Actionable Marketing Podcast

Planning and creating content that ranks well on the search engines can be difficult. It comes down to keyword selection and use, but that’s not all. You’ve heard the expression, “content is king,” and that’s still true: Your success has everything to do with the value and uniqueness that your content has to offer the people who will be seeing it!

Today, we’re talking to Tim Soulo, the head of marketing and product strategy at Ahrefs. Tim knows how to create valuable content, and today he’s going to share his best tips on finding keywords, promoting your content, and standing out from your competition.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Information about Ahrefs and what Tim does there.
• The most successful content produced by Ahrefs: the types of articles and pieces, as well as how they promote and analyze them.
• Tips on ranking for not only your core keyword, but also relevant keywords.
• The process Tim uses for coming up with content ideas.
• What it takes to outperform your competition.
• Why it’s important for an SEO marketer to do research that no other blog has written about or compiled.
• Tim’s thoughts on length and why it might not be important in the way that you are thinking. Tim also talks about long “ultimate guides” and gives his advice on making them more user-friendly.
• How to use backlinks to promote a piece to help it rank.

Links:

Tim Soulo

Ahrefs

How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

How to Submit Your Website to Search Engines

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You know that content marketing has the potential to grow your company. What if you’re not getting results, though? If you don’t have something unique to say or value to offer, it’s tough to get traction in a competitive environment. How can you create unique ideas and overcome mediocre results?

Today we’re going to be talking to Jon Henshaw, an accomplished product builder and content marketer. Jon co-founded Raven Tools and is now with CBS Interactive. We’re going to talk about how to fix broken content marketing. You won’t want to miss today’s show!

Some of the highlights of this episode include:

• What Jon’s been up to over the past decade, from building up Raven Tools from nothing to entering the world of content marketing.
• Some of the “wins” that Jon has experienced over the years, as well as a “loss.”
• Jon’s process for staying ahead of the curve when it comes to content marketing.
• Tips on tackling the types of big, unique projects that will pan out, as well as Jon’s thoughts on the risks involved.
• How Jon promotes his biggest projects for maximum benefit.
• Where SEO fits into the promotion strategy.
• Jon’s favorite part of content marketing.

Links:

Jon on LinkedIn

Raven Tools

CBS Interactive

GA Config

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Quotes by Jon:

“One of the great things about content marketing is that it kind of levels the playing field among other companies.... You don’t have to have the tens of thousands of dollars or more in paid advertising budget. You just have to have good ideas.”

“The internet is a big place and yes, most things have already been done... You have to be even more creative.”

“The part that I geek out the most on is actually putting that content together and writing the code behind that content so that it can perform really well.”

On the Actionable Marketing Podcast, we are kicking off a new series called 10x Marketing Interviews. CoSchedule’s own CEO, Garrett Moon, has written a book called The 10x Marketing Formula. While writing the book, he interviewed some of the sharpest minds in marketing. We’re going to be listening to some of his interviews.

Today’s interview is with Ash Maurya, a successful entrepreneur and author of The Lean Startup Movement, That’s Running Lean, and Scaling Lean. He understands how Lean works and is going to talk to us about how we, as marketers, can apply the principles and tools to our work. You aren’t going to want to miss this series or the interview with Ash!

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• The Lean Canvas: What it is, how it works, who would use it, and why it’s beneficial.
• The steps that go into creating and developing a Lean Canvas: Finding solutions, taking risks, and setting priorities.
• What a minimum viable product (MVP) is and is not, as well as how it provides value for both business-owners and customers.
• How to determine what’s next after the MVP process has been completed.
• How marketers can use the Lean Canvas to improve what they’re doing and to prevent them from going too far down the wrong path.
• The Lean Sprint mindset and how it can be used.
• Ways to take a big idea and turn it into a small MVP.
• Ash’s best tips for people who want to try Lean Canvas for the first time.

Links and Resources:

The 10x Marketing Formula

The Lean Startup Movement

That’s Running Lean

Scaling Lean

The Lean Canvas

Leanstack.com

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Have you heard the term, “growth-hacking”? It can be a bit of a buzzword. Today we’re going to learn about a real-life growth-hacking example. You don’t have to have a special sales and marketing gene... it just takes the willingness to learn. Today’s guest is John Rampton. He’s a serial entrepreneur, the founder of several companies, and a contributor to sites like Huffington Post and Entrepreneur. Today’s episode is a case study in perseverance, so you won’t want to miss it!

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• What John is up to as an entrepreneur and how his products help businesses, as well as how he got into the entrepreneurial world.
• The first steps John took to get involved in an online business, including a hack he figured out that wasn’t illegal... at the time.
• The framework John thinks about when it comes to risk-taking.
• Why hyperfocusing on specific niches and problems is one way to succeed.
• John’s thoughts on learning: how he finds time to squeeze learning into his busy days and making time for what’s most important.
• How something as simple as a calendar can function as a powerful tool, as well as information about Calendar.com.
• How an excellent marketing strategy can even sell a crappy product that provides no value.
• John’s most sage wisdom and best advice for marketers just getting started.

Links:

Due.com

Calendar.com

John on Twitter

JohnRampton.com

UpWork

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Did you know that you can scale and grow a business from zero to thousands of customers by using content marketing? You can see a massive ROI and even bu9ld an entire marketing team through blogging, video content, email lists and social media. Today we’re going to be talking to Tim Topham from TimTopham.com about this very topic. Tim has created a global community and has built his company around content marketing. You won’t want to miss today’s episode, so sit back, relax, and get ready to glean lots of great info from our discussion.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• How Tim’s background in music led him to founding his company, TimTopham.com.
• How Tim made the leap into pursuing his dream full-time.
• What Tim’s marketing looked like prior to his launch, including how he built his email list.
• Why having a specific niche has helped Tim to be so successful with his marketing strategy and with his company as a whole.
• The different types of content Tim uses, as well as tips for not getting overwhelmed as you build your brand from the ground up.
• How Tim makes decisions and plans his content ahead of time.
• Tim’s best advice on taking a passion and creating a full-time opportunity out of it.

Links and Resources:

TimTopham.com

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Are you sick of emergencies, of last-minute deadlines, and the stress of messy workflows? If so, agile project management might be just the strategy you need to use. Chances are great that you’ve heard of it before, but do you know how to use agile methodologies in your marketing? Today we’re going to talk about just that with Andrea Fryrear, the president and lead trainer at Agile Sherpas. She’s going to talk to us about what agile marketing is and how you can use it to prioritize your projects. Sit back, relax, and get ready to learn some high-value information that will help your business succeed.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Information about Agile Sherpas and what they do.
• What agile marketing is, what it focuses on, and what the most popular methodology is.
• The difference between Waterfall and agile marketing.
• How agile marketers prioritize their projects.
• The concept of boundaries and why multitasking doesn’t work. Andrea also talks about the importance of saying no.
• How agile marketers can focus on the projects that make the most impact.
• How to build obstacles and roadblocks into your workflow.
• Tips on using Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban for agile marketing.
• What you can do first if you are a marketer who would like to start using agile project management as part of your marketing strategy.

Links and Resources:

Agile Sherpas

Scrum

Kanban

Scrumban

[email protected]

Reposting your best content on social media is a best practice: the conversions and conversations are like gold. You might be wondering about the best way to go about re-sharing content. Today, we’re going to be talking to Christin Kardos, the social media and community manager at Convince and Convert, the #1 content marketing blog in the world, according to Content Marketing Institute. Today, we’re going to talk about evergreen content, how to capitalize on incredible opportunities, and thought on whether social media automation is the right tool for you to increase productivity. You won’t want to miss today’s show!

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Information about Convince and Convert and what Christin does there.
• Evergreen content: What it is and how to leverage it to your advantage.
• How you can tweak and update your content to make it rank for certain keywords.
• Best practices when it comes to sharing previously published content.
• What content curation is and how Christin handles it at Convince and Convert.
• Thoughts on balancing your own content and others’ content, as well as why it’s important to focus on quality first and foremost.
• The benefits and potential downfalls of social media automation.
• Christen’s best advice for marketers wanting to get started with automation and reposting content.

Links and Resources:

Christin on Twitter

Convince and Convert

105 Types of Content to Fill Your Editorial Calendar

Feedly

Pocket

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Are you getting more out of your marketing than you’re putting into it? Nathan Ellering is the head of demand generation at CoSchedule, and he wants you to be able to say that you’re getting the results you want from your marketing, your content, and your social media. Nathan is also the author of The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Strategy, so he’s a bit of an expert on the topic! We’re going to be talking to him today about how you can generate quality leads, get the traffic and traction that you want, and make your marketing strategy a success.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• What Nathan does at CoSchedule as the head of demand generation.
• The story behind the launch of the Ultimate Guide to Marketing Strategy: what it includes, why it was necessary to write it, how it’s different, and why you should check it out. Nathan also shares why he created it as a microsite as opposed to a blog.
• The importance of following the acronym SMART when you’re setting your goals.
• An explanation of what 10x content is and how Nathan makes it work for him.
• How Nathan recommends tracking marketing ROI to be sure that your content is doing what it’s supposed to do.
• How to prioritize within your marketing strategy.
• The concept of goals-driven budgeting.
• Nathan’s best advice for someone just starting a marketing strategy.

Links:

CoSchedule

The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Strategy

Google Analytics

Facebook: Nearly a quarter of the entire world’s population uses it, and over two-thirds of those users checks in every day. Chances are good that your customers are using the social media giant. Facebook advertising is a great opportunity for you to connect with your audience. Today we’re going to be chatting with CoSchedule’s own inbound marketer, Rachel Wiinanen, about how to create high-converting ads, how to test your hypotheses, how to organize your behind-the-scenes processes, and how to measure your success. You won’t want to miss it!

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Information about CoSchedule and what Rachel does here as the inbound marketer.
• How Rachel approaches her advertising strategy on Facebook.
• How Rachel gets creative with both the visuals and the text on Facebook ads.
• Thoughts about A/B testing: how Rachel does it, why it’s important, and some surprises she’s encountered along the way.
• Key metrics to measure when evaluating the performance of your ads as well as some tools to use.
• How Rachel works within a budget for her Facebook ads.
• Rachel’s best tips on staying organized, planning, and keeping track of everything ad-related.
• Where a newbie to Facebook ads should start if they want to begin using the platform as part of their marketing strategy.

Links:

CoSchedule

Previous episode with Rachel

Kissmetrics

Google Analytics

How can you scale a business with marketing? To answer that question, we’re going to be talking to Brandon Andersen, the chief strategist at Ceralytics. He’s going to share with us why failure helps you improve, how to overcome your marketing challenges, and how to position your business differently than your competition does. Brandon has focused on some key marketing tactics that have really paid off, and today you’re going to learn how to implement some of them to begin reaching a much larger audience.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Some information about Ceralytics and what Brandon does there as the chief strategist, as well as what Brandon did before Ceralytics.
• Some of the marketing challenges that Brandon faced as he moved Ceralytics from a startup to a successful company, as well as how they got past those challenges.
• The concept of a blue ocean: what it is and why it’s important.
• Successful things that Brandon did right away to build an audience in the early days of the company.
• How focusing on influencer is a great marketing tactic.
• A step-by-step way to build relationships with influencers.
• Tips on getting into guesting.
• Brandon’s best tips on marketing strategy and how to build one as a new marketer.

Links:

Brandon Andersen

Ceralytics

How CoSchedule got started

Content Marketing Institute research

The 10x Marketing Formula