The Growth Machine Marketing Podcast is your go-to resource for learning how to grow your business through Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Advertising, Social Media, Email Marketing, and more. Each week, we will share lessons from the Growth Machine team, a 7-figure marketing agency, or lessons that guests have learned through growing their own businesses. Whether you're an experienced marketer looking for new techniques to try, or a complete newcomer trying to get their footi ...
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We’re being acquired, and we’re spilling all the tea about what the process was like from start to finish! Nora will go over how she knew it was time to sell the company, how it felt going through the acquisition process, and what she learned along the way. Show Notes: (1:02) Big news at Growth Machine! We will share our experience and takeaways fo…
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#41 How Do You Become a LinkedInfluencer?
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Heather, Lindsay, and Nora spent a few months trying to post on what could be considered the lamest social media of them all: LinkedIn. We all took different approaches and each found at least some degree of success building up a LinkedIn network and getting more followers. We share what worked, what miserably failed, and our pleasant surprises in …
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Welcome back to the Growth Machine Marketing Podcast! In this episode, we’re peeling back the curtain on a project near and dear to us: Transforming our own blog into a high-performing, strategic asset. It’s a story of starting from scratch, building a strategy, and practicing what we preach. You’ll hear from our Senior Director of Client Strategy,…
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#39 Why AI Checkers Don’t Work: A Content Agency’s POV
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The Growth Machine Marketing Podcast is back! And we're excited to jump back in with a topic that has been all the buzz lately. Our VP of Content, Heather, and CEO, Nora, are here to discuss both sides of the AI coin. Does it have a place in content marketing, what are its limitations, and what is Google's algorithm favoring? We chat about: The acc…
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In the season finale of the Growth Machine Marketing podcast, CEO Nora Schlesinger and Head of Marketing Amanda Natividad debrief on SEO and content. They discuss: How SEO knowledge can make you a better writer Why SEOs and writers also need empathy to be effective What we wish clients and marketers knew about SEO When it’s time for you to focus on…
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#37 How a Recruiting Website Tripled Organic Traffic in 6 Months
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Here’s a milestone for the Growth Machine team: our first unblinded case study! Ben Siegel, CEO and co-founder of Scholars, joined us in a webinar where he talks about Scholars’s content and marketing strategy. We edited this webinar into this week’s 25-minute episode. Enjoy! Show Notes 1:21 - Ben Siegel, CEO and Co-Founder of Scholars, talks about…
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#36 There’s No Such Thing As an Impulse Purchase
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Impulse purchases are just a story we tell ourselves. Stewart Hillhouse, Head of Growth at Customer Camp, joins the show to tell us why. He explains: it’s actually a series of experiences that ultimately trigger customers to purchase. And in the end, “impulse purchase” is the excuse given in the event a purchase doesn’t work out. Stew and I also di…
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#35 Why Good Marketers Act Like Journalists, Not Columnists
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If you work in content marketing, you know John Bonini. He’s the Director of Marketing at Databox, and he also owns the widely popular Some Good Content Patreon, where he distills expert yet tactical advice for content marketers at ever level. He joined us on the show to discuss: How journalism informs good marketing Brand content that has a point …
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#34 How to Manage Content When You’re Not a Content Marketer
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One of the questions we hear most is: How do you hire and manage content services when you yourself are not a content marketer or an editor? Our very own VP of Content, Heather Leith, joins us today to answer that question. Heather manages our team of editors who publish over 100 articles per month for Growth Machine’s clients. We chat about: A sca…
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#33 SEO for Content Marketers at Any Level, in Any Industry
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As soon as I began following SEO expert Kameron Jenkins’ work, it was clear to me how friendly and accessible she makes SEO to everyone at all levels. So I was super excited to have her on the show. Kameron is now a content lead at Shopify and we got to talk about: Communicating the value of SEO to the c-suite Balancing a content strategy across sh…
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#32 The 3-Step Framework to Making Your Brand Stick
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There’s a three-step framework to user onboarding. And you can apply to your marketing efforts as well — to ensure that your brand is top of mind to your audience. Adapted from psychologist BJ Fogg’s habit-forming framework, Ramli John, Managing Director and ProductLed and author of the new book, “Eureka,” explains how it applies to user onboarding…
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Mini Episode: The Critical Authority Threshold Might Be Holding You Back
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Having grown dozens of brand new websites, we’ve never seen a smooth up-and-to-the-right chart of organic traffic growth. Our theory is that this has to do with the Critical Authority Threshold, a threshold you cross after some combination of publishing regularly, link building, and patience. It usually takes six months. Learn more about this theor…
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#31 Peep Laja on How Small Businesses Can Build a Moat
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There are two ways a company can carve out its differentiation: by out-innovating the competition, or by competing on your messaging. As categories become more crowded, brands nailing their messaging is going to become more important. Peep Laja, CEO of Wynter, joins the show today to dive deeper into his marketing philosophies, and how Wynter is he…
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Mini Episode: Creating Viral Loops in Content, Marketing, and More
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A viral loop within The Knot accomplishes something you’d never guess. Their wedding style quiz gives brides and grooms-to-be suggested venues and style inspiration. But it actually grows their B2B business with wedding vendors. Learn more about this viral loop — and how you can create your own — in this 9-minute audio version of our blog post, “Cr…
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Mini Episode: Creation Vs. Distribution: What’s the Right Balance?
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We’ll just say it up front: spend half your time creating, and half your time distributing. In this 9-minute audio blog post, “Finding Balance Between Content Creation and Distribution” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, distills the expert content creation and distribution advice of Steph Smith, Head of Trends for The Hustle. …
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#30 Why Your Company Needs a YouTube Channel
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YouTube is 16 years old. But it’s only recently that companies have realized the value in having a channel. One of those companies who has seen success? B2B app agency Headway.io. Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, talks with marketer Jacob Miller about how YouTube fits into Headway’s marketing strategy. You don’t want to miss …
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Mini Episode: Here’s What You Might Need Instead of a Niche…
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In content marketing, you’re often told to find your niche — to carve a path through unchartered territory with a narrowly defined audience. But what if instead, you zeroed in on your key differentiator? And THAT was your competitive edge? In this 9-minute audio version of our blog post, “Don’t Find Your Niche — Find Your Key Differentiator,” Amand…
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Bonus: The “Us Vs. Them” Narrative [from the Cart Overflow podcast]
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Growth Machine’s Head of Marketing, Amanda Natividad, recently joined the Cart Overflow podcast hosted by Gen Furukawa. We’re publishing this bonus episode here so you can learn about applying content marketing strategy to your company — no matter what stage of business you’re in. Show notes: 1:22 - Amanda talks about how she joined Growth Machine.…
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Mini Episode: Build a Community (Not an Audience)
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When you build a community, you create a space where real people discover answers to real problems. In this 9-minute audio version of our blog post, “How to Build a Community Online,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, explains how to build an online community and question of how to monetize it. Show Notes: 0:56 - What Is an On…
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If you have even the slightest interest in creating a movement, this is the episode for you. Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, talks with Stew Fortier, Co-Founder of Compound Writing, about what it takes to build a successful community. And it all starts with defining that community’s purpose. Doing that one thing ridiculously…
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Mini Episode: Make Your Content Do More for You
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I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you’re not getting enough out of your content. In this 10-minute audio version of our blog post, “How to Repurpose Content Without Sounding Redundant,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, explains the art of repurposing your content, and getting the most bang for your buck. Show Notes: 2:…
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#28 Everything You Need to Know to Start a Podcast for Your Company
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How meta: a podcast about podcasting. If you’re thinking of launching your own show, start here. Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, talks with Tristan Pelligrino, Co-founder of Motion, a done-for-you B2B podcast agency. We talk about: Why your podcast needs a theme statement Metrics to track 3 phases of podcast content Motion’s…
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#27 Content Strategy Starts With Your Customers’ Language
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The beauty of content marketing is the foundational role it plays across all other marketing efforts. B2B SaaS content expert Adrienne Barnes joins us today to tell us all about that and: Writing your best hook How your customers’ language should kick off your keyword strategy Reaching out to your greatest enemies for feedback Show Notes: 5:21 - A …
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Mini Episode: How an Info Site Went Zero to 100,000 in 6 Months
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It’s hard to start a website from scratch. And one of our clients wanted to break 100,000 monthly visitors as soon as possible. In this 7-minute audio case study, “How a Gig Economy Website Hit 100,000 Monthly Visitors in 6 Months,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, breaks down how. If you want to learn even more about this in…
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#26 There’s One Ecommerce Touchpoint With a 100% Open Rate
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When it comes to organic growth and customer retention, Kristen LaFrance, Head of Resilient Retail for Shopify, is one of the best and brightest. Today, we talk about: Nailing all those customer touchpoints The one huge advantage brick and mortar stores have over ecommerce And what ecommerce touchpoint has a 100% open rate Show Notes: 1:07 - One ch…
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Mini Episode: How to Make a Content Marketing Style Guide
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A style guide isn’t just for design or brand teams to ensure consistency. It can apply to other teams too — especially content marketing teams, where there are various creative stakeholders involved. In this 13-minute audio version of our blog post, “From Grammar Tips to Business Goals: How to Make a Content Style Guide,” Amanda Natividad, Head of …
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#25 The Content Agency Questions You’ve Always Wanted to Ask
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This isn’t a salesy episode. But it kind of is. Growth Machine’s Head of Sales & New Client Strategy, Nathan Daly, joins the show to talk about FAQs from our clients and gives advice for how you can vet the agencies you hire. We also talk about how content marketing should fit into your overall business strategy. Show Notes: 1:04 - Nathan shares ho…
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Mini Episode: How to Create an Actually Useful Content Marketing Persona
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Here’s the problem with most buyer personas: they’re too general to actually be useful to individuals on your marketing team. In this 11-minute audio version of our blog post, “Unlocking Great Content: How to Create a Content Marketing Persona,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, walks you through creating a persona that works …
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#24 You Don’t Need a Tool for Better Marketing (You Need Good Data)
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This episode is all about marketing automation and operations. So we talked to the best of the best: Darrell Alfonso, who runs the show at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Show Notes: 1:10 - Darrell shares what marketing looks like in his role at Amazon Web Services (AWS). 3:52 - Honing a skill set in marketing automation. 9:50 - How marketing operations…
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#23 How Content and Community Empower Each Other
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It all started in a pub. Last summer, Christina Pashialis organized a casual meetup for UK-based content marketers. She mobilized the group on Twitter and LinkedIn, and as followup, she set up a Slack community for everyone to stay in touch. That group evolved into the ContentUK community, which Christina now manages full time. Today, she talks wit…
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Mini Episode: How a DTC Beverage Company Grew 4x in Search Traffic in 3 Months
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Sometimes we see immediate results with our clients. For a direct-to-consumer beverage company, we started ranking for keywords right away. By Month 3, we grew organic traffic to 8,000 monthly visitors — up 4x from 2,000. And we’re able to attribute over $1,000 per month from a single blog post. In this 8-minute audio version of our case study, “Ho…
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#22 Corey Haines Wants You To Be a More Prolific Marketer
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What does it mean to be a more prolific marketer? It means creating a marketing flywheel for yourself — so you can work smarter, not harder. When Corey Haines took on the Head of Growth role at Baremetrics, he spent the first two months digging into customer research. Gaining a deep understanding of his customers meant he didn’t have to guess what …
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Mini Episode: How to Attract Customers, Not Just Readers
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In this 11-minute audio version of our blog post, “How to Attract Customers, Not Just Readers,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, explains how to create content that drives your readers to purchase — in a way that isn’t spammy or salesy. Show Notes: 1:39 - First, uncover the true needs of your customer 5:58 - Try these 4 frame…
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#21 How Doopoll's Content Strategy Converts 20% of Site Visitors
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It typically makes sense to create a content strategy based on high volume keywords. But for Doopoll, an online survey company, publishing content based on low volume, high intent keywords was the silver bullet. One of their articles converts 20% of website visitors. Marc Thomas, co-founder & CEO of Doopoll, and curator of B2B SaaS newsletter Posit…
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Mini Episode: How to Use Your Company Blog for PR & News
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Public relations is an art. And incorporating a PR strategy into your blog can be tough to do. You want to make sure your news & announcement-related blog posts are still adding value to your readers. In this 9-minute audio version of our blog post, “How to Use Your Company Blog for PR & News (the Right Way),” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing fo…
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#20 How New Creators and New Startups Should Think About Marketing
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If there’s one thing you take away from this episode, it’s the importance of following attribution all the way to the end of the funnel. Katie Mitchell, Head of Marketing at UserLeap, is a seasoned marketer with nearly a decade of experience at brands like Campbell Soup, PBS, EVERFI, and more. She joined the podcast to discuss: Creating on LinkedIn…
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#19 Amanda Goetz Tells You How to Tap into Your Superfans
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If you want to listen to only one podcast about brand marketing, this is the one. Amanda Goetz spent more than five years at The Knot, helping to grow the wedding juggernaut into the household name it is today. She’s now the Chief Marketing Officer for Teal, and she’s starting up her own luxury CBD company for women, House of Wise. In this episode …
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Mini Episode: How to Get Executive Buy-in for Content Marketing
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This is a must-listen for every in-house content marketer or marketing leader who’s thinking about investing in content. In this 10-minute audio version of our blog post, “How to Get Executive Buy-in for Content Marketing,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, helps you make the case. Show Notes 1:14 Show the Missed Opportunity 3…
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#18 DTC 101: Your KPIs Might Be Hindering Long-Term Growth
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If you’re looking for a masterclass in direct-to-consumer marketing, start here. Ecommerce coach Austin Brawner has helped over 200 ecommerce brands — like Ancient Nutrition, Kettle & Fire, and MVMT Watches — grow to eight-figure businesses. In this episode, we discuss: Special offers: Why gift cards to your own store are better than discount codes…
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Mini Episode: 4 Signs You're Ready for Link Building
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Few would disagree that link building helps build your site’s authority. In this 12-minute audio version of our blog post, “4 Signs You're Ready for Link Building,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, breaks down how to know you need it. Show Notes: 2:39 - When you have something worth linking to 3:43 - When you’ve optimized con…
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#17 How Kaleigh Moore Uses Twitter to Build Her Brand
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Whether you’re a business owner, retailer, freelancer, or copywriter — Ecommerce Expert and Writer Kaleigh Moore has advice for you. There are lots lessons to unpack, such as: How to ask for (and get!) a seat at the table Building a personal brand by being authentic and curious Improving your writing skills by being open to fierce questions from an…
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Mini Episode: How to Succeed at SEO Without Tools
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In this 9-minute audio version of our blog post, “How to Succeed at SEO Without Tools,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, explores the idea of creating successful content by using Google Search and focusing on the reader experience. Show Notes 0:54 - Use these tricks to figure out if there’s an SEO opportunity 2:10 - Generate …
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#16 Holiday Prep: Planning Your Content in Advance
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How are you being proactive about your content strategy? Growth Machine’s Nora Schlesinger (Chief Operating Office) and Amanda Natividad (Head of Marketing) talk about the importance of banking your content ahead of the holiday season. We cover: Which topics should expect higher traffic during the holidays How to plan out your content The balance o…
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Mini Episode: Red Flags to Look for When Hiring a Content or Marketing Agency
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In this 14-minute mini episode, Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, does an audio version of our blog post, “6 Red Flags to Look for When Hiring a Content or Marketing Agency.” Consider this a list of all the things she wishes someone told her in her eight years of managing marketing agencies. Show Notes 1:24 - Red Flag #1: Sayi…
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#15 How Steph Smith Made $40K+ from Her Ebook in 1 Month
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Steph Smith doesn’t want you to read her book from beginning to end. And if there’s a chapter that doesn’t apply to you? Skip it. In her new ebook, “Standing Out in 2020: Doing Content Right,” Steph takes her learnings of content creation and distribution — from her years of leading content at Toptal and now leading Trends at The Hustle — and disti…
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Mini Episode: How We Hire Great Writers at Growth Machine
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In this 9-minute mini episode, Amanda does an audio version of our blog post, “How We Hire Great Writers at Growth Machine.” She explains our unique approach to hiring and training writers, and how we match them up with our clients. Show Notes: 0:36 - Where We Find Writers 1:33 - How We Pick a Writer 5:12 - What We Look For in a Writer Links: How W…
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#14 Content Has 4 Goals (And They’re Not What You Think)
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You’ve probably heard that a goal with content marketing is building trust. Today, we question that goal. Tommy Walker, who previously led global content marketing at Quickbooks and was the first marketing hire at Shopify Plus, makes the case that you can’t measure “building trust” — and therefore, it’s not a goal. We also discussed: Leveraging the…
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#13 Adam Rogers: From Intern to Content Marketing Manager in Less Than a Year
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Sometimes the best way to break into a new career or industry is to do the work for free. Adam Rogers did this when he decided to pivot his teaching career into marketing. All he asked for in return was a testimonial or a reference for his resume. Over a year, he built up his portfolio and he landed a full-time content marketing role at Kayako. Tod…
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#12 Tim Stoddart: The Key to Success is Being Specific
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If you’re starting a new business or launching your marketing career, start with this episode. Amanda talks with Tim Stoddart, a writer & editor (at Copyblogger), a community leader (of Sober Nation), a healthcare marketer (for Stodzy Internet Marketing), and a podcast host (of the Tim Stodz Podcast). Tim opens up about his sobriety, his idea of a …
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#11 Corinne Watson: Ecommerce Content Needs to Move Forward
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This episode is about all things ecommerce and content marketing. Amanda talks with Corinne Watson, Senior Content Marketing Manager for Postscript.io, about: where the path has been, which trends need to die, and why content needs to take a big step forward. Topics: 0:37 - Professional networking and how connection with others has changed since jo…
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