WANT 60K USERS IN 60 HOURS? FIRST, YOU NEED A GREAT PRODUCT.

By Evan McGowan-Watson

TWO YEARS AGO, PATRICK AMBRON, ONE OF THREE

(INCLUDING ME) CO-FOUNDERS OF OUR COMPANY

BRANDYOURSELF, DETAILED WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE PHENOMENA OF HOW

3RD-PARTY PLACEMENT ESSENTIALLY GOT US 60K

USERS IN LESS THAN 60 HOURS. Photo Source: www.digitaljournal.com

BACKGROUND

➤Since the earlier days of our startup, we were taking what we knew and picking up knowledge along the way.

➤In one of Patrick’s articles, he includes 6 lessons our placement in Mashable taught us.

➤The significance of this helped us translate the engagement to grab the attention of 60K users in that span of time.

IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, I REVISIT THOSE 6 POINTS TO SEE IF EACH

HOLDS TRUE TODAY.

1. NOT ALL ARTICLES ARE CREATED EQUAL.

TRUE. Depending on the

publication and its authority, where your

articles place makes a huge difference.

But the website’s Alexa rating isn’t the only thing

that is of note…

➤Articles that are self-promotional don’t generally do well because, frankly, people don’t think they’re very interesting.

➤That was true when Patrick wrote it, and it is still true now.

Photo source: plpnetwork.com

➤ Is the topic engaging? ➤ Is it scannable? ➤Will the audience your

company is targeting find value in the article?

If you can’t answer yes to all those questions, you may want to rethink your article.

2. PROMOTE ONE FEATURE AT A TIME.

TRUE.What works best when trying to woo Google is consistent, high-quality

content.

➤The way to get the most of that content is to not flood the reader market with all your ideas all at once.

➤ In other words, it is better to write, publish, and promote one article at a time, especially thought pieces.

➤Although I recommend always pitching to 3rd-party sites, I also suggest publishing only one thought piece a month, if possible.

➤ It is more substantive and compelling.

3. PITCH TO THE RIGHT PUBLICATION.

TRUE.As an ORM startup, it

wouldn’t make sense for us to pitch an article to

Car & Driver.

That example is hyperbolic but you’d be surprised

how often editors pass on articles that do not fit

their content.

➤The first step in successfully getting placed in a reputable publication is to familiarize yourself with their site.

➤ If their content doesn’t fit your company’s brand, find a publication that has content that will fit you.

4. FOCUS ON PEOPLE, NOT YOUR COMPANY OR PRODUCT.

TRUE. In the original article,

Patrick makes a good point when he writes,

“[…] nobody cares about your startup.”

➤To go back to how not interesting self-promotional content is: it’s boring.

➤Don’t write about your company.

➤What you want to do is write great content, get it picked up by a publication, then watch the users come.

➤ If the story you’re telling is interesting, you will get more engagement and your potential users will see for themselves how great you are by your site and your products.

PUT SIMPLY, IF YOUR PRODUCT

IS GREAT, IT WILL SPEAK FOR ITSELF.

5. UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHERE YOUR ARTICLE WILL GO VIRAL.

TRUE.This is similar to

knowing where to publish your articles.

6. HAVE A GREAT PRODUCT.

ALWAYS TRUE.

As I said earlier, a good product is the best

promotional material you can put out.

➤When the Mashable article went viral-ish and other publications like Huffpost picked it up, potential users became actual users just by visiting BY.

➤Because we have a solid product that was so different, affordable, and easy, compared to other competitors at the time, the users stuck.

LAST WORDS

THINGS CONTINUE TO MOVE AT A BREAKNECK SPEED IN

THE STARTUP WORLD; BRANDYOURSELF HAS GONE

THROUGH NEW ITERATIONS SINCE THAT ARTICLE WAS

WRITTEN, AND WE’RE STILL EXPANDING OUR

KNOWLEDGE — AND COMPANY FOR THAT

MATTER.

WE’VE GROWN FROM A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE

TO ALMOST A HUNDRED PEOPLE. IN FACT, WE

RECENTLY HAD A RIBBON CUTTING AT

OUR SECOND LOCATION IN LANCASTER, PA.

EVEN TWO YEARS LATER, THE MASHABLE

ANECDOTE IS STILL RELEVANT BECAUSE

THE MORE YOU PITCH, PLACE, AND GET PUBLISHED, THE

MORE EXPOSURE YOU’LL GET.

HOWEVER, THE TAKEAWAY HERE IS NOT JUST GETTING AS MANY

PLACEMENTS AS POSSIBLE TO USE AS A

PR OR MARKETING TOOL, IT’S TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GREAT PRODUCT ONCE YOU GET EYES ON

YOU.

““Getting 60K users is a great feat — keeping them is even better.”

-Evan McGowan-Watson, Co-Founder & Head of Growth, BrandYourself

IF YOU LIKED THIS PIECE, VISIT: WWW.EVANMCGOWANWATSON.NET

➤ Evan McGowan-Watson arrived in New York with the passion to hone his skills and preserve his Vermont roots. He has subsequently made a mark as an inventive entrepreneur in the cutthroat startup space. Currently serving as Co-Founder & Head of Growth of online branding and reputation management startup, BrandYourself, Evan continues to garner knowledge and skills to secure membership of executive and high level clients.