how i would learn digital marketing if i could sta with timestamps YoutubeScribe.com

[0:00] 14 years ago, I started my
career in digital marketing.
[0:02] And throughout that time, I've built and sold
a handful of online businesses, consulted
[0:06] for small shops to celebrities to the Fortune
500, and I've been recognized in business
[0:11] magazines like Forbes and Inc as an "SEO expert."
[0:14] To top it off, the United States government
considers me to be in the top 1% of my field.
[0:19] Now, despite any success I've had in digital
marketing, I've also made a ton of mistakes
[0:24] along the way that cost me
valuable time and money.
[0:27] So today, I'm going to show you how I would
learn digital marketing if I could start over
[0:32] and I'll also share some of my
biggest failures along the way.
[0:35] Alright, so the very first thing I'd do is to choose
just one area of digital marketing to focus on.
[0:41] And this is the opposite of what I did.
[0:43] So for context, in 2009, I started my first website
and I basically spammed forums and classifieds.
[0:49] That eventually slowed down,
so I tried paid advertising.
[0:52] And well… I wasted my money because
I had no idea what I was doing.
[0:55] But then social media was blowing up so
I pivoted to that and tried to go viral with
[1:00] coupon codes.
[1:00] Boy was that embarrassing!
[1:02] But still, I was making like a solid
$2,000 a month.
[1:06] I was officially a business man.
[1:08] So I decided to hire a search engine optimization
company because this is what we do!
[1:14] And that was the turning point for me
when my fire for SEO was ignited.
[1:18] They scammed me for everything I had.
[1:20] The good thing that came out of that though
was that it fueled me with rage so much so
[1:25] that I committed to focus on learning just
SEO and to get really good at it so I wouldn't
[1:31] have to hire another company.
[1:32] And by around 2011, my company was worth over
7 figures and the main reason is because of SEO.
[1:39] Now, by definition, digital marketing is just
marketing that happens over the internet.
[1:43] So you can choose to focus on just email marketing,
pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization,
[1:49] social media marketing, etc.
[1:51] Digital marketing is just so vast that it's
impossible to become a master of all areas.
[1:57] It's best to focus on just one area of internet
marketing and to get really good at it.
[2:02] Now, after you've chosen the area of digital
marketing you want to focus on, you need to
[2:06] make a mental commitment
to learn as much as possible.
[2:10] Now, while there isn't a single "right" way
to learn digital marketing, what I've found
[2:15] to be helpful is to learn in 3 stages.
[2:17] So, for illustration purposes, let's say
you chose SEO as your focus area.
[2:22] Now, stage one is to focus on
understanding the fundamentals.
[2:25] So in SEO, that would include things like why
and how SEO is important for businesses,
[2:31] how search engines work, and the main ways
SEO is done – so that includes keyword research,
[2:37] link building, technical SEO and
on-page SEO to name a few.
[2:41] Fundamentals may not be exciting, but they're
absolutely critical to learning, whether you're
[2:46] learning an instrument, a new
recipe, or digital marketing skills.
[2:51] Stage two is all about making connections
in how the fundamentals work together.
[2:55] For example, you should be able to make
the connection in SEO that content creation
[3:00] is reliant on keyword research and that on-page
SEO is connected with both your content writing
[3:06] and keyword research.
[3:08] Finally, stage three is all about learning how
these techniques are executed – more specifically,
[3:14] you'll want to get an idea of workflows
and tools that you'll need to do your job.
[3:19] For example, you should at least know that
keyword research is done with a tool like
[3:22] Keywords Explorer.
[3:24] And the way people find keyword ideas is by
starting with a broad seed, going to a keyword
[3:29] ideas report, narrowing in on keywords with
a set of filters, and then analyzing the search
[3:35] engine results pages to understand
if it's possible to compete.
[3:39] These three stages are typically
how courses are taught.
[3:42] And for that reason, I think it's worth taking
a reputable beginner's course on the area
[3:47] of digital marketing you've chosen –
like our free SEO fundamentals course.
[3:51] This is something that I was too young and
arrogant to do when I was getting started
[3:55] with online marketing.
[3:57] I went with the unguided route and literally…
anytime someone said "advanced", I was like
[4:02] Pavlov's dog and I'd give them all my attention.
[4:05] I wasted tons of time and money because for
some reason, I subconsciously thought it would
[4:10] be more rewarding to figure it out on my own.
[4:12] Now, as you go through this learning stage
and consume content, there's going to be
[4:16] a time when you feel like, "yeah,
this all makes sense!"
[4:20] But I can guarantee you that when you
actually get to doing it, it's not going to
[4:24] feel so straightforward anymore.
[4:26] And that's why the next thing I recommend is to
commit to actually practicing what you've learned.
[4:32] In my opinion, there's no better way to learn
digital marketing than to get first-hand experience.
[4:37] And the best way to do that
is to create your own site.
[4:40] This way, you'll have a safe place to
practice whatever and however you want.
[4:45] Now, as you commit to actually doing
something, I highly recommend doing two things.
[4:49] #1. Cut yourself off from all new content.
[4:54] You should have already consumed enough
through a course or whatever resources that
[4:58] you used to have a high-level view of what it looks
like to execute on the marketing area you've chosen.
[5:04] By cutting out new content, you'll be able
to stay laser-focused on actually practicing
[5:09] the fundamentals that will be an
essential building block to your career.
[5:14] And #2 don't obsess over things that
aren't moving your progress forward.
[5:18] For example, if you decide to build a hobby
site so you can practice SEO, don't spend
[5:23] hours trying to fine-tune your logo,
fonts or blog layout.
[5:28] As an SEO, you're going to want to focus on
driving organic traffic through high rankings
[5:33] in Google.
[5:34] Now, if you're able to actually put all these
things into practice, you will learn very quickly
[5:39] how to actually get results with SEO or social
media or email marketing or whatever area you
[5:45] chose to focus on.
[5:46] Now, if you want to know the fastest way to
accelerate your growth and to put this "doing"
[5:51] stage into overdrive, then I recommend
getting a job or internship at an agency.
[5:57] When you work at an agency, you get the unique
experience of being able to work on a diverse
[6:02] group of projects.
[6:03] Not only is the exposure great, but it forces
you to stretch that creativity muscle and to
[6:08] apply your learning in various scenarios.
[6:11] Now, perhaps the biggest advantage to working
at an agency is that you get to be in the trenches
[6:16] with people who are ahead of you
in their digital marketing career.
[6:20] You can ask them questions, watch them solve
problems, and in some cases, people may be
[6:25] willing to mentor you.
[6:27] Thriving agencies are usually fast-paced
environments, which obviously make them
[6:31] a great place to learn digital
marketing fast if that's your goal.
[6:35] Now, while you obviously want to learn
new skills as fast as possible, don't make
[6:39] the mistake of taking
shortcuts to get there.
[6:42] And I'm talking from experience here.
[6:44] Early in my career, I took an SEO
shortcut that cost me seven-figures.
[6:48] So my first company was an ecommerce store and
I was driving the majority of its traffic through SEO.
[6:53] Now, one of the hardest, but most important
parts of SEO is getting backlinks to your pages.
[6:59] And back in 2010 and 2011, backlinks were
pretty much all you needed to rank a page
[7:04] high in Google.
[7:05] So I came across a private blog network called
Build My Rank where I could buy virtually
[7:10] an infinite number of backlinks.
[7:12] And without fail, throwing a handful of links at
each product page would boost it to the top of
[7:18] Google for queries that were converting into
tens of thousands of dollars every month.
[7:23] The thing is, buying backlinks was and still
is against Google's webmaster guidelines.
[7:29] Now, while I was making a healthy
living, I was getting ready to cash out.
[7:32] But without warning, I lost like 85%
of my traffic and a ton of revenue.
[7:38] So when I sold the site a few months later,
instead of getting a low seven-figure buyout,
[7:43] I ended up getting, much, much,
much, much less.
[7:46] Now, had I focused on learning link building
so I can build backlinks whenever I want,
[7:51] not only would I have had a much nicer exit,
but I would have been able to apply those
[7:56] skills to pretty much every other
SEO-driven business I created.
[8:00] Bottomline: avoid shortcuts
because they can be costly.
[8:04] And you'll only really realize that in hindsight.
[8:06] Now, another thing I would do differently
is to actually build relationships with people.
[8:10] So, for like the first 8 years of doing SEO,
I literally didn't talk to anyone about what
[8:16] I did because most people just didn't understand.
[8:19] And it was lonely and I was really just
stunting my professional growth.
[8:23] So what I would do differently if I could start
over is try and network with two different
[8:28] groups of people.
[8:29] So, Group 1 would be like-minded people who
are trying to learn the same area of digital
[8:34] marketing as you.
[8:36] They're basically a safe place where you can
share your ideas, experiences, and insights
[8:41] without fear of judgment.
[8:42] And not only can you learn from each other,
but you'll also find motivation from each
[8:47] other to get better at your craft.
[8:49] In fact, this is what Mr. Beast did with a group of
friends in his early stages of his YouTube career.
[8:54] And in interviews, he frequently attributes
his success to having this group of people
[8:59] to grow with.
[9:00] And the second group of people I'd network
with are people you respect in your niche.
[9:05] All it really takes is an email or a DM saying,
"Hey, just wanted to let you know that I really
[9:10] admire your work.
[9:11] Thanks for all that you do!"
[9:12] Now, that might sound weird, but at the end
of the day, we're all just regular people.
[9:17] In fact, in 2017 when I started sending these
kinds of emails, I reached out to Tim Soulo,
[9:22] CMO at Ahrefs, to just say that I respect what
he's doing as a marketer – no agenda whatsoever.
[9:28] To which he replied: "You've made my day!"
[9:30] Fast forward one year, and
I ended up working at Ahrefs.
[9:34] Relationships in digital marketing are important.
[9:36] In social media, these are people
who can help amplify your work.
[9:39] On YouTube, these are potential collaborators.
[9:42] And in SEO, they're a critical part to link building.
[9:46] Now, as you continue to build your own
sites, work at agencies or other companies,
[9:50] and network with like-minded people, you're going
to come to a crossroad where you need to decide
[9:57] what's next.
[9:58] And I see three ways this can work –
none of which I think are wrong or right.
[10:02] So option 1, you can continue to
stay a generalist in your focus area.
[10:06] This means that you'll continue to build your
knowledge and experience in most areas of
[10:11] your specific field in digital marketing.
[10:14] The pros with this is that generalists often
become managers and leaders within companies
[10:19] because they get more or less
every part of what's being done.
[10:23] The con is that you never really become an
expert in anything, which obviously has its
[10:29] own set of limitations.
[10:31] Option 2, is to niche down further
in your focus area.
[10:34] So as you gain more knowledge and experience
in your focus area, you're going to realize that
[10:39] there's too much information to
become a true expert in your field.
[10:44] And for that reason, you may want to consider
niching down further because each digital
[10:50] marketing strategy breaks down quite a lot.
[10:53] For example, if you've chosen to focus on
social media, you may decide to focus strictly
[10:57] on Facebook marketing.
[10:59] Or perhaps you want to go more niche and choose
Facebook group marketing for software companies.
[11:05] Now, the pro of niching down is that it's
much easier to become recognized as
[11:09] a niche authority because there's less competition.
[11:12] And if you're viewed as "that" authority,
your reputation will likely be lasting and
[11:17] you can typically demand higher wages.
[11:20] The con is that there's usually less demand.
[11:23] And option 3 is to expand into
other areas of digital marketing.
[11:27] And this is kind of the route that I've gone.
[11:29] The way I recommend doing this is to expand
into areas where your skills are complementary
[11:34] and transferable.
[11:35] For example, starting from SEO and expanding
to content marketing is complementary and
[11:41] the skills from SEO are totally transferable.
[11:44] And even something like going from SEO to
search ads would also be complementary
[11:49] and some of those skills are transferable too.
[11:51] Now, being 14 years into my digital marketing
career, I can confidently tell you that I'm still
[11:57] learning all the time.
[11:59] And that's largely because I'm practicing a
lot of the things that I just shared with you.
[12:03] I work with a ton of smart people at Ahrefs in
various departments who I love learning from.
[12:08] I've had the opportunity to meet really smart
people at conferences, through social media,
[12:13] and even from random cold emails.
[12:15] And I go through seasons of intentional
learning, followed by intentional doing.
[12:20] Now, while I've screwed up in many ways,
I don't look at anything as a waste of time
[12:25] because it helped me to get
to where I am today.
[12:27] I'm definitely not the smartest, richest, most
recognized, or most successful digital marketer
[12:33] in the world.
[12:34] But this is a long journey that I've embraced
along the way and I hope it's one that you'll
[12:39] enjoy or are currently enjoying too.
[12:41] Now, if you want to start your digital marketing
career in SEO like I did, then I highly recommend
[12:46] watching our SEO course for beginners which
will teach you how to get free organic traffic
[12:50] to your site from start to finish.
[12:53] I'll see you there.

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