Recently we talked with none other than Neil Patel, the man behind companies such as Crazy Egg and KISSmetrics. We asked him about what he sees as the issues facing companies in their marketing and content writing endeavors, and in Part 1 of this 2-part series we began unpacking his incredibly insightful advice for anyone optimizing an article for writing content.
NP: I would encourage all writers to focus on quality content above all else. By not sacrificing the quality of your work you can really make a name for yourself in the industry… again that is easier said than done. It’s all about moderation and balance in the end.
As for who makes a good writer, I think anyone can fit the mold. I was a mediocre writer when I first started off. Persistence and hard work really pay off in any industry.
NP: Quality content and giving away eBooks go a long way towards building out your email marketing list. Offer free solutions to visitors and they in turn will trust you with their email.
AW: What’s your hands-down best content marketing tactic to generate leads?
NP: Haha, that’s a loaded question. I would suggest basic blogging. Capturing your audience is easiest when you know who your ideal visitor is. Once you build up the right audience you can then drive them to a landing page and capture leads.
AW: Let’s talk outsourcing for a minute. In your opinion, what’s the difference in the amount of time it takes to rank for a keyword when hiring a relatively small, inexpensive SEO team vs. hiring a more expensive, more well-known SEO team?
NP: Experience matters. With that being said you should always go with a company that has a proven track record and doesn’t partake in cookie cutter approaches. Make sure they place a premium on content.
Readers know they are getting value when they read content that teaches them something new. They could learn from just experiencing life or reading a book, or they could learn from you, which is a really incredible place of authority to be in.
AW: How you got to where you are is incredibly interesting. We’re curious: What’s the biggest mistake you made – regardless of the job – when you first started out, and what lessons did you learn?
NP: I think a mistake I made – that many other entrepreneurs make – Is I got complacent. Once I realized complacency was setting in I forced myself to keep growing and learning more. That is kind of how Quick Sprout came to being
Early on I also didn’t think as much outside of the box. Now I spend hours at a time just sitting and thinking about new and innovative things I can do to drive traffic. Taking a break and thinking does wonders.
AW: What are your future plans? Any cool side projects we should be aware of? Any software under development?
NP: You’ll just have to say tuned 😉 There is a lot going on haha !
What an incredible thought leader! Neil’s insights on the importance of high-value content and his advice for promoting it effectively were excellent. If his words encouraged you, let us know either by commenting on our blog post or by shooting us a message on Twitter: @ArticleW.
David is the Founder and Director of article-writing.co, the fastest-growing content creation agency in North America. He has transformed companies by offering high-quality content that has impacted their SEO ranking, revitalized websites with engaging and industry-relevant blogs and website copy, and championed successful email campaign copy.
