We share our thoughts and ideas on how to grow a business.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 27- How We Improved Blog Post Conversion Rates by 66%-950% Through Writing
47:48
47:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:48
Historically, we only updated blog posts to try to increase ranking positions. However, through that process of updating blog posts, we realized how much the actual writing of pieces matters. Specifically, we've been updating blog posts for two different clients that helped sell and position the product or service better and have seen conversion ra…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 26: Brand Marketing vs. Performance Marketing. Which is better?
44:25
44:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:25
A recent news story from someone that worked at Nike is making its way around Twitter and LinkedIn. The ex-employee claims that the loss of $25B has to do with Nike's focus on performance marketing instead of brand marketing. Marketers are taking to Twitter and LinkedIn to take sides: "See, this is why you should focus on brand marketing" - Brand M…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 25: June and July Agency Update - New Record Highs & Is the Economy Playing into Growth?
33:05
33:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
33:05
Although we've largely moved away from doing episodes about our agency and have focused more on marketing strategy episodes, we made a commitment to sharing our growth journey and struggles as we go. In this episode, we'll share our stats for June and July - both new clients and churn - and we discuss the issues we're facing. Specifically: - How we…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 24: How Long Does it Take to Get SEO and Content Marketing Results?
47:08
47:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:08
We often get asked by prospects interested in working with us, "how long does it take to start seeing results from SEO and content marketing? It's not an easy question to answer because there are multiple factors that go into it: 1. What is the definition of results? 2. What is the conversion goal? Trials, demos, MQLs, SQLs, etc. 3. How many conver…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 23: How A Content Strategy Evolves Over Time
1:01:23
1:01:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:23
In this episode, we talk through how a content strategy evolves overtime. We break down content strategy into a 3-tier system to help you understand how the process evolves. How a content strategy evolves: Tier 1: Testing ability and time to rank Tier 2: Scaling Tier 3: Maintaining/Defending rankings We share our thought process around how to test …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 22: Why Most Companies Shouldn't AB Test to Improve Conversions (And What to Do Instead)
51:00
51:00
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:00
In this episode, we debate why most companies shouldn't AB test. AB testing has become super popular over the years... Executives often want you to AB test every little thing to try to maximize the impact of all of your marketing efforts. Devesh explains why for most companies, it doesn't make sense to AB test. We share that reasoning and then we t…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 21: May Agency Update- New Record Highs + Marketing and Churn Update
27:39
27:39
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
27:39
In this monthly update, we share our client count relative to our goal, our churn, how many leads we got in May and our general sentiment around leads. Then we share what marketing has and hasn't worked and how marketing differs for service businesses.By Benji Hyam and Devesh Khanal
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 20: How to Interview Subject Matter Experts and Add Differentiation to Articles
43:09
43:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:09
When you've identified a keyword or topic for a blog post, how do you get the arguments that go in your piece? We interview subject matter experts at Grow and Convert to accomplish this. In this video, we share how we prep for interviews with subject matter experts, who to interview, and how to add differentiation in your articles when writing for …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 19- Do we take this series in a different direction?
23:45
23:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
23:45
Devesh and I debate whether we should focus more on how-to content on this channel because it seems to be what gets the most viewership and engagement. We reflect on the series so far, our overall goal of doubling the agency and discuss whether we continue the series as is, or we go down a slightly different path. If you've enjoyed certain episodes…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 18 - Hiring Your First Head of Marketing and What They Should Do in the First 90 Days
1:02:30
1:02:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:30
Your business is starting to grow and now you need more of a process around marketing... so you're thinking of hiring your first marketer. What is the right profile of the marketer you should hire? What should that marketer focus on in the first 90 days? How should they think about what marketing channels to focus on? What's a good budget to start …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 17 - How to Write Non-Basic SEO Content (Even With Basic SEO Keywords)
46:38
46:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:38
In this episode, Devesh starts off by sharing the two goals of the content pieces we write for clients. Then he shares examples explaining the differences between how we write articles vs. how most blog writers write articles. We dissect the differences in how we write blog post introductions, body copy and share why we think it's important to have…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 16: April Recap - Our Highest Client Count and Revenue Ever
28:18
28:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:18
In this episode, we share where we are relative to our doubling the agency goal. Then we talk through what's been working from a marketing perspective and some of the operational challenges that we're anticipating if we keep growing this quickly.By Benji Hyam and Devesh Khanal
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 15: Disruption Stories - What They Are and How to Write Them
23:34
23:34
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
23:34
In Episode 10, the episode about content strategies for new businesses, we shared that we were planning on doing a disruption story for one of our clients. In this episode, we share who the client is (Mirascope.io), the article and talk through some decisions that were made when writing the story. Then we share a couple of other examples of disrupt…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 14: Can SEO Content also be Thought Leadership Content? Our Thoughts.
41:18
41:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:18
Can SEO content also be "thought leadership content?" Many people think these two kinds of content are completely different. More specifically, that you can't share thought leadership type ideas inside of SEO content and get articles to rank. We share a different view. We think that SEO and thought leadership ideas do go together. In this video, we…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 13: March Recap, A New Record High in Sight?
19:03
19:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
19:03
March was a challenging month for us. We had our first churn of the year- which was not a great way to start the month- however it ended on a positive note. We discuss the churn, some new clients, our lead numbers and then share some ideas for changes we're going to be making to our marketing. Enjoy.…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 12: Why you SHOULD measure the ROI of an individual piece of content and how to track in GA4
46:56
46:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:56
LinkedIn influencer claims that: "Measuring the ROI of an individual piece of content (like this LinkedIn video, for instance) is not only a huge waste of time, it’s flat out not accurate. When it comes to “ROI”, focus on measuring the ROI of the *channel* instead of each individual piece of content." In this video, we break down why that argument …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 11- Scaling Writing Operations by Hiring an Editor
42:50
42:50
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:50
In this episode, we discuss whether we should hire an editor to help scale writing operations. Devesh voices his frustration by spending so much time editing pieces -- most of his time in the agency is dedicated to editing and he feels like he doesn't have time to focus elsewhere. We propose the options of hiring an outside agency to help with edit…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 10 - Creating A Content Strategy for a New Business and Our Disruption Story Framework
36:39
36:39
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:39
In this episode, we share why we took a client with a new business and domain rating of only 0.5 (didn't even know this was possible). Then we share the approach we're taking to grow their business from the ground up with content. As part of the content strategy for this new business, we decided to create a disruption story for them. We talk about …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 9- February Monthly Recap: We Need to Free up Devesh's Time From Editing.
27:56
27:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
27:56
In this episode, we share our client stats for the month of February. We analyze the leads we've received, we share why we don't work with software development companies as clients and share some ideas on how we'd attack SEO if we were a software development company, and then we spend a lengthy time discussing if we should hire an editor. The main …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 8 - How We Prove the Value of SEO and Content Marketing to Clients
45:40
45:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:40
Seven months into one of our engagements, the CEO asked us "when will the volume of high-quality leads start to go up?" The typical answer from most marketers is to say "I don't know" or "it depends," but we wanted to provided a more data driven answer. We knew that the client was likely 1-2 months away from seeing a big lift in the volume of leads…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 7 - How We're Getting SEO Rankings Back for Clients
58:01
58:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
58:01
In Episode 7, we bring in a guest. David Klose, one of our content strategists, joins us to talk about his experience updating blog posts. More specifically, we discuss 2 client accounts that had declining results (both ranking and leads) and how there was a need to get rankings back up. David shares the approach he took on two different accounts t…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 6 - Should We Start A New Service Offering?
20:15
20:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
20:15
In Episode 6, we get recommended as an agency from a known entity in the startup space, but the prospect wants a service that we don't really offer. We debate whether we should create a new service offering to take on the new client. Content brand post: https://www.growandconvert.com/content-marketing/content-brand/ Timestamps: 0:00 Episode Preview…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 5: Our Highest Client Count, Ever?!?! (Monthly Recap)
39:54
39:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:54
In Episode 5, we recap our first month since starting our challenge. We grew the highest amount in one month since starting our agency. We share our client count, where the mix of revenue is coming from and then analyze the 3 new clients that signed on for February.By Benji Hyam and Devesh Khanal
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 4: When is the right time to build processes?
38:12
38:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:12
In Episode 4, one of our strategists is having trouble with an article interview and Devesh needs to jump in and take over the interview to steer it in the right direction. We ask the question, is this a good use of Devesh's time? We haven't really built any processes around interviewing, do we now need to build more training or processes around in…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 3: Houston, We Have A Churn Problem
36:35
36:35
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:35
After doing some analysis on clients that dropped in 2023, we realized that we have an issue with our churn rate. On average, clients stick with us for 12 months, which in other words means: we turn over all of our clients every year. In Episode 3, we talk through various ways to improve our churn rate: From changing pricing, to contract length, to…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 2: A Client Isn't Happy With Their First Article. What Do We Do?
39:29
39:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:29
We signed a new client on a year long contract, sent them the first article and they weren't happy with it. On top of that, the strategist and writer that was managing the account didn't feel like they were a good fit to keep running the account. In Episode 2, we talk through what we did to resolve the situation. We weighed various options from: 1.…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 1: Announcing Our New Public Challenge: Doubling our Agency in 2 Years
1:01:26
1:01:26
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:26
We're starting a new series where we document our journey trying to double the size of our agency over the next couple of years. This is episode one of the series where we explain why we're ready to scale our business, what our goals are, and why were documenting the journey on Youtube. Then we do a deep dive into our business during 2023, share wh…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
How This Bootstrapped Help Desk Software has Lasted over 10 Years Against VC Backed Competitors
58:36
58:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
58:36
In our latest episode, we interview founder Ian Landsman about how he started the help desk software Helpspot back in the early 2000s and how he's lasted 15+ years against funded big name players like Zendesk, HelpScout, and more. We get into the details about what he did in the early days to launch his company, why he never really had a focus on m…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
SurveyMonkey Acquired Their Last Business. Now They’re Back to Grow Vocal Video- G&C Interview
59:41
59:41
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:41
We're trying something new. Many of our clients have really interesting backgrounds and stories, so we decided to interview them. In this podcast, we interview the Vocal Video team to learn where they got the idea for Vocal Video, learnings from their experience selling their past company TechValidate to SurveyMonkey, how their past experiences inf…
…
continue reading
There are many people that don't know how to calculate the ROI of SEO. In particular, they don't understand a key principle of SEO's ROI: it gets better as time passes. Why? Because unlike paid channels where you need to spend more for every extra click you get, in SEO you start accumulating or stacking pages ranking at the top of Google search res…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Will ChatGPT replace writers and content marketers? Our thoughts.
1:04:18
1:04:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:18
In the past couple of months, we've had an increasing number of people ask us our thoughts on ChatGPT and how it will affect the world of content marketing and content writing. We've seen people take extremes: People saying they are going to use ChatGPT instead of hiring writers or content marketers going forward. Then the opposite, people saying C…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Why We're Thinking of Repositioning from a Content Marketing Agency to SEO Agency
1:00:50
1:00:50
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:00:50
In the latest episode of Grow and Convert Deep Dives, we have an open discussion around a topic that we've been thinking about a lot lately: Should we reposition our business as a SEO agency instead of a content marketing one? We thought it would be interesting to everyone to lay out the arguments, challenges and opportunities that we see in reposi…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Managing Remote Workers: How to Manage Outcomes Over Outputs
48:30
48:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:30
In this episode of Grow and Convert Deep Dives, we discuss a philosophy we have about managing remote workers (or workers in general): How to manage by outcomes instead of outputs. Oftentimes in our work, we come across other companies that have goals that don't move the needle, don't motivate employees, and cause more harm than good. We think this…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
How We Hire Great Blog Writers (And Mistakes We've Made Along the Way)
1:00:05
1:00:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:00:05
In this episode of Grow and Convert Deep Dives, we share our mistakes that we've made when hiring writers and how we've developed a process to solve it. We go into detail on our process and share things that we've implemented to help us screen writers, test them and train them. We hope you enjoy. Here are the sections: 0:00 Intro- How to hire blog …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Average Blog Conversion Rates + Can a Blog Post Convert Higher Than a Landing Page?
56:56
56:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
56:56
In Episode 4 of Grow and Convert Deep Dives, we argue against the prevailing wisdom that landing pages convert better than blog posts. We share conversion rate data from two different clients of ours - both a mid-market/enterprise demo based SaaS company and a B2SMB self service SaaS company- and show how we're getting 2%+ average conversion rates …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
What Content Should You Produce to Generate Leads? First 3 months of content strategy
57:57
57:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:57
In Episode 3 of Grow and Convert Deep Dives, we took a question from Elliott Davidson, where he asked us: "What are your go to posts you know straight out of the gate will help you start lead generation for a new client engagement? Even better if they have no domain rating (DR) for the purposes of this conversation. i.e. founder story backed in wit…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Why A Media Company Content Strategy Doesn't Make Sense for Most Businesses
56:42
56:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
56:42
In Episode 2 of Grow and Convert Deep Dives, Devesh and Benji discuss why they don't believe a media company content strategy makes sense for most businesses. They argue that this strategy makes sense only for certain types of businesses and that there are things you should prioritize doing prior to adopting a strategy like this. They share example…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Pain Point SEO: What Is It? Examples and How to Get Started
57:06
57:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:06
In the first episode of Grow and Convert Deep Dives, our new series, where we go in-depth on marketing and business topics, we discuss: - The backstory behind Pain Point SEO - What Pain Point SEO is (and is not) - Both B2C and B2B examples of how we've applied it to clients or other companies - Common Objections that we hear about our process (and …
…
continue reading