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We're LIVE NOW with internet marketing legend
@Neil Patel
—he's quite the character if you don't know him. Today's your chance to learn some of his secrets about entrepreneurship, marketing and brand building. Let's explore...
Conversation Summary
Neil Patel Convo Summary
Kissmetrics: -- we focus on revenue, profit, churn, conversion rates....
Link bulding tips – Link Blending: you want people to also link to authority sites on the same topic
Metrics for Startups: -- 3 that I like are revenue, life time value of a customer, and churn
Neil on optimizing your conversions: it's all about tracking your funnel first and seeing where are falling out. Then it is going after the biggest drop off and a/b testing for improvements
Neil talks about Building a Personal Brand:
Kissmetrics: -- we focus on revenue, profit, churn, conversion rates....
Link bulding tips – Link Blending: you want people to also link to authority sites on the same topic
Metrics for Startups: -- 3 that I like are revenue, life time value of a customer, and churn
Neil on optimizing your conversions: it's all about tracking your funnel first and seeing where are falling out. Then it is going after the biggest drop off and a/b testing for improvements
Neil talks about Building a Personal Brand:
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You are in Seattle now correct? What's going on up there?
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What's the best way / how do you go about launching your new product or start-up?
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I am a big believer in creating a land page, collecting emails and then blasting out to them when you launch
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I am from orange county originally and then I moved to Seattle a few years ago to get away from California's state income tax.
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Please do me a favor and RT this link so we can fill this conversation up with cool people:
http://twitter.c...63095554 -
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Thanks for the response! How do you actually gather traffic to your launch page though? Is that blogging..or any other tricks that one can employ?
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What do you think about Boulder CO or KC? I'm thinking of moving to one but can't really decide haha
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I'm looking at moving out of CA in the near future too.
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@Neil Patel (1) What do you actually do? (2) What’s a day in the life of Neil Patel look like?.. jk i read ur blog
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@Brian Norgard Chuck Norris does not go hunting, for hunting implies the possibility of failure.
Chuck Norris goes killing. -
@Neil Patel lol i totally didn't know you ran kissmetrics - i talked to hiten about getting our company(Break.com) - now I know :)
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I think CO or KC are both great places. Pick what you feel is right for you.
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This guy is a Baddass, that's why his name is B.A.
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@Neil Patel We'd love to learn more about your company. BTW @Hiten Shah has been super helpful to me.
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This reminds me of that time on GEnie where I interviewed the founder of Kesmai in a room full of fans and users at Macworld. The emoticons GOT CRAAAAAAZY.
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@Neil Patel what do you think about marketing to enterprise software end-users as opposed to decision-making execs?
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Thing are going well with KISSmetrics. We are just ramping up our sales team these days.
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@Neil Patel Your presence has caused my first participation on Namesake :) Hope all is well! Now how about you share one of your wonderful riddles?
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KISSmetrics focuses on helping companies increase their life time value of a customer. So instead of focusing on pageviews, we focus on revenue, profit, churn, conversion rates....
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@Neil Patel *waves* Dont have time to stay 4 this but wanted to say hey to neil : ) VIA @Mistydenson
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@Neil Patel KISSMetrics is an awesome product, the intersection of my customers who use it directly relates to their quarterly business outcome and strength.
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@Andrew Skotzko @Neil Patel does not optimize search, for that implies the possibility of not ranking. @Neil Patel wins search engines.
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Four men want to cross a bridge. However, the bridge is weak and they can only cross it two at a time. There is an additional complication: It is nighttime and they cannot cross the bridge in the darkness. Fortunately they have a single flashlight with them. Clearly, only two men at a time can cross the bridge so one of them will have to return with the flashlight to take the other across and so on. The first man can cross the bridge in 1 minute, the second one in 2 minutes, the third one in 5 minutes and the fourth one in 10 minutes. When two people travel together they can only go as fast as the slowest person. For example, if the person traveling at 1 minute travels with the person traveling at 10 minutes then they will get across in 10 minutes.
What is the shortest time that all of them can get across? -
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KISS is hiring. we are looking for more sales reps and engineers
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@Neil Patel Okay, everyone in here knows you are one of the most prolific Internet marketers in the world. Please tell us one thing NONE of us understand. Wow me, dude. I know you've got it in you.
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I think India is going to be a power house, it will just take a few more years. A lot of good IT people come out of India
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Link blending is something most people don't know about when it comes to SEO
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@Neil Patel What are a few of KiSS advantages Google Analytics? Do they live in harmony or does KISS eliminate the need.
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@Neil Patel
First, C and D cross together and C returns (4 minutes consumed).
Second, A and B cross together and D returns (11 minutes consumed).
Third, C and D cross together (2 minutes consumed). -
KISS focuses on LTV of a customer, churn, revenue... that's the big difference (I love GA)
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So when you get other websites to link to you or you buy links (not saying I support buying links) you want people to also link to authority sites on the same topic
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so if I were to build a link to my site that sells viagra, i would also throw in a link to a NY Times article on Viagra and link to harvard that breaks down how the medicine is made
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@Neil Patel Makes sense - I often see link blending with online poker sites, casinos, we have done this for years - just didn't know the term...
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so search engines would see that those other 2 sites are related to yours and because they rank high for viagra, you would start ranking higher as well.
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( @Dharmesh Ba Fun random fact: I once ended up sitting next to @Neil Patel 's mom on a flight back from India to LA)
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@Neil Patel So search engines see "ESPN.COM" and "FIFA WORLD CUP" but also sportsbook.com gamblnig soccer links are in there...
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@Neil Patel You should also mention the position of your link on the page. YOUR link should be first, am I right?
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Your link doesn't have to be first, it just has to be in the mix.
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I don't have any examples of link blending that I can share. ;-)
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If I can only choose 3 metrics to focus on for an early-stage content site or social site, what should they be?
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First link will take more juice, from my understanding of things but I'm sure any position is helpful
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Hi Neil,good luck with so many questions:)
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Jelena, so glad you are in here. I thought I was the only girl.
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3 metrics that I like are revenue, life time value of a customer, and churn
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@Christine McCarthy On the internet, no one is a girl. At least thats what my straight male friends tell me.
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This convo feels like the circus and I love it.
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everyone is a girl when it comes to marketing. ;-)
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@Neil Patel This "link blending" you speak of needs audio or video are there any "Expressions Media" examples concerning this topic you cloud post in the stream cc: @Brian Norgard
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Widget link building still works, you just have to watch out for rich anchor text links.
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I don't know of any videos on it... it just helps increase rankings a lot faster.
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@Brian Norgard in a cage match between @Neil Patel , @Matt Cutts , and an angry polar bear, who would win?
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@Neil Patel Have you jumped into the new schema.org stuff yet? Any value there or should we wait to see how it plays out first?
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Matt Cutts would always win. I don't buy links these days... I just play by the book. :)
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Sean, I haven't jumped into it yet as I don't think it will affect rankings much.
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From @Sean Percival , "Have you jumped into the new schema.org stuff yet? Any value there or should we wait to see how it plays out first?"
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@Neil Patel thank you, hanging out on Namesake your find i'm a video whore. So I like to get my explanations that way too. Call me Lazy!
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@Sean Percival HTML 5 / schema.org is not simple to implement the value/implementation is not worth it (yet) lots more low-hanging fruit. In 1-2 years microdata/Schema.org will be key. IMO of course.
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Brent Csutorus when it comes to social media? (probably spelt his name wrong)
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What % of link buying do you think get's discovered?
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I love @Matt Cutts videos on you tube because they disprove half the buullshit the "$97 buy my book SEO assholes" pawn off as Google Secrets!
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@Shawn Doc Boyd Matt needs to be filtered, he talks in code and discourages potentially effective methods that google hates.
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@Neil Patel talk about conversion funnel optimization, your example at lunch the other day with a certain stock site is a good one.
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I am, I haven't done a deal in a few months though. I think I am in 20 to 30 deals...
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@Anthony Brunetti But people can do that stuff with a little reading not a $97 Book and a mile long Sales Page
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Neil, it is all about buying virtual stock in your favorite social media personalities, can be used for companies too
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@Dan Gould Hmmm, Matt would discourage a lot of tactics I find incredibly effective, but I'd have to watch a video to do a proper citation.
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Merrick, it's all about tracking your funnel first and seeing where are falling out. Then it is going after the biggest drop off and a/b testing for improvements.
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@Neil Patel you wrote the sickest article about closing big deals - i used that advice and got some major pubs like AOL to work with me! thanks bro! http://quickspro...ig-deals
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but before i a/b test i like surveying to figure out why people are happy or aren't and then modify copy to increase conversions instead of just focusing on design.
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Conversation means everything, you can get enough informations
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@Neil Patel that's what I thought was brilliant, surveying the happy customers and double downing on there happy points as copy to a/b btest
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I think there is a bubble, valuations are too high. money is being thrown around too freely.
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What is a good number of people for a beta test of a new site?
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There is not specific number of beta testers... i usually go for at least a few hundred active members.
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@Neil Patel What were your original defining skills when starting up? Forgive me for not knowing your history very well.
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I was in San Diego for a month or two then I moved back to Seattle
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@Brian Norgard @Neil Patel I think entrepreneurship is a bad word sort of because it implies a skillset or trait needed before starting something. Truth is any body can start something. So it's a bad label to me as it scarse some folks with great ideas away with "I don't have xxxxx to be an entrepreneur"
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San Diego is a great city, it just isn't for me.
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I welcome you on behalf of the city move here its more fun
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Launchrock is great and I know a few people who use it.
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@Neil Patel What do you think has changed in StartUps nowadays and a couple of years back in your opinion? Because it seems to me that few years back companies took quite some time to launch a product and weren't always given money by big investors, where nowadays pretty much any StartUp can get some capital to get started even if the final product isn't clear.
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What are you reccomendations for Project too large for Kickstarter?
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@Abhimanyu Patel << Great question, "What do you think has changed in StartUps nowadays and a couple of years back in your opinion? "
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Any new startups that you know of coming in the fitness space?
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I think startups can be launched more easily and cheaply compared to a few years ago. With programs like YC or TechStars and services like Bizspark and AWS things have become much easier. Same with things like FOunder Dating.
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I am not sure Ian. I don't know too much about fitness. :/
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Yes, I do think it is better Brian. A LOT BETTER.
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@Neil Patel Are you building most on rails? I feel like it should be mentioned in terms of start-up speed.
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Let's face it—you are Internet famous. Was that an explicit goal of yours?
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Anthony, not really. it is a mixture of languages
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@Brian Norgard we need to get @Neil Patel on Namesake Live tonight to cover some of this on the show!
/me dreaming of the fun it would be :) -
As far as personal brand you should do the following if you want to build it up.
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@Neil Patel reducing friction is almost always helpful but I can think of times where it lowers the bar in ways that are destructive to creating long term value.
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1. Start a blog and provide a ton of free advice. Go for quality advice and don't just crank out blog posts for the sake of it.
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2. Respond to every email you get, no matter how silly or dumb it maybe.
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4. Accept any interview or speaking opportunity you can get. It all helps.
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Ya I would say study Neil's blog closely. Most of his great techniques are right there for all to see.
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5. Help people out for free because you want to. Don't expect anything in return... in the future, good things will happen to you.
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#3 is the hardes but very important. ADDED: ask question ini your post that invoke response
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Yep Shawn, asking for a response works really well.
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@Neil Patel If you are building a personal brand does the blog need to be focused on a particular subject?
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I have an issue with #3 ... what about crazy inquiries that will *never* yield fruit? I get them all the time and I am never sure what to do.
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re. #5 Neil did just that to me one day. Called me up out of the blue and gave me a metric ton of tips about my blog and brand. I just remember him saying something like, "Sean you're good but I want you to be great". I mean who does that?
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Steve, the blog should be focused on something you love and are passionate about. Picking a niche does help separate yourself.
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Hopefully it helped Sean. You are a great marketer as well. Great post on TechCrunch!
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@Neil Patel Can you make it for the Live Call tonight about 7PM Seatown time? We do a live phone in podcast called "Namesake Live" I would love to have you on the show http://bit.ly/nslive
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I'm with Brian, the signal to Noise on responses is crazy for me....must learn to type faster I guess.
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Howdy Neal! Q: How does a viral thing gain its initial momentum? What should be the marketing strategy?
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@Neil Patel Thanks Neil, If you have multiple passions do you recommend multiple blogs? Or stick to one?
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My favorite startups are ones like hubspot, ties.com, and other non-sexy companies. they print a ton of cash but most people never talk about them compared to the twitters or foursquares of the world.
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@Brian Norgard You really need to stop with the Pats references. I'm starting to hate @Neil Patel through no fault of his own just because I am associating cheaters and Pats fans.
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@Ashish Kumar << Let's talk about viral tricks. What's the key to creating and sustaining a fantastic loop?
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@Steve De Long you'll realize thru your journey to boil it down to one niche bcuz its too hare to keep up w/ multiple subjects and multiple blogs. And you'll realize specifying in a niche your good at can be a winner in terms of monetary gain
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I wish I could tonight Shawn, but I have a meeting with one of my investors at 7pm :(
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Agreed, comparing Neil to Tom Brady is saying he's a whiny cry baby that cheats when it suits him.
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LOL Michael, I do cheat sometimes. If you don't get caught it isn't cheating. ;-)
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I dont use Timely, although i have heard great things about it. I have someone who helps me with Twitter and Facebook.
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I love the Live convos first thing in the morning, it's like keyboard cardio. Thanks @Brian Norgard @Neil Patel
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Invite your friends my new friends. I would really appreciate it.
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@Neil Patel How do I create a sustainable loop for a viral thing? More importantly how to push it to gain its initial momentum?
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I don't have enough time to manage my Twitter and Facebook profiles, so someone helps me out. It is still me replying and posting, but sometimes people give me ideas on what to post.
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This is awesome but sadly I've already used up a significant portion of my work time. Thanks @Neil Patel
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@Christine McCarthy Would you still be as engaging on a small keyboard? Would you write in-depth comments on 4 inches? just a question
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What is the biggest mistake one can make via social media?
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@Neil Patel I think it may help some people on here to discuss how to start you business on a bootstrap with no Angel or investors, thoughts?
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@Neil Patel director of seo just dropped by my desk and saw this convo - he's interested in KISSmetrics now :)
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@Shawn Doc Boyd being that I am at work...it would still be nice to stay in the convo loop even if I coudn't be as engaging.
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@ Neil Patel Any thoughts on current web branding trends?
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I think social media is going to play a big role in branding. You don't need to do things like blog as much because of the Twitters and Facebooks of the world.
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If you can create huge social media profiles for yourself or company, you can create a big brand.
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@Christine McCarthy good answer, I have been wondering about the whole iOS versions of NMSK. I love it soo much but would not wanna type a lot in that screen. I do have an iPad 2 and a KB Case so that works for me even now.
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I think Zaarly is going to explode. They have been kicking butt and I can see how it can be the next eBay/Craigslist.
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I wish I could have been an angel investor in Zaarly
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What is the best way to approach angel investors?
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someone needs to tell Zaarly to update their <title> tags - no description or keywords!
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@Neil Patel We had an awesome convo (like this one) with @Bo Fishback and the Zaarly crew, check it out here: http://namesake....-join-us
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I would get to know angels. They tend to invest in people more than ideas.
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Jelena, you should always be direct. But more so get to know people before asking for money.
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LOL, I found my assistant through a friend. SHe is smart too... ;-)
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Conferences are great for brand building but I have been staying away from them. I will start it up again once we finish fund raising for KISSmetrics.
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Ashish, it's all about the viral loop. Through Product Planner you can see how some other viral sites/tools exploded their growth.
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@Neil Patel what are some other business topics you're interested in, but don't have time to explore?
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Yep, Hiten loves messing around with virality. Andrew is also good and same with Sean Ellis.
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* I meant Ed Baker... not Sean Ellis, although he is smart too.
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@Neil Patel I know you, like our whole team, work all the time....what do you do outside of work when you're chilling?
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Neil,how do you find time to do all this things?
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I work 7 days a week and I have a full time assistant who pretty much lives with me.
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I would say one of the best things you can do for personal branding is, Having conversations with the Internet Celebrities who are very engaging and that communicate back. Having open conversations with them and brings some a-game insights and commentary boost your credibility really fast.
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That is the only way I have been able to get everything I need done.
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really great stuff here! wish I wasn't currently multi-tasking...
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Any chance to read a previous comment? I just missed the answer to my own question :(
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Create good videos and do it on a regular basis. I wish I had more than that, but I don't really use YouTube.
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@Michael Ida Aloha Brother! We need to share a few glasses of something brain altering soon my friend!
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You choke Neil unconscious and then steal his notebooks :)
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@Emily Hajduk I try to create a video nearly everyday but lately i have been busy so I don't get mad at myself I just catch up when i can, sometime I record like ten in one day and drip them to my channel
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Neil your drink and sport?:P...why not photos
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LOL.. couldn't resist :) I'll hold back the rest, don't worry
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@Neil Patel -- has anyone asked about what you read? Really curious about what your bookshelf looks like.
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I look up to Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, and Yuri Milner
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Thanks for the insite @Shawn Bercuson doc boyd! @Neil Patel should you (founder) be the face of your company twitter account?
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This convo is fantastic. Let's keep this party rocking.
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@Bo Fishback, I don't have much time to read books. I spend most of my time on BBC, TechCrunch, CNN... and when I am readings books, It usually is on buddhism
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@Bo Fishback Hot right now Do the Work, Thank You Economy, Linchpin, Enchantment and my reread War of Art!
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@Neil Patel @Bo Fishback Audible.com FTW! Audible and traffic a match made in heaven for busy people.
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I have a few friends in Seattle... Andy Liu, Edward Yim, Alex Algard...
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ok out, time to get back to work, thanks Neil for taking your time. Let's talk soon, that deal I told you about a year ago took off very well :)
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Thanks for having me guys! I am off to a lunch meeting.
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I'm off as well..this was good stuff. Namesake FTW :P
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Registered this morning...NameSake has far exceeded expectation! Warm community, Love it!
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@Emily Hajduk Now I feel more fat. hahaha You should give us a video explaining who CityFit is, Why your passionate about it, and how you wanna help us get more fit. You also need an Image in the channel add your logo a some kind of avatar. Great stuff oh yeah your comments should always have a link back to CityFit.com
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@Shawn Doc Boyd haha, thanks for the advice! Much appreciated. I will be uploading another video today and will incorporate a link back to CityFit. I will also follow you on twitter! :)
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@Emily Hajduk I'm gonna do your workouts because I'm a little fluffy. One quick trick is to ask people to ask you questions via the reply video feature. When you are done with a video post it to Namesake and challenge us fluffy Namesakers to do the workout. Should be interesting. Aloha
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@Shawn Doc Boyd awesome...let me know how they go! I'd prefer to do them in Hawaii, but I'll settle for Chicago I guess. OK, will do...thanks for chatting today and enjoy the rest of the day!
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Followed a link posted by Neil Patel on FB, seems nice around here. :)
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Hey Neil, who don't you have a WIkipedia entry?
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What do you think?
- 487 comments
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Participants
- Rishabh Agarwal
- Raychel Espiritu
- Andrew Skotzko
- Joseph Hsieh
- Yair Riemer
- Scott Hurff
- Neil Patel
- Jonathan Dingman
- Scott Magoon
- Christine McCarthy
- Jermaine Douet
- Anthony Brunetti
- Derek Jensen
- Eric Siu
- Amber Lovell Boone
- Lauren Van Camp
- Brian Norgard
- Bo Fishback
- Jelena Milosevic
- Kabir Sagoo
- Andy Keil
- Abhimanyu Patel
- Aaron Chronister
- Ian Matthews
- Misty Denson
- Michael Viamari
- Rogtung
- Ben Fisher
- Emily Hajduk
- Dan Gould
- Dharmesh Ba
- Travis Ketchum
- Kimberly Kohatsu
- Merrick Lozano
- John Faris
- Steve De Long
- Ankit Kumar
- Wasim Shaikh
- Alex Berman
- Keenahn Jung
- Erik Engstrom
- Micahel Dorausch
- Kaushal Shah
- Chris Winfield
- Ashish Kumar
- Mitesh Patel
- Shawn Doc Boyd
- Rubeina Sawdoo
- Johnnie Conrad
- Bret A. Warshawsky
- Ryan Goodman
- Sean Percival
- Feyyaz Alingan
- Alex Capehart
- Michael Ida
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