Three years ago, I was in the worst shape of my life. I was approaching 300lbs, grabbing fast food at least once a day, and avoiding exercise at all costs. Though I’ve always enjoyed a nice, leisurely hike outdoors, I’ve never been athletic. The only sport in which I participated in high school was track, as a shotput and discus thrower. I did this because everybody who wanted to be...
You don’t have to hire an expensive firm to have a Public Relations (PR) strategy as a startup. The beauty of today’s internet is that anybody has the power to reach tens of thousands, even millions, with a properly timed tweet, hacker news mention, or mention on an influential blog. You don’t have to make it onto a cover story in Inc. or Entrepreneur in order to achieve your PR goals, in fact...
The first step in developing a marketing plan is to become obsessed with knowing your audience. That’s right, obsessed. It doesn’t matter how much money you spend on Google Adwords, or how many conference booths you rent out if you are off-course with knowing who your audience is.
We all know that our companies need to have a brand identity, this is Marketing 101. What about personal brands of the folks behind the company? Do the founders need a personal brand? Those are actually trick questions, because everyone already has a personal brand, whether they are strategic about it or not. What I have found is that a strong personal brand can actually be a huge asset to your...
It’s no fun to write a blog post only to have low engagement once you hit Publish. You’ve spent time researching a topic, written down the words in the most creative way you know how, spell-checked, and even had a friend proof-read the article. All of this, and the post doesn’t take off the way you thought it would.
Why do 3 out of 4 venture-backed startups fail? I mean, these aren’t stupid ideas. Someone has to come up with an idea, validate it’s market demand, create a plan for execution, and articulate this via presentation to venture capitalists, who reject approximately 99% of the ideas they agree to sit down and listen to. The few that make it through this process must have a pretty good chance of...
It’s finally here. After months of planning, writing, and interviewing folks, I’ve released SaaS Marketing Essentials. Early response has been wonderful, with people commenting how much value they are finding in the product. Others have been asking me just what my process was in creating the book. For those, I write this article.
Conducting video interviews can be a great way to add value to your products, make a rich experience for your blog, gather customer testimonials for your marketing site, etc. While it takes getting over the fear of rejection to gather up a list of people willing to be interviewed, the end result is worth it. Not only in the value that the interviews can bring to your audience, but moreover, in...
A mastermind group is simply a meeting of highly motivated folks who share a common goal and are looking to encourage and help each other improve. Whether you are stuck in a rut, on a plateau, or experiencing slow growth, a mastermind group can provide the boost in energy, new perspectives, accountability, and resources necessary to take your game to the next level.
One of the best parts of being an entrepreneur is the ability to work on exactly what you want to work on. The flip side to this privilege is that if you chose to work on the wrong thing, or otherwise poorly manage your time, you miss out on achieving your greatest potential. We all have the potential for great success, so how do we leverage time management strategies to take us to the next level?
HI, I'M RYAN. I believe the best way to learn and remember is by writing things down and sharing them with others. This blog exists to help me synthesize and process my journey towards self-improvement.