How Substack Got Its First Customers

E580: Nick Musica joins the podcast! A true veteran, he’s been doing search engine optimization since 2003. He led SEO at High Point Insurance (Now Plymouth Rock), Esurance, and Rocket Lawyer before starting his SEO agency, Optics In, in 2019. Nick and his team provide SEO strategy and execution for small businesses in various sectors, including finance, technology, & cannabis. Nick co-authored When Search Meets Web Usability, a book about SEO and web usability, in April of 2009. He also taught a masters-level class on User Experience at NYU and has presented at SMX in Germany and ClickZ in San Francisco. You can find Nick at https://opticsin.com/ and on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmusica/ 💎 Sponsored by… Compact Keywords! - Backlinks don’t matter - Get tons of purchase-intent traffic for your business with SEO - step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adopted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 00:21 The Disavow Tool 06:20 Personal Experiences and Industry Insights 13:17 SEO Practices and Challenges 17:53 AI in SEO and Future Trends 33:30 Website Crawling Efficiency 35:19 SEO Tools You Need 39:24 Success and Failure Stories 42:18 Algorithm Changes and Their Impact 50:05 The Future of SEO 01:05:54 Conclusion and Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #blackhatseo #seotips #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing 

E579: This is a crazy unlock you get when you’ve posted videos every day for over a year. I discovered this only last night and am hyped out of my mind about it. Most creators: 1. Don’t know this. 2. Don’t want to share this secret. 3. Don’t want you to know how the sausage is made. Well, I’m sharing it all - including my optimized version of the unlock. Some of what’s in the episode will be familiar, but the extent to which I’m able to do this now is crazy. To tease you - I posted 6 videos yesterday. 2 in an hour before 9 AM. 3 in an hour between 9-10 PM. 2 hours to post 5 videos. And 1 video I made that day. Insane output. The possibilities with this are wild. 💎 Mentioned in the podcast: https://reusevideo.com/ Compact Keywords - Backlinks don’t matter - Get tons of purchase-intent traffic for your business with SEO - step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adopted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Unlocking the Secret 01:14 Automation Tools 02:38 Your Content Library 04:50 Optimizing Content 10:41 The Impact of Frequent Posting 17:46 Practical Tips for Content Management 20:10 Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes The Edward Show. Your daily digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #instagrammarketing #tiktokmarketing #socialmediamarketing #growthhacking

E578: How I ranked well for ‘SEO Trends 2018’ with my site that was still relatively new. The TL;DL - I got a head start! But why this worked so well was surprising. Don’t try to climb the mountain all at once. The best shortcut is the longcut. From https://edwardsturm.com/articles/trending-keywords/ Subscribe to the weekly digital marketing newsletter: https://edwardsturm.com/newsletter/ Backlinks don’t matter - Get tons of purchase-intent traffic for your business with my SEO Program - step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adopted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction to Trending Keywords 00:15 TL;DL 00:45 Attempt One: SEO Trends 2017 01:40 Lessons Learned and Strategy for 2018 02:53 Being First 04:16 Achieving Your Goals Gradually 04:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #seotips #linkbuilding #searchengineoptimization #backlinks

E577: We answer, “Do Fiverr backlinks boost SEO rankings? Does using inexpensive link building packages from Fiverr increase search engine rankings?” Then, we talk about other link building methods. Then I share my personal philosophy on getting backlinks and building links from good places. Sources 👇 Buying Fiverr backlinks?: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1iaucfx/buying_fiverr_backlinks/ Link building - how easy is it actually? What should I focus on?: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1ic6v5w/link_building_how_easy_is_it_actually_what_should/ What I recommend ⭐️ The best sources of directories: https://boostbenchmark.com/ Meetup acquisitions: https://meetup.com/ Build links through podcasts: https://aipodcastmatcher.com/ Compact Keywords: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction 00:54 Buying Fiverr Backlinks 04:33 Exploring Link Building Strategies 10:29 Edward's Philosophy on Link Building 20:07 Conclusion and Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #linkbuilding #backlinks #searchengineoptimization #seotips

E576: These are the six principles of sticky ideas. Mark Twain noted, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” Meanwhile, people with important ideas, struggle to make their ideas stick. These six principles explain why one idea can spread like wildfire while others die on the starting line. These are things every marketer should keep in mind when: - Making ads - Making content - Doing SEO - Doing social media marketing - Crafting stories - Making merch - Doing branding - Consulting on products Sticky ideas are important for everything! Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Made-to-Stick-audiobook/dp/B000MGBNM6/ The article: https://sourcesofinsight.com/six-principles-of-sticky-ideas/ The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: https://www.amazon.com/22-Immutable-Laws-Marketing/dp/B00J4O6TO4/ Compact Keywords - Backlinks don’t matter - Get tons of purchase-intent traffic for your business with SEO - step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adopted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction to Sticky Ideas 00:32 Revisiting 'Made to Stick' 01:09 The Six Principles of Sticky Ideas 03:13 Principle 1: Simplicity 04:18 Principle 2: Unexpectedness 05:35 Principle 3: Concreteness 06:01 Principle 4: Credibility 06:25 Principle 5: Emotions 08:18 Principle 6: Stories 09:28 Recommendations 10:17 Final Thoughts and Farewell The Edward Show. Your daily digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #copywriting #advertisingtips #marketingtips #socialmediamarketing

E575: These are the top ways to appear on the first page of the Google Search results. The tried and tested methods that actually work and get SEO results. If you haven’t had much success with search engine optimization or just infrequent success, this episode will be very helpful. This is a lot more specific than “make good content” - that’s actually bad advice. And this isn’t “get backlinks bro” - that’s also generally unnecessary advice unless you’re going after the most competitive keywords in your niche. This is a simple and straightforward method to hitting the first page of Google. For more SEO - Compact Keywords - Get tons of purchase-intent traffic for your business with SEO - step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adopted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Targeting Keywords 00:59 Choosing the Right Keywords 01:43 Optimizing Your Page for Keywords 02:28 Standing Out in Competitive Keywords 04:10 Using TLDRs for SEO 08:16 Submitting Your Site to Google 09:03 Conclusion and Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #seobasics #digitalmarketing #seotips #searchengineoptimization

E574: The five silent killers of startups that founders never admit. This is an expansion of the viral short video I previously made on this. When startups die, it’s not with a bang but with a whimper. These are the five most common reasons why startups fail. 1․ The Expert's Curse ◦ Being an industry expert becomes the biggest liability. ◦ You solve yesterday's problems. ◦ You know too much to see new patterns. 2․ The 90-Day Death Clock ◦ Days 1-30, vision leads. ◦ Days 31-60, you need validation. ◦ Day 90+, still no validation? You're already dead. ◦ You don't die when money runs out, you died three months ago. 3․ Reality Distortion Debt ◦ Every assumption equals debt. ◦ Every we know better equals interest. ◦ Every delayed user test equals compound interest. ◦ Most startups are bankrupt before they're broke. 4․ The Competence Trap ◦ More competence = more procrastination. ◦ Building becomes an escape from selling. ◦ You're perfecting code instead of getting feedback. ◦ This is death by beautiful products that nobody wants. 5․ Time Perception Disorder ◦ Soon = never. ◦ Perfect timing = fear. ◦ The market is not ready = we're not ready. ◦ While you wait, the market moves on. The hard truth. Startups don't fail when you run out of money. They fail when you choose: ◦ Comfort over truth ◦ Planning over testing ◦ Knowing over learning Compact Keywords - Backlinks don’t matter - Get tons of purchase-intent traffic - Max out your TAM: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup 00:39 Silent Killer #1: The Expert's Curse 02:31 Silent Killer #2: The 90-Day Death Clock 05:37 Silent Killer #3: Reality Distortion Debt 06:34 Silent Killer #4: The Competence Trap 07:23 Silent Killer #5: Time Perception Disorder 08:05 Conclusion and Podcast Information The Edward Show. Your daily digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #startups #ycombinator #foundermode #venturecapital

E573: Joshua Ryan Schaver (@bagelfinagles on Instagram) shares how he’s made $600,000+ so far from Instagram and TikTok with an in-depth breakdown of his funnel. He’s using primarily social video and tripwire offers to scale his urban farming-based business. He shares the copy he uses, the hooks, his content strategy, his call-to-actions, his tripwire PDFs, what he gives for free and what he charges for, how his funnel evolved over the past 3 years, how much each of his revenue streams gives him, his margins… - he is an open book and shares it all. He gives you his exact funnel so you can go and implement it for your business. Crazy value in this episode. Check out Joshua Ryan Schaver on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bagelfinagles Compact Keywords - Backlinks don’t matter - Get tons of purchase-intent traffic: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview 01:06 Josh's Business Journey Begins 02:36 First Time Going Viral 08:56 Revenue Streams and Business Growth 14:30 Marketing Strategies and Social Media Insights 21:08 High Conversion Rates and Funnel Development 41:14 Analyzing Social Media Metrics 42:10 Starting a Seed Company 42:38 Business Background and Growth 43:40 Current Marketing Funnels 51:28 Effective Social Media Strategies 01:00:18 Learning from Comments and Feedback 01:05:28 Future Marketing and Automation Plans 01:20:23 Reflecting on Marketing Failures 01:23:25 Conclusion and Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #instagrammarketing #tiktokmarketing #ecommercetips #socialmediamarketing

E572: This is how the popular newsletter platform, Substack, started, got its first customers and its first investor, and grew. We cover its go-to-market, marketing strategy, intense attention to customer relationships and trust, product strengths, and product weaknesses. We look at what made it successful, both in terms of how it acquired users and customers, and also in terms of what the product actually does. A lot to learn here, you’re going to love it. Source: https://read.first1000.co/p/-substack Get tons of qualified traffic with my SEO Program, Compact Keywords: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Introduction and Upcoming Interview 00:27 Startup Success Story: Substack 02:31 The Founders' Backgrounds 03:30 The Birth of Substack 08:15 Substack's Go-to-Market Strategy 14:21 Substack's Product Philosophy 16:29 Substack's Growth and Future Opportunities 20:07 Conclusion and Upcoming Content The Edward Show. Your daily digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #startups #ycombinator #gotomarket #privateequity

E571: A concise list of the things most people still get wrong about SEO in 2025. We look at things like intent, topical authority, vanity metrics, monthly search volume, AI SEO, amount of content, content quality, testing, and more intent. This is the high-level overview of how to do SEO in 2025. From Charles Floates’ post: https://x.com/Charles_SEO/status/1883379300793283011 Get tons of qualified traffic with my SEO Program, Compact Keywords: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Credit 00:22 SEO Mistakes in 2025 00:50 Effective SEO Strategies 01:21 Bottom of Funnel Keywords 03:27 User-Generated Content and Top-of-Funnel Articles 03:44 HubSpot's SEO Decline 05:00 Compact Keywords The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #compactkeywords #seotips #digitalmarketing