Delivering Marketing Joy is an award-winning interview show that helps marketers level up. Each week, Kirby Hasseman interviews the best and brightest minds in marketing to help you level up.
In this insightful interview, Robert Brandl, the founder and CEO of Tool Tester, shares his expertise on branding, SEO, and email marketing. As a renowned figure in the digital marketing landscape, Brandl’s insights are invaluable for businesses looking to strengthen their online presence and engage their audience effectively. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, from the importance of branding for SEO to the common mistakes in email marketing and how to avoid them.
Branding, as Brandl explains, is a combination of design, personality, and positioning. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in creating a strong brand that resonates with the target audience and stands out in the competitive digital landscape. Furthermore, Brandl discusses how businesses can enhance their email marketing efforts by offering value to their audience and using quizzes to grow their email lists. He also sheds light on the mystery of email deliverability, providing practical tips on how to ensure that emails reach the main inbox.
The Importance of Branding for SEO
Branding is becoming increasingly important for SEO, and it’s not just about having a catchy logo or a memorable tagline. It’s about creating a holistic brand experience that combines design, personality, and positioning. Design is a critical aspect of branding. It’s about creating a user-friendly website that makes visitors feel at home. It’s about choosing the right color palette, typography, and layout that reflect the brand’s identity and values.
Personality is another key component of branding. It’s about the tone of voice used in the content, the use of real people and office photos, and the overall vibe that the brand exudes. A brand with a distinct personality can establish a strong connection with its audience, making it more memorable and relatable. Positioning, on the other hand, is about being laser-focused on a specific topic or niche. It’s about differentiating the brand from its competitors and attracting the right audience by offering unique value.
Enhancing Email Marketing with Value Offerings
Email marketing is a powerful tool for businesses, but it’s not just about sending promotional emails and newsletters. It’s about offering something of value to the audience to encourage them to sign up for the email list. This could be a lead magnet, such as an ebook, checklist, or cheat sheet, that provides valuable information or solves a specific problem for the audience.
Another effective strategy is to create smaller, more easily consumable resources, such as infographics, short videos, or blog posts. These resources can increase engagement and completion rates, as they are easier to digest and share. They also provide an opportunity for businesses to showcase their expertise and provide value to their audience, thereby building trust and loyalty.
Using Quizzes to Grow Email Marketing Lists
Quizzes can be a fun and engaging way to grow email marketing lists. Whether it’s a personality quiz or a quiz related to a specific topic, quizzes can attract website visitors and encourage them to interact with the brand. But quizzes are not just about entertainment. They can also provide personalized recommendations based on the quiz results, adding value to the user experience.
For example, a skincare brand could create a skin type quiz and provide personalized product recommendations based on the results. To collect email addresses, businesses can offer incentives, such as discounts or exclusive content, to users who opt to receive their quiz results via email. This strategy not only helps grow the email list but also provides an opportunity to segment the audience based on their quiz results and send targeted email campaigns.
Common Mistakes in Email Marketing
One of the common mistakes in email marketing is sending too many emails to everyone on the list, regardless of their interests and behaviors. This can lead to lower engagement rates and potential deliverability issues, as recipients may mark the emails as spam or unsubscribe from the list. Instead, businesses should focus on segmentation and targeting, sending relevant and personalized emails to different segments of their audience based on their interests, behaviors, and preferences.
Another common mistake is neglecting the importance of email deliverability. Many businesses focus on creating engaging content and attractive designs for their emails, but they overlook the technical aspects that can affect whether their emails reach the main inbox or end up in the spam folder. This is where reputable newsletter software and deliverability monitoring tools come into play.
Ensuring Email Deliverability
Email deliverability can be a complex issue, but there are ways to improve it. One of the key factors is the choice of newsletter software. Reliable platforms like MailerLite or ActiveCampaign have built-in features and tools to optimize deliverability, such as authentication protocols, spam checkers, and bounce management.
Monitoring deliverability is also crucial. Tools like Glock apps or Mail dt can provide insights into email placement and potential issues, such as high bounce rates or spam complaints. They can also help businesses test their deliverability by sending test emails to different email providers and checking if they land in the main inbox. By regularly monitoring and testing deliverability, businesses can identify and address issues promptly, ensuring that their emails reach their intended recipients.
Conclusion
Branding, SEO, and email marketing are interconnected aspects of digital marketing. A strong brand can improve SEO performance, attract and retain customers, and enhance email marketing efforts. By understanding the importance of design, personality, and positioning in branding, offering value in email marketing, and ensuring email deliverability, businesses can create a powerful online presence and engage their audience effectively.
To learn more about Robert Brandl and his insights on digital marketing, visit the Tool Tester website or connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter. His expertise and practical tips can provide valuable guidance for businesses looking to strengthen their branding, SEO, and email marketing strategies.
As always, we want to provide you with value. So if you want to create marketing campaigns (and appreciation gifts) that hit the TARGET, check out our TARGET marketing playbook here.
In September, I launched my newest book called Hit The Target. The new book is a parable about Michael, whose life is in shambles. He is about to lose everything and needs to turn things around in only 3 weeks. A new friend, Charles, introduces him to the TARGET marketing framework. Hopefully there are plenty of lessons in the book, but that’s not what today is about! Today is about the 4 lessons I learned from launching the book…and how those might apply to you. Here are 4 Lessons from my book launch! Watch the latest DMJ 1 on 1 below (and subscribe).
Below are just 4 of the lessons I learned while launching this book. To dig deeper, watch the video above!
You Choose You
So many people wait for someone to choose them. They wait to be picked. I have found that to be a recipe for frustration for me. If you want to write a book, start a business, create a hobby, or make any significant change in your life, I think you need to choose you. Take the initiative and go after it. It might not work. But it can’t if you don’t try. Choose you.
Start Building Your List Now
When we are ready to launch our idea, we want to tell as many people as possible. If that’s the case, that is not the time to build the list. You want to build a list of people that are excited about your project long before you need it. So now is the time to start building that brand, and inviting people to be a part of that tribe and follow along.
You Are Going To Be Uncomfortable
I knew this was coming…but the urge to “sit down and be quiet” was still so powerful! When you put yourself out there, the voice in your head will get loud. When you start something new, prepare for “the voice” to tell you to be quiet. But if you want to be successful, you need to fight through that and share your message. As I discussed in the video, one of the ways I overcame that was to schedule my messages in advance. That way I could more likely stick to my plan. I used our software PromoMotion to make that happen (find information here). But regardless of how you do it, it’s imperative to fight through the voice and get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Let Others Help You Tell Your Story
When you do something like this, it can be powerful to have a tribe to help you spread the word. I created a private Facebook group that helped me choose the title, pick the cover, and more. And when the launch happened, they helped me spread the word. It can be hard to ask for people to join that tribe, but it’s a must. Make sure you invite people to help you tell your story!
So those are the 4 lessons I learned during my book launch. I hope those lessons help you. If you want to learn more about the book, head to HitTheTargetBook.com. You can get more information about the book and even get the audiobook for FREE!
As always, we want to provide you with value. So if you want to create marketing campaigns (and appreciation gifts) that hit the TARGET, check out our TARGET marketing playbook here.
You have heard it before. You are the people you surround yourself with. We tell our kids this as they grow up. But we often lose sight of it as adults. The people we surround ourselves with, influence us in big ways. And while you might not be able to schedule lunch with anyone you want on the other, content has changed who we can spend time with. In today’s DMJ 1 on 1, I talk about this…and I talk about the 5 people I follow who help me raise my game.
5 People Who Help Me Raise My Game
Ed Mylett
Ed Mylett is a successful businessperson, content creator, and influencer. He is a man of faith and I quote his advice all of the time (as I do in the video). In addition, his book “The Power of One More” is awesome. He is all over the place, but you can find him on YouTube here.
Codie Sanchez
If you are an entrepreneur or want to be one, Codie Sanchez is a great follow. She has an email called “Contrarian Thinking” and talks about building her empire by buying “boring businesses.” Again, I am a big fan of following her on YouTube.
Alex Hermozi
If you want to grow your business, Alex Hermozi is a must-follow. He built his original business in the gym space, and is working to “build a billion-dollar thing.” Alex provides real-world advice on building businesses, getting new customers, and more. He challenges me to push myself and I love that. You can find him here.
Jon Acuff
While Jon is an entrepreneur, I think of him in the author and speaker space. He has written books called Start, Finish, Soundtracks (probably my favorite), and recently released a book called “All it Takes Is a Goal.” Jon is a self-professed “goal nerd” and gives great advice on parenting, business, and leveling up in all areas of life. My favorite place to follow him is on LinkedIn.
Gary Vaynerchuk
I love Gary Vee. Gary creates so much content that I can’t possibly consume it all. But every once in a while I see a piece of content that hits me right where I need it to. He talks about entrepreneurship, modern-day marketing, and happiness. You can find him everywhere, but I still love finding his videos on YouTube the best.
These are just 5 people that inspire me to raise my game. There are plenty of others. The point, of course, is that you can choose who you listen to in order to raise your level of fitness, finance, or even happiness. You just have to be intentional.
As always, we want to provide you with value. So if you want to create marketing campaigns (and appreciation gifts) that hit the TARGET, check out our TARGET marketing playbook here.
You know what time it is! It’s time for Thirsty Thursday! Thirsty Thursday is the award-winning piece of content from Hasseman Marketing where we take a mystery drink out of a piece of branded drinkware! Be careful…it’s not for everyone. We take a mystery drink out of a piece of branded drinkware. This week we feature the Arlo Ceramic Tumbler from our pals at PCNA. But wait…there’s more! This time, we welcome the “Teacher on Tik Tok Savannah Brown to the show! Watch the latest episode here!
Why Should You Consider the Arlo Ceramic Tumbler with Bamboo Lid?
The Arlo Ceramic Tumbler with Bamboo Lid 11oz features a matte glazed-top outer-wall finish with a contrasting natural baked base. Double-wall ceramic construction helps prevent condensation on the outside of the tumbler. The spill-resistant, screw-on lid is made from FSC-certified bamboo. Recommended hand wash only. Please note due to the color of the clay, some mugs may vary in color.
It’s time for Thirsty Thursday! Thirsty Thursday is the award-winning piece of content from Hasseman Marketing where we take a mystery drink out of a piece of branded drinkware! It’s funny. It’s irreverent. And we will show you some really cool merch as well! This week we feature the Padova Series from our pals at Moderne Glass. But wait…there’s more! This time, we celebrate Briar Swigert’s 21st birthday by welcoming him to join the show! Watch the latest episode here and help us wish Briar a happy birthday!
Why Should you consider the Padova Series?
This double-walled vacuum-sealed drinkware piece has a great look and several colors to choose from. And the price is right as well!
