We’re 4 months into 2023, are you thriving? It’s not too late to get a jumpstart on the year!
Here are my favorite marketing tips for 2023.
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When I look at the marketing industry as a whole, I think AI is the biggest shift. We surveyed over 8,000 companies, and, we found that almost all of ’em are investing in AI this year, heavily. Podcasting is a big place where companies are investing, as well. They’re investing more in performance, less in traditional. But, yeah, with a lot of uncertain Econo- or with a lot of economic uncertainty, you know, people are definitely looking for ROI for their marketing, and, they’re looking to automate as much as possible, use AI to cut costs, and, get better results and, get stuff done faster.
Make sure the content you create is amazing, super-thoughtful, thorough. You can Google for those terms and see what other people, who rank on page one, have have done, when it comes to their content. Make sure yours is way better than theirs. Then, three, is, you need to put all your content. So, you remember how you already, just, did a Google search to see who’s ranked on page one, and what their content is? And Uber says there’s a backlinks opportunity report. You can put, like, two, three of your competitor URLs that are ranking, and, they’ll show you all the people that link to them, but, don’t link to you. ‘Cause, if someone’s linked to, not just one, but two, or three of your competitors, there’s a good shot. they’re willing to link to you two.
Even when you’re not starting something up, You’re in something, you know, you hit a wall with the eConomy, or growth, or someone’s screwing up, and you can’t figure out how to solve it. You know, the first thing to just keep in mind is, when things are going tough, keep in mind, there’s people out there who have it tougher than you. And, when things are going really well, keep in mind, there’s people who have it much better than you. So, that should keep you level-headed, and, hopefully keep your mind clear. The second thing that you need to keep in mind is, there’s other people, who, probably, have faced the same challenge that you did. Start doing some research, YouTube, Google, social media, look for other people, who talk about that problem, and how they overcome it. Learn from other people’s mistakes, experiences, and, that should, also, help you get a little bit further. The third thing that you want to do is just experiment. Talk to people, brainstorm, whether it’s mentors, or just friends, or coworkers. Brainstorm, and try to find other solutions and experiment and run some tests, and figure out, “All right, did this help solve the problem? Did it not, did it produce the results I’m looking for?” With the combo of those three things, that really helps you, people, overcome issues and challenges.
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– That's the key to
winning in the long run. (soft background music) It's how do you delight
your customers? Talk to 'em, Survey them, Figure out what you can
do better, improve upon. (upbeat music) – I have none other than
my guy, Neil Patel, on. – Thank you for taking
the time out of your day To interview me. – Absolutely, absolutely. It's a pleasure to have you on. Thank you. (chiming sound) First of all, let's, let's
hop around a little bit. Where do you see the market right now? 'Cause, I'm curious,
this being 2023, right? It's a lot of, AI going on, It's a lot of different things – [Neil] Yeah. – happening every single day. Like. where do you see it headed towards? – So, when I look at the
marketing industry as a whole, I think AI is the biggest shift. We surveyed over 8,000 companies, And, we found that almost
all of 'em are investing In AI this year, heavily. Podcasting is a big Place where companies
are investing, as well. They're investing more in performance, Less in traditional. But, yeah, with a lot of uncertain econo- Or with a lot of Economic uncertainty, you
know, people are definitely Looking for ROI for their marketing,
And, they're looking to
automate as much as possible, Use AI to cut costs, And, get better results and, Get stuff done faster. – Gotcha, gotcha. Yeah, I know, that's amazing. 'Cause I feel like,
especially how the market is, Everyone's talking about ChatGPT, right? You got this cool little software, And, like, inputtin' everything
and all these other details. So, I think it's amazing. But, I'm very curious on how
it's really going to evolve over The next few years. Is it, is it going to expand
very rapidly? (chuckles) Or, is it going to be,
like. a little cluster And it just explodes and everyone, like, Doesn't know what to do? (laughs) So- – No, I, I think it'll
expand really rapidly, And, it'll get better and better. I think we're just in the first inning – [Dre] Yeah. – of all this stuff, and you're
going to see crazy improvements Over the next two, three years. – Got you. Okay, cool. Well, ladies, you all heard from Neil. He said it, not me. (laughs) It'll be perfect, but, okay,
so, I do want to hop back into You first really getting
into the business world In terms of like figuring out the market, And, trying to get this traffic. Like, you got a lot of traffic, but We, we weren't converting, right? It was, like, – Yes.
– How do we get the money? (laughs) So, how did you figure out,
to get the dollars rolling in? What happened? What triggered,
what clicked for you? – Oh, I didn't figure out
how to get the dollars in When I was starting off. – Right. – Instead, I was just doing
consulting for other people, And, helping them grow their
traffic, and they would Pay me for that traffic. – [Dre] Okay. – And, that's how I started off. I would just pick up the phone, Start calling companies
and be, like, "Hey, I'll do your marketing for
free. If you like the results Pay me." Like, I was willing to
take whatever I can get. – Yeah. – And, the strategy ended up
working out over time, and kept Getting more referrals,
and did good work, and, You know, that's how it started off. – Nice, nice. So he was cold-calling. He did the old school methods, – [Neil] Uh-huh. – Cold call pick up. Did you, like, – [Neil] Yeah. – go on internet-type
thing, and look up some Names, and, like, "I want
to work with this company, I want to work with them."
Or, you would just like, Phone book, one, two,
three, let's go? (laughs) – Phone book. But without the phone book. Would go on the internet, would type in All the Google terms I
know that were expensive, Like, from an ad perspective,
And, I would just call
all the people that were Bidding on the ads. – Wow, okay. Okay. See that's a new, new
form of marketing. (laughs) Most people wouldn't even think- – There you go. – you know, to take
that away, right there. Most people are like, ah, "I
guess word-of-mouth might help Me. But, he was like, "No, I'm driven. I'm going to find the people.
I'm going to put the work in." You know? So, that's, that's
commendable too. (chuckles) Okay. – [Neil] Yeah. – So, based on everything
that I know about you, As far as my research (chuckles) I know you're heavy in the market, SEO, But, I know everyone's curious,
'cause, I know a lot of People know about you so far. For those who don't, When it comes to like scaling, Online, as far as, like, Google, Right? Everyone's trying
to rank on Google, Everyone's trying to be the
best, number one, front page. What advice would you
give to that, you know, Business owner or that
person, just getting started, To help them rank On the top page or first page? – So do the basics. There's a lot of tools out
there that provide you the Basics. So, like you can go to
neilpatel.com/SEO-analyzer/ And put in your URL, and,
they'll tell you everything That you need to fix
from the SEO standpoint. Like, all the basic,
Common stuff. And, it'll break it down
by priority, in which, What's the easiest to fix
that's going to have the biggest Impact? And, just go through
that list and fix it. And, you can do that for free. The second thing that I would
actually tell people, and, This is the more important one, is, Do I add the most value to customers? See, whether it's content, or
whether it's your product or Service. Whoever provides the best
experience to the user Is going to win in the long run. And, I'm a big believer in that. Google doesn't try to Rank a website based off of
like, "Oh, you have more links Than another site, or, you
have better on page code." They're trying to rank a site
based on what users prefer And want, more than anything else. That's the key to winning in the long run. It's how do you delight your customers? Talk to 'em, Survey them, Figure out what you can do better, Improve upon. – Right, right. There we go. See, I say the same thing.
when I tell my clients and Partners, I'm like, "Look,
got to put in the work." But, it's about adding the value, And not just trying to fluff
in keywords here and there On the page or anything. – [Neil] Yeah, – because I have a, I
have a branded agency,
Here in Michigan, and we have,
like, one of the top spots So far, but, I'm looking
to, obviously, expand over The entire state of Michigan, and, then, Take over the mid Midwest. – There you go. – And go over, you know, other areas. So, I'm thinking big.
I'm like, "Okay, let's, Let's figure this out." And, so, like, yeah, I'm,
in the same boat as everyone Else that's probably
listening, like, how do I Continue this path and
what do I need to do? But, I appreciate the insight,
'cause, now, it allows me To start thinking a
little bit differently. But, where do you see, like,
based on platform-wise, You think most people should
either spend their time Marketing. or do you have recommendations? Or, do you think people
should, just, taste everything, And, be out there omnipresent? – I think you're going to have
to be, take the omni-channel Approach, eventually, And, be on all the platforms. But, at the beginning, you
could do the little taste Approach, and whatever
tastes the best, or whatever, In essence, produces the best results, Focus on that platform, And, then, eventually, expand into the Other platforms. Because, all good
channels get crowded, and Become competitive. So, you have no choice,
but, to be on all of 'em, But, at the beginning, it's too much. It takes a lot of time and money. So, pick one or two, That you think is going to
produce the best results for you,
And focus on that first. And then expand. – Then expand. Okay, perfect. So, no, So, no, definite answer. It
just varies, depending on what That person's going for. Obviously, they're niche and marketplace, And, what the market's doing. Okay. I got you. – Yep. – Awesome, awesome. Well, look, ladies, I hope you all taking some
notes, and gentlemen (chuckles), On what he's saying so far. I know this is, one of those
episodes, where I'm like, "All right, I know I
got to pay attention to, Especially with the marketing game." So, yeah, okay, so now I'm thinking, And, I like to hop around
so, so bear with me. – That's all right. Just,
keep going. I don't mind. – I like, yeah, I like to hop around. 'Cause, my mind gets to turning, when we Start talking about marketing. I love it. I'm like a big nerd with
it. I'm like, "All right, Let me know every single thing possible." So, do you have like a recommendation on SEO, when it comes to
building out a website? Like, do you recommend, build-,
people, build on WordPress? Do they go to Shopify? Did they go to Wix? Some of the top platforms
most people tend to go? Any recommendations on that, or. (chime sounds) – Good morning. I like all platforms. They're all pretty
SEO-friendly, these days.
They've all improved. So I'm, I'm not, really, like, picky, That you do one or the other. If I had to pick my two favorites. WordPress for, like, content,
service-based website, Shopify for product-based,
ecomm-type sites. – Okay. Okay. Wix is just not in that
conversation. All right. (chuckles) – Nothing wrong with Wix, or Squarespace, Or some of the other ones out there, but, Those are my main two. – Gotcha. Based on what
you've, obviously, been through And surveyed. Okay.
Makes sense. Makes sense. Okay. – Well WordPress, you can do
a lot that's, just, for free, Because, there's so many
plugins. And, then, Shopify, It's a pretty good seamless
experience for ecomm. – Ecomm, right. And, I hear that a lot, And, like, building on it, and I get it, I'm always, like, Fighting back and forth
with other designers, Like, "Oh Wix, or, Shopify, or WordPress." I'm like, "Calm down, (chuckles) It all works." You know. I think it's about the
person, who uses the platform, And, like, what's the- – Yes. – ultimate goal? – Yes. That's so true. – So, if you know what to do with it- – Yeah. (chuckles) Right? So, that'd be the biggest
thing, biggest takeaway, But, okay, cool. So, now, Let's go another layer deep with this.
And, like I said, we're
going to hop around. So, if I, let's say, if I
buildout on WordPress, right? And, I want to create,
like, a blog, right? What's the best way to increase my traffic Or build in a blog, or,
just, overall to a website, If you had to say so? – So want to do keyword research. You can use tools like
Ubersuggest or AnswerThePublic, Put in some keywords within
your space, and, they'll Spit you out, Like, lists of
hundreds, if not thousands, Or, sometimes hundreds
and thousands, of keywords That you could be targeting.
And two, you want to create Content around those keywords, The ones that are
relevant to your audience. – [Dre] Mm-hmm. – Make sure the content
you create is amazing, Super-thoughtful, thorough. You can Google for those terms
and see what other people, Who rank on page one, have have
done, when it comes to their Content. Make sure yours
is way better than theirs. Then, three, is, you need
to put all your content. So, you remember how you already, just, Did a Google search to see
who's ranked on page one, And what their content is? And
Uber says there's a backlinks Opportunity report. You can put, like, two,
three of your competitor URLs That are ranking, And, they'll show you all
the people that link to Them, but, don't link to you. 'Cause, if someone's linked
to, not just one, but two, Or three of your competitors, There's a good shot. they're
willing to link to you two. – Wow. That's big. And, that's Ubersuggests, right?
The platform? – Mm-hmm – (indistinct) You know what's funny, I actually, I used your platform, a
couple times, right (chuckles) Before I even knew it,
you owned it. (chuckles) And, I was testing it out and I'm like, "Who created this? 'Cause,
this is, like, brilliant." Like, I could, literally, go
in, hit the keyword overview, See what I need to do,
and then I hit, like, Related topics and I'm like, "Wait." – Yeah. – "Niche down. I'm like
this, this really works." So, I started, truthfully,
implementing a lot of the things That was like being pushed
out on the platform, And, to my website, and, I
did see a lot of updates, Through Google. I guess,
Google loves constant Updates, new things being added. – [Neil] Yes. – So I'm, a loyal client (chuckles) And, and, a customer, (chuckles) To say that this, definitely, works, And, I, definitely, appreciate
you for creating that. Like what inspired you
to create that, though? That platform? Was it, like, you was going
through something similar, Or you heard a lot of
people just saying, "Man, How do I figure this out?" – It was a lot of people saying,
"How do I figure this out?" And, "How do I figure it out
without spending a hundred Bucks a month?" 'Cause
most of the tools out there In the space were too expensive. So, I wanted to create
something that was free, And also have, yet, paid
versions, 'cause, eventually,
You got to monetize. But, I wanted to create a good, free tool. People don't have to
upgrade, to get value. They can get enough for
free, and get results. – Nice. Nice. And, that's big. And, that's really big. Yeah guys, look, listen, I'm
going to put all the information Down below in the description, And, also tag Neil, too. But, definitely, go
check out their website. I guarantee you you're
going to love it. (chuckles) And, look, it is one of those
tools, where, it's like, You got to keep in your
back pocket. You just, It's a must-have, I think,
if you're in business and Marketing, trying to get, you know, On Google, and so on and so forth. So, That's a very big one. And, I also noticed that you
have, obviously, NPDigital, Right? – [Neil] Mm-hmm. – And, that you are putting out. – So, if you don't mind, Can you tell us more about
that, and what that entails? – So NPDigital is our ad agency.
We're a global ad agency. I think, by the end of 2023,
our goal is to be in 20+ Countries where we have leaders. We're in more countries than that, but, There's not always someone
leading up the ship in trying To drum up new business from that region. We're in eight, right now. US, Canada, Brazil, UK, Germany, Where else? India, Australia, Singapore.
We're about to just
add Spain and Portugal, So, that would be 10. (toys clanging) – [Dre] Wow. – And, then, I know Italy
and France are coming next. We're doing quite a bit in
Latin America, right now, In the interview process,
and quite a a bit in (toys clanging) EMEA as well as APAC. So, – (indistinct) – [Neil] We're, we're having fun. – Yeah, clearly (chuckles),
having a lot of fun. And, you guys are
everywhere. That's amazing. That's amazing. Congrats to everything. And, I'm just going to throw
out there, is the kiddos around? I can hear like some
toys going on. (chuckles) – Yeah. (laughs) I'm like, I'm
sorry about that. I'm like, "I wonder if he can hear about
the kids of the background?" – No, it's totally fine. It adds to the effect, you know? So, everybody knows (chuckles) That this is a real conversation. But, okay, awesome. So you've been doing
that for a while, too, With the digital thing. So, you work with. Like,
big brands. Like, Amazon, And Viacom and everything else. How did those deals,
like, come about, and, How did you feel when it
did, like, hit your plate? Was it like overwhelming, or
were you like shocked, or, What happened? – So, check this out.
You got an agency, right? – [Dre] Right.
– So, most people don't realize this, But, most people think it's,
like, from my SEO traffic, Or my content marketing or social media. – [Dre] Yeah. – 76% of our clients come
from employee referrals (chime sound) Client referrals, Or, word-of-mouth. – Wow. – So, it's those three that
make up the majority of our Revenue. – That's insane. That's insane. And, they're bringing in- – And, most of those big brands
came from one of those three Buckets. (host chuckles) It, it's, if you're in
business long enough, You provide amazing work, Eventually, you'll start
working with bigger and bigger Brands. The issue is, is you
got to play the long game. A lot of people don't want to
be patient, but look at you, You're patient, right? You're just like, "I'm going
to go after my, you know, The city I'm in, then the
state, then the region, And then the whole country." And, then, you're going to
go even bigger than that. – [Dre] Exactly. – You're playing the long
game, you're patient. That's the way you work with
bigger and bigger brands. Just, make sure, in
between, you're producing Amazing results. And, I know that's what
your focus is, as well. But, without the amazing results, You're not going to get the bigger brands.
And, that's how we get most of 'em. Just, do really good for one company, You get referred out more companies. – Right. Being consistent. That's the thing. – [Neil] Uh-huh. – It only pays off, if
you're consistent. Man, I did a whole post about
that the other day (chuckles) And, so many people's like,
"Man, I needed to hear that." And, I'm glad you're
speaking on it, as well. I think, it's just,
nowadays, it's kind of tough, Because, the marketplace, you know, You get all this negativity-type
of videos out there, It's all kind of rah rah, lot of fluff, But people don't really explain
in-depth, or really break it Down in simplistic form
of, like, being consistent. It's not too many people. And if so, it just get washed up. Right? In everything else. (chuckles) So, hearing you say that,
and knowing that you have an Agency, and I have one, and,
I'm sure, so many other people Listening are thinking about
creating one or doing it, It's, like, a breath of fresh
air. It's very refreshing. You know, so, I love that
breakdown, and I appreciate that. (chuckles) – Yeah, no, it consistently pays off. Being consistent, doing
something long enough, Really adds up, and That's what most people don't do. – Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So, I would love to flip
it now, because, I know, Some people are probably
listening to this and, like, "Okay, Neil's amazing," right?
"What else can he do? What doesn't he do?" So, I would love to know, Has there ever ever been a
time, outside of you just Starting off in business, where, you know, You gained some success, Things are going great, but
all of a sudden you hit a wall? If so, what moment was that
for you, and how did you, like Get over it, in order to
continue your journey? – Happens all the time. Even
when you're not starting Something up, You're
in something, you know, You hit a wall with the
economy, or growth, or someone's Screwing up, and you can't
figure out how to solve it. You know, the first thing
to just keep in mind is, When things are going tough,
keep in mind, there's people Out there who have it tougher than you. And, when things are going
really well, keep in mind, There's people who have
it much better than you. So, that should keep
you level-headed, and, Hopefully keep your mind clear. The second thing that you
need to keep in mind is, There's other people, who,
probably, have faced the same Challenge that you did.
Start doing some research, YouTube, Google, social media, Look for other people, who talk
about that problem, and how They overcome it. Learn from
other people's mistakes, Experiences, and, that should,
also, help you get a little Bit further. The third thing that you want
to do is just experiment. Talk to people, Brainstorm, whether it's
mentors, or just friends, Or coworkers. Brainstorm, and try to find
other solutions and experiment And run some tests, and
figure out, "All right, Did this help solve the
problem? Did it not,
Did it produce the
results I'm looking for?" With the combo of those three things, that Really helps you, people,
overcome issues and challenges. – Yeah, that was beautiful. 'Cause, I think, a lot of people either, You know, they run into a wall, And, I feel as though, you kind of have, Like, two decisions, right? It's either you, you persevere, right? – Yeah. – Right? Or, you have to
pivot in some direction. And, I think, that's the
conversation, I think, A lot of people have a
hard time, either depicting Like, "Which, Which is which, or what to do?" And, I know for me, I, kind
of, went through something Similar, where it's like, "All right?" I kept hitting my head on this
wall. I'm like, "Okay Dre, Let's think about this, right? Do I pivot, and find a new
path, and when do I pivot, And, when do I persevere?" So, for me, I had to break it down, like, The only time I think
you should continue to Persevere is, obviously,
you start to see some Results, right? Something's happening,
and something's clicking, But, it might not be perfect. It's kind of like the Tom Edison
thing, with the light bulb, Right? He knew something was
happening, (chuckles) But, it wasn't right, clicking right away. But he kept, he kept going,
and, eventually, it happened. Versus pivoting, where he
probably, one or two, you know, The same problem over
and over, hit the wall,
Try to go under, try to go left, whatever. But, it's understanding, if
no results are happening, I think, – [Neil] Yep. – that's when you need to take
a step back, and be, like- – [Neil] Yeah. – "Okay, let's go left or
let's go right," right? So, I think that's a big message.
I think I I hope a lot of People caught that, on
what you said, as well, 'cause, I think that's, that's imperative, Especially in the business world today. So, I think that's huge. And, also, 'cause, now
I'm thinking to terms, The lines, like, To take a little bit further, you know, Have you ever faced that
moment, where you want to try Something new, but, you might be a little Hesitant on, Or, a little fearful of,
'cause, like, it's going good On this side, but, you like, – [Neil] Yeah. – that looks greener
over there. (chuckles) Right? Or, that looks great, Let's try it. And, have
you ever had that moment? It's like, "I don't know,
should I or should I not?" – So, the first one, going back
to fear, you mentioned fear. I don't really have that
fear issue. 'Cause, remember, You're, you're going to
be your harshest critic. Other people don't really care, as much. I don't mean that in a bad way. It just means that, If you fail, it's okay. Most people won't ever know or watch.
So, I don't really have a fear. But, yes, I have that syndrome,
where the grass is always Greener, and I want to try things. – [Dre] Mm-hmm. – I used to have that issue a
lot more, when I was younger. Last, four or five years, I've
been really good at, just, Focusing, and, just, having super-sharp Laser focus and that's it. And, that's done really well
for me. In which, you know, Like, have your focus. And, yes, the grass is
always greener other side, But, if the business you're
in is growing, and still doing Well, that's cool. Just, keep at it. You know, you don't need to, Hop around, and do something else, when, You can, just, continually
grow and grow, doing what You're doing. For example, we're both
in the agency space, You have a small agency,
I have a small agency. I don't mean that in a bad
way. We both are small. We could do something else,
and both do well at it, But, there's WPP, and
Omnicom, and Dentsu, and A lot of these companies do
like 10+ billion a year in Revenue. We're like flies compared to (Host chuckles) – their size, right? – Yeah. And, There's no reason to hop
around, 'cause the market we're In is massive. So, might as
well just double-down on what We're all doing. (chime sound) – Makes sense. That makes sense. Yeah, I feel the same way. There's a lot of opportunity.
I don't feel like the
marketplace is, necessarily, Saturated, no matter
what vertical you're in, I think it's depending on, obviously, you, Because, everyone's different, right? You bring something different
to the table. Clearly, Like you said, we're both in agencies, You probably cater to a certain, you know, Niche, breaking down, as
far as what you provide. I do, as well and so many others. And, I think, that's the value
point that a lot of people Got to lean into. Like
what's your specialty? What's your superpower, right? – [Neil] Yep. – Whatever that may be, in order to excel. And, I figure, like, you
obviously figured that out for Yourself, you know, pretty young. And, also building it
up to where you are now. And, I think that's, that's
super dope, and important too. (chuckles) So- – [Neil] Thank you. – [Dre] Definitely.
Definitely, definitely. And, so, when it comes
to your business though, 'cause you have multiple,
and you had your hands in Multiple pots, and, so many
different things that you've Been into, how would you measure
success, in your business? – Growth. Business success
is usually based on revenue And profit. The more you grow,
the better off you're doing. – Gotcha. Straight and simple. (chuckles) – It's true and simple. You
look at the public markets, That's what they evaluate you on, growth, It all comes down to revenue and profit. – Gotcha, gotcha. Have your, have your businesses Taken any sort of, I won't say a hit,
But, any type of challenge,
over the past two or Three years, due to,
like, Covid, right? Like – – Yes. – Have you had, like,
brick-and-and-mortar-type, You know, setups, and offices? How does that played out for
you, and how did you, you know, Get through that? – Covid was a challenge,
when it first came around, We had to lay off a lot of people, Sadly. And, We ended up growing over
time, because a lot of stuff Moved online. So, that
helped us out a little bit. Not being able to do
meetings, made it hard. Just internal and external from a lot of, Cities or states, or
whatever you want to call it, Were in lockdown, so, we couldn't, really, Have our teams and people meet up. The other thing that
hurt, was the economy. When the stock market
crashes hard, like 2022, It slows down a lot of
growth, and, it caused a Lot of people to cancel and
stuff, when their stocks are Down, you know, 30, 40, 50%. But, you know, look, there's
always going to be ups and downs. It's the life of an
entrepreneur, it, you know, As they say, entrepreneurship's
like a rollercoaster. There's a lot of ups and downs,
and happy moments, and sad Moments and scary moments. You just got to Roll with the punches, as they come along. – Yeah, that's true, that's true. And, I feel, like, it was,
definitely, very different For a lot of people, during Covid. Either some people, like
you say, had to lay off,
Especially, if you're a big
company, and, it's, like, It is tough to let go of
those employees or the people That work with you and help
build something so sustainable. And, then on the flip side,
those people, that's like, I know for me, in particular,
it was like a great stride, I would say. Business actually
started picking up more During that time, just, because,
I noticed a lot of people Starting to shift from,
obviously, working at a job To being stuck at home, and
they're, like, "What am I going to Do with all this time? I got
to figure something out." And, so, they started creating
these businesses, and these, These side hustles, if you
will, and they're like, "Okay, I need a logo." I'm like,
"That's me." "Okay, I need a Website." I'm like, "Hey,
I can do that, too." "I need, I need this, this." I'm like, "Oh this,
this is perfect," right? And, I'm like, "Oh man,
this is a great moment." So, I caught my stride,
literally, I will say, The last two or three years,
just, picking up speed. But, I can see the views from
both sides, and how that can Play out. And, hearing your side. I, I understand it, and
along with so many others, But, I know that, you know, over time, Things'll start to transition
back, hopefully, and Start getting back into
the workforce, and get the, Get the people back in, and
get those people active. So, Yeah, it was definitely a time,
I think a lot of people felt That, tremendously. – [Neil] Yep. And, so, With that, 'cause I know, I'm just going to throw it out
there, I feel like you're a very Hands-on type of guy. – [Neil] Uh-huh.
Like, you're very, intuitive, And you care about people, right? (indistinct) Especially, if you're, if you
have an agency, you have to, (chuckles) right? There's
something about it. So, how did you go about,
like, fostering that community That you have, and that company
to scale it to what it is? – Yeah. You just hire other
people that believe in the same Culture and the vision, and, You know, the culture fit is
just super, super important. Yeah. And, then just, we
fostered it by hiring, you know, Just, people who believed in
the vision, and in the values . Yeah. – At the beginning, it was
super important, with your first 10, 20, 50, 100 people. And, typically, as you grow more and more, Those people try to Help you recruit other people
that will instill the same Values and have similar culture. – Definitely. Definitely. Okay. Okay. That's big. 'cause I'm in
the phase, and I'm sure Other people are, I got
to, I got a small team, But we're pretty crafty, right? It's about a strong five of
us right now. But I'm like. – That's awesome. – This is the best five,
you know, this is the Best five ever. – [Neil] Yeah. And, so, we're building,
we're having fun, and that's What it's all about, and
everyone does their own thing, And just to hear that I can
understand where people start to Cultivate and say, "Hey, I got
a friend," or "Hey, are you Looking for X, Y, and Z?" Or,
maybe you can bring them on.
I think that's super important. It just makes for the community to grow. I feel like a lot of the times,
though, for most business Owners, we kind of get into
the mindset of like, "Ah man, I need another, another one
of me," (chuckles) right? "If I could just get two,
three more of me, this would Be perfect," right? – But, you don't have to
worry about that. Over time, You'll be able to find people
who are better than you at Certain things. – [Dre] Right. – Right? Like you may be
the most creative person, I'm making this up. You
may need someone who's more Process-oriented, and you
can find someone who's super Process-oriented, who
understands agency life, That can help you scale faster. Or, You may be really good at doing
the work, but not selling. And, you may end up finding
someone who's better at selling Than you. Or, even if you're
good at all those things, You can find someone, who's
like, "I only do selling for Agencies and I'm really good
at this, a and I have this big Rolodex," and they can help
you scale faster, right? – [Dre] Yeah. So, just continue to look for
people who are better than You, have specific things,
and try to bring 'em on As you need 'em. – [Dre] Right. – Right on. Definitely. You know, that's, that's the plan. I'm, I'm trying to be
the guy like hands-off. I don't really like to be
like time-crunching people, 'cause I know how I am,
as a creative. I'm like, Just gimme the deadline.
When does it need to be done? (chuckles) All right, it'll
be done. I promise you.
So, that's how I like to
operate, and I kind of give that Free will to all of my
people that work with me. And, so, yeah, that's, that's a good, A good indicator
(chuckles) coming from you. – [Neil] Yep. So, okay. Okay, so, now, we
hopping back into the business Side of things, I think one of the many questions,
I actually have a little Question list pulled up,
'cause, I told some people You'll be coming on, and
they have about two or Three questions for you. So I, I chose a couple, that I
thought'd be cool, and to ask. So, the first one was, this
came from Jamie, and she said, "How do you go about growing
your email subscription list, When you don't have a big
audience or a big clientele base?" – No problem. Start creating content on social, Start collaborating with
other people, and hit 'em up, And, start talking about your website, Release content on your website,
and just have email capture Forms, whether it's on social
to, like, Linktree's, or, Whether it is, You know, on your own website. And, when you do collaborations,
guest posts, keep plugging Away your site, and as people
come to your site, you'll Start collecting more emails. – Boom. There we go. Jamie, I hope that helps. That was, that was some
bars in there. (chuckles) Take that, take that. Okay, so next question. This came from Chris.
He said, "Does having a Brick-and-mortar office
do better, when ranking On SEO, versus having a virtual office?"
– We haven't seen any difference. – All right, and let's see, last one was, Oh this is a fun one. They said, "What is the best piece of
money advice you ever received?" – Easier to save it, than
it is to make it. So, Save as much as possible. – Awesome, awesome. Perfect, perfect. Well, look, ladies and
gentlemen, I did my part. Okay, you all sent the questions in. I told you all I was going to ask Neil, So, hopefully, you all listened (chuckles) And you all heard it. Make sure to hit him up, too.
If you have any additional Questions, I'm sure he'd love to Talk to as many of you as possible. But with that, Neil, I, definitely, am very
appreciative (chime sounding) For you hopping on. I don't want to take up too much time, I know you got stuff to do. – Ah, no worries. – You got agencies and stuff to run, But, it's been a blast, man.
I appreciate you, so much. If you want, definitely go
ahead and shout out the best way Where people can find you,
reach out to you, and you know, Get in contact. – Mine are all, Neil
Patel's, my username, so. – Gotcha, gotcha. Nice, simple and sweet. Perfect. (laughs) Perfect. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate you guys for
tuning in, and until next time,
Much love, peace, and blessings.
