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Episode 12: Landing More Public Speaking Gigs With Jen Grisanti

October 26, 2016 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

On today’s episode, Marc is joined by former studio executive, and writing instructor at NBC: Jen Grisanti. Having spent years working in the entertainment industry under some of the best names in the business, Jen transitioned to running her own consultancy to pass her knowledge on to others. Jen chats to Marc about how it all happened.

Listen in to hear Jen discuss why it wasn’t as straight forward as just being able to deliver knowledge to a new audience, and the fear that came along with the new territory. Learning valuable lessons every step of the way, including having to reinvent her methods of delivery, Jen talks us through her journey to successful public speaking and instruction.

Jen quickly saw the void that her skills could fill, and worked hard to provide her unique services to those who could benefit from them the most. We are fortunate to hear valuable advice and tips, from everything including why mental preparation is key, to tips for getting more speaking gigs and even how to find your breakthrough.

Join us in Marc’s latest episode.

Important links from the show:

www.jengrisanti.com – Jen’s Personal Site

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jerry-Weissman/e/B001H6N238/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1476706517&sr=8-1 – Jerry Weissman Books

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brian-Solis/e/B001KD2V1C/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1476706587&sr=8-3 – Brian Solis Books

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garr-Reynolds/e/B001I9TU1W/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1476706607&sr=8-1 – Garr Reynolds – Presentation Zen Books

Learn:

– 3 tips for getting more speaking gigs

– Advice for breaking through

– Jen’s favorite inspirational quote

– Why preparation is so important

Episode 11: How To Land $20K+ Clients With Matt Inglot

October 12, 2016 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

Lifestyle entrepreneur Matt Inglot is driven by his freedom to run his life as he wants. He built a business from the ground up and is now successfully pulling in $20K plus clients, while having the freedom to work on his own terms.

Matt offers up great advice from breakthrough to scoring high paying and quality clients, and why he feels autonomy is so key to the success of his business.

Matt tells us how he bit the bullet and started again, having already run a successful business, except this time he made sure he knew what he wanted. Now, working from the comfort of his own home, Matt takes time to speak to Marc, and explain his views on how a business should be run.

Key Links from the show:

www.freelancetransformation.com – Matt’s Site

https://freelancetransformation.com/blog/podcast – Matt’s Podcast

Learn:

– To use your skills for success in business

– Why autonomy can be crucial

– Understanding a goal and having a clear vision

– 3 Tips for scoring high paying and high quality clients

– To take charge of your role to the client

– Matt’s advice for breaking through

– To always be working on your business

7 Ways To Get More Instagram Followers

October 7, 2016 by Marc Guberti 2 Comments

Photo: (cc) Pixabay

How hot is Instagram for businesses? Well, the social network boasts over 300 million daily active users and engagement is through the roof compared to other social networks. So what’s the trick to increasing your Instagram followers?

I recently posted a picture to my 2,000 Instagram followers that was liked over 40 times. That high level engagement is normal on Instagram. If any of my tweets was retweeted or favorited that many times, I’d be overjoyed.

That’s why brands are scrambling to master Instagram as quickly as possible. They want large, targeted, and active audiences who will fall in love with their pictures and products.

I recently started taking the social network more seriously and was happy to discover that many Instagram growth methods are similar to those used for growth on Twitter. If you know how to get more Twitter followers, then you have an edge when it comes to Instagram.

But there are also some differences that I will discuss within this post. Here are seven ways you can get more Instagram followers:

#1: Follow The Right People

You could technically follow many Follow4Follow accounts to increase your following. However, those followers are more interested in adding you to their own list of follows than your content.

You don’t want an audience of real, yet non-targeted and non-interested followers. Rather, you should be looking to build an audience of targeted individuals who have a strong interest in your brand. Here’s how you find those people:

Find a person in your niche with a big audience.
Go to that person’s most recent post.
Follow the people who liked that photo.
Repeat the process with more influencers’ accounts.

While Instagram requires a few additional steps compared to the Twitter approach, you’ll be following people who are:

Interested in your niche.
Active.
Engaging with content related to your niche.

Making a careful selection of who to follow will help you build a relevant audience that engages with your content. Try to be sure that the people you follow will be likely to follow you back.

Not only is it possible to find targeted and engaged users who are likely to follow you back, it’s also easy.

#2: Like The Right Pictures

Google the phrase “how to get more Instagram followers” and you’ll come across the tip I previously mentioned: follow users who like content related to your niche. More people are clicking on particular images to see who has liked them, then following those users.

This is a method people use to gain liked-minded followers. Liking hundreds of pictures related to your niche will put you in front of thousands of potential targeted followers.

Like photos posted by influencers in real time. The sooner you like the picture, the more exposure you’ll get. If you know an influencer posts pictures at a certain time each day, be sure you’re logged into Instagram at the same time so you can be one of the first people to like his or her post.

#3: Post Consistently

Engaging with other people’s pictures and following their active users will put your account in front of more people. But unless your account makes an impression on visitors, you won’t get many followers.

Posting consistently makes your account more impressive. Consistent posting makes it clear to potential followers that you are an active user. Until recently, there was no free way to schedule your Instagram posts. Now you can get the job done with HootSuite, but keep in mind that you must be logged in to the Instagram app in order to post it.

HootSuite doesn’t actually schedule the Instagram post. Rather, it notifies you to post to Instagram according to your schedule. So if you schedule a post for 6 pm, but don’t log into Instagram for the entire day, your picture won’t get posted.

Posting consistently on Instagram requires a bit more work, but it is also more rewarding. Far more people engage with Instagram posts than with Twitter and Facebook posts.

I have two predictions: the first is that the scheduling problem won’t last very long. My second prediction is that Instagram will keep growing, and you’ll want to post consistently now (and let other people complain about the technological restraints).

#4: Optimize Your Bio

Let people know what you do professionally, and who you are personally. List some of your personal interests and professional accomplishments. People who have never heard of you before should immediately get a sense of who you are just by reading your bio.

And no bio is complete without a link to your blog or website. This link will help you increase your traffic from Instagram, and that traffic can equate to subscribers and sales. So should you link to your post or landing page?

If you post your blog post pictures on Instagram and want people to read your content, simply include “Read this post by clicking the link in my bio” at the end of the post description.

If you prefer to include your blog’s link within your Instagram post descriptions, link to your landing page in the bio. Social media is a means to an end.

Successful Instagram users aren’t getting more followers just for the sake of having a pretty number and bragging rights. The purpose of Instagram varies for each person. Some people view Instagram as a way of building an audience and getting more blog traffic, while others want to funnel as much of their Instagram traffic to their landing pages as possible.

If you are using Instagram to grow your email list, then why link to your blog? Link to one of your landing pages to expedite the process.

Of course, if you view Instagram only as a means to an end and don’t bother interacting with your audience, your Instagram experience won’t be a smooth one. No matter which social network you use, interaction is a must.

#5: Include Hashtags

Use Hashtags to get your content found on Instagram. They’re the SEO for Instagram. Choose the right hashtags and your pictures will get in front of all of the people searching for that hashtag.

I like to use at least three hashtags in a given Instagram post. Before I choose hashtags, I’ll put the hashtag into Instagram’s search engine to see how they rank.

When choosing my Instagram hashtags, I’ll mix in the most popular hashtags with hashtags that aren’t as popular. Often less popular hashtags still get a lot of visibility.

Getting a lot of engagement for those hashtags boosts social proof and helps out with the more popular hashtags.

#6: Comment On Other People’s Pictures

Here’s a fun activity. Find a successful Instagram picture related to your niche. Then see how many people liked the picture and how many people commented. I decided to do this with one of my pictures:

41 likes
2 comments

Foundr Magazine is crushing it on Instagram. I decided to look at the stats of one of their Zig Ziglar pictures:

5,021 likes
34 comments

Why does this fun and insightful game help you obtain more Instagram followers? Instagram pictures don’t get nearly as many comments as likes, which makes the comments section an easier place to stand out.

Post a meaningful comment, and you’ll get more followers from that person’s audience.

Foundr Magazine currently has over 800,000 Instagram followers but the case study post only received five comments. So if you add comment #6, you are automatically exposed to thousands of people. You won’t get in front of Foundr Magazine’s entire audience, but a few thousand people seeing your comment isn’t so bad 🙂

#7: Post Awesome Pictures

Not all pictures are created equal. In the end, there are only three types of pictures that I post on my Instagram account.

The first type is something personal. I like it when people can connect with me on a more personal level. I’ve had numerous conversations with my audience about running, dogs, and the Red Sox. I love those types of conversations.

Not only does my audience get to know me better, but I get to know them better, too.

The second type of picture is a motivational quote. I like to inspire my audience so much that I created an inspirational quotes board that currently has over 4,000 pins. I am that serious about inspiring others (to be fair, I’ve got almost 600 contributors helping me with that board).

The third type of picture I post is a picture of one of my blog posts in order to drive more traffic to my blog.

Understand what types of pictures you want to craft and make them epic. For personal pictures, I like candid shots take in the moment. I hire a freelancer for my blog pictures because choosing those images is not my strong suit. For motivational quotes, I edit images using Canva (although I may begin outsourcing those as well).

In Conclusion

Instagram is a social network seething with new opportunities. You’ll tap into a powerful, highly engaged audience that can take your brand to the next level and beyond.

Foundr Magazine is doing very well, and the owner attributes much of the magazine’s success to Instagram. If you take action, you may attribute much of your business’ success to Instagram as well.

What are your thoughts about using Instagram for your business? Have any tips for us? Sound off in the comments section below.

Episode 10: How Lise Cartwright Starting Making $3-4K Within Her First Six Months As A Kindle Author

October 5, 2016 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

Join us on Episode 10 of the show, as Lise delivers some valuable insights on how to achieve success in the Kindle Marketplace FAST.

Lise is an established Kindle Author, having published over 20 books, and turning over $3-4K in her first 6 months alone.

We discuss why it’s so great and also so important to do something you love, and how to be successful at it. Lise makes sure that people are aware that her intentions and motivations are to help people, and she is making a living from it. You’ll learn why it’s important to diversify your income and how to leave the jobs you didn’t want to do in the past, having a clear, motivated idea of what to do going forward.

Today’s show is really an inspiring lesson of why it’s important to be genuine, how to offer your value in a big way, and to really just enjoy what you are doing.

To learn how to get a strong start in the Kindle Marketplace, you won’t want to miss this episode!

Links from show:

www.hustleandgroove.com – Lise’s side hustle training

www.lisecartwright.com – Lise’s Personal Site

www.stevescottsite.com – Steve’s Personal Site

Learn:

– How to keep a strong discipline

– How to be motivated

– To enjoy what you’re doing and do what you enjoy

– How to build a strong readership/list of readers

– Why cross promotion is important

– Lise’s advice for people trying to breakthrough

– Lise’s tips for driving kindle publishing sales

5 Ways To Get More Blog Traffic From Instagram

September 30, 2016 by Marc Guberti 4 Comments

Ever get random blog traffic? It’s a mixed feeling of excitement and the question, “What can I do to get more traffic from that source?” I was recently surprised by Instagram traffic to my blog.

I followed targeted people on Instagram to grow my account, and I noticed that Instagram brought 10 people over to my blog that same day. Ten visitors a day adds up to 3,650 new visitors each year. I’m not doing cartwheels over an additional 10 visitors, but neither am I discounting the potential power of Instagram to increase my blog traffic.

In fact, I am doing cartwheels precisely because those visitors came from Instagram. At the time, my last Instagram post was two months old, and the one prior to that was almost a year old. I attracted 10 people to my blog via an inactive Instagram account. Imagine if it was an active account.

That’s why I was doing cartwheels.

Now I’m dreaming of the day my monthly Instagram traffic surpasses my monthly Twitter traffic. One-thousand daily visitors from social media alone has a nice ring to it. Today my blog is consistently getting more traffic from Instagram, and that traffic is growing.

Want to get blog traffic from Instagram? Follow these five tips:

#1: Link To Your Blog In Your Bio

This is how I got my initial 10 visitors. I followed people, they followed me back, and some of those people decided to check out my blog. I was also experimenting with a second method (but more on that in a second).

Linking to your blog in your bio is perhaps the easiest way to increase traffic. It takes a few seconds and requires little to no effort. All you do is edit your bio and add a link to your blog.

It’s that easy!

#2: Grow A Targeted And Active Audience

There are many ways to grow an audience on Instagram. Many sites out there offer myriad ways to grow your Instagram fans, particularly those encouraging you to buy followers.

That method doesn’t interest me. In fact, buying followers will not give you an authentic picture of your account activity and most will be bot accounts. At one point, I used a point exchange site to build up my Twitter audience during its infancy stage (I stopped when my account had 1667 followers), but I did nothing like that for my Instagram account.

I am more interested in methods that will actually result in an audience of people who are interested in my pictures and ready to engage with my posts. And you should be too.

Build a targeted and active audience by hanging out where the targeted and active people hang out. How? First, find an influencer in your niche with a big audience. Next, visit the influencer’s account and look at his or her latest post and who has engaged with, or liked it. Finally, follow all of those people.

It’s that easy. People liked the picture because they were interested in that topic (your niche). These people are likely active and engaged on the platform, so this simple follow strategy will help you build your own audience.

#3: Post Pictures Of Your Latest Blog Post

The day I received 10 visitors from Instagram to my blog I did not include an image from my latest blog post. But if I had, I would have easily doubled my visitors. Posting pictures of your latest blog posts on Instagram is a creative way to use the platform to increase your blog traffic.

Most of my blog post images are 300×300 pixels, but I can quickly and easily resize them to 400×400 pixels so that they are optimized for Instagram.

#4: Post Pictures Made To Spread

If I share a motivational quote on Instagram, it doesn’t usually result in a direct increase in my blog traffic. If anything, I’ll receive an indirect increase in traffic because some curious people will click on my blog link.

These types of posts are designed more for spreading power than traffic power. The stronger your image’s spreading power, the more people that image reaches. Motivational quotes happen to perform very well on virtually every social network. These pictures normally get a lot of engagement and attract followers.

This means my blog post images are seen by a larger audience. Motivational quote pictures motivate others and increase my following, which brings more attention to the blog post images that drive my traffic.

#5: Make Those Pictures Awesome

Each picture you put on your Instagram profile needs at least 10 minutes of care and attention (with the exception of random pics taken in the moment). I hire a freelancer to choose and edit my blog post pictures, and it looks like I’ll be hiring another freelancer for the motivational quote pictures as well.

If you want to create the pictures yourself, use Canva. It’s a free tool that makes image editing a breeze.

In Conclusion

While ten visitors in one day doesn’t look like much, Instagram is attractive because of its potential to bring in serious traffic and revenue.

Instagram users are active and engaged, so if you aren’t already using the platform, start now. You don’t need many followers to get dozens of likes for each picture you post.

The potential Instagram has to transform your business is huge. However, the only way Instagram will transform your business is if you take action.

What are your thoughts about using Instagram for business? Which of these tips resonated with you the most? Have any Instagram tips for us? Sound off in the comments section below.

Episode 9: Mastering The Launch With Tom Morkes

September 28, 2016 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

Today Marc is joined by Tom Morkes, the CEO of Insurgent Publishing. Tom started exclusively providing free content for his audience and used that relationship to successfully launch his products and the products of others. Tom has helped launch products such as Hustle by Neil Patel and Patrick Vlaskovits, The 7 Day Startup by Dan Norris, and a whole lot more.

Marc and Tom sit down to hear Tom’s journey, driven by the idea that he wanted to do creative work and not be dependent on anyone. Traveling freely with a full-time income from digital products struck a cord with Tom.

Starting with a simple eBook, Tom made sure he created something of value, and through referral, grew his business exponentially. We are lucky to have Tom share some of his best insights and motivations with us. Listen in to figure out how to crush it with your next launch.

Key Links from the Show:

www.tommorkes.com – Personal Site – Free courses

http://insurgentpublishing.com/about/ – Tom’s company

Learn:

– To weigh the upsides vs. the downsides of a venture

– to develop a skill set to make your company peerless

– Tom’s advice from breaking through

– 3 tips for product creation and launches

– Why recruiting affiliates is so important

– To always validate/beta test a product