Podcast appearances and mentions of ali schwanke

Ali Schwanke isn't just a marketer, she's a builder of trust, a champion for clarity, and a quiet force of curiosity. As the founder of Simple Strat and the face of HubSpot Hacks (with over 3 million views and counting), Ali has become one of the most trusted voices in helping businesses unlock their true potential, not just in tools, but in people. In this episode, we trace Ali's journey from a childhood of small-town hustle, selling greeting cards door-to-door, to becoming a sought-after strategist who sees marketing as more than data and automation. For Ali, marketing is about heart: the stories we tell, the ways we listen, and the empathy that holds it all together. Along the way, we explore: + Why “helping is the new selling” became her mantra + How she navigates the balance between data and human connection + What it means to stand out in a world of noise and sameness + The emotional power of B2B marketing—often overlooked, but never absent + And how Ali sees growth as an experiment in courage and care Ali's story is a reminder that the best businesses, and the best leaders, start by understanding people. They're built on curiosity, driven by service, and never stop learning. In this episode, you'll hear: + Why empathy is more than a buzzword, it's a competitive advantage + How Ali built a company that leads with clarity and connection + The challenges and joys of turning curiosity into action + And why the future of marketing might just belong to those who aren't afraid to help first Whether you're refining your brand, growing your team, or rethinking your approach to connection, this conversation is for anyone who believes that real impact is built with both heart and hustle.

Today I'm joined by Ali Schwanke for a coaching session to map out how she can add $100K in creator income to her thriving services business.We dive deep into pricing, bundling digital products, and leveraging Ali's existing audience—showing exactly how to build profitable, scalable offers without cannibalizing core services.You'll learn our approach to identifying your best passive income opportunities, packaging your expertise into clear products, and quickly validating your idea before launching.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:13 Marketing Is Simple When Your Strategy Is Sound03:07 Escaping Marketing Chaos06:18 Why Most LinkedIn Outreach Fails08:02 How Ali Built Simple Strat10:08 Growing Her HubSpot YouTube Channel15:59 Mapping Revenue & Audience Assets21:11 Finding Ali's Best Passive Income Opportunities25:48 How to Price & Package Digital Products38:51 Using Decoy Pricing To Boost Sales46:39 Designing the Perfect Pilot Program55:18 Recap & Next StepsIf you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave us a review. We read every single one.Learn more about The Nathan Barry Show: https://nathanbarry.com/showFollow Nathan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarryLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarryX: https://twitter.com/nathanbarryYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshowWebsite: https://nathanbarry.comFollow Ali:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwankeWebsite: https://www.alischwanke.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/alischwanke/X: https://x.com/alischwankeYouTube: https://youtube.com/@HubSpotHacksFeatured in this episode:Simple Strat: https://www.simplestrat.comMarketing Deconstructed: https://marketingdeconstructed.comHubSpot Hacks: https://youtube.com/@HubSpotHacksTubebuddy: https://www.tubebuddy.comKit: https://kit.comHighlights:00:09 – We need to retrain how we think about marketing01:13 – “Marketing is simple when strategy is sound”03:07 – Start with what already works08:20 – From YouTube tutorials to a $2M agency16:00 – Potential offers and decoy pricing45:40 – Becoming the “Oprah of marketing”

Ali Schwanke (Founder @ Simple Strat) is an expert in helping companies get better and faster results through mastering HubSpot. Her company is a Diamond Solutions Partner and she's the host of HubSpot Hacks, the #1 unofficial YouTube channel for HubSpot Tutorials.Even though HubSpot positions itself as a plug and play solution that's easy to set up, Ali believes that the best HubSpot strategies start with a whiteboard and a chart. You need an understanding of what exactly is the purpose of your CRM and how it can best integrate with your team's existing workflows. Intent mapping has proven to be a winning tactic in 2024. With the right tech stack you can start to truly focus your sales efforts towards leads that have the highest likelihood of closing. Ali recommends identifying false signals like existing customer website visits to help make the process more efficient. Automations are a necessity, but over-automating can cause complications down the line, especially as you scale your team.Tune into the full episode to get a real lesson in RevOps and master your CRM! HIGHLIGHTS:0:00 Intro1:51 Product-market fit is a must3:41 Clearbit + HubSpot = Data Enrichment 5:31 How to build better workflows on HubSpot7:08 Orchestrations in HubSpot 9:11 First steps towards lead scoring11:50 Lead Gen vs Demand Gen 13:21 HubSpot configuration dream state16:11 Best HubSpot Hacks19:17 There is no automation silver bullet 20:52 Top 5 Don't Do's in HubSpot22:37 Max's bonus Don't Do 25:05 Top 3 HubSpot DashboardsConnect with Ali - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/Connect with Alan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-j-zhao/Connect with Max - https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-greenwald/Want to convert your website visitors instantly? Try Warmly for free - https://warmly.ai/

In this episode of Distribution First, Justin Simon sits down with Ali Schwanke to reveal how you can transform your old content into something that can continue to work for you long after you hit publish. Learn practical methods to breathe new life into your existing assets and significantly boost engagement over the long haul.In this episode, you'll learn:1. How repurposing existing content can combat burnout and drive better engagement.2. Why testing short-term pilots can validate alternative content strategies without a long-term commitment.3. How building relationships and understanding leadership's priorities can secure buy-in for content initiatives.4. Why planning and scripting are crucial for efficient webinars and easier content repurposing.5. How consistent and repeated messaging can effectively capture and maintain audience attention.*** WHEN YOU'RE READY♻️ Distribution First Newsletter

"It isn't about using video, podcasts, or any other medium. It's about understanding what your audience is doing. Are they engaging with specific channels? If they're not, that could be an opportunity for you to stand out," says Ali Schwanke, Founder of Simple Strat.In this episode of The Content Cocktail Hour, we're joined by the Founder of Simple Strat, Ali Schwanke. She shares her insights on the importance of understanding and using the right channels for your audience, emphasizing the power of video and content creation in building trust and driving engagement. Ali shares the success of HubSpot Hacks and explores how they've effectively balanced their own brand with sub-brands.In this episode, you'll learn:The importance of content sharing and audience feedbackHow to ensure your content has practical, immediate value and aligns with brand promisesHow to be consistent in content creation and sticking to branding themesResources:Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-gandolf/ Check out The Juice HQ: https://www.thejuicehq.com/ Connect with Ali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/ Check out Simple Strat: https://simplestrat.com/ Timestamps:[03:38] Discussing AI, HubSpot hacks, and investing in branding[07:07] Photography and video experience leading to entrepreneurship[12:37] Entrepreneurial focus on practical AI in marketing[14:00] Podcasters aiming to show, not just tell[18:28] The 7 hours trust-building rule[20:02] Does everyone need a podcast or YouTube?

As AI evolves, many are scared of their work positions. One thing is for sure: human connections always work. People hate to see emails that are bot-generated. Making sure to hire smart people will bring success to your team. They will be the ones creating solid client-business connections that will last a lifetime. Today's special guest is Ali Schwanke, Founder of Simple Strats and Host of the HubSpot Hacks YouTube channel. As a kid, Ali was raised where TV time was limited, she collected them all to have cartoon marathons on the weekends. Long weekdays without TV meant she had to find her own entertainment; books became her best friend. This sparked her imagination and critical thinking skills, which are important to her current work. If there is one thing she does, it's just pitch it out there. If you want something, find ways to make it work, put yourself out there, and share with the world why you want this thing to happen. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ali.schwanke Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alischwanke/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/alischwanke Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ph/alischwanke/ Website: https://simplestrat.com Allison Ramsey is the host of the Empire Life Podcast, best-selling author of the Redefine book and the Founder of Empire Life, Coaching and Mentoring Company. At Empire Life, Female Founders are Guided in Scaling Their Empires. Allison is also a Mom, and Dog Mom to Mars, our doberman. With private clients, Empire Life guides clients in business strategy, structure, community building, authentic sales in scaling the technical infrastructure for membership sites, and systems, raising prices, and confidence, automation, sales funnels, and scales momentum with Social Media Ads. The Empire Life Blog has tons of exposure and engagement every day as well. Allison is also an international speaker on women in entrepreneurship, business, leadership, and business partnerships. She enjoys spending time with her loved ones in her free time. Female coaches and female-led businesses who implemented Empire Life's business strategies saw an increase in client leads, monthly income (often a 20X increase from when they started with Empire Life's support), and client retention after having Empire Life Mentorship.

LinksTry Benchmarks ExplorerLearn More About DataboxSubscribe to our newsletter for episode summaries, benchmark data, and moreAli Schwanke, CEO of Simple Strat, shares her insights on using YouTube to demonstrate expertise and act as a continuous, silent salesperson, the necessity of an experimentation mentality in your marketing efforts, the importance of strategy before tactics, and more.

“I have long seen myself as: I'm a very good marketer. I'm a very good communicator. I'm a good content creator. That's my lane. I know how to drive in that lane very, very well. And this has been a challenge for me to say: how do I become the best president, owner of a services business? Versus the best marketer anybody knows.”Ali Schwanke is founder and CEO of Simple Strat—a Diamond HubSpot Solutions Partner and premium B2B content marketing agency.You may know them from the HubSpot Hacks YouTube channel, the #1 unofficial source of HubSpot tutorials with over 20k subscribers to the channel.This episode will be a perfect listen for agency operators looking to find their perfect niche; discover content topics and formats that work on YouTube; and become a better leader by leveraging their unique leadership style.It's also full of inspiration for owners considering making an exit from their agency.Episode Insights:

In this quick hit episode, Justin and Ali Schwanke discuss the importance of repeating marketing messages. They highlight the value of consistency and the need for businesses to communicate regularly with their audience. Even if the content isn't entirely "new". In this episode, you'll learn:Why consistency in marketing messages is key for audience engagement and retention.How to run short-term pilots to validate the impact of content distribution strategies.Why repurposing and redistributing existing content can lead to better conversions and traffic.How audience fatigue can be addressed by repeating and re-emphasizing key messages.Why reinventing the wheel in marketing content can lead to audience confusion and disengagement.***CONNECT

With one billion members on the platform, now more than ever it's harder to stand out and stay top of mind.  There's a lot of advice on LinkedIn™️ when it comes to crafting the perfect post, but with Ali Schwanke we look beyond this. Listen and learn how to avoid common mistakes and become memorable. The key moments in this episode are: 00:00 Introduction to the Show 00:24 The Importance of Standing Out on LinkedIn™️ 01:36 Overcoming the Fear of LinkedIn™️ 04:59 The Challenges of Staying Focused on Social Media 07:02 The Power of Consistency in Social Media 11:25 The Role of Thought Leadership in Staying Top of Mind 21:44 The Impact of Ghostwriting on Social Media Presence 28:55 Conclusion: The Power of Taking Action  Connect with Ali Schwanke on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/ ABOUT MICHELLE J RAYMOND  Michelle J Raymond is an international LinkedIn B2B Growth Coach. To continue the conversation, connect with Michelle on LinkedIn and let her know you are part of the community of podcast listeners.  Connect with Michelle J Raymond on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellejraymond/ B2B Growth Co offers LinkedIn Training for teams to build personal and business brands and a LinkedIn Profile Recharge service for Founders/CEOs.  Book a free intro call to learn more - https://calendly.com/michelle-j-raymond/book-an-intro-call-15mins LinkedIn for B2B Growth Podcast is a fully accessible podcast. Audio, Video, Transcript and guest details are available on our podcast website - https://linkedinforb2bgrowthpodcast.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@MichelleJRaymond  

How do you know if your investment in marketing is paying off? Today's guest answers that question and more. Dave Bookbinder goes Behind The Numbers with Ali Schwanke, CEO and Founder of Simple Strat Ali Schwanke is the founder of Simple Strat, a Diamond HubSpot solutions partner and B2B content marketing agency. She's also the co-host of HubSpot Hacks, the unofficial YouTube channel for HubSpot tutorials. Ali is a sought-after speaker, marketing advisor, and podcast guest about HubSpot, marketing strategy and driving leads and awareness through content across multiple platforms. Audiences appreciate her no-BS approach and her keen ability to bring fresh ideas and strategies to marketing and sales teams. In this episode Ali shares how the use of video shortens the sales cycle, the role of artificial intelligence in content marketing and why building a brand is a strategy for building valuation. About the Host: Dave Bookbinder is the person that clients reach out to when they need to know what their most important assets are worth. He's a corporate finance executive with a focus on business and intellectual property valuation. Known as a collaborative adviser, Dave has served thousands of client companies of all sizes and industries.  Dave is the author of two #1 best-selling books about the impact of human capital (PEOPLE!) on the valuation of a business enterprise called The NEW ROI: Return On Individuals & The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers.  He's on a mission to change the conversation about how the accounting world recognizes the value of people's contributions to a business enterprise, and to quantify what every CEO on the planet claims: “Our people are this company's most valuable asset.”

This week we chat the Ali Schwanke.  Ali is a data-driven marketing professional with 15+ years experience in B2B, strategy, and content marketing. Known for expertise in content and HubSpot CRM/Marketing. She truly believes that content marketing is one of the only authentic marketing mediums we have left - and it's a powerful one at that.  Don't miss this episode!

If you like distribution and repurposing playbooks, you'll love my weekly newsletter (it's free). Join 1,800+ subscribers here: https://news.justinsimon.co/ In this episode, we dive into the world of content marketing and how to combat burnout by thinking outside the box. Ali Schwanke shares her insights and strategies for repurposing existing content to create momentum without losing your mind.With practical examples and actionable tips, Ali shows us the secrets to success in content marketing. From conducting experiments to validate alternative approaches to creating content, to utilizing analytics to tell the story of data and drive meaningful results, Ali provides a ton of knowledge for content marketers striving to make a lasting impact. In this episode, you'll learn:How repurposing existing content be just as effective as creating new content How content marketers measure success beyond just creating more stuffHow content marketers get leader buy-inCHAPTERS[00:00:00] Why success is different for each company [00:06:14] How can content marketers set themselves apart?[00:07:55] How to repurpose existing content creatively[00:14:17] What to consider when creating content?[00:16:23] Why is regular communication important for audience perception?[00:22:33] How can we repurpose webinar content effectively?[00:28:49] How to balance quality and quantity?[00:39:54] How to get leader buy-in[00:41:58] What if the organization limits your growth?***CONNECT

In the latest episode of "In Systems We Trust" hosted by Marquis Murray, we sit down with Ali Schwanke, the founder of Simple Strat, a Diamond HubSpot solutions partner and B2B content marketing agency. Ali's expertise lies in sales and content marketing for B2B tech companies, and she shares three specific HubSpot strategies to grow any content platform from scratch. In this interview, Ali dives into the application of marketing automation in business growth and provides valuable insights into its effectiveness. She also explores strategies for building and expanding content platforms and sheds light on the importance of innovative sales strategies in today's modern consumer landscape. As a past president of the Lincoln chapter of the American Marketing Association, Ali brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the table. Her expertise has made her a sought-after speaker, marketing advisor, and podcast guest, known for her fresh ideas and strategies in HubSpot, marketing strategy, and content-driven lead generation.

Show Notes, Links, & Transcript: https://parisvega.com/mastering-youtube-lead-generation-with-ali-schwanke/ In episode 39 of the First Customers Podcast, we sit down with Ali Schwanke, a successful entrepreneur who has leveraged the power of YouTube to generate over a thousand leads. Ali's YouTube channel, a top unofficial source for HubSpot tutorials, has garnered a following of 18,000 subscribers, proving the impact of her strategies. Ali shares her journey from her first customers to her growth strategy on YouTube. She delves into her experiences with various businesses over the years, starting from a humble photography business to becoming a YouTube influencer in her field. Listen in as Ali discusses her efficient content creation process, the power of search and recommendations in driving traffic, the role of YouTube in her business pre and post-pandemic, and key learnings about understanding customer priorities. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or an experienced business owner looking to tap into the power of YouTube for lead generation, this episode is a goldmine of insights and practical advice. Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more inspiring conversations with successful entrepreneurs. Enjoy the show! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/first-customers/message

YouTube is a powerful platform for B2B marketers, but many organizations still need to start using it to its full potential.  Ali Schwanke, founder at Simple Strat and Host of HubSpot Hacks, joined me on the SEJShow to share her top tips for creating a successful B2B YouTube strategy- including using YouTube's new features to make your videos more discoverable. Gain insight into the rising importance of YouTube in B2B marketing, leveraging podcast features, differentiating strategies for marketers, the role of video in an AI era, and much more.   We run a channel called HubSpot Hacks over on YouTube, with about 18,000 subscribers. We just crossed over a million views earlier this year, and we're a small team of 10. –Ali Schwanke, 00:41 YouTube happens to be a place where there is very little competition for most B2B companies. So if we do help people on YouTube, it's because the barrier to entry is very high, and so the competition's low. –Ali Schwanke, 02:00 You can create videos so that they just earn a rabbit hole. So if I sent viewers a video every day, it'd take 30 days to get to know me. But if I create an experience for you and your journey that you consume 30 videos in four days because they're just so one after the other, yes, I've accelerated that relationship building, and that's what we're seeing. –Ali Schwanke, 14:18   [00:00] - Introduction to Ali Wanky. [00:41] - Simple Strat's role with "HubSpot Hacks." [02:00] - YouTube as a strategy for B2B in low-competition platforms. [03:56] - Misconceptions about video marketing. [06:19] - The importance of informative content in B2B YouTube marketing. [08:52] - The role of authenticity in learning. [11:22] - Strategies for embedding YouTube videos versus using tools like Wistia. [14:51] - Techniques for consistent video exposure. [16:17] - The benefits of multi-platform promotion for video content. [21:51] - The value of content length variations in viewer engagement. [23:49] - Format and style considerations: vertical versus horizontal videos. [26:07] - The potential of YouTube Shorts in content marketing. [27:29] - The role of AI tools in video creation. [32:17] - The necessity of engaging content in a crowded YouTube landscape. [34:44] - Efficient content generation through webinar repurposing. [35:19] - An overview of valuable resources on HubSpot Hacks.   Resources Mentioned: HubSpot Hacks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuMAttNQze1GaVfiQ7rMcfA Simple Strat: https://simplestrat.com/   How I recommend people use AI is less about the editing and more about the strategy. –Ali Schwanke, 28:57 You have to get outside your box of “everybody's ready to buy today, and we're going top of the funnel.” We're saying, “how do I create interesting content?” So people just go, “you know what, that company is different. I kind of wanna pay attention to them because attention, time, and convenience are the currency that we all have today.” –Ali Schwanke, 32:17 If you're going to go onto YouTube as a B2B company with human personalities, you do need to have people that are comfortable on camera and know what it's gonna take from them to be on camera consistently. –Ali Schwanke, 34:05   For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/searchenginejournal Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer.   Connect With Ali Schwanke: Ali Schwanke, the founder of Simple Strat, stands out in the realm of B2B content marketing with over 15 years of experience. A certified content marketer, HubSpot agency partner, and YouTube creator, she leverages her expertise to build data-driven strategies that fuel business growth. Schwanke champions a customer-centric approach to marketing, viewing content as a powerful tool to address customers' needs and challenges. Her innovative methods offer businesses a roadmap to increase their influence and reach through strategic content marketing. Connect with Ali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/ Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alischwanke Watch her on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/hubspothacks   Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker  

This show is brought to you by SmartCookie Media where we provide end-to-end podcast production and VIP Day marketing services. Use the code "PODCAST23" for HALF OFF Nicole's latest workshop.   Ever wonder how the experts got started with how-to videos (and how the heck do they make them look so easy?) What if it all started with the word, “no.”   Meet Ali Schwanke. Ali is the founder of Simple Strat and the co-host of HubSpot Hacks, the unofficial YouTube channel for HubSpot tutorials with over one million views and more than 15,000 subscribers. Ali is known for her no-BS approach and she shares with us real-life obstacles (and how to overcome them), why those how-to videos look so darn easy, and what it's like to have your biggest content success start from a client saying, “no.”   Get Weekly Tools to Build Your Business (for free!): The Entrepreneur's Toolkit Connect with Nicole: Nicole Schmied Linkedin; @Nicole Schmied Get Your Data-Driven Marketing Strategy: SmartCookie Media Visit: Simple Strat Visit: Ali Schwanke Follow Ali on Twitter: Twitter Connect with Ali on LinkedIn: LinkedIn Have a story to tell? Signup here: www.serialentrepreneurshow.com

Founder and CEO of Simple Strat, Ali Schwanke, joins the show to share marketing lessons for your business and to discuss the future of marketing.  How has marketing been watered down and what can you do to rise above the competition?  What lessons can you take from big brands and apply to marketing in your business?  And how can you find the fun in your business?  Ali, Camden, and Otis answer these questions and dive into a lot more in this fun episode.More About Ali:Ali is the founder, CEO, and Marketing Strategist of Simple Strat. With a fierce strategy mind, she helps clients approach marketing from a business perspective. As an entrepreneur, Ali has a proven track record of marketing success and coming up with innovative ideas and campaigns that drive demand.Simple Strat:https://simplestrat.com/Hubspot Hacks:https://www.youtube.com/hubspothackshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/https://www.linkedin.com/company/simple-strat/Chapters0:01 - Intro1:08 - Finding the Fun8:12 - Med School to Marketing 12:18 - Band-Aid vs Surgery18:22 - Education Marketing22:37 - Future of Marketing37:40 - Storytelling40:43 - Learning from Big Brands43:54 - AI in Marketing54:00 - Close

Ali Schwanke is the founder of Simple Strat, a diamond HubSpot partner and the team behind the HubSpot hacks channel with over 1 million views.Today, Ali takes us to a time we're familiar with — March 2020. Ali had applied to receive PPP funds through her bank to support them through this time. But within the space of an hour, the bank decided not to participate. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, Ali took action.  She focused on elements she could control to fix the problem.In this episode, we dive into the various strategies that she used to do this, and what she learned about mindset along the way.We discussMindset coaching, mental fitness, and the importance of maintaining itWays therapy has helped her to reach her potential as a founderThe camouflage that founders often wearAli took an experience that she had no control over and transformed it into an opportunity to learn and grow to better serve her business. Tune in to hear how she did it. Want to know how Future Fit you are? Take 3 mins to benchmark yourself with our Founder Fitness Test on peer-effect.com. You might discover some surprising gaps! Or just follow James on LinkedIn for more thoughts around coaching and being future fit.

Ali Schwanke is the CEO and Founder of Simple Strat, a marketing and sales firm that helps you get more out of HubSpot. She is the creator and host of the popular YouTube series, “HubSpot Hacks.” During this digital event, Ali touches on building a culture around content to build your brand, internal company communication, and leadership buy-in. While it might feel repetitive, marketers should remember that no one is stalking their content. It's more than okay to publish, re-publish, recycle, and reimagine quality pieces of content. Lean into what's working and don't be afraid of change!0:52 Introducing Ali and Simple Strat7:07 Dark social11:15 Evolution of content marketing and distribution16:50 Content Culture24:22 Internal marketing27:20 Convincing leaders31:00 Signals of buy-in34:34 Content distribution plan41:26 Balancing creation and distribution43:00 Podcast pitching45:15 The Juice's integration46:57 Q&A53:40 OutroModern Day Marketer The Newsletter (subscribe)Follow Ali: | Twitter | LinkedIn | Website | HubSpot HacksFollow The Juice:| Website | Blog | Twitter | LinkedInFollow Brett:| Twitter | LinkedIn 

How can a small, B2B agency grow their YouTube channel to over 17K subscribers and over 1M views?Ali Schwanke, founder and CEO of Simple Strat and face of HubSpot Hacks, joins the podcast today to talk about the strategy behind growing a small agency into a trusted, stand-out brand. She discusses realistic goal setting and the importance of knowing your audience when it comes to mastering SEO and delivering consistent, quality content.Connect w/ Ali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwankeWant to get more content to support your agency life? Subscribe to the Agency Life newsletter, check out past episodes, and find more content at teamwork.com/agencylife. This podcast is brought to you by Teamwork and produced in collaboration with Circle Audio.

 "When you stop selling, you stop growing...If you think that you're maxed out right now...what if you lose a client?" Ali Schwanke is the CEO and Founder of Simple Strat, an agency of expert strategists in sales and content marketing for B2B tech companies. Ali and her team focus on growing businesses through technology and automations, specializing in the implementation of HubSpot. Ali is a sought-after speaker and co-host of HubSpot Hacks - the popular YouTube channel with over 1M views and 15k+ subscribers. Questions and topics we covered:  Why is HubSpot the best CRM to use? It's not just a tool for sales… Are CRMs useful for all businesses? Why do so many CRM adoptions fail? Is Hubspot only useful for marketing teams? (Heck no!) Practical ways to start using Hubspot to start growing sales. The advanced tactics within Hubspot to help grow sales (i.e. progressive fields). Marketing tactics to use for growing a personal brand and an agency. Ali's tips for creating video content—even if you're shy on camera. How to bleed your marketing budget and how to avoid doing this. How to tie a marketing strategy to company goals. Scaling growth with old content. How can B2B companies create a solid audience-building strategy?  And more! Check out Ali's HubSpot Hacks Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HubSpotHacks Say hello to Ali via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/ Ali's 30-day posting calendar template for LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alischwanke_linkedin-thoughtleadership-linkedinstrategy-activity-7025505800466944000-p6MD/ Connect with me on LinkedIn too: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto  Our Podcast Partner - MarketerHire If you're looking to hire expert freelance talent this year to scale your business (and impress your boss), check out MarketerHire. MarketerHire vets freelance talent so when you hire an SEO expert, Email Marketer, or even a Fractional CMO—you're not wasting your money or your time. You can hire your first freelancer and get a $500 credit by visiting: www.kennysoto.com/hire

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the CEO & Founder of Simple Strat, Ali Schwanke. Connecting with Ali Schwanke can provide numerous benefits, especially if you want to enhance your marketing and sales strategies. As the founder of Simple Strat, a Diamond HubSpot Solutions Partner, and a B2B content marketing agency, Ali has a wealth of experience in helping businesses optimize their use of HubSpot and improve their customer acquisition and retention. As a sought-after speaker, marketing advisor, and podcast guest, Ali can offer valuable insights into marketing strategy, content creation, and HubSpot. Her no-BS approach and ability to bring fresh ideas and strategies to the table can be beneficial for marketing and sales teams. About Ali Schwanke: Ali Schwanke is the founder of Simple Strat, a Diamond HubSpot solutions partner and B2B content marketing agency. She's also the co-host of HubSpot Hacks, the unofficial YouTube channel for HubSpot tutorials with more than 1M views and over 15,000 subscribers. Ali is a sought-after speaker, marketing advisor, and podcast guest about HubSpot, marketing strategy and driving leads and awareness through content across multiple platforms. Audiences appreciate her no-BS approach and her keen ability to bring fresh ideas and strategies to marketing and sales teams. A past-president of the Lincoln chapter of the American Marketing Association, Ali also serves as a trusted advisor for Vistage International and a marketing mentor for the Gener8 Accelerator Network. In her spare time, you can find her running or watching her boys play sports. About Simple Strat: Simple Strat is a marketing and sales firm that optimizes businesses' use of HubSpot, a leading inbound marketing, sales, and customer service platform. They provide various services, such as CRM strategy and setup, marketing automation, and content creation, designed to enhance customer acquisition and retention. As a Diamond Solutions Partner, Simple Strat demonstrates high expertise in the HubSpot ecosystem. Additionally, they host HubSpot Hacks, a popular unofficial YouTube channel that offers HubSpot tutorials. They work with diverse clients across the United States, from Fortune 500 companies to startups, helping them maximize their investment in HubSpot and achieve their marketing and sales goals. Tweetable Moments: 02:14 - “We help folks get more out of the system because when you're using a new technology, you don't know what you don't know.” 02:26 - “If you're a founder, you should not be spending your time learning all the things. You should hire the people that know what they're doing and then ultimately help them accomplish your vision." Apply to be a Guest on The Thoughtful Entrepreneur: https://go.upmyinfluence.com/podcast-guest Links Mentioned in this Episode: Want to learn more? Check out Simple Strat website at https://simplestrat.com/ Check out Simple Strat on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/simple-strat/ Check out Simple Strat on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/simplestrat/ Check out Simple Strat on Instagram at

Come and join me as I interview Ali Schwanke and we help you find the answers you need to be successful in CRM. You might have tried it yourself and it didn't work. You might have hired someone to do it and it didn't work. You might not have tired it yet. Or you might we looking for even better answers. Come and join us on this podcast.

Today I'm chatting with Ali Schwanke. She helps people understand, plan, and grow their marketing results. In this episode, we'll talk about how to style your LinkedIn profile and your offering to create consistency and clarity--and close more deals.  Connect with Ali30 day LinkedIn planhttps://alischwanke.com/linkedin-30-day-posting-plan/9 sources of revenuehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT41Tz4Rg2oHow to win client business bookhttps://www.amazon.com/Client-Business-When-Where-Start/dp/1119676908

There's no such thing as one size fits all in content creation. But regardless of your chosen format, two questions must be answered: who you want to make it for and for what purpose. From there, you can start experimenting and playing with different styles, and after publishing a certain number of videos or blog posts, measure their performance to establish what works.In this episode of Recorded Content, we welcome Ali Schwanke, the CEO of Simple Strat. Ali and her team create and host the YouTube series, HubSpot Hacks. During our conversation, Ali shared the rationale behind choosing YouTube as a content distribution channel, their content strategy, the importance of niching down and asking for feedback, and how these videos fit her company's broader marketing strategy.

Ali Schwanke is the Founder of Simple Strat she is an expert strategist in sales and content marketing for B2B tech companies across multiple platforms. Ali and her team focus on growing business through technology and automation, specializing in the leading CRM, Hubspot.Ali is a sought-after speaker and co-host of HubSpot Hacks - the popular YouTube channel HubSpotHacks with over 1M views and 15k+ subscribers. In this episode, we spoke about how she used YouTube to answer faqs which led to her becoming the voice in the space for hub spot and brought in tons of customers and how listeners can do the same thing.

Ali Schwanke is founder, CEO and Marketing Strategist of Simple Strat. With a fierce strategy mind, she helps clients approach marketing from a business perspective. As an entrepreneur, Ali has a proven track record of marketing success and coming up with innovative ideas and campaigns that drive demand. Connect with Ali on LinkedIn and follow […]

Marketing automation is something more companies are starting to take seriously and building automation into their strategies but is there more to it than never-ending email drip campaigns?So this week I'm joined by the co-host of HubSpot Hacks, Ali Schwanke who's also a speaker and advisor on marketing and sales technology. We talk automation strategies, CRMs, Zapier and much more.You can find Ali on LinkedIn and the Simple Strat website. Don't forget to check out the HubSpot Hacks YouTube channel which has had over a million views. Lots of great HubSpot advice.Can I quickly mention that Not Another Marketing Podcast is totally ad-free and I'd love it if you could give the pod a quick shout on social media and subscribe via your podcast app.Check out more episodes at https://www.jtid.co.uk/podcasts

Welcome to Not Another Marketing Podcast where I'm talking to marketing and sales technology advisor and the co-host of HubSpot Hacks, Ali Schwanke. This week we're talking marketing automation strategy.

Marketing expert Ali Schwanke joins us in today's episode to talk about tips that simplify modern content marketing for authors and help pave their path to success. Tune in to find a way to be memorable and actionable and make your book stand out in the marketplace.Key Takeaways from This EpisodePsychological factors influencing your effectiveness as a marketerCreative marketing ideas to make your content stand outWriting a book vs. writing for social mediaThe importance of supporting your beliefs with convictionSocial media marketing: Problems and solutionsResources Mentioned in This EpisodeEvernote1000 True Fans by Jon LonghurstHard Work Is Not Enough by Jeff Shannon | Paperback and KindleYouTubeLinkedInAbout Ali SchwankeAli Schwanke is the founder of Simple Strat, a platinum HubSpot Solutions marketing agency partner and cohost of the popular YouTube series "HubSpot Hacks." She's a go-to expert in B2B marketing strategy and content and a well-known expert on all things HubSpot or marketing technology. She and her team are known for their no-BS, business case first, software second approach, which makes her and her team a valuable resource for CEOs down to the sales rep. She's also a national marketing advisor for Vistage International, a former American Marketing Association board member, and a 2022 virtual speaker at MarTech.org. Website: Simple StratLinkedIn: Ali SchwankeLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here's How » Join The Author's Corner Community today: Website: Robin ColucciLinkedIn: R Colucci, LLCFacebook: Robin ColucciTwitter: @Robin_ColucciRobin Colucci's Book: How to Write a Book That Sells You: Increase Your Credibility, Income, and Impact

Creativity doesn't mean BIG, and so we're exploring the tiniest pockets of the created work -- small bursts of making, or projects that fit neatly into the  nooks and crannies of the internet.Today, joke writing and comedy songwriting with Matt Buechele. Matt is a writer, musician, and hilarious human who's performed original songs for Netflix commercials and worked as a writer on The Tonight Show, where he wrote jokes and music for the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Matthew McConaughey, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.Together, we explore some of Matts projects, including his viral social media videos and his Tonight Show smash hit, This Christmas Will Be Different. We also hear the story of how he ended up at the show, as well as what a writer for such a program ACTUALLY does. Plus, we learn to like the little golden moments where we can say, Hey, yanno what? That's pretty good.SHARE THE SHOW:Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jay***MORE FROM JAY:Playing Favorites newsletter: stories and frameworks for creating work that resonates.Coaching and consulting: Work together 1:1 via video and chat on the most important elements of your brand or projects.Or, hire Jay to develop and/or host a show for your brand: jayacunzo.com/shows***MORE FROM THIS EPISODE:Matt Buechele on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.Matt's music on Spotify: under artist name BOOSHELL***SPONSOR: The JuiceThe Juice is like Spotify for B2B learning: a beautiful, curated collection of the best creators and resources serving sales and marketing pros today. Learn more and try it free at thejuicehq.comConnect with Ali Schwanke on The Juice or on Twitter.***CONNECT WITH JAY ELSEWHERE:WebsiteTwitter and LinkedInEmail: jay@unthinkablemedia.com***PRODUCTION:- Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo- Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins

Invest in your marketing and let your customers come to you. On this episode, we interviewed Ali Schwanke, CEO & Founder of Simple Strat to share how they elevated their inbound marketing strategy and improved win rates.

Ali Schwanke is the CEO and Founder of Simple Strat, a marketing agency for B2B and SaaS companies who are serious about growth. Ali is the host of HubSpot Hack, a popular YouTube channel with HubSpot tutorial videos. Ali and Brett talk about the role of marketing leaders, founders, and CEOs in the creation and distribution of content. Ali chooses to be the company's face and personality because, as she explains, trust and personality are what distinguishes businesses. 0:00 Intro 0:49 Conversation with Ali 3:06 HubSpot Hacks on YouTube 7:50 Constancy and patience 10:24 Leadership involved in content 12:20 Purpose and authenticity 15:18 Press and media training 16:44 Distribution 22:30 Leaders doing great work 24:18 Advice to founders 27:45 Outro Join The JuiceSign up for the Creator Pages waitlist Sign up for The Blend (weekly newsletter from The Juice)Follow The Juice:| Website | Blog | Twitter | LinkedInFollow Ali: | Twitter | LinkedIn | Website | HubSpot Hacks | Creator PageFollow Brett:| Twitter | LinkedIn 

This is a replay of my April 6, 2020 episode with Ali Schwanke CEO/Founder at Simple Strat Sponsor The Jason Cavness experience is sponsored by CavnessHR. CavnessHR focus on your business, we've got to HR! CavnessHR delivers HR to companies with 49 or fewer people across the US. Did you know that small business loses an estimated $27 billion per year because of bad HR. This comes out to an estimated $10,000 per small business employee per year. Do you know that small business owners are spending an average of 25% of the time on HR. Time that would be better spent taking care of their employees, their customers and building a their business. Here at CavneessHR we want to say small business owners time and money. Sign up at www.CavnessHR.com or you can email me at jasoncavness@CavnessHR.com to learn more. We talk about the following Her two companies Simple Strat and BrandPlan How she hired her first person. Why people buy from people they trust Why is HR important Ali's Bio Ali Schwanke is the CEO and Chief Marketing Strategist of Simple Strat, a content marketing agency that helps B2B and SaaS companies break through the noise and get better results from their content marketing programs. She has 15+ years of experience in marketing, and as an entrepreneur -- Ali says she's had her fair share of HR wins and challenges! Learn how she puts strategy first, whether that's recruiting new employees or generating results for clients, PLUS best practices for your content to stand out from the competition. Ali's Social Media ● Website: https://simplestrat.com/ ● Free marketing resources: https://hubs.ly/H0nCQlp0 ● LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke ● Twitter: https://twitter.com/alischwanke ● Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplestrat/ ● YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/hubspothacks Ali's Advice I'd say advice for marketing right now. If you're listening to this right now, in our current situation, one of the best things you can do is revisit what your marketing calendar looks like for the next year. I think people right now are hoping this is a short term thing. Which hopefully it is, but it's certainly going to impact how we communicate with people long term. So I think people's inboxes are still going to be overflowing. I think we're still gonna be inundated with content as we move forward out of this. So pare down what you're doing to the most essential value and the unique value you that can drive for your customers and then make sure that you have a way to track that. That's your analytics conversation to make sure that you're seeing what's coming from your efforts.

In this episode of Startup Hustle, Melissa Vincent and Ali Schwanke CEO & Founder at Simple Strat discuss how to convert more customers. Find Startup Hustle Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/startuphustle This episode is sponsored by Pipeline: https://www.pipelineentrepreneurs.com/ Learn more about Simple Strat: https://simplestrat.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, I sit down with Ali Schwanke, Founder and CEO of Simple Strat, a growth marketing agency.We talk about:Hubspot and why it - or a platform like it - is a MUST for early stage marketing teamsThe disadvantages of using a 'Frankenstein's monster' technology stackBuilding an air-tight lead scoring system that'll help you measure channel ROIThis episode is a must-listen for any marketers struggling with proving their value to a predominantly sales-led organisation OR looking for advice on how to sell-in Hubspot to a sceptical leadership team.This is real advice for the everyday B2B marketer who wants to be better.You can follow Ali here: @alischwankeOr watch her Hubspot Hacks series here.Also check out my new weekly newsletter, The B2B Bite, where I break down marketing strategy and tactics for B2B leaders into fun-size, actionable chunks.You can also follow me on Twitter at @JasonRBradwell - all my best stuff is on Twitter.

  Welcome back to another episode with Ali Schwanke. In the last episode, we talked about taking the path of the most resistance along with Ali's entrepreneurial journey, B2B vs B2C content marketing, and quick wins. In today's episode, we'll discuss why content marketing is so powerful and Ali's tips for successful content marketing.   Why is content marketing so powerful?   Content marketing equips customers with the power to make what they feel is their own buying decision. Ali gave an example through real estate and buying a car. She said, “I was never a home buyer in the days when you didn't have access to the MLS listings. I was never a home buyer where I had to go to the office and have someone sit down and put house offerings in front of me. I've always been in the age where I go online, and I look at the neighborhood that I want, and the realtor to me just feels like a person that I have to go through to get to the house.”    “Content marketing is the same way. Every industry now feels like that. I can go buy a car, but how much do I know what I'm doing when I buy that car? That's where content comes in. So if I feel like you've educated me to the point where I feel like I know enough that . . . I'm not being tricked or duped in the sales process, then I'm [going to] have a good buying experience, and that's what content facilitates.”   Top Content Marketing Strategies   Here are some of Ali's top content marketing strategies.     Focus on Thought Leadership or Search-Driven Blogging     Ali was working with a company that was doing strategic planning. They were writing articles that were very interesting to their audience, but they weren't getting much traffic from a search engine perspective. Ali said, “The tip that I often tell people is there are two different types of blogging. Most companies don't know that they're actually doing one or the other, and they don't really know what camp they're in and why.”   Ali explained that a search-driven or SEO-driven headline for a blog might say, “5 Ways to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile.” To find this blog post, someone might type in “how do I optimize my LinkedIn profile” and that blog would come up as an answer.    In contrast, Ali said the thought leadership version of that title might be “5 Ways You Bombed Your Last Interview Because Your LinkedIn Profile Sucks.” She explained, “No one's gonna search for why your LinkedIn profile sucks, but they might stumble upon that on social or if that's in an email newsletter.” When they do, they're going to ask, “Did I really bomb that interview because my LinkedIn profile is so awful?” and then read the article.   “When it comes to deploying written content you have to understand which camp you're in because each one of those has different strategies.” Ali told the company she was working with that “the only way they're going to get more traffic with sexy thought leadership-driven content is to find other audiences to leverage.”     Be Consistent     To get into the baseball Hall of Fame, a player's average needs to be about .300, which is three out of 10 bats. If you think about it, that's not very high. But it is the consistency of showing up to play the game that matters.    “I think a lot of times,” Ali said, “companies or marketing directors will look for the home run type of content, saying, ‘The last few blogs that we wrote didn't go over really well,' but some of the success of what you're going to see is simply by showing up every single week.”   In addition, she said, “When you stop publishing content, people start asking questions. And when people ask questions and you're not there to answer the questions, they make up their own stories.”     Focus on the Customer     In order for us to have content success, we need to use the words our customers use and write about the things they face—not the things we want to talk about. “There's this Venn diagram of . . . the things the customer cares about and . . . the things that your product or service can solve for them.”    “Where those two meet together is where your content should be, because if it's not if you write just about what they're having problems with, you'll get a lot of traffic and not a lot of conversions. If you just write about what your product is you [won't get] a lot of traffic.”   “Those two together are the hard part because sometimes the CEO or the product team will say we should write about this, and the marketing team has to be able to say, this is where we stay if you want content marketing to actually pay off.”     Promote, Promote, Promote     Ali said, “It is equally important to promote as it is to create.” She explained, “If you were going to err on the side of consistency and you can't keep up with every week, I would much rather see you publish a one really great piece of content a month and promote the heck out of it. That means your one piece of content might be a really great guide, a really good blog post, or [a] really good video, and it's reshared on social, it's put over on Medium, it's shared over on Buzzsumo, it's put out as an infographic, etc. You've repurposed it and reshared it so that you have all of this kind of groundswell. It's not just like a new thing every week.”     Customize Our Webchat     Webchat can be complicated. “If you have a software company or a solution that has more of a self-guided journey [for the customer] to [make a] purchase, there is a need for a chat to be part of that. But I see too many companies that have a one-size-fits-all chat solution like, ‘hey, here I am, chat with me,' whereas chats are really supposed to be the place where you think ahead of the questions that someone would have relative to the information that they're viewing.”   For example, if someone's on a software company's pricing page, the chat might say, “Do you have any questions about pricing?” Ali said, “Those [customized chats] are typically things you need to develop from looking at your analytics, looking at what people are asking you, [and] using that data side to really inform the creative. But chat is powerful. . . . You don't need to throw it on every page of your website.”     Have a Customer-Centric Marketing Strategy     A customer-centric marketing strategy assumes that we're going to find out what's most important in the customer's mind. Sometimes we assume we know a lot about our audience. For example, we might ask customers, “how did you hear about us?” They might respond with “a friend told me” or something like that.    But what if we asked, “what was happening in your life at the time that you found our solution?” They might say they just moved or got married or the license expired for the software they were using before. With this kind of question, we can understand what's happening in our customers' lives and find out how to help them better.     Repurpose Content     Ali had a client who sells services to dealerships do some original research. “One of our clients had done a research report, which is a powerful strategy, but it's one that's definitely a lot more uphill than it is downhill.”   “They surveyed everybody there in the dealership . . . and came out with some findings and actually created this . . . [about] 30-page report. Out of it, they produced infographics, produced videos, [and] were able to link it to case studies.”    Ali said, “What that created is this evergreen opportunity to get mentions and guest publications and raise the level of their thought leadership. It's been continually producing leads for them since we created it. So I think back to that idea of [how] one powerful piece of content has paid dividends, [and] all of their blog content then is being derived from this one piece. So it's really powerful when you do it the right way.”     Use Content as a Relationship Builder     Ali has another client who is producing a podcast as a way to build relationships in their industry. She compared it to real estate, saying, “If you're a real estate agent, and you know that title companies, lawyers, attorneys, estate planners, [etc.] they all work with people who may need new house options for buying and selling.”    “So in a sense,” she continued, “what they're doing is creating a podcast for those folks to build a relationship. So they're using the podcast as a relationship-building tool to then drive them into the funnel to learn more about what their company does. So I think content can also be a really good relationship builder, as well as a content engine.”     Be Creative to Make B2B Video Marketing More Interesting     We might be thinking how do we make B2B video marketing less boring? Well, Ali gave us some examples and ideas.    She described a company that did a video explaining the concept of video marketing. “They were comparing it to baking a cake,” she said. “And it was so well done, and so I think it sticks with me to this day because it was using an analogy that everyone is familiar with.”   We can lean on popular concepts or pop culture and have fun with our videos. We can also study things from other industries like documentaries or shows and movies that seem like they would be boring and see how they made them exciting.     Bridge the Creative and Analytical     Ali described two groups in marketing. The first might say, “I'm just gonna pitch really crazy ideas and see if the client likes them.” And the second might say, “I use data to make decisions, and there is little room for creativity. I have to do what the data tells me.”    “I firmly believe there's an intersection between the two of those,” Ali said. She gave an example of going after the search “how to monetize my business.”    “Let's say that it's dominated already by companies that have really good content. So, you could either attack it from a, ‘I'm going to make much better content than them,' and better is going to mean an emphasis on better questions, [going] further in-depth, [having] visuals, [etc.]. Or [saying], ‘What are the other ways I could attack this from a data perspective? It looks like they're not ranking over on YouTube, or they don't have any content on social [media] about this.' So using that analytical mind to find the gaps that you can dig into. And then the creative pieces: ‘How do I not only answer that question but I also entertain them?'”   “Look at what's happening outside your industry. Don't look for examples in your industry. Go see what's happening. . . . I'm sure there's a lot that you can learn from looking at what's happening in manufacturing and how they do it on Nickelodeon that you could pull into your creative process to really bridge that gap.”   Key Takeaways   Thank you so much Ali for sharing your stories and knowledge with us today. Here are some of my key takeaways from this episode:   Content marketing allows customers to be informed about their purchase decisions. Choose to focus on thought leadership or search-driven blogging, so we can know how to promote our content. Be consistent. Sometimes showing up to play the game is the most important thing with content. In our content, we should focus on what the customer cares about and how our product or service can help them with that. Regardless of how much content we're putting out, we need to make sure we promote, promote, promote. Our web chat should be tailored to the specific pages it's on; it doesn't need to be on every page of our website. To understand what's happening in our customers' lives and find out how to help them better, we should have a customer-centric marketing strategy. We can make good use of our content by repurposing it. We can use our content to build relationships with our audience. B2B video marketing can be fun and creative when we draw on popular concepts, pop culture, and more. Use both data and creativity to inform our content marketing decisions.   Connect with Ali   If you enjoyed this interview and want to learn more about Ali or connect with her, you can find her on LinkedIn or Twitter. You can also check out Hubspot Hacks on YouTube or visit her website, SimpleStat.com.    Want to be a Better Digital Monetizer?   Did you like today's episode? Then please follow these channels to receive free digital monetization content:   Get a free Monetization Assessment of your business Subscribe to the free Monetization eMagazine. Subscribe to the Monetization Nation YouTube channel. Subscribe to the Monetization Nation podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.  Follow Monetization Nation on Instagram and Twitter.   Share Your Story  Have you used any of these content marketing strategies? If so, how did it go? Please join our private Monetization Nation Facebook group and share your insights with other digital monetizers.   Read at: https://monetizationnation.com/blog/140-10-content-marketing-strategies-to-up-our-content-game/ 

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost   Sometimes in our business, we might be tempted to take the well-traveled road, the road everyone else is taking. We may not want to put in the effort that taking the harder path requires. In today's episode, Ali Schwanke and I will discuss how doing video may be harder but worth it. We'll also discuss Ali's entrepreneurial journey, content marketing, and quick wins.   Ali Schwanke is the CEO and founder of Simple Strat, a boutique agency that simplifies content marketing for B2B technology companies worldwide. She has more than 15 years of marketing experience ranging from an in-house marketing agency to sales and entrepreneurship. She brings a practical and data-driven perspective to the practice of content marketing. She's also the co-host of the popular YouTube series HubSpot Hacks.   The Path of Most Resistance   When I asked Ali what the greatest home run of her career is she said the most recent one is the YouTube series Hubspot Hacks. This series has generated over 3 million impressions on YouTube. The channel has almost 9,000 subscribers, and it has generated over 500 different top-of-funnel leads. Hubspot Hacks has also made well over six figures in revenue. “The reason that it's a home run is,” she explained, “it's one of those projects that came out of an inclination from a customer experience.”   Ali explained how Hubspot is a marketing technology platform that was originally created to help people automate their marketing activity, but it's grown into more than that now. “It's so big now that people don't really know what to do,” Ali said. “They end up looking for how to do these very tiny things.”   “HubSpot has a lot of different knowledge center articles: ‘here's how to set up your users,' ‘here's how to use video,' [etc.]. But people were saying, ‘Show me, show me, I still don't get it.' [We knew] that people were using platforms like TikTok and . . . Instagram videos were really hot, and so people just wanted to see it.”   “We recorded some screencast videos,” Ali said. “It was literally: I record my screen. My face is on the lower left-hand side, I'm wearing a t-shirt, and we're just walking through this screen share. We did it for a couple of things like ‘how do I do a workflow,' ‘how do I do a landing page,' and discovered that those got thousands and thousands of hits. People started asking us additional questions, and we thought, ‘Whoa, what's going on here? Why isn't this content anywhere else?'”   “So we decided to spin that off into a separate series and use that as a lead generator for our agency. We did that, and about six months into it, re-optimized based on what we knew about YouTube SEO at that time. It just took off, and then the pandemic happened and it really took off.”   “Even if there's a type of content right now from your competition that already exists, people learn in different forms. Video is still one of the hottest places to get some traction because it's hard [to do]. [But first] you have to be okay with being on video. Yes, you look like that, and yes, you sound like that, so stop freaking out about it. Secondly, you can't edit a video the way you edit a blog . . . because you have to be a lot more thoughtful when you record it. That scares a lot of people away.”   Hubspot Hacks has been so successful because they gave value away for free to their target audience, and as a result of giving it away for free, they gained credibility and reach. Revenue came as a natural result of that, but it all came from providing value first.   Another reason they've been successful is because of the bigger barrier for entry. Video is harder for competitors, so there's not as much competition there. Sometimes, as water looks for the downhill path and follows the path of least resistance, businesses look for the path of least resistance too.    Often, we should be heading in the opposite direction of the water because most of our competitors are going down the path of least resistance; they're going to do the easiest thing. If we want to differentiate ourselves, set ourselves apart, and provide something unique, one of the easiest ways to do that is to take the harder path. Video is harder to do; not as many people are doing it, but it presents a great opportunity to position ourselves in the number two search engine in the world, YouTube.   “People forget that YouTube is a place,” Ali said. “It is home to a lot of people who [create] content: Red Bull videos, skateboard videos, cooking videos. But there's an equal amount of people that are looking for business-to-business how-tos. I know I've used YouTube when it comes to ‘how do I do something in Evernote?' ‘How do I set up something in QuickBooks?' I've ended up on YouTube, and most of the time people don't think about the journey someone takes after they've watched the video. That journey is how inbound marketing actually works. So putting some thought into the journey is important upfront.”   Ali's Journey   Ali's entrepreneurial journey actually started in photography. She explained, “I wanted to rid the world of stock photography, knowing that the same four to five people seem like they work everywhere, because they're in the cooking ads, they're in the home ads, they're in the B2B ads. That was several years ago, and at that time, not a lot of companies wanted to pay me.”   “So, I ended up building a business around weddings, babies, so on and so forth. But I still, at the end of the day, really wanted to use this authentic visual perspective to help drive better business marketing decisions.”   As her career progressed, Ali got lots of questions such as how to build a website, which she learned how to do. “Over the course of my career, I learned a lot about marketing from working for both myself and other people.”   She continued, “Where I ended up now is in a world where everybody wants the answer to something before they talk to a salesperson, and that is the role of content. That's ultimately what I do today, and I love it. I find myself just being consumed by media, by podcasting, by videos, by written content and how it leads someone to make a purchase that they feel good about and solve the problem in their career.”   Content Marketing for B2B vs B2C   Ali's company used to have a mixture of customers in B2B and B2C. They eventually decided to focus solely on B2B. “As you look at both marketing disciplines, B2C tends to have a very low price point, [and] a lot of one to one decision making.”    “For example, if I go and buy a pair of shoes, that involves me with a lot of different options, [but] at the end of the day it's my decision. It's usually not a committee. There's usually not the need to read about how the shoe functions when I run [or] read about all the different ways that it's made. You just buy a shoe because you want it, it looks nice, and you thought about it.”   In contrast, B2B is much more complex. “[It] tends to have committees of people that make decisions together. There tend to be larger budgets. There tends to be a lot of complexity involved in the sale. Sometimes [it takes] 12, 18, 24 months. [There's a] need to continually nurture someone along that buying journey.”   “We found,” Ali explained, “that was so different that we decided to make that shift and focus solely on B2B, which then lends itself to content that attracts them to the website [and] gets them to learn what their problem is.”   They'll find the solution to their problem, a solution they didn't even know existed. “It's almost like it's their idea that they want to buy that thing, and then they feel like they had a hand in that buying experience.”   Focus on the Quick Wins First   Ali explained that when we're starting out, we often don't realize what we can sell. “People will pay money for things that we might otherwise take for granted. You can make money teaching anybody anything. Even if it's easy for you, it might not be as easy for them.”   We can start with the things we know how to do well. We don't have to build our business on something complicated that we don't even understand yet. “People sometimes think ‘I'm gonna make $5 million,' [but] you don't make $5 million before you make $5. So, what is the first easiest thing that you already know that you can package and systematize and then turn around to the market?”   Key Takeaways   Thank you so much Ali for sharing your stories and knowledge with us today. Here are some of my key takeaways from this episode:   Giving away something of value for free can be a great lead generator.  Many of our competitors are taking an easier path. We can get ahead by taking the harder path that most people aren't doing. B2B can often lend itself better to content marketing because its purchase decisions are often more complex. When we're starting out, we can focus on the first easiest thing that we already know.   Connect with Ali   If you enjoyed this interview and want to learn more about Ali or connect with her, you can find her on LinkedIn or Twitter, check out Hubspot Hacks on YouTube, or visit her website SimpleStat.com.    Want to be a Better Digital Monetizer?   Did you like today's episode? Then please follow these channels to receive free digital monetization content:   Get a free Monetization Assessment of your business Subscribe to the free Monetization eMagazine. Subscribe to the Monetization Nation YouTube channel. Subscribe to the Monetization Nation podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.  Follow Monetization Nation on Instagram and Twitter.   Share Your Story  How have you found success in taking a harder path? Please join our private Monetization Nation Facebook group and share your insights with other digital monetizers.   Read at: https://monetizationnation.com/blog/how-taking-the-path-of-more-resistance-led-to-more-than-6-figures-in-revenue/ 

In this episode of Next Best Customer, we dive into B2B content marketing with Ali Schwanke, the CEO of Simple Strat. Ali has a fantastic perspective on how to create content that people actually care about. At the same time, Ali is extremely tactical when it comes to building content that is findable online. Check out Ali on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke/ Learn more about Simple Strat at www.simplestrat.com.

On this episode of the Jason Cavness Experience we talk to Ali Schwanke CEO/Founder at Simple Strat cavnessHR website: https://www.cavnessHR.com Jason's email: jasoncavness@cavnessHR.com @cavnessHR  across social media @jasoncavnessHR across social media We talk about the following Her two companies Simple Strat and BrandPlan How she hired her first person. Why people buy from people they trust Why is HR important Ali's Bio Ali Schwanke is the CEO and Chief Marketing Strategist of Simple Strat, a content marketing agency that helps B2B and SaaS companies break through the noise and get better results from their content marketing programs.  She has 15+ years of experience in marketing, and as an entrepreneur -- Ali says she's had her fair share of HR wins and challenges! Learn how she puts strategy first, whether that's recruiting new employees or generating results for clients, PLUS best practices for your content to stand out from the competition. Ali's Social Media Website: https://simplestrat.com/ Free marketing resources: https://hubs.ly/H0nCQlp0  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alischwanke Twitter: https://twitter.com/alischwanke Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplestrat/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/hubspothacks Ali's Advice I'd say advice for marketing right now. If you're listening to this right now, in our current situation, one of the best things you can do is revisit what your marketing calendar looks like for the next year. I think people right now are hoping this is a short term thing. Which hopefully it is, but it's certainly going to impact how we communicate with people long term.  So I think people's inboxes are still going to be overflowing. I think we're still gonna be inundated with content as we move forward out of this. So pare down what you're doing to the most essential value and the unique value you that can drive for your customers and then make sure that you have a way to track that. That's your analytics conversation to make sure that you're seeing what's coming from your efforts.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the latest “Revolve Conference Speaker Podcast,” Ilise Benun, of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Ali Schwanke, founder of Simplestrat, who will be speaking on “vanity metrics” at The Revolve Conference, a gathering of design, UX and marketing professionals this Nov. 12-13, 2018 in Charleston SC. Details here: http://revolveconference.com