The Advantage of Email Marketing, Featuring Nathan Barry of ConvertKit

Darrell Vesterfelt on March 30, 2020

ConvertKit founder and CEO, Nathan Barry, returned to the podcast this week and joined host Darrell Vesterfelt to talk about how he got his start, the competitive advantage of email marketing, and the future of email.

Nathan Barry founded his company to help founders, creators, and digital marketers serve their audiences better with email … and earn a living doing it.

ConvertKit is an “email marketing company for creators” that offers its users powerful segmentation and automation tools without a lot of resources to implement.

In this week’s episode Darrell and Nathan dig into email marketing from beginner to advanced, including:

  • Nathan’s early views on digital marketing and why his core values haven’t changed
  • How to build your audience (the right way)
  • Why “Teach everything you know,” and “Work in public,” are still Nathan’s mottos
  • The right time to build a product or sell something to your email list
  • Why email is still the central hub for building your business
  • And best practices for cleaning your list

The Show Notes

How to Write Content That Resonates

Darrell Vesterfelt on March 15, 2020

Copyblogger’s Editor-in-Chief, Stefanie Flaxman, joined host Darrell Vesterfelt this week to talk about translating the traffic that comes to your website and how to create compelling content to keep them there.

Stef is a professional copywriter and editorial director who manages the content calendar for Copyblogger.com, where she helps publish one of “… the most popular [and influential] content marketing and writing blog[s]…,” for a very large audience of online writers and entrepreneurs.

In this week’s conversation, Darrell and Stefanie dig into her mission to help create content that persuades, converts, and helps fellow online marketers stand out from the competition.

In this episode, Darrell and Stefanie talked about:

  • How to get started creating compelling content that resonates with your audience
  • Why understanding your customer is the foundation for attracting and keeping their attention
  • How to return to a younger version of yourself to build empathy
  • The secrets for beating content writer’s block and lifting your content to the next level
  • Why your writing needs to be clear, detailed, and written with a specific person in mind
  • The counterintuitive methods for writing hyper-specific content
  • And much more!

The Show Notes

How to Conquer Your Fear of Selling, with Leah Neaderthal

Darrell Vesterfelt on March 9, 2020

The founder of Smart Gets Paid and sales coach for women entrepreneurs, Leah Neaderthal, joined host Darrell Vesterfelt this week to talk about strategies to “… master business development and land higher-paying consulting clients.”

In this week’s conversation, Darrell and Leah dig into her unique methodology, the how of selling, and untangling the myths of doing effective client work.

In this episode, Darrell and Leah talked about:

  • How Leah overcame introversion and her fears of selling
  • The “signed” methodology she discovered from reading 65 books related to the sales process
  • Why you need to understand the fundamentals of your sales pipeline
  • How to talk about what you do as a value proposition
  • Why asking smarter questions is at the heart of closing
  • The difference between good clients and bad clients
  • Why recognizing commitment bias can save you time and money
  • And much more!

The Show Notes

How to Build Remarkable Products to Grow Your Business, with Ramit Sethi

Tim Stoddart on March 2, 2020

This week on The Copyblogger Podcast, Tim Stoddart had the opportunity to speak with entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and founder of iwillteachyoutoberich.com, Ramit Sethi.

In this week’s conversation, Tim and Ramit dig into tricks for great copywriting, going for “big wins” to move the needle in your life and business, and product development that serves your audience better.

In this episode, Tim and Ramit talked about:

  • How Ramit defines a “rich life” and the origins of the concept of “big wins”
  • $3 questions vs. $30,000 questions
  • The myth of shrinking attention spans and the value of long-form copy
  • Why you need to challenge your own assumptions about the best channels for your business
  • Suggestions on how to get started
  • And much more!

The Show Notes

What You Should Talk about on Your Podcast, with Tara McMullin

Darrell Vesterfelt on February 17, 2020

Welcome back to The Copyblogger Podcast, and this week Darrell Vesterfelt speaks with podcasting expert Tara McMullin about the ins and outs of podcast production for content marketers.

In this week’s conversation, Darrell and Tara dive into what you should be talking about on your podcast, and how you can use content strategy to drive business growth.

In this episode, Darrell and Tara talked about:

  • How Tara got into podcasting
  • The importance of pivoting for podcasters
  • How to decide what content resonates most with your audience
  • Why you need to start your podcast content strategy with the right questions
  • How to use your value proposition to determine the premise of your show
  • Why the positioning of your podcast is so critical to discovery
  • Suggestions to overcome analysis paralysis
  • And much, much more!

The Show Notes

How to Win at Search in 2020

Darrell Vesterfelt on February 9, 2020

This week, Copyblogger partners Darrell Vesterfelt and Tim Stoddart returned to talk about the importance and opportunities of SEO for today’s content marketers.

In this conversation, Darrell and Tim get back-to-basics to discuss the power behind search for businesses.

In this episode, Darrell and Tim talked about:

  • Why it’s a mistake to ignore the basics of SEO
  • The importance of establishing yourself as an authority
  • How to set yourself apart from your competition through positioning
  • Tools that any good SEO needs to utilize
  • 3 fundamental things you can do to make Google love your website
  • Commonly undervalued strategies for building your backlink profile
  • Keys to proper site and content structure for optimal SEO
  • Location-based search and Google My Business for beginners
  • And a teaser for a free SEO workshop by Copyblogger

The Show Notes

Tools Mentioned:

How to Turn Pro as a Freelance Writer

Darrell Vesterfelt on February 3, 2020

Darrell had the opportunity to interview guest Ed Gandia — from High-Income Business Writing — on what it takes to go pro as a freelancer.

In this conversation, Ed talks about the power of copywriting, clear goals, pain points and strategies for freelancers, and why he created a coaching business to “help writers … earn more in less time doing work they love for better clients.”

In this episode, Darrell and Ed talked about:

  • How Ed transitioned to a full-time freelance copywriter (with no writing background)
  • The moment he narrowed down to his target market and the rapid change that followed
  • What your prospects really want to know about you
  • Short-term vs long-term mindset, and building a freelance career that you love
  • Why “hope” is not a professional strategy
  • Proven strategies for building recurring income and clients
  • Why luck is a myth, and why you should never trade your time for money
  • And much more …

The Show Notes

Marketing Segmentation and Personalization with Brennan Dunn of RightMessage

Darrell Vesterfelt on January 27, 2020

Darrell interviews Brennan Dunn, the founder of the popular online course Double Your Freelancing Rate, and the software RightMessage.

In this conversation, Brennan talks about how we naturally use segmentation and personalization in our everyday lives, and how we can use simple tools to create a better connection and build trust with our audience.

In this episode, Darrell and Brennan talked about:

  • How Brennan got his start as an online entrepreneur
  • Why you may not be doing as much segmentation and personalization as you need to be
  • How vertical and horizontal tweaks to your funnel can help you build a better relationship with your list
  • Why RightMessage is like MadLibs for your email marketing
  • The staggering difference personalized content can make for your brand
  • Tips and tricks on how and where to get started
  • Why personalization is so much more than email
  • And more …

The Show Notes

Other Tools We Talked About:

Podcasting Still Matters, with Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income

Darrell Vesterfelt on January 20, 2020

In this episode, Darrell talks with Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income about why it’s not too late to start a podcast, and why it’s one of his favorite content marketing platforms.

These days it seems like everyone has a podcast, but there are some pretty staggering stats that show podcasting is just as viable for connecting with an audience as it ever has been.

In this episode, Darrell and Pat talked about:

  • How Pat got his start in podcasting, and why
  • Why its not too late to start a podcast
  • The reason you don’t need to break the bank or get in the weeds launching your show
  • Why podcast production gets easier by the minute
  • The power of storytelling and teaching in content production
  • How Pat’s podcast strategy has changed over the years and the 20% rule he uses
  • An examination of Super Fans and their importance for your business
  • And a defense of self-publishing

The Show Notes

The New Look Copyblogger in 2020

Darrell Vesterfelt on January 13, 2020

Copyblogger partners Darrell Vesterfelt and Tim Stoddart use this episode to talk more specifically about the new content marketing plan for 2020.

Darrell and Tim also also share strategies from behind the scenes.

In this episode, Darrell and Tim talked about:

  • How Copyblogger is restructuring its content and how
  • Why traditional content marketing distribution is outdated
  • The renewed importance of “series-style” content
  • Why user experience and serving your audience is still priority #1
  • Tips, tricks, and the technical side of strategic SEO
  • How a couple of dynamite pieces of content can completely change your inbound traffic
  • Why 90% of your content will never be seen (and how to change that)
  • Successful examples of modern content strategy, and a teaser for the new Copyblogger member opportunity

The Show Notes