Great advice is often hidden deep within interviews or presentations given by experts and randomly uploaded on Youtube. We’ve transcribed 37+ videos to capture key points on content distribution to 10X the traffic from every blog post you create. Reading about the topic cluster strategy will give you confidence that every post matters, the APP formula will capture a reader’s attention in 2 seconds and the simple advice of tracking apps will put you years ahead in distribution strategy.
Sections
- Have a strategy or watch content die
- Avoid common mistakes most of us lose years on
- How to write content that raises you up the rankings
- Outreach is hard work with the greatest pay off
- Repurpose your content
- How to really do that going viral thing
- The basics of content promotion for beginners
This is our content distribution series.
1. Have a strategy or watch content die
We create posts that drop into an ocean of content and disappear.
Years later we figure out why the best marketers said to ‘have a strategy’ and and this section is essential reading to avoid years of mistakes.
This is the first on the list for good reason.
Topic clusters are the future of getting your content seen on Google. Hubspot re-organised their content under ‘topic clusters’ and increased their traffic by 50%. We also created topic clusters and got to page 1 on Google searches.
In short, if you can prove to Google that you are an expert on one topic, you get to the top.
You can try and trick Google but in the long term it knows if your content is relevant. Topic clusters are your path to creating your content with honesty and passion, knowing they’ll have an impact and are part of a good strategy.
There’s no coding involved for topic clusters, it’s a simple way to organise blog posts which anyone can do.
Want to see a topic cluster page ranking high on Google?
Google for ‘customer acquisition’ and click on "21 Customer Acquisition Strategies to Win New Customers". That’s a topic cluster by Matthew Barbie who not so incidentally began working with Hubspot to re-organise their content.
In short, you have a central pillar page with lots of related articles linking to it so you cover one topic in depth. That means, to Google, you might know what you’re talking about and Google will then raise you up the rankings.
Using this structure gives you a sense that** every blog post now has real purpose** and is part of a bigger plan that’s proven to work.
The greater your interest in a topic, the more you write about it, the higher you rank as long as it’s organised ?
We also got our blog content onto page 1 of google search for key topics and grew traffic using this. We still know relatively little about SEO, so we’re impressed as amateurs.
Topic clusters are not the end of regular SEO but they may be the immediate future so we’ll cover what’s happened with us and then get to the talk.
Read more on how Hubspot used the topic cluster layout to grow and how we made the same blog strategy work for Upscope.
Track New Apps and Stay Years Ahead in Marketing | GaryVee
Do you ever think about those people who were very early users of Instagram, Snapchat and Vine and how much they gained from it?
How can you do the same and gain enormous traffic just by being early?
Gary Vaynerchuk has a habit we wouldn’t have guessed, he checks the latest 100 new apps every day. His speech covers regret, executing, spending 5 hours a day with Instagram influencers and more.
Read more on his brutal, brilliant and to the point advice on marketing.
Disruption Vs Distribution | GaryVee
Gary Vaynerchuk explains the importance of disruption within business success, and how distribution is a key factor in the growth of disruption.
Read moreincluding how your disruption won’t matter without distribution
Marketers are way more important that coders? | Marvin Liao
Oh Marvin…
Marvin has a blunt way of talking that could rub you the wrong way but that’s also what makes it worth watching.
Besides his opinion on the relative value of coders vs marketers, we found this one key quote to be interesting.
“Take 70% of your budget, and you put it into things that you know will work for sure. Take 20% your budget, and put it into the next potentially growing channels, and then you take the last 10% of your budget, and put it into new things that could work.”
Read more on where Marvin thinks you should be putting your money
2. Avoid common mistakes most of us lose years on
You’ll notice a pattern through many of the posts and videos of this series.
These guys are the masters and they will repeatedly tell you to understand your customer and communicate to them in a different way depending on the channel.
The first article is a gem. It’s really a conversation between us regulars and the pros.
Content Distribution Mistakes We All Make | Neil Patel
When you’re doing something that’s partly working, you don’t want to change your strategy in case you lose what’s working right?
Andrea does a great job of explaining that fear and both Neil and Chris do a great job of explaining the problems with it.
It includes advice on writing for potential buyers not just anyone, writing content people will come back to for years and how to avoid getting outranked on Google.
Read moreon content distribution mistakes
Why We Distribute Content to the Wrong People and Suffer | April Dunford
Do you hear a lot about marketing personas?
Or the phrase ‘find people similar to your current customers’?
Maybe you’ve even given it a go but felt you did not do it properly.
Here we give both our own recent experience and April Dunford’s take on understanding the real buyers. It’s amazing how much it costs over time in failing to do even a simple summary of their job titles.
Read more including how April went to sales and found out the real problem
Why Your Content Marketing Isn’t Working | Sujan Patel
You think, you write, you refine; you create a masterpiece.
You release it into the wild, thinking it’s going to spread like wildfire because it’s the best thing you’ve ever written.
And… nothing. Sujan Patel walks through five reasons why your strategy is failing and what you can do about it.
Read more including why 80% of time should be spent distributing
From $0 to $21M ARR: Our 5 Biggest Marketing F***U | Matt Epstein
Matt Epstein goes through some of the biggest marketing mistakes he has made in his career, so you don’t have to make the same ones!
**Read more **including why you should not listen to your co-workers
3. Write content that raises you in the rankings
Writing well is of course an essential part of content marketing and these posts contain what we think are the simplest and most useful advice to easily apply.
The APP Formula Keeps Them on the Page so Your Content Ranks on Google’s First Page | Brian Dean
Ever see something so good that you think ‘I want to keep this to myself in case everyone else starts doing the same thing’.
Well, this is one of those.
Brian Dean shows you how you’re doing blog-post sub-headings all wrong, how to get over that difficult blog introduction bit using the APP formula, how to keep them reading through the boring bits and how this keeps you ranking top on Google search.
**Read more **including the ‘bucket brigades’ trick great copywriters are using
10 Steps To Promote Your Content | Neil Patel
Sometimes we feel we need to do everything to promote content and we do everything half way.
Sometimes we write a thesis as if we’re trying to impress a teacher, a teacher that’s no longer there.
Wouldn’t it be nice to get a minimum done that works? Just do steps 1 to 4 but 5 to 10 are great options.
**Read more **including why your essays were boring so why still write them
10 Offbeat Tactics to 10x Your Growth | Sujan Patel
Discover Sujan Patel’s tried-and-tested creative tips including getting customers from your customers and letting your customers write your copy for better distribution.
Read more including why you should thank your customers in real life
4. Outreach is hard work with the greatest pay off
Parts of this were scary. It was scary because they showed what ‘hard work’ really means. Reaching out to 1,600 people to get 20 onboard? No, no, no, please no. Oh ok then, maybe if we know the ratios then we can make it fun.
Using Distribution To Build Your Following | GaryVee
Do you hustle? This is smart hustle we can all do.
Gary Vaynerchuk teaches you how to promote your video content with 2 key distribution tips, that will ensure the growth of your video blog.
Read more includingreaching out to the top 100 podcasts
#№1 Content Link Building strategy in 2018 | Brian Dean
Gaining organic traffic can sometimes be a challenge. This easy 5 step process called ‘Guestographics’ will drastically boost the numbers on your blog and site.
Read more including a beautifully worded guestographics email that worked
Find Guest Post and Keyword Opportunities using Similar Sites Chrome Extension
Lets say you want to write a guest post about amazing donuts.
You find a blog that focuses on amazing donuts and they share your post. How do you find more sites like that one quickly? It be nice if you clicked a button and saw a list of similar sites to that guy right?
Read moreabout using Similar Sites
How to Craft a Perfect Guest Post Pitch? | Alex Berman
Writing guest blog posts can drastically boost traffic on your own blog or website.
But what’s the best way to ask someone to feature your content on their site?
Alex Berman goes through the perfect email example to feature your work on other blogs.
Read more including what to avoid in guest posting emails
Understand the Psychology of Cold Emailing to Get a Response
Cold emails — the bane of marketing.
Low open rates, even less click-throughs, and agonisingly poor conversions.
But, this doesn’t have to be the case. Susan Su reveals the psychology of cold emailing, showing us what subject lines work and get those responses.
**Read more **including how people we like are more believable
The Best Content Distribution tools? Try BuzzStream
Yeah, it would be nice to have a little black book of contacts for outreach.
Knowing your audience is relatively easy, finding them and managing them is the difficult part.
BuzzStream is the natural tool to build a database but one where the ground up work is sped up without diluting it. This is a quick overview of how Buzzstream collects data and helps you spread the word.
Read more on creating that little black book of influencers with Buzzstream
Where to Contact Influencers? Twitter, Twitter, Twitter | GaryVee
You ever felt your cold emails to influencers have vanished into the abyss?
Gary Vaynerchuk strongly pushes Twitter over cold email and see how much response he expects us to get for every 80 people we contact.
Read more including what result contacting 1,600 influencers gets you
Everyone Wants to Take From Influencers But are You Offering Economic Value in Return? | GaryVee
When you’re contacting influencers, do you ever wonder if you’re offering them enough value?
Does it feel a little like begging and hoping?
As Gary proves, influential people get angry when they’re offered a bad trade. The economics need to be right.
Read more and watch just how angry an influencer gets on a bad deal
How to Scale your Content Outreach | Neil Patel and Eric Siu
When you’ve published a blog post, do you only then look for people to contact to help distribute it?
How many people have a ‘go to’ list for outreach?
Can you really contact the same people again?
Neil Patel and Eric Siu give a short smart talk on outreach, building lists and useful tools that help you speed up and scale outreach for consistently higher traffic.
Read more on why you should have a list for consistent outreach
5. Repurpose your content
No brainer. Created good content? Don’t start from scratch on something new, make it work 10X over. Turn it into a slideshare, a video etc but remember the earlier advice of how different channels need different approaches.
7 Ways to Repurpose Your Content | Neil Patel & Eric Siu
Repurposing content isn’t always the easiest task if you don’t know where to start.
How can you repurpose your content to get maximum exposure?
Neil Patel and Eric Siu take you through their 7 tips to distribute your content via different channels in creative ways.
Read more including some great tools that publish content on other channels for you
How to Repurpose Written Content on Social Media | GaryVee
Consistent, original content is a difficult thing to sustain.
So is it okay to recycle the same media, reshaping it to fit the channel?
In this two-minute video, Gary Vaynerchuk explains why he’s an advocate for both reusing the same content and creating unique pieces.
Read moreincluding why medium and linkedin have above the brow similarities
How to Publish on LinkedIn and Get Content See | Sujan Patel
Sujan Patel gives you 6 expert tips about LinkedIn publishing, and how to make the most out of the social media platform.
It is the easiest way to get a lot of traction within your existing network, and actually build your network.
Read more including why you should tell Linkedin about your content to get trending
6. How to really do that going viral thing
There are companies that specialise in making things go viral. That means it’s something that can be learned and repeated. So, lets learn.
Story Telling for Viral Distribution | Jonathan Perelman
This is important because of Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement on changing the Facebook feed towards interactions that bring people closer.
Stories that resonate with people and help them talk will be more important than disguised business ads.
This is an edited transcript of how Buzzfeed did viral story telling in a great talk by Jonathan Perelman.
Seeing this, we’re a lot closer to being able to do the same thing with a slight shift in mindset as it covers how to create stories that resonate with people.
Read more including why you need to tell stories that resonate with humanity
The One Element All Virality Has in Common | Josh Elman
What does virality mean for a brand? Does your brand need virality?
Josh Elman shares some expert tips about word of mouth virality and what it can do to drastically change your business.
Read more including Josh Elman’s concept of inception
How to get your ideas to spread | Seth Godin
Deep down inside we really do know when we’re about to send the right content to the right person.
We can roughly predict if they’ll be happy once they’ve seen it.
This talk by Seth Godin is both classic and still relevant to content distribution. The key themes are of how people don’t care, the need to be remarkable or fresh and talking to the people who really are listening or even obsessed.
Read more including his famous purple cow analogy
How to Design and Track Viral Growth Experiments | Brian Balfour
This is for the heavy duty thinkers at the top of their game. It’s about a growth engine and that’s a vital part of the distribution process.
How do you know what works and what doesn’t? Growth isn’t achieved by hacks and tricks, but processes and optimisation. Brian Balfour talks through Hubspot’s project cycle and how they turn experiments into success.
Read more including how silver bullets don’t exist
Distribution and Growing Your User Base | Drew Houston
Growing your user base from scratch is a challenge.
Prior to Dropbox’s famous simple email viral they did do some good headline writing and distribution that also worked.
If you have a good product then try going to the extreme like they did. They grew from 5,000 to 75,000 people overnight.
Read more including his challenge to Google that made such a great headline ?
How to Make a Viral Video | Karen X Cheng
Looking to make a viral video or a video that converts? Karen X Cheng shares her top 10 tips for making multi-million viewed videos.
Read more including why you should write the news headline first
How to Go Viral Overnight Using Reddit | Brian Hanley
Viral content — the marketer’s dream, and with more and more platforms to post on such as Reddit, marketers are taking advantage of them to boost distribution.
Brian Hanley walks through the basics of posting on Reddit and how it is used to increase exposure.
Read more on how to use the front page of the internet aka Reddit
7. The basics of content marketing
These articles cover the basics of content marketing if you’re starting off. They offer the simple solid advice that has worked again and again. It’s great to read as jumping into the more advanced SEO strategies or talking about storytelling and viral videos is further down the path.
Blog Content Distribution for Beginners | Josh King
Josh King explains the key points to help you kick start your content distribution journey.
Read more including why you should producing content that is relevant, innovative, thoughtful and unique
Want More Social Media Traffic? 6-Step Blog Content Distribution Plan | Lindsay Marder
What do you do once you have great content? You want to share it, so more people see it, and continue to share it, so that new people see it!
Follow these 6 easy steps to distribute your content and continue to get new clicks on old content. Maximum exposure for your work!
Read more including the process of splintering your content
Top 5 Tips For Content Marketing
Planning a content marketing strategy isn’t always clear cut. These five tips by Roberto Blake will help you target and reach the audience you want to with your content.
Read more including why you should not do content for the sake of doing content
Aim to Generate Leads with Content Distribution | Melissa Chang
You’ve written a great article. You can’t just post it and hope for the best . Use these key distribution tips to bring new eyes to your work, even on older posts and get those leads.
**Read more **including going where your customers are in the conversation
Are You Using the Best Content for Social Media Distribution? | Christer Holloman
Heard of Foxton’s in the UK? Well, lets just say it’s an estate agent that lots of people use but are always complaining about.
Social media content is an artful balance of business and culture. Jeremy Spiller interviews Christer Holloman about what to include in media content and how to create a more engaging profile, how to look for different angles to improve an image.
Read more including making a good social media proposition
Distributing Content Through Paid, Owned and Earned Media | CMA
Find the right way to share and get exposure for your work. Discover what channels and tips you can use to optimise your content and get the best results.
Read more including learning to speak the language of the channel
END!
When you’re too tired to advertise our own product
This series took work…
If you liked it then do 2 things…
- Visit the Upscope site if you use a live chat service like Intercom, Olark, Zendesk, LiveChat, Drift etc. It’s a very popular add-on that lets see your user’s screen from live chat, instantly.
- Get the next series coming out soon by adding your email below. Bless.
