive deals. We wanted to cover this because it’s not all about high-pressure tactics. We’re going to talk about some of the things we’ve seen when it comes to closing small deals and large deals, because sometimes there’s not as much difference as you might think. If you want to position yourself so you can really boost your revenue, you won’t want to miss today’s episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 2:30: Some of the differences between large and small deals. It could be the small details that count when it comes to dealing with big budgets and big deals. ● 4:00: Why design matters when it comes to standing out and improving your chances of getting that big deal. ● 5:15: Some credibility indicators: client logos, brands, being an authority in your niche. ● 7:30: Ways to get media coverage, client logos, and so on. ● 10:10: How to help other business by increasing their ROI, revenue, and growth. ● 13:30: Thoughts on how software, business insurance, privacy policies, and other small details can help you close large deals. ● 17:30: Tips for people who don’t want to meet others in person and would rather work from their computers at home. ● 20:30: How a pilot program can show companies who you are and what you offer.

Today we’re looking at something that everyone seems to want to do: Getting your brand featured in the press. How can you get press focusing on your brand or product? Today Aaron and Sujan will talk about how they’ve gotten press coverage and why it’s something worthwhile to pursue. Most people go about this the wrong way, and we’re going to help you understand how to achieve press coverage more effectively and how to get the right type of press for the right reasons. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 2:15: Why email pitches do not work, and what you should be doing instead. ● 4:15: The importance of building relationships with influencers and top movers and shakers, as well as tips on how to do that. ● 7:40: How to find and get in contact with important people in your industry. ● 9:30: How to start a conversation with those influencers via social media. ● 13:00: How to know what to offer to add value. Sujan cautions against asking influencers, “What can I help you with?” ● 15:10: Tips on finding out whether your idea is unique. ● 16:30: Some ideas for creating a quality website that will boost your credibility. ● 19:10: The relationship between media outlets and blogs. You might be able to go to blogs and get as much coverage as you would if you’d gone to a media outlet.

Building your personal brand is a massive topic and is important to every industry. Most people building a brand focus on building a company brand. If you build up your company brand and you sell your company, however, then all of its value is gone, as it pertains to you. If you build up your personal brand, however, then even after you sell your company, you can still leverage all of the work, networking, and contacts that you put into it as you pursue other opportunities in the same industry or in different ones. You take your reputation with you, which can open up opportunities now and in the future. Today we’re going to talk about how to go about building your personal brand alongside your company brand. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 2:15: The first step to take when developing your personal brand. What do you want to be known for? ● 3:55: How you can gain credibility by immersing yourself in education pertaining to your knowledge base. ● 6:15: The importance of knowing how to teach, where to teach, and where to write so you can make yourself well-known and boost your authority and credibility. ● 9:00: Where to go to build an audience for your own blog: How guest-blogging can build your brand tremendously. ● 12:00: How your content depth can prove your authority. ● 14:00: Tips on growing your blog content and getting it out there via your social networking profiles. ● 15:25: How connecting and building relationships with influencers can turn you into an influencer yourself.

Today we are going to talk about LinkedIn. This networking site is great for business, for building your brand, for getting more traffic, and much more. Aaron and Sujan have some great information on why you would want to use LinkedIn and how to make the most of the platform. It’s such a great way to target specific people and connect with those at different companies and from different locations. If you aren’t sure how to use LinkedIn effectively, you will want to tune in! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 2:30: Thoughts on prospecting through LinkedIn: How you can find the names, positions and locations that you want to target by using the search function, and tips from Aaron on how to use LinkedIn to do outreach marketing, including cold emails. Sujan talks about using the platform for recruiting. ● 7:00: Tips on publishing on LinkedIn Pulse. Sujan shares what he’s learned about getting more traffic and likes to his posts. He also shares the secret to getting featured in the categories. ● 9:30: Experiences using LinkedIn PPC, including a discussion of the high costs and whether it’s worth it. ● 11:00: Ideas for direct messaging campaigns: what works and what doesn’t, and maintaining a good process to drive leads out of that strategy. ● 12:40: How to use LinkedIn Groups to your advantage using automation for content distribution. Aaron also shares his experience with creating his own group and what he’s gained. ● 16:15: Tips on using Buffer for automating content to publish to different groups or platforms.

Today we’re going to talk about how to get started in your digital marketing career. We’re going to talk about how both Aaron and Sujan got started, so this will be interesting for anyone who is considering starting this type of career. We’re going to share what we wish we knew when we first started, so maybe you can learn from our triumphs and tribulations along the way. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:30: How Sujan got started with his first website: What motivated him and how he managed to handle obstacles. ● 6:30: Aaron’s story about how he got started, what type of experience he had, and how he learned about online marketing from scratch. ● 10:20: Different ways you can make money online, including affiliate marketing, consulting, coaching, and creating products. ● 11:55: Places you can go and strategies to use to learn about digital marketing. ● 15:00: The next steps after you learn a lot of information, and how to find opportunities to get experience. ● 17:30: Why narrowing your focus is beneficial.

Today we are going to be covering influencer marketing. We’ll talk about how to connect with influencers, as well as becoming the influencer yourself. We’ve got a lot to cover, and we’re excited to talk about it because there’s a lot of misinformation out there! Whether you don’t know what influencer marketing is or you are just not sure how to get past the “connecting with influencers” phase, you won’t want to miss this episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 1:15: The two common ways that people become influencers, and the difference between influencer marketing in the B2B and the B2C strategies. ● 4:30: Tips on how to do influencer marketing without overstepping, being annoying, or “being douchey.” ● 7:40: Some ways to reach out to and connect with influencers using platforms and websites. ● 10:50: Suggestions on how to include influencers in your content once you have connected and created a relationship. ● 13:15: Tips on becoming the influencer that others look up to and try to connect with. ● 16:20: Some thoughts on virtual summits and how they can help you connect with and ultimately become an influencer.

Today we’re talking how to build a social media strategy that gets good results. The bigger your presence online, the more of an influence you can make. Social media is a good way to build your brand, to communicate with your readers, and to distribute content. When someone looks for your Twitter profile or Facebook page and finds that it’s nonexistent or sub-par, that can be a disappointment. If you’re not sure how to build your social media presence for awesome results, you won’t want to miss today’s show. Some of the highlights of this episode include: ● 1:45: Tips on choosing which networks and platforms to focus on based on where your readers are engaging. ● 5:00: What it takes to build out your profiles. It’s essential to realize that this is where you are representing your brand. ● 7:30: What not to put out there. Social media is not only to share about yourself. ● 9:00: What to put on your social media platforms besides just content. ● 11:10: The importance of knowing when to post for the best engagement. ● 13:20: Some advice on getting shoutouts and how this can benefit your brand. ● 15:00: Tools that can help with posting and managing content. ● 16:30: Why automation is not the be-all end-all of social media interaction.

Today we are talking about long-form versus short-form content. You might not realize that the two different types of content have different advantages and purposes. You also might not know what the characteristics are of teach type. If you’re not sure what you should be using when, then you won’t want to miss today’s episode. Some of the highlights of today’s show include: ● 1:35: Why people choose long-form over short-form content: It’s a good way to build an audience from scratch and it can work better to engage your audience than short-form. ● 3:30: Why journalists have different habits when it comes to creating content, meeting deadlines, and building teams, and how these habits can be detrimental to creating effective long-form content. ● 5:10: A definition of short-form and long-form content: number of words, features, and links. Also some examples of effective long-form content. ● 10:00: Some of the ways that Aaron pulls together data for clients to find out what type of content and publishing schedule will work best for that particular customer. ● 13:20: When short-form content works best and why.

A lot of people ask us about how to get leads and sales through content marketing. With so many trying to jump on the content marketing bandwagon, it’s natural to want to do it right so you can succeed. Today we’re going to focus on the marketing side of content marketing. You can have the best content ever, but if you’re not promoting it, no one will see it. Some of the highlights of the show include: ● 2:40: The importance of becoming an influencer and some tips on how to do that. ● 3:50: Things to focus on in terms of your content to get leads and sales. ● 6:30: Specific tactics to ask for and get conversion. Don’t forget that you are more likely to receive if you ask! ● 10:00: How a drip campaign can help you gain conversions. ● 13:00: Retargeting: how retargeting campaigns can help you get more leads and sales. ● 16:15: Some options for live chat to help you boost your business.

Are you in a “boring” industry? If your business creates seemingly boring products or doesn’t seem interesting, you might be stuck for content ideas. Since blogging and content marketing can help you leverage more organic inbound results, you're missing out on a huge chunk of traffic if you aren’t using this to your advantage. If it seems impossible to create content that is engaging, compelling, and relevant to your industry, you will not want to miss today’s episode! Sujan and Aaron can help you deliver the content that people want to read, even if you’re in what might seem like a bland or uninteresting niche. Some of the highlights of today’s show include: ● 2:45: Some common mistakes that people make when they create industry blogs. The takeaway here is that if you’re talking about yourself and your company, it’s not likely to be interesting to people outside of your company. ● 5:30: Advice on what businesses should be doing: educating, entertaining, answering questions, solving problems, and generally giving people what they want. ● 8:15: Tips on identifying some of the problems and questions that people have about the industry. ● 10:45: Real-life examples of how Aaron and Sujan have handled creating content for boring industries. ● 16:00: Final tips on finding out what clients and customers want to read about when it comes to your industry.

As you grow and scale your business, you’ll find, if you haven’t already, that you simply can’t be everywhere you want and need to be at the same time. You likely have many different social media channels, groups, email lists, and so on, and it’s impossible for one person to handle everything that needs to be done. Automation might be the answer to this prevalent issue. Today Sujan and Aaron are going to be talking about the different tools they use to make automation simpler, tactics for using automation and, just as important, tips on when and how not to use automation. Some of the highlights of today’s show include: ● 1:40: Sujan explains how Quuu.co can help you automate the things you share. ● 3:10: Aaron and Sujan discuss IFTTT and Zapier and how they can help with automation, content curation, syndication and promotion. ● 6:40: Aaron talks about one of his go-tools, Buffer, to link his social media platforms and to publish according to the most effective schedules. ● 8:15: Sujan recommends Drip for email drip campaigns and explains how he uses it for a content marketing boot camp email course. He also talks about Revue to help with creating the content. ● 10:15: Aaron discusses the virtues of Infusionsoft when it comes to onboarding, email marketing, and other tasks you must do on a regular basis. ● 11:30: Sujan and Aaron talk about tactics that can kick off your marketing automation. For example, send out a welcome email and keep track of what your competition is doing using tools like Brand24, BuzzSumo and Mention. Also, link your tools together when possible. ● 16:00: Important tips on when and when not to use automation.

Last time, we talked about some ways to acquire customers for your seven-figure agency. Today we’ll talk about managing your million-dollar business. Aaron and Sujan are both going to share tips on how to remain agile while managing a successful company. We both do things differently, so there’s no one formula, but there are some basic truths that can apply to just about any business. If you’re planning on having (or if you currently have) a seven-figure agency, you won’t want to miss today’s episode! Some of the highlights of today’s show include: ● 2:00: The way Sujan manages people at his agency, with strategists being trained from the ground up with an intensive training program. ● 3:30: How Aaron handles the client-facing people at his agency, including characteristics that he looks for when hiring. ● 7:00: Tips on creating structure systems. Aaron and Sujan have different structures in their agencies, but both have them laid out to benefit the way the companies operate. ● 9:30: How involved Sujan and Aaron are with their agencies’ clients. ● 12:20: Tips from both men for onboarding clients: Be selective when choosing which clients you will work with, and ask the right questions. ● 16:45: A discussion on managing client expectations. This requires proactive, consistent communication.

Today Sujan and Aaron are going to be talking about how to build a seven-figure agency. There’s a lot to say on this topic, so we’re going to split it into two parts. Today’s part will be a fun one! We’ll talk about the most important ways to grow a marketing agency. There are, as Aaron says, about a million different things you can do, but we’re going to concentrate on a few great ideas. Some of the highlights of today’s show include: ● 1:30: Why and how you need to practice what you preach. Don’t get into the trap of advising your clients to post great content, regularly contribute to columns, tweak content for the target readers, and so on, without doing so yourself. ● 4:20: Ideas for getting links. Remember, this is how you increase your SEO value, so you’ll be driving search traffic. You might not think you have time for inbound marketing, but you’ll regret waiting if you don’t get started on it now. ● 7:15: Information about outbound marketing. Cold emails and cold calls are examples of outbound marketing, and Aaron and Sujan share their thoughts on these strategies. ● 11:00: How to build partnerships and referrals. Referrals are going to be high-converting leads, so capitalize on them! ● 14:15: Some important thoughts on branding -- it can set you apart from your competitors, but it can be in a positive or negative way, so it’s vital to make sure your brand is giving the best first impression possible.

How can you create a content strategy that is going to drive huge results? Creating the content itself is important, but it’s a small percentage of the work that you need to do to achieve success. What you need to do is have a brilliant strategy in place before creating the content in the first place. One common mistake is that people will create content without having a strategy in place. We’re excited to talk to you today about how to boost your chances for content marketing success. Some of the highlights of today’s show include: ● 1:20: Why matching the style of your blog to the style of your brand is the key to consistency. Your work needs to be readable and able to help you create a bond with your readers. ● 2:30: How and why the length and the formatting of your pieces can affect how well your content does, especially in the B2B world. ● 6:30: Why looking at a competitor analysis can help you create better content for your target audience. Check out their voice, their tone, their structure, their strengths and their weaknesses. ● 12:15: The importance of being realistic. Content marketing will not help you build authority quickly; it takes time. ● 14:00: Ways to come up with ideas for content topics. (If you’re having trouble thinking of lots of different ideas, you won’t want to miss this segment.) ● 18:50: How promotion and design can be integrated into your content strategy. ● 21:10: Sujan’s biggest pet peeve when it comes to content marketing. Today we are covering how to create a content strategy that will create huge results. There is a huge need to put a strategy in place before creating any type of content.

10x content is a term you might have heard floating around recently. It’s the type of content that is going to drive 10 times the results that other types of content can produce. It’s significantly better than what’s already there, and something that can provide an extreme amount of value. Who wouldn’t want to create 10x content? Just about everyone wants their content to do as well as it can, so today’s episode is all about getting your content up to that point. If you’ve been hoping to see better results, you won’t want to miss what Aaron and Sujan have to say aboutthis increasingly important topic when it comes to your content. Some of the highlights of today’s show include: ● 2:40: Some examples of 10x content that Sujan and Aaron have produced and how they’ve done in terms of ROI. ● 6:40: The steps that Aaron and Sujan follow to create 10x content: ideation, content creation, design and development, and promotion. ● 9:10: Suggestions for how you can make your content better than what’s already out there. ● 11:20: Why design and development is so important and how it can make up for content that is not out-of-this-world. ● 13:20: Why promotion is important and how marketing can fall flat. Sujan and Aaron discuss their promotion strategies. ● 17:15: Ideas for getting other people involved and invested in your idea using email, social media, and other avenues. ● 20:15: Why long-form content can pay off much better than short blog posts. Quotes: Aaron: “Do what the others can’t do or won’t do and you’ll see results that they don’t get.” Sujan: “You get what you put in.”Aaron: “Even the best piece of content is going to fall flat on its face unless you’re out there hustling and promoting that content.”Sujan: “If you can’t devote the budget to it, don’t do it. Don’t do it half-assed.”

Welcome to the Growth Mapping Podcast with Aaron Agius and Sujan Patel. Today we are going to talk about how to get your first 100 customers for your SaaS business. This is something we both have a lot of experience in. The most powerful tactic to build your first 100 customers is to do marketing and build your audience before you launch. The larger your list is the better chance you have to get people to convert into customers. Slow down and build your pre-launch marketing. Even if your product is ready. ● Start with blogging and creating content around your industry ● Inbound marketing ● Answer questions on Quora ● Give talks ● Get customer feedback ● Make sure your brand is seen, and capture that audience ● Reaching out to your network - send an email to everyone and let them know what you are doing - if you can’t get 10, 20, 30 purchases, you have done something wrong, like product fit or market fit ● Build marketing into the product, so people can share it from the beginning, it removes friction in beginning sign ups ● Ask people to share ● Have a big launch - Product Hunt - You have to get hunted and then an upvoting system, AMA series, podcast, this can get you a couple hundred customers ● Outbound - Adwords, paid marketing, email scraping and identifying your target audience ● Get your outbound channel figured out ● Partnerships and referrals - Find companies that sell to your target customer and see if you can find alignment to cross promote ● Look for influencers and authorities in your space - reach out to them, offer free work and help and build partnerships ● Influencer marketing is some of the best ROI and scales well ● Networking - if you are solving something in an industry get to know the movers and shakers, make sure they are aware of you

Welcome to the Growth Mapping Podcast with Aaron Agius and Sujan Patel. Today we are going to talk about how to earn backlinks from Inc, Forbes, Entrepreneur and many other large publications. This is probably one of the most frequent questions we get asked, and we want to answer it once and for all. There are a few good ways to reach out to tier one editorial publications. There is a lot more that goes into building a relationship and connecting with an editor. Content and the ask needs to be tailored to the right person. There needs to be relevancy. Don’t carpet bomb with automation tools. Have a unique approach. Know who to pitch, do your research, and be unique. Give favors and don’t lead with ask. Lead with something of value. You need to have an interesting angle, product, or story. Have something interesting to offer. 2 ways to get links from these large publications: ● Become the contributor - Guest post and write content yourself ● Connect and build relationships with people who can help you The link is a byproduct, go for the credibility, branding and traffic from being on one of these publications. Being a weekly contributor does a whole lot for your traffic in links and rankings.