GE 236: How John Hall Grew Influence & Co. into the Largest Creator and Distributor of Expert Content (podcast)

Hey everyone! On today’s episode, I share the mic with John Hall, author of Top of Mind and CEO of Influence & Co., a content marketing agency.

Tune in to hear John explain why amplification works, how Influence & Co. has helped numerous startups become successful name brands, why goal-setting is key to successfully marketing your company, and how he funneled his expertise into the bestselling book Top of Mind.

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: How John Hall Grew Influence & Co. into the Largest Creator and Distributor of Expert Content TRANSCRIPT

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [00:38] Before we begin, please leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast
• [00:59] Today we have John Hall on the show. John is the CEO of Influence & Co. and author of the book, Top of Mind: Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter to You
• [01:30] John helped to create Influence & Co. in order to help entrepreneurs build an audience.
  • [02:41] Now Influence & Co. is the largest creator and distributor of expert content.
• [03:03] John discusses the importance and influence of his book.
• [04:29] Influence & Co. helps businesses set their goals and achieve them.
  • [04:45] Knowing a company’s marketing and general goals helps Influence & Co. to plan their method of attack.
  • [06:30] Influence & Co. is not retainer-based, but a service fee model. They’re trying to focus on deliverables and structure payments around that.
  • [07:35] They want to price things so that companies feel confident in the expectations and outcome.
• [08:10] For those looking to figure it out on their own, look for sites that make the most sense to target with your articles and advertising.
• [08:45] You want to consistently stay “top of mind” with your content, then you can create a larger event or “moment”.
• [09:43] Do everything you can to earn and amplify content.
  • [10:10] Amplifying or disseminating content is key to your success.
  • [10:52] Make sure in your contributor agreement that you can run paid ads and amplify your content that way.
• [11:54] Start off earning your status before you pay to play.
• [12:15] Track your internet and social media traffic, so you know what’s working.
• [12:35] Because an email software was mentioned in an article in Forbes, the company got traction. The article reached four million views.
• [14:15] The idea behind Top of Mind is about learning to engage people in different ways and build relationships using different techniques.
  • [15:14] John wanted to make sure he engaged people consistently and in the right way.
  • [15:36] When writing the book, John looked at all the things people do to engage people at different times, so that they “connect” in better ways.
• [16:17] In order to amplify Top of Mind, they spaced out their press in order to stay on people’s minds.
  • [17:15] John also sees an uptick in sales of the book after his speaking engagements.
• [18:07] John used Influence & Co. to develop his book.
• [19:30] John dedicated the book to his co-author and everyone that helped with the creation of the book, because he believes that a strong team can produce great work.
• [20:02] As Influence & Co. began to grow, the company’s MO had to adapt to the influx of new people.
• [21:04] It’s important to have great middle-managers.
• [21:30] John swears by MixMax, because it saved him a lot of time and energy; it doubled his effectiveness at email marketing.
• [22:28] John recommends 50 Signs that You Might Be an Entrepreneur, Giftology, and Essentialism.

Resources From This Interview:

• Influence & Co.
• Young Entrepreneur’s Council (YEC)
• Top of Mind: Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter to You
• GE 224: How Scott Oldford Went from $726K in Debt to Building a Business that Generates $10M in Revenue
• MixMax
• GE 199: How Mixmax Acquired 5,000+ Customers Via Word of Mouth & Has a 20% Growth Rate
• Must-read books:
  • Self-Employed: 50 Signs that You Might Be an Entrepreneur by John Rampton and Joel Comm
  • Giftology: The Art & Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention by John Ruhlin
  • Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
• John@influenceandco.com
• John on LinkedIn
• John on Twitter

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