Tag: Secret

The Secret Guide to VSEO: Video and SEO

vseo, video search engine optimization

Since the Google Penguin and Panda updates, a lot of SEOs finally have realized that ranking a website in the long term is not just about building a large number of links. It’s also about creating high-quality content that will attract links naturally over time.

However, one type of SEO that still is underutilized is VSEO: video search engine optimization. Although a lot of brands are incorporating video content into their overall online marketing strategies, most SEOs don’t place a high priority on it. Usually, they opt for creating various other types of content (e.g., infographics, images, written content, etc.).

If used correctly, video can be an extremely powerful form of content and make a significant contribution to your overall SEO strategy, in more ways than one.

Avoiding a Common Trap and Defining Your Goals

Although the idea of producing a video might seem like a “nice” idea, it’s important to remember that it must compliment your overall SEO strategy and generate a return on investment (ROI).

If you fail to define your goals in the early stages, not only will the video end up costing you (or your client) a hefty chunk of money, it will be money down the drain that could have been spent better elsewhere.

Failing to clearly define goals is a common SEO mistake and one that often is seen with content such as infographics.

Many SEOs will commission the creation of an expensive, cool-looking infographic without putting enough thought into the overall goal. They get blinded by the idea that “infographics build links” without stopping to think whether they want the infographic to increase conversions, increase high-quality traffic (i.e., visitors who are likely to convert to paying customers), or simply provide off-page SEO benefits (i.e., links).

It’s the same with video content. You need to know what you want to get out of it. Without knowing this, it will be difficult to conceptualize/commission a production that has any hope of successfully captivating the intended audience and leading to your desired goals.

What Are Your Goals?

From an SEO point of view, there really are only two main goals that you possibly could have – to build links and generate social shares or to increase conversions.

Let’s start by looking at the first benefit mentioned above…

1. Build Links/Generate Social Shares

If it’s done well, a video can generate a large number of links for a website; and often from some pretty reputable domains, too. I’m not just talking about a few links, either. I’m talking about hundreds or thousands of high-quality links in some cases.

The problem is there’s so much online video content that unless you create an exceptional video and have a great outreach/marketing plan, its success is going to be limited.

People don’t link to or share any old rubbish these days. So, to get the success you’re looking for, it’s important for you to really think about who you want to share the video and who you want to link to it.

Essentially, your video has to offer something to the viewer. It might make them laugh, educate them, amaze them, shock them, or annoy them (or even a combination of these). The point is it needs to evoke a strong enough emotional reaction that they’ll want to share it, either by clicking the Tweet/Share button or by writing a post about it on their blog/website (with a link back to your site, of course).

DollarShaveClub.com

Perhaps one of the best examples of a video that generated a massive amount of backlinks is the “viral” video from DollarShaveClub.com (above).

About a year ago, hardly anyone had heard of Dollar Shave Club, but shortly after they produced and marketed the video, that all changed.

Strangely enough, the Dollar Shave Club video wasn’t produced for link building purposes. It was produced with the aim of raising brand awareness. But in the modern world of SEO/marketing, brand awareness and link building are directly related, at least when it comes to online content.

Let me explain with a timeless viral example.

According to YouTube, the Dollar Shave Club video was uploaded on March 6, 2012. Following the upload, it didn’t take long for the video to start going viral. Partly due to a great PR/outreach strategy and, in large part, thanks to its very amusing concept, it started to gain a lot of attention for the company.

Within hours, it was featured on leading news sites across the web, including Mashable (pictured above), The Next Web, Techcrunch, and literally hundreds of others. Within a month or so, it also had been featured on many other leading sites that most SEOs would work extremely hard to obtain links from, such as Forbes and BusinessWeek.

Obviously, this is great for brand exposure, but what has this got to do with link building?

Every single one of those leading news websites mentioned above linked out to Dollar Shave Club in their articles, as did the hundreds of other sites that reported on the video.

In fact, this screenshot (taken from MajesticSEO back in the day), shows just how successful the video was for Dollar Shave Club in terms of SEO.

majestic seo

As you can see, around March 2012 (when the video was uploaded), Dollar Shave Club attracted approximately 18,000 backlinks and has continued to attract relatively large numbers of links every month since then.

If you take a look at the cumulative view of backlinks gained (pictured below) since the video was uploaded (approximately 12 months ago), you’ll see that it has attracted almost 90,000 links to date and the site still is attracting links naturally every month as people continue to write about it (like me).

majestic seo cumulative

The reason for this is the video struck a chord with its intended audience, and, as a result, went “viral” and attracted links. It was funny, original, and kept its target audience in mind.

There also was an excellent outreach/PR strategy in place, which was responsible for getting the video off the ground and starting the link building process.

These are all things to note if you’re looking to use video for SEO.

Moz Whiteboard Friday

As I mentioned earlier in this guide, videos don’t necessarily have to be funny to attract links. They just have to offer viewers something they want to see. One good way to do this is to create a video that’s educational.

Every Friday, Moz posts a “whiteboard” style video on their blog. Due to the regularity of these videos, they’ve become known as the “Whiteboard Friday” videos. These videos not only attract a lot of attention from SEOs around the world, but also attract a significant number of links, embeds, and social shares; therefore increasing traffic for SEOmoz.

According to Open Site Explorer, a particular Whiteboard Friday video received 402 links from 37 referring domains and well over 1,000 social shares. Once again, proof that people love video content.

What Should I Learn from All of This?

In both instances above (DollarShaveClub.com and Moz), video content has been responsible for successfully attracting a substantial number of inbound links and social shares for the website in question. This proves that, when used correctly, videos really can provide a huge boost to your SEO campaign.

However, both of these videos successfully attracted links for different reasons.

For Dollar Shave Club, it was all about the video seeding/outreach strategy. Mike Dubin, the founder of Dollar Shave Club, came from a video seeding background, which obviously played a big part in the success of the video. No one knew about Dollar Shave Club in the early days, so the outreach process definitely played an important role in getting things off the ground.

With Moz, it’s likely that there was no outreach conducted in order to attract links/social shares, as Moz already has an extremely large, loyal community of followers who are likely to share their content naturally. For them, simply producing a high-quality video targeted at their fan base is enough to attract links.

It’s important to consider this when using videos for SEO because all sites are different, and, therefore, will require a different approach. Ask yourself: Do I have enough high-quality traffic already to attract links automatically, or do I need to conduct outreach? And, if so, how much?

It’s also important to remember that it doesn’t matter how good your outreach plan is if your video isn’t of exceptional quality. If that is the case, it’s not going to attract a large number of links.

It’s tempting to cut corners and produce a sub-standard video in order to keep costs down. But, in the long-run, this won’t pay off. Ask yourself: Is my target audience going to be interested in this? Would I link to this if I came across it? Does it evoke an emotion? If you answer “no” to any of these questions, go back and rethink things before you produce your video.

One last thing: To get the full SEO potential of your videos, consider hosting videos on your own website (instead of Youtube or Vimeo). The reason for this is to get people to link back to your domain, which will help your overall SEO efforts as well. The possible downside would be reduced exposure or shares.

Also, on most video hosting sites you can link back to your content from the video webpage. Don’t forget to do this! It’s a free link 🙂

2. Increase Conversions

Although some SEOs might disagree with this, I believe that the job of an SEO isn’t necessarily to increase rankings, but rather to increase online sales/revenue for the client.

Obviously, this is a two-part process: attracting more visitors to a website and then optimizing the website so that more of those visitors convert into paying customers/clients.

Video content can be fantastic for increasing conversions on just about any website. In fact, more brands than ever are using videos on landing pages and on various other pages of their websites to keep visitors engaged and, eventually, convince them to make a purchase.

There are two main ways to increase conversions with video – by embedding a video on a landing page and by making use of rich snippets.

Video on a Landing Page

When a visitor lands on your site, you’ve literally got seconds to impress them and get them engaged with what you have to offer. This is the whole point of a landing page. But these days, people are so used to seeing rich media content on the internet that, quite frankly, text content often doesn’t keep them engaged.

Accordingly, I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that embedding a video on your website not only will increase the length of time that visitors stick around, but, also, the number of conversions to paying customers, which, ultimately, is what SEO is all about.

Product Videos

Product videos are perhaps the most common way that retailers increase the conversion rate of their website using video content. Hundreds and thousands of retailers are making use of product videos these days, and it’s easy to see why.

According to Invodo, 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them feel more confident about going ahead and making a purchase.

zappos product video from The Secret Guide to VSEO: Video and SEO

Take a look at the screenshot above from the online retailer Zappos. It shows one of their product videos being used on the page for women’s Levi jeans. According to econsultancy, Zappos found that sales increased by between 6% and 30% on products with product videos.

Explainer/Introductory Videos

Obviously, not every business with a website has a product to sell, as some businesses are service-oriented.

For these, you can increase conversions with the use of explainer/introductory videos. There are varying styles for these videos, and, truthfully, there’s no exact science as to what style works best. It’s more about producing a video that explains/introduces a client’s business effectively and in an engaging way.

Dropbox found that they increased their conversion rate by over 10% by adding this video to their homepage. And considering that their homepage receives over 750,000 visitors a month, this means that it increased signups by several thousand every day and no doubt generated a huge ROI.

This video on the other hand introduces a local mobile bar company by explaining the service, introducing the guys behind the business, and showing their services in action. It’s a similar length to the Dropbox video, but it is presented in a different style. When embedded on the “about us” page of the client’s website, it increased his overall conversion rate by around 7%.

Rich Snippets

Increasing conversions with video aren’t only about what you show the visitor once they land on your website, but also what you show the visitor before they even get there.

If you’ve noticed Google’s search results recently, you have seen a significant increase in the use of something called rich snippets, and, in particular, video rich snippets.

If you’re new to rich snippets, you can watch Google’s official explanation in the video above. Essentially, though, this is what a site with video rich snippets looks like in the SERPs:

rich snippets by Google

As you can see, Google displays information about the video embedded on the page, letting the Googler know that, should they click through to your website, a video is awaiting them.

To put it simply, video-rich snippets help you stand out from the other nine search results on that particular page, and, therefore, searchers will be more inclined to click your result, which will increase traffic to your website.

You’ll be able to show searchers a thumbnail of your video and the length of your video. Make sure the thumbnail stands out and sums up what the video is about if you want to maximize conversions.

How Do You Use Rich Snippets for Video?

To show rich snippets for your video in the Google search results, you’re going to need to self-host your video. If you’re using WordPress, there is a workaround for hosting your videos with YouTube using the Yoast Plugin, but it’s definitely recommended that you self-host your content, if possible.

There are a number of other SEO benefits to self-hosting your videos as opposed to using a free video host such as YouTube, as documented here.

Once you’ve gotten your video hosted and embedded on your site, it’s simply a matter of informing Google about the video. To do this, you’ll have to add the required Schema.org code to your page and submit an XML sitemap within Google’s Webmaster Tools.

It’s a bit of a hassle, but once you know how to do it, it’s pretty easy to do time and time again. Plus, if you’re already ranking for any high-volume keywords, it is well worth the effort, as the increase in conversions should bring significantly more traffic to your site.

Conclusion

The popularity of online video presents a huge opportunity for SEOs willing to get creative to achieve results. Producing videos isn’t always cheap, but it usually isn’t as expensive as people believe it will be, either. If you’ve commissioned and marketed infographics before, you definitely can afford to produce a video and use VSEO that will generate a good ROI for you/your client.

Remember, quality is just as important when it comes to online video as it is when producing any other form of content.

About the Author: Josh Hardwick is the founder of ShortyMedia, a leading production company specializing in viral, corporate, and web videos. He also is a freelance SEO and loves producing great content and building links.

The post The Secret Guide to VSEO: Video and SEO appeared first on Neil Patel.

The Great Back Door Secret to Creating Wealth

The Great Back Door Secret to Creating Wealth

There are some actions of prep work you do not desire to miss out on if you’re interested in producing riches. While there is a terrific back entrance key to producing riches, the roadway to finding that secret varies from one person to another. Allow’s check out some basic methods you can get going on that particular roadway as well as just how these actions relate to your day-to-day live.

Research concerning Attracting Wealth

This could appear evident, yet possibly among the very best methods to produce wide range is to research exactly how others have actually done it in the past. Pick meticulously whose life as well as which techniques of producing wide range you examine. Some individuals have actually developed riches with not-so-honest methods, as well as you’ll most definitely wish to remain satisfied as well as truthful while drawing in riches in your life.

Look for their “excellent back door trick” to bring in riches. Maybe they began going door to door as salespersons or begun as a staff and also functioned their means up to the setting of head of state or vice head of state of a huge firm. You can discover lots of publications composed by well-off males as well as ladies or go online to check out regarding just how to be effective.

Identify What Brings You Happiness

Riches indicates absolutely nothing without joy. The fantastic information is you can do both. Why not do what you enjoy most while all at once bring in wide range?

Establish Goals for Financial Freedom

Establish some objectives for your organisation by making a note of the earnings you want to gain this coming year, in 5 years, and also 10 years from currently. Make sure to develop objectives for both the short-term and also long-term, and also compose a service strategy with the actions required to get to the objectives. Develop a spending plan for your brand-new endeavor to figure out investing for advertising and marketing, stock (if relevant), as well as regular operating costs.

Producing Wealth by Helping Others

You will certainly bring in riches as you assist others understand their desires. You can do this by locating out the troubles and also issues others might have in organisation or also in their individual lives, and also after that produce options for them. If you’re interested in wellness and also physical fitness, you can establish solutions or items to aid others lead a much healthier life.

Once you find your very own abilities as well as possibility, producing wide range is not so challenging. This excellent back entrance key is easy to recognize, however lots of people are so active treking along in their present work that they never ever make an initiative to much better themselves. Maintain a favorable frame of mind as you grab your objectives and also you’ll quickly be bring in wide range like never ever prior to!

If you’re interested in developing riches, there are some actions of prep work you do not desire to miss out on. While there is a wonderful back door key to producing wide range, the roadway to uncovering that secret varies from individual to individual. Pick very carefully whose life as well as which techniques of developing wide range you examine. Some individuals have actually produced riches via not-so-honest ways, as well as you’ll absolutely desire to remain satisfied as well as sincere while drawing in wide range in your life.

Producing riches is not so tough once you find your very own abilities and also possibility.

The post The Great Back Door Secret to Creating Wealth appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

The Great Back Door Secret to Creating Wealth

The Great Back Door Secret to Creating Wealth

There are some actions of prep work you do not desire to miss out on if you’re interested in producing riches. While there is a terrific back entrance key to producing riches, the roadway to finding that secret varies from one person to another. Allow’s check out some basic methods you can get going on that particular roadway as well as just how these actions relate to your day-to-day live.

Research concerning Attracting Wealth

This could appear evident, yet possibly among the very best methods to produce wide range is to research exactly how others have actually done it in the past. Pick meticulously whose life as well as which techniques of producing wide range you examine. Some individuals have actually developed riches with not-so-honest methods, as well as you’ll most definitely wish to remain satisfied as well as truthful while drawing in riches in your life.

Look for their “excellent back door trick” to bring in riches. Maybe they began going door to door as salespersons or begun as a staff and also functioned their means up to the setting of head of state or vice head of state of a huge firm. You can discover lots of publications composed by well-off males as well as ladies or go online to check out regarding just how to be effective.

Identify What Brings You Happiness

Riches indicates absolutely nothing without joy. The fantastic information is you can do both. Why not do what you enjoy most while all at once bring in wide range?

Establish Goals for Financial Freedom

Establish some objectives for your organisation by making a note of the earnings you want to gain this coming year, in 5 years, and also 10 years from currently. Make sure to develop objectives for both the short-term and also long-term, and also compose a service strategy with the actions required to get to the objectives. Develop a spending plan for your brand-new endeavor to figure out investing for advertising and marketing, stock (if relevant), as well as regular operating costs.

Producing Wealth by Helping Others

You will certainly bring in riches as you assist others understand their desires. You can do this by locating out the troubles and also issues others might have in organisation or also in their individual lives, and also after that produce options for them. If you’re interested in wellness and also physical fitness, you can establish solutions or items to aid others lead a much healthier life.

Once you find your very own abilities as well as possibility, producing wide range is not so challenging. This excellent back entrance key is easy to recognize, however lots of people are so active treking along in their present work that they never ever make an initiative to much better themselves. Maintain a favorable frame of mind as you grab your objectives and also you’ll quickly be bring in wide range like never ever prior to!

If you’re interested in developing riches, there are some actions of prep work you do not desire to miss out on. While there is a wonderful back door key to producing wide range, the roadway to uncovering that secret varies from individual to individual. Pick very carefully whose life as well as which techniques of developing wide range you examine. Some individuals have actually produced riches via not-so-honest ways, as well as you’ll absolutely desire to remain satisfied as well as sincere while drawing in wide range in your life.

Producing riches is not so tough once you find your very own abilities and also possibility.

The post The Great Back Door Secret to Creating Wealth appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

The Secret To Protecting Your Business Assets

The Secret To Protecting Your Business Assets

No matter the kind of company you carry out, there is a considerable danger of being filed a claim against in our litigious culture. Legal actions can vary from insurance claims of oversight to faulty items to disagreements with workers. Including is a way of defending against these prospective hazards.

Solitary Incorporation – Protecting Your Personal Assets

Including your organisation is a technique for producing a lawful wall surface in between your individual possessions as well as organisation. If a judgment is provided versus your company, the service possessions are as excellent as gone.

Dual Incorporation Strategy – Protect Your Business Assets

If you integrate your service, it is all well and also great that your individual possessions are not at threat. Simply integrating your company will certainly not secure these possessions since they are had by the company entity. Because an effective suit would certainly result in a judgment versus the service entity, all possessions of the service can be taken as component of the judgment.

As the name recommends, the dual consolidation approach entails the development of 2 organisation entities. The initial is your “at danger” service that engages with your customers or clients. The 2nd entity, a “holding company”, is after that developed to have the important properties of your organisation.

Lots of people understand that a company entity can be utilized to produce a safety guard for their individual possessions. Currently you can utilize this dual consolidation method to safeguard those properties as well if your service has high worth possessions.

Including your organisation is an approach for developing a lawful wall surface in between your individual possessions and also service. If a judgment is provided versus your company, the service properties are as excellent as gone. Just including your service will certainly not shield these properties since they are possessed by the company entity. Given that an effective suit would certainly result in a judgment versus the organisation entity, all possessions of the service can be taken as component of the judgment. The 2nd entity, a “holding company”, is after that developed to have the useful possessions of your service.

The post The Secret To Protecting Your Business Assets appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

The Secret To Protecting Your Business Assets

The Secret To Protecting Your Business Assets

No matter the kind of company you carry out, there is a considerable danger of being filed a claim against in our litigious culture. Legal actions can vary from insurance claims of oversight to faulty items to disagreements with workers. Including is a way of defending against these prospective hazards.

Solitary Incorporation – Protecting Your Personal Assets

Including your organisation is a technique for producing a lawful wall surface in between your individual possessions as well as organisation. If a judgment is provided versus your company, the service possessions are as excellent as gone.

Dual Incorporation Strategy – Protect Your Business Assets

If you integrate your service, it is all well and also great that your individual possessions are not at threat. Simply integrating your company will certainly not secure these possessions since they are had by the company entity. Because an effective suit would certainly result in a judgment versus the service entity, all possessions of the service can be taken as component of the judgment.

As the name recommends, the dual consolidation approach entails the development of 2 organisation entities. The initial is your “at danger” service that engages with your customers or clients. The 2nd entity, a “holding company”, is after that developed to have the important properties of your organisation.

Lots of people understand that a company entity can be utilized to produce a safety guard for their individual possessions. Currently you can utilize this dual consolidation method to safeguard those properties as well if your service has high worth possessions.

Including your organisation is an approach for developing a lawful wall surface in between your individual possessions and also service. If a judgment is provided versus your company, the service properties are as excellent as gone. Just including your service will certainly not shield these properties since they are possessed by the company entity. Given that an effective suit would certainly result in a judgment versus the organisation entity, all possessions of the service can be taken as component of the judgment. The 2nd entity, a “holding company”, is after that developed to have the useful possessions of your service.

The post The Secret To Protecting Your Business Assets appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

The Real Secret to My Social Media Success

The other day I was recording a podcast episode with my
co-host Eric Siu and he wanted to discuss something in particular.

He wanted to talk about how I got to 62,000 Instagram followers in a very short period of time and without spending any money on ads or marketing.

Eric is a great marketer as well, and when it comes to
social media, he spends much more time than me on it and he even has people at
his ad agency dedicated to helping him grow his personal brand online.

And of writing this post, he has 4,056 followers.

It’s not just with Instagram either, I beat him on all
platforms.

Heck, he even does something that I don’t do, which is smart… he continually pays for advice. For example, he had his team jump on an hour call with Gary Vaynerchuk’s social media team so they could learn from them and grow his brand faster.

So, what’s the secret to my success?

Well, before I get into it, let me first start off by saying I love Eric to death and the point of this post isn’t to pick on him or talk crap… more so, I have a point to make and you’ll see it in a bit below.

Is it the fundamentals?

Everyone talks about strategies to grow your social following… from going live and posting frequently or talking about the type of content you should post and what you shouldn’t do.

I could even tell you that you need to respond to every comment and build up a relationship with your followers, which will help you grow your following and brand.

And although all of this is true, I dare you to try the fundamentals or the strategies that every marketing guru talks about doing. If you do, I bet this will happen…

It will be a lot of work and, if you are lucky, in the next 30 days you may get 10% more followers.

Sure, some of you will get much more growth, but you’ll find
that you can’t always replicate it and it won’t be consistent.

So, what is it then?

Is it luck?

Luck is part of some people’s success, but not most. The problem with luck is it doesn’t teach you much and it isn’t easy to replicate.

The reality is, some people will just get lucky and have tons of traction.

In other words, luck isn’t the secret. But if you do want to get “luckier”, then you can always become an early adopter which helps a bit.

How early is early?

When you jump onto a social network when it’s new, it’s
easier to grow and become popular.

For example, I got to over 30,000 Twitter followers
extremely fast when Twitter first came out.

At that time, I wasn’t as well known… it happened because of
a few reasons:

  1. Social algorithms are favorable early on – algorithms are typically favorable and most people will see your content. There aren’t many restrictions, hence it’s easier to grow. After a social network becomes popular, algorithms tighten up.
  2. Algorithms are easier to game early on – when you are early, you can use a lot of hacks to grow faster. For example, on Twitter, I would just follow tons of people a day and unfollow anyone who didn’t follow me back.
  3. First movers’ advantage – social networks want more users, that’s what they need to succeed. In the early stages of any platform, they want to help you gain more of a following so you will keep using their platform.

But here is the thing: even though being an early adopter helps, it’s not the secret to my success.

Just look at Instagram, I am really late to the game. But I started growing fast just this year as that is when we really started.

If you can get in early, you should do so, assuming you have
the time to invest. For example, this is the time to get in on Tiktok.

When you get in early, there is always the chance that the social network may end up flopping. But if it does take off, you’ll be ahead of your competition.

So what did I do?

Here was the secret to my growth… and it still works today. Eric Siu is even doing it with me right now.

It’s piggybacking on brands that are already popular.

When I first started, no one knew who I was. And I’m not saying everyone knows who I am today… by no means do I have a large brand like Tony Robbins.

What I did early on in my career was piggyback off of other popular brands.

For example, I hit up Pete Cashmore from Mashable, Michael Arrington from TechCrunch, Adrianna Huffington from Huffington Post, and so many other popular sites like ReadWriteWeb, Business Insider, Gawker Media, and GigaOm to name just a few.

I know some of them don’t exist anymore, but back then they were extremely popular. Anyone who was in tech, and even some who weren’t, knew about each of those sites.

So, when I got started as a marketer, I hit up all of those sites and offered all of them free marketing in exchange for promoting my brand and adding “Marketing done by Neil Patel” or “Marketing done by Pronet”, which was my ad agency back then.

Just look at the image above. TechCrunch used to link to my site on every page of their site… forget rich anchor text, it really is all about branding.

The hardest part is, I had to email and message these
influencers dozens of times just to convince them to let me help them for free.
And a lot of them ignored me or didn’t accept my offer.

But of a few said yes.

Pete from Mashable was one of the first to say yes. Once his traffic and rankings skyrocketed, his competition hit me up. Especially TechCrunch.

What was funny, though, is that I was constantly emailing TechCrunch and didn’t hear back. 6 months from my first email, they eventually accepted my offer.

I made a deal with Michael Arrington at the time in which once I boosted his traffic, he would add a logo that I did marketing for him, which you saw above.

In addition to that, he would tell all of his venture capital friends what I did for him and share the results (so hopefully they would share it with their portfolio companies, which would help me make money) and write a blog post about me.

He didn’t end up writing the blog post, which is fine, but he
did the other two.

When he sent out emails to VCs showing a Google Analytics graph of his traffic growing at a rapid pace, I quickly got inundated with inquiries about my marketing services.

In addition to that, I was building up my brand… and my
social media following. I was gaining “social clout” because I was doing good
work for influencers.

One could argue that boosting traffic for someone like TechCrunch by 30% is worth millions and I should have charged for my services. Although I spent countless time doing free work, I wouldn’t trade it for any single dollar as it is what made me and helped build up my reputation.

And I didn’t stop there. Even today, I try to associate myself with other popular brands. Just like how I was lucky enough to work with Robert Herjavec, who has a popular TV show in the US along with Mark Cuban…

Here’s how many visitors I was getting for my name “Neil Patel” on a monthly basis before I started working with Robert.

And this is how many visitors I get for my name on a monthly
basis a few months after I worked with Robert.

That’s a 37.84% increase in a matter of months!

By piggybacking off of popular brands, it doesn’t just help my website traffic but also helps to grow my social media following as well.

Just like as you can see below with my Instagram growth…

Now it isn’t just me who can do this, anyone can.

How can you piggyback off of other brands?

Just like how I piggybacked off of brands like TechCrunch, Eric is doing something similar to me at the moment.

We have a podcast that generates over 1 million downloads a month.

Eric’s had a podcast for years, but the one he has with me has more than 10x the listeners. This has helped him grow his brand a lot over the last year.

Let’s just look at the data. According to Eric, due to the podcast, he has signed up 6 clients, which has generated 540,000 dollars in annual revenue.

Now when he goes to tech conferences, 3 to 4 people tend to come up to him and mention how they love Marketing School and his work. In addition to that, it has been easier for Eric to set up meetings (people respond back to him more now), and he is also getting advisory shares in companies due to his growing brand. And the best part is, he is getting more paid speaking gigs for up to $10,000 a pop because of the podcast.

The data shows it was a good move by Eric for partnering up with me. He pushed me to do a podcast years ago and I told him no because I was too lazy. He didn’t give up though. Eventually, he got me to say yes and flew to my house in Las Vegas to record our first episode.

He did all of the work and it has been a great mutual relationship as doing this podcast has also helped grow my brand at the same time.

Now you are probably thinking, why isn’t his follower count growing fast enough?

Well, he needs to do what he is doing with me with a few more influencers to really put fuel to the fire. Just like how I didn’t only piggyback off of TechCrunch… at one point the Gawker Media network was linking to me on every page of their sites, which was seen by over 100 million unique people per month.

That really gets your brand out there!

Another example is Brian Dean from Backlinko as he did something similar with me back in the day. Years ago I approached him to write a detailed guide on link building with him and he also created videos that were on my old marketing blog Quick Sprout, which helped him grow his brand.

I can’t take credit for “making” Eric or Brian successful. They would have done well without me… and in the grand scheme of things, I really didn’t do much for either of them.

It’s like saying TechCrunch made the Neil Patel brand. Of course, it helped, and helped a lot… but one partnership won’t make or break you.

And if I didn’t continually blog, create videos, speak at events, or do any of the other stuff that I did, the TechCrunch partnership wouldn’t have been as effective.

Eric and Brian would have grown their brand in other ways because their work stands for itself, hence they would have been successful on their own. I just helped provide a little boost, just like how TechCrunch provided me with a boost.

And once more people get to know you, you’ll naturally do
better on the social web.

For example, when Will Smith created his Instagram account, he didn’t have to buy ads or anything. Everyone just knows him already and that’s why his Instagram account blew up really quickly.

And you can do what Will Smith did on a smaller scale. Similar to what I did.

But don’t expect it overnight. Will Smith has been on television for over 20 years. It’s multiple shows, movies, and connections with other famous people that have really helped grow Will’s brand.

Of course, we won’t get on TV as Will has, but you can piggyback on other popular brands multiple times to create a similar (smaller) effect.

All you have to do is help these influencers out for free.

If you are a web designer, offer design services. If you are
a marketer, offer marketing services. If you are selling a product or service,
keep giving it away for free and maybe someone will talk about your company.

If you don’t have anything you can offer that has value, just look at whatever influencer you want to associate with, see where they may need help, learn that skill, and offer it for free.

It’s the easiest way to become popular on the social web.

Conclusion

That’s my secret to being popular on the social web.

It’s also how I built a decent size company… purely by
leveraging other popular brands in the early days.

You can do the same, but you have to be patient. Don’t expect it to happen overnight.

For example, Eric’s brand has been growing but we have been
doing a podcast together for over 2 years now.

Plus, he continually pushes on his own and doesn’t just rely
on leveraging other influencers.

Remember, nothing worthwhile happens overnight.

You have to be persistent with your emails, your direct messages, your text messages, and whatever else you can do to get a hold of these influencers. Most will ignore you but it is a numbers game and, eventually, you’ll be able to associate your brand with someone popular, which will grow your brand.

And last but not least: Don’t expect an influencer to make you successful. Sure, multiple influencers are better than one, but that’s not what I meant.

If Brian Dean from Backlinko wasn’t good at link building, creating content, SEO, and educating, he wouldn’t do well… no matter who he associated himself with. The same goes for Eric.

Your skills, your abilities, your product… whatever you are
trying to brand needs to stand on its own.

So, what do you think about my secret? Are you going to
copy it?

The post The Real Secret to My Social Media Success appeared first on Neil Patel.

What’s the Best Way to Build Business Credit? We Have the Secret!

Learn the Best Way to Build Business Credit We can show you the best way to build business credit! Get the kind of business funding that can take your business to new heights! The Best Way to Build Business Credit – But What’s Business Credit, Anyway? Small business credit is credit in a business’s name. … Continue reading What’s the Best Way to Build Business Credit? We Have the Secret!

What’s the Best Way to Build Business Credit? We Have the Secret!

Learn the Best Way to Build Business Credit

We can show you the best way to build business credit! Get the kind of business funding that can take your business to new heights!

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – But What’s Business Credit, Anyway?

Small business credit is credit in a business’s name. It doesn’t link to a business owner’s personal credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the sole employee of the small business.

Accordingly, a business owner’s business and individual credit scores can be very different.

The Benefits

Because business credit is distinct from consumer, it helps to secure a business owner’s personal assets, in the event of a lawsuit or business bankruptcy.

Also, with two separate credit scores, a business owner can get two different cards from the same merchant. This effectively doubles buying power.

Another benefit is that even start-ups can do this. Heading to a bank for a business loan can be a recipe for frustration. But building company credit, when done the right way, is a plan for success.

Individual credit scores rely on payments but also various other factors like credit usage percentages.

But for company credit, the scores actually just hinge on whether a company pays its debts on a timely basis.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – The Process

Building business credit is a process, and it does not occur automatically. A business will need to actively work to build company credit.

Nonetheless, it can be done easily and quickly, and it is much speedier than building consumer credit scores.

Merchants are a big aspect of this process.

Undertaking the steps out of order will lead to repetitive rejections. Nobody can start at the top with business credit. For example, you can’t start with retail or cash credit from your bank. If you do, you’ll get a denial 100% of the time.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – Enhancing Company Fundability

A company must be fundable to credit issuers and vendors.

Therefore, a company will need a professional-looking web site and email address. And it needs to have site hosting bought from a vendor like GoDaddy.

Also, business telephone and fax numbers must have a listing on ListYourself.net.

Also, the business telephone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or comparable).

A business will also need a bank account dedicated strictly to it, and it needs to have all of the licenses essential for operation.

Licenses

These licenses all have to be in the exact, appropriate name of the company. And they need to have the same business address and telephone numbers.

So bear in mind, that this means not just state licenses, but possibly also city licenses.

Learn more here and get started toward establishing small business credit.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – Working with the IRS

Visit the IRS website and get an EIN for the small business. They’re totally free. Select a business entity such as corporation, LLC, etc.

A company can begin as a sole proprietor. But they will more than likely wish to change to a type of corporation or an LLC.

This is in order to limit risk. And it will optimize tax benefits.

A business entity will matter when it pertains to taxes and liability in case of litigation. A sole proprietorship means the owner is it when it comes to liability and tax obligations. No one else is responsible.

Sole Proprietors Take Note

If you operate a business as a sole proprietor, then at the very least be sure to file for a DBA. This is ‘doing business as’ status.

If you do not, then your personal name is the same as the company name. Hence, you can wind up being personally accountable for all small business debts.

In addition, according to the IRS, by having this arrangement there is a 1 in 7 possibility of an IRS audit. There is a 1 in 50 possibility for corporations! Avoid confusion and significantly reduce the chances of an Internal Revenue Service audit as well.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – Starting Off the Business Credit Reporting Process

Begin at the D&B website and obtain a cost-free D-U-N-S number. A D-U-N-S number is how D&B gets a small business into their system, to produce a PAYDEX score. If there is no D-U-N-S number, then there is no record and no PAYDEX score.

Once in D&B’s system, search Equifax and Experian’s web sites for the business. You can do this at www.creditsuite.com/reports. If there is a record with them, check it for correctness and completeness. If there are no records with them, go to the next step in the process.

By doing this, Experian and Equifax will have something to report on.

Vendor Credit Tier

First you should build trade lines that report. This is also known as the vendor credit tier. Then you’ll have an established credit profile, and you’ll get a business credit score.

And with an established business credit profile and score you can begin to obtain credit in the retail and cash credit tiers.

These kinds of accounts tend to be for the things bought all the time, like marketing materials, shipping boxes, outdoor work wear, ink and toner, and office furniture.

But first off, what is trade credit? These trade lines are credit issuers who will give you starter credit when you have none now. Terms are often Net 30, versus revolving.

Hence, if you get approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use all of it, you need to pay that money back in a set term, like within 30 days on a Net 30 account.

Details

Net 30 accounts have to be paid in full within 30 days. 60 accounts need to be paid in full within 60 days. In comparison with revolving accounts, you have a set time when you have to pay back what you borrowed or the credit you made use of.

To begin your business credit profile the proper way, you should get approval for vendor accounts that report to the business credit reporting agencies. When that’s done, you can then make use of the credit.

Then pay back what you used, and the account is on report to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.

Best Way to Establish Company Credit Suite

Vendor Credit Tier – It Helps

Not every vendor can help in the same way true starter credit can. These are vendors that will grant an approval with very little effort. You also need them to be reporting to one or more of the big three CRAs: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.

You want 5 to 8 of these to move onto the next step, which is the retail credit tier. But you may have to apply more than once to these vendors. So, this is to verify you are dependable and will pay punctually. Here are some stellar choices from us: https://www.creditsuite.com/blog/5-vendor-accounts-that-build-your-business-credit/

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – Accounts That Do Not Report

Non-Reporting Trade Accounts can also be helpful. While you do want trade accounts to report to a minimum of one of the CRAs, a trade account which does not report can yet be of some worth.

You can always ask non-reporting accounts for trade references. And also credit accounts of any sort will help you to better even out business expenditures, thereby making budgeting less complicated. These are companies like PayPal Credit, T-Mobile, and Best Buy.

Retail Credit Tier

Once there are 5 to 8 or more vendor trade accounts reporting to at least one of the CRAs, then move to the retail credit tier. These are service providers like Office Depot and Staples.

Just use your SSN and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, use the small business’s EIN on these credit applications.

One good example is Lowe’s. They report to D&B, Equifax and Business Experian. They need to see a D-U-N-S and a PAYDEX score of 78 or higher.

Fleet Credit Tier

Are there 8 to 10 accounts reporting? Then move to the fleet credit tier. These are companies such as BP and Conoco. Use this credit to purchase fuel, and to fix, and maintain vehicles. Only use your SSN and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, make sure to apply using the business’s EIN.

One such example is Shell. They report to D&B and Business Experian. They want to see a PAYDEX Score of 78 or better and a 411 business phone listing.

Shell might say they want a specific amount of time in business or revenue. But if you already have enough vendor accounts, that won’t be necessary. And you can still get approval.

Learn more here and get started toward establishing small business credit.

Cash Credit Tier

Have you been responsibly handling the credit you’ve up to this point? Then move to the cash credit tier. These are businesses such as Visa and MasterCard. Just use your SSN and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, use your EIN instead.

One example is the Fuelman MasterCard. They report to D&B and Equifax Business. They want to see a PAYDEX Score of 78 or higher. And they also want you to have 10 trade lines reporting on your D&B report.

Plus, they want to see a $10,000 high credit limit reporting on your D&B report (other account reporting).

Additionally, they want you to have an established company.

These are businesses such as Walmart and Dell, and also Home Depot, BP, and Racetrac. These are normally MasterCard credit cards. If you have 14 trade accounts reporting, then these are doable.

Learn more here and get started toward establishing small business credit.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit. Make certain it is being reported and deal with any inaccuracies ASAP. Get in the habit of taking a look at credit reports and digging into the specifics, and not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you at the CRAs. See: www.creditsuite.com/monitoring.

At Equifax, you can monitor your account at: www.equifax.com/business/business-credit-monitor-small-business. Equifax costs about $19.99.

Update Your Data

Update the data if there are mistakes or the data is incomplete. At D&B, you can do this at: https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm. For Experian, go here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp. So for Equifax, go here: www.equifax.com/business/small-business.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – Fix Your Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to challenge any inaccuracies in your records. Mistakes in your credit report(s) can be taken care of. But the CRAs normally want you to dispute in a particular way.

Get your company’s PAYDEX report at: www.dnb.com/about-us/our-data.html. Get your company’s Experian report at: www.businesscreditfacts.com/pdp.aspx?pg=SearchForm. And get your Equifax business credit report at: www.equifax.com/business/credit-information.

Disputes

Disputing credit report inaccuracies generally means you mail a paper letter with duplicates of any proof of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never mail the original copies. Always send copies and keep the original copies.

Fixing credit report inaccuracies also means you precisely itemize any charges you dispute. Make your dispute letter as clear as possible. Be specific about the concerns with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you mailed in your dispute.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – A Word about Building Business Credit

Always use credit smartly! Don’t borrow more than what you can pay off. Monitor balances and deadlines for payments. Paying promptly and in full will do more to raise business credit scores than nearly anything else.

Building company credit pays. Good business credit scores help a small business get loans. Your credit issuer knows the small business can pay its financial obligations. They recognize the small business is bona fide.

The business’s EIN links to high scores and lenders won’t feel the need to ask for a personal guarantee.

The Best Way to Build Business Credit – Takeaways

Business credit is an asset which can help your company for many years to come. Learn more here and get started toward growing small business credit.

 

The post What’s the Best Way to Build Business Credit? We Have the Secret! appeared first on Credit Suite.

The Infomercial Secret Of The “Unique Mechanism”

Quick Navigation

So What Is The “Unique Mechanism”?
How The “Unique Mechanism” Works…
5 Real-World Examples Of “Unique Mechanisms”
3 Types Of “Unique Mechanism” You Can Use…

In saturated and competitive markets, detailing your product’s “Unique Mechanism” is essential.

And that’s why it’s become one of my go-to strategies in almost every funnel I set-up.

See: The “Unique Mechanism” is THE thing in your marketing that gives your prospects hope that this time, with your offer, things will be different for them. That… no matter how many different things they may have tried in the past… this time… with your offer… they will finally get the results they’re after. 

So What Is The “Unique Mechanism”?

It’s the part, piece, component, process or aspect of your product or service that delivers the results. It’s the thing that makes your product or service different in HOW it fulfills on your promise. 

You see: In saturated and competitive markets, there’s a good chance the most compelling promise you can make to prospects has already been presented to them by one or more competitors. 

Making the same promise, obviously, will only get your marketing message lost in the noise of every other marketing campaign.

And simply enlarging the promise — promising even more or bigger, faster results — immediately triggers skepticism and doubt within prospects. Especially prospects at the higher levels of “marketplace sophistication”.

How The “Unique Mechanism” Works…

Presenting a “Unique Mechanism”, on the other hand, allows you to present the most compelling promise to prospects — even if it’s already being presented by competitors — and gives you something unique to hang that promise on.

In other words, when you build your marketing message and primary promise around your product’s “Unique Mechanism”, you’re able to excite prospects about the results you’re promising by showing them how you deliver those results in a different and unique way from anything they’ve tried before. 

And like I said, doing that gives your prospects newfound hope in your product’s ability to deliver the results they’re after. No matter how many times they’ve been let down in the past.

And that’s why the “Unique Mechanism” is used over and over in expensive infomercials. Because when money is on the line, demonstrating a “Unique Mechanism” is one of the most effective tools in your marketing toolbox.

Below you’ll find 5 real-world infomercial examples of how a “Unique Mechanism” is presented. 

NOTE: Each video will play right at the point when the “Unique Mechanism” is presented in the video. Feel free to rewind each video if you want to watch the entire infomercial. 

5 Real-World Examples Of “Unique Mechanisms”

“…the secret is the small recessed blades that…”

“…the newest technology in non-stick cookware made with ceramic and super-strong titanium…”

“Here’s the secret…”

“Grill Daddy’s patented steam-clean technology melts away…”

“The secret is the accordion design that…”

See how that works?

In every infomercial there was a promise of benefit and results. And they explained how that promise was fulfilled and delivered by a “Unique Mechanism” — a piece, part, component or aspect of their product that is unique and proprietary.

3 Types Of “Unique Mechanisms” You Can Use…

Now: Depending on your product or service, there are 3 different types of “Unique Mechanisms” you can use in your marketing:

  • The Existing Mechanism
  • The Unspoken Mechanism
  • The Transubstantiated Mechanism

Which one you use is dependent on a couple of factors: how your product or service is designed, what competitors are and are not saying about their own offers, and the “marketplace sophistication level” of your prospects. 

Regardless, EVERY product or service… no matter the price-point, niche, or actual uniqueness… can and should be presented with a “Unique Mechanism”. 

It’s THE thing that can take an ordinary funnel… and make it a grand-slam winner for you. 

Next Step…

If you’d like to learn more about each of these 3 different “Unique Mechanism” types… when to use each, how to create them, and how and when to present them in your marketing funnel, go here.

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