The Long Game

Tim Stoddart, the owner of both Tim Stodz Enterprises and Sober Nation, is a writer, an entrepreneur, and a leader. 

Tim’s experience of addiction and recovery has shaped and influenced his career path in many ways. It’s what inspired him to create Sober Nation, a blog and community resource for people struggling with addiction, as well as his marketing agency Stodz Enterprises. 

For Tim, his personal journey and professional career go hand in hand. 

In this episode, you can find out how Tim learned to reconcile his personal and professional online personas, why he relies so heavily on documented systems, and why it’s okay to be bad at sales.

Show Topics

• Control what you can, and let go of what you can’t
• Get rid of labels
• The power of sharing yourself
• It’s courageous to publish
• Protect your core values
• How to be credible and authentic
• Scaling yourself through documented systems
• Be bad at sales. And do it anyway.
• The power and limits of social media
• Make it to midnight 

Show Links 

• Check out Copyblogger Media 
• Check out Tim Stodz Enterprises 
• Check out Sober Nation 
• Follow Tim Stoddart on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Ryan McReady (Reforge), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

How to Build the Right Data Workflow with Blake Burch (Shipyard)

Data-Driven Thought Leadership with Alicia Johnston (Sprout Social)

Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

Blue Ocean vs Red Ocean SEO

Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here:

https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

There’s a lot of appeal to working for a flashy, up-and-coming startup. But Joe Lee, VP of Growth Marketing at Ontra, has always focused on achieving the best job titles and experiences instead of working for the “sexiest” companies. 

For Joe, growth marketing provided the perfect opportunities to advance in his career and get to where he is today. Growth marketing has become the de facto title for the person on the marketing team dedicated to growth, whether it’s through users, leads, pipeline, or revenue. 

In this episode, Joe talks to us about the importance of listening to leading indicators, why marketing should partner with sales in account-based marketing, and how to maintain empathy as you rise in the ranks of leadership.

Show Topics

• Optimize for experience and title
• Be a canary in a coal mine
• Strategize with your decks
• Partner with sales
• Hyperfocus on a small group
• Care about multi-marketing metrics
• Invest in direct mail
• Negotiate with your CFO
• Control your narrative 
• Don’t lose your empathy

Show Links 

• Check out Ontra 
• Follow Joe Lee on LinkedIn and Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Ryan McReady (Reforge), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

How to Build the Right Data Workflow with Blake Burch (Shipyard)

Data-Driven Thought Leadership with Alicia Johnston (Sprout Social)

Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

Blue Ocean vs Red Ocean SEO

Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

Product-led growth is an up-and-coming market strategy, but what does it actually entail? A product-led growth strategy is a fusion between marketing and product, which means you need two things to ensure its success. 

First, the product has to be easy to use and easy to adopt. Second, you need to create a big inbound funnel to get people to sign up, resulting in product-led sales. 

Thomas Schiavone, CEO and Co-founder of Calixa, knows that focusing on product-led growth leads to product-led sales. In this episode, Thomas talked with us about empowering sales to spearhead product-led growth, the importance of manageable data, and why you should aim to build value above all else.

Show Topics

• Fuse marketing and product to create product-led growth
• Create the right strategy for your company
• Empower sales 
• Set your priorities
• Get more metrics
• Leverage machines to parse data
• Listen to customer insight
• Build value first
• Let other people make decisions

Show Links 

• Check out Calixa
• Follow Thomas Schiavone on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

There’s a lot of monotonous development work that goes into building solutions. 

Blake Burch wants to relieve some of that burden for developers and help them waste less time on unnecessary tasks. 

Blake co-founded Shipyard, a data orchestration platform, to give data engineers the tools to quickly launch, monitor, and share resilient data workflows. 

He talked to us about the importance of inter-tool communication, how Shipyard is working to improve the developer experience, and why you shouldn’t focus on your infrastructure.

Show Topics

• Get rid of monotonous development work
• Run compatible code
• Be prepared to meet your client's needs
• Don’t separate out your tools
• Let your tools talk to each other
• Improve the developer experience 
• Deal with new tools
• Consolidate tools
• Prevent data leaks
• Focus on the problem you want to solve

Show Links 

• Check out Shipyard 
• Follow Blake Burch on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

Red versus blue: do you know which ocean you’d rather swim in? 

We discuss the blue ocean strategy and how to navigate high- and low-competition markets. Blue oceans represent uncrowded markets with low volumes of competition. The waters in a blue ocean are clear and open for swimming. 

Red oceans, however, are high-volume, highly competitive markets that are more challenging to navigate. Whether you’re in a blue ocean or a red ocean, your goal is to find a strategy that sets your company apart and gives your product a fighting chance. 

In this episode of Kitchen Side, we talk through the pros and cons of both red and blue oceans, what it takes to create a new market, and how to set your company apart from the crowd.

Show Topics

• Find a strategic edge
• Focus on lower keyword difficulty
• Employ phrases customers use
• Piggyback on existing categories
• Evangelize your idea
• Start small
• Do it all
• Build a moat
• Find your own blue ocean
• Leverage what makes your company unique

Show Links 

• Connect with Alex on Twitter or LinkedIn
• Connect with Allie on Twitter or LinkedIn
• Connect with David on Twitter or LinkedIn

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

There’s no single playbook that works for every startup. But one thing they all have in common is a strong foundational team. 

If you have the right team, it’s easier to set your business up for success. 

Eric Hann is an expert at helping early-stage companies find their go-to-market fit. As the Senior Director of Marketing at Order, Eric has learned what makes a startup team great—and what to avoid. 

In this episode, Eric shares how to build a demand generation team and program from scratch, why you need curious team members, and how to lower your employees’ fears of failure.

Show Topics

• Create an environment that doesn’t fear failure
• Stay grounded in what’s repeatable
• Learn the rules of the game
• Build your startup around curious people
• Hire people who ask questions
• Be a generalist
• Follow a situational leadership model
• De-risk new challenges
• Evaluate your processes
• Make your own experiences

Show Links 

• Check out Order
• Follow Eric Hann on LinkedIn
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here:

https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

Want people to pay more attention to your brand? Give them interesting content to consume.

Webinars are the latest, greatest way to capture an audience’s attention. 

Annette Cardwell is the Senior Director of Content, Community, Customer, and Web at Lattice. Events are a major part of Lattice’s company voice, and Annette has learned how to cater those events to her company’s specific audience. 

In this episode, Annette shares her tips for creating the perfect event, how to select the right guests, and why you should always repurpose your content. 

Show Topics

• Make topics interesting
• Cater events to your audience
• Select the right guests
• Don’t be salesy
• Determine which questions to cut
• Focus on your primary hook
• Work within your box
• Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose
• Be patient
• Provide value through content

Show Links 

• Check out Lattice 
• Follow Annette Cardwell on LinkedIn or Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

Quality content is the difference between run-of-the-mill advertising and a campaign that grabs people’s attention. But cultivating your talent as a content writer takes intentional work. 

Alicia Johnston, Director of Content at Sprout Social, has experienced both being and managing content marketers. What’s one common denominator for good content writers? Their skills go beyond writing. 

In this episode, Alicia tells us what makes content writers unique, how to create strategic content, and why you should merchandise your work.

Show Topics

• Target customer personas
• Listen to social media
• Understand the game
• Ask the same questions yearly
• Use your own data
• Create authentic content
• Be a storyteller
• Hire curious people
• Merchandise your work
• Write to entertain

Show Links 

• Check out Sprout Social
• Follow Alicia Johnston on LinkedIn or Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?](https://beomniscient.com/blog/hiring-content-writers-vs-subject-matter-experts/)

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here:

https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

How do you handle being the only content marketing person in a startup? Become a Swiss army knife. 

Versatility and a wide variety of skills are vital for solo marketers in the startup world. And there’s no better place to learn than in a startup role. The wider your skillset, the more you can help your company grow. 

Nikhil Venkatesa, content marketing lead at Convictional, has worked in all kinds of marketing setups. But he’s sharpened his skills the most working as a one-man marketing team. In this episode, Nikhil shares his tips for working solo in marketing, how to stay focused on long-term goals, and why busy work can lead to burnout.

Show Topics

• Be a Swiss army knife
• Test new channels before you hire
• Create the right kind of traffic
• Start at a marketing agency 
• Hire agencies to do specific jobs
• Build authentic relationships 
• Orient strategies around your mission
• Be approachable
• Check in with employees
• Don’t get distracted by busy work

Show Links 

• Check out Convictional
• Follow Nikhil Venkatesa on LinkedIn or Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

What is thought leadership? 

Some would say it’s the expression of ideas that demonstrate you have expertise in a particular field or topic. 

It could also be described as a tactic marketers use to build credibility for themselves in their company. 

Ryan McCready is the Managing Editor at Reforge. In this conversation, we dive into thought leadership and how we define it, why hot takes are the bedrock of thought leadership, and we talk about how to work with experts.

Connect with Ryan:
https://twitter.com/RyanMcCready1
https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=ryan%20mccready&origin=RICH_QUERY_SUGGESTION&position=0&searchId=28ddbd3d-00be-42d2-afe1-e7a035908b0c&sid=y!X

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:

Twitter: @beomniscient

Linkedin: Be Omniscient

Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/