Press and Paid Ads Work Best for Mobile Apps: Interview with Neil Patel

Neil Patel is kind of a big deal.

The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web. Forbes says he is one of the top 10 online marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies in the world.

He is an entrepreneur, angel investor, analytics expert, and a blogger. He is the co-founder of KISSmetrics, Crazy Egg, and Quick Sprout. He helps companies generate traffic through content marketing and SEO.

What sets him apart is that unlike many, he’s more than happy to share his secrets through his personal blog. The recent example being, his making public a challenge of making $100,000 a month within a year through a new venture, and sharing the tactics and strategies that is helping him achieve this goal.

Today, in our Interview series at App Inspiration by Arkenea, meet Neil Patel in a quick-fire style interview where he talks about inspiration and learnings from Nutrition Secrets blog, marketing newer ventures, content marketing for startups, and channels for app discovery.

Q. What inspired you to launch Nutrition Secrets and at the same time, share the story of building the venture with the larger audience?

Neil: I wanted to provide my readers with a valuable case study on growth. I knew the only way I could provide value was to start from scratch and provide a blueprint. So far the results have been great and the feedback has been positive.

Q. What are your biggest learnings so far with the Nutrition Secrets product marketing, as a fresh start in a new category? 

Neil: I have learned that people will question everything you do. I found out that transparency is key (something I have always practiced), however it’s amplified when you are doing a challenge of this sort.

Q. You’re an established brand with a strong following which would have benefits while marketing your newer ventures as you have a pool of followers to reach out to. Can a relatively unknown entrepreneur launch a new product and expect to build it to a similar scale as you’ve set a goal for Nutrition Secrets? How can they do so? 

Neil: They definitely can. That’s the whole point of this challenge: to show people that anyone can achieve great results if they just put their mind to it. I have already heard some great success stories over the past 3 months and it’s great! People can follow again with my monthly posts to learn how to achieve the same results.

Q. Content marketing is key for inbound marketing. How can an entrepreneur who is just launching their product, leverage content marketing to gain traction as marketing the content itself is extremely challenging? What are your tips or strategy guidelines for such people? 

Neil: I think all entrepreneurs should leverage content marketing to their advantage. It’s vital to provide value and inform your audience/customers. All they have to do is focus on writing content that really educates. If you write what’s best for your potential customers and put their needs first, your content will help you gain customers.

Q. We’ve seen SEO continuously evolve over the years. What percentage of time should one focus on the different aspects (on a daily basis) such as on-page optimization, content marketing, keyword research, etc? 

Neil: I think it’s less a question of time and more of a priority that people should focus on. Content marketing typically will provide the best results in the long run.

Bonus: More such awesome interviews, here on our blog!

Q. Websites largely get discovered through Google. But in apps, the discovery is quite fragmented. What should an appreneur focus on to build greater visibility apart from ASO? 

Neil: Press and paid ads work best for apps.

Q. What would you suggest as a marketing stack for a web entrepreneur and an app entrepreneur about to launch their products? 

Neil: Everyone should start off with Google Analytics. Without data you won’t know what to focus on or change.

Q. What are some of the best marketing tools that startup entrepreneurs can leverage? 

Neil: There are a ton. Here is a post I did on the topic: http://www.quicksprout.com/2014/10/06/the-content-marketers-toolkit-35-tools-you-cant-blog-without/