Hey everyone, in today’s episode, I share the mic with Sol Orwell, the founder of Examine.com.
Listen as Sol shares how going from fat to fit led him to create a 7-figure nutrition business, how he built that business off of his Reddit followers, how Examine.com generates 100% of their revenue with just 3 products and why his quest for independence is the guiding principle to how he runs his companies.
Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: Sol Orwell Shares the Secret to Getting 2M Visitors Every Month On a Nutrition and Supplements Site TRANSCRIPT
Time-Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:43 – Leave a review, rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast
- 01:02 – Eric welcomes Sol Orwell
- 01:20 – Sol is an immigrant who was born in Pakistan and has lived in Saudi Arabia, Japan, and USA—he is currently residing in Canada
- 01:49 – While in high school, Sol stumbled into virtual currency and MMO sales because of online gaming
- 03:20 – Sol wants to make an impact on the world and share what he knows
- 04:03 – Examine.com’s focus today is how to generate consistent revenue and build their brand
- 04:20 – They are planning to have a product out this year
- 04:35 – Examine.com has been featured on many different media outlets
- 05:16 – The domain name is an asset and spending on it is a worthwhile risk
- 05:26 – When the site reached 10,000 visitors a day, Sol asked customers what they wanted and he responded
- 06:06 – Sol was able to build a subscription service and he connected with organizations that specialized in fitness and exercise
- 06:23 – Sol met his co-founders at Reddit and realized that people were always asking questions, but were not using the search function
- 07:04 – People were getting tired of answering the same questions and this is what caused Sol to build Examine.com
- 07:24 – Sol’s co-founder was 2013 Moderator of the Year
- 07:55 – Sol and his team announced in Reddit that they were building a site and people started linking to it
- 08:08 – Since they were already part of the Reddit community for a long time, people knew who they were and trusted them
- 09:37 – Content generation should NOT be the focus—it should be updating your own content and networking and building relationships
- 10:17 – It was easier to get people to link to them because of their strong community
- 10:57 – They are always pre-promoting
- 11:18 – What’s one big struggle you had in growing Examine.com? – People were cynical of who they were so they had to prove they were an authority
- 12:18 – Sol and his partner didn’t want the site to be about them, so they went with a generic brand
- 12:54 – Examine.com has researchers, editors/reviewers, copy editors and those who send the e-mails
- 13:26 – They do not work on rigid time schedules
- 14:03 – Examine.com also has doctors that they can consult
- 14:32 – How did you go about finding contractors? – Look for other people who are already doing the work, but who are unknown to others
- 15:13 – Sol looked for people who already have a site or a blog and are doing the research, but who may not necessarily have an audience
- 15:22 – Since they have already built their brand, people want to be associated with them
- 16:00 – Why the decision to start to move away from Examine.com? – I got into Examine.com because I needed to lose weight, but I am not the expert
- 16:57 – It has always been about finding the best people and providing them an opportunity
- 17:08 – Sol was able to move on from the projects because he has found people who are better than him
- 17:32 – When they were starting Sol’s partner, Kurtis, focused on the research while Sol did everything else
- 18:04 – Kamal is running Examine.com and he only met Sol after two years working on the site
- 18:38 – Sol pays others more than he pays himself and they become the face of the company
- 19:02 – Kamal is the face of the company and gets exposure everywhere
- 19:41 – Sol is currently working on speaking engagements, writing, and finding out ways to make an impact
- 20:12 – Sol wants to intercept social enterprise with entrepreneurship
- 21:19 – Sol wants to make a big impact and share the value of giving rather than the “me” approach
- 21:35 – For his speaking engagements, Sol talks about entrepreneurship
- 22:11 – In Mastermind Talks, you know who you are meeting with and the conversation is always about getting value
- 22:45 – There are also private invite-only events where you get to spend days with interesting people
- 23:31 – Doors open when you are more focused on meeting people rather than thinking about monetizing
- 24:15 – Eric got connected with Sol because of a conference that was recommended by Noah
- 24:40 – What’s one big change you made in the last year that’s impacted you or the business in a big way? – Sol uses a productivity journal and this helps him know what needs to be done the following week
- 25:01 – Sol does not work on weekends
- 25:41 – Sol found the journal at Intelligent Change
- 26:04 – The Five Minute Journal is a good way to connect with your significant other
- 26:35 – What’s one must-read book do you recommend? – The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro
- 27:58 – What’s one blog or podcast that you tune into everyday? – Farnam Street and Ribbon Farm
- 30:06 – Contact Sol at his website
- 30:18 – End of today’s episode
3 Key Points:
- It’s important to invest in a community—being plugged in jumpstarts your potential for growth.
- Finding the right people for your team and trusting IN them is crucial for the growth of your business.
- Doors will open if you focus more on building relationships rather than just thinking of ways you can monetize these connections.
Resources From This Interview:
- Examine.com
- Mastermind Talks
- Intelligent Change
- The Five Minute Journal
- Must-read book: The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro
- Farnam Street
- Ribbon Farm
- Sol’s website SJO.com
Leave Some Feedback:
- What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.
- Did you enjoy this episode? If so, leave a short review here.
- Subscribe to Growth Everywhere on iTunes.
- Get the non-iTunes RSS feed
Connect With Eric Siu: