An Interview with Single Grain Chairman

Digital advertising company Single Grain drives shoppers’ gross sales via channels like Fb promoting, Google AdWords, YouTube promoting, web optimization, and extra, all beneath the management of its chairman Eric Siu. Along with his work with the company, Eric is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and host of two podcasts: Advertising Faculty with Neil Patel and Leveling Up, the place he shares suggestions and tips to ace the affiliate internet marketing world.

The all-rounder is right here to share his insights with us!

Cloudways: Nice to have you ever in our Cloudways Interview Sequence, Eric! So how did you start your Serial Entrepreneur journey? 

Eric: Hello, I began my entrepreneurial journey once I was 24 years previous. I used to be working at an organization, then I purchased an eCommerce firm to promote magic merchandise. That enterprise failed however failure made me extra resilient whereas giving me an understanding of the enterprise world.

I stored going and initiated an IT coaching web site however that additionally didn’t work out. I used to be attempting to determine each new alternative or initiative that popped in beneath the solar however the failures gave me a greater publicity to the loopholes of the ways I adopted. Then, on the age of 25, I launched a advertising company and devoted myself to making a full-blown consultancy.

Sadly, I acquired fired from my job after they acquired to know that I’m beginning one thing by myself as a aspect hustle. From that time on, I by no means turned again and paved my means in direction of studying web optimization paid media, e-mail, and each facet of on-line advertising. I dived into the pool of digital advertising with an intent to return again with a profitable fully-grown income mannequin. I acquired some gigs that paid me 30 grand a month, which was the primary stepping stone in my entrepreneurial profession. Ultimately, I acquired the chance to guide advertising in an academic startup.

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Cloudways: What’s the story behind Singlegrain and ClickFlow? How did they arrive into emergence? 

Eric: Eight months into the journey of heading a startup, I had a chance to return and assist to avoid wasting an web optimization company which was a sinking ship again then. I recognized the explanation behind the failure as the usage of out of date ways and advertising methods that failed to present optimum outcomes. By understanding the setback, I began revamping the general imaginative and prescient of that company with aligned directional gross sales, advertising, and operations to generate income most effectively. That firm is now referred to as Single Grain and I had the chance of taking it over. I purchased it out of pocket at $2 and began self-financing the remaining.

Initially, I just about made the corporate go from dangerous to worst, with the worst turnover. We have been left with just one worker. With the setbacks and dangerous experiences, I spotted an organization’s success will depend on its tradition and folks. Regardless of how a lot you excel as a marketer, it actually doesn’t if you’re unable to make it people-centric. Group-building offers essentially the most environment friendly outcomes on the finish of the day and could be thought of a constructing block to success. Ultimately, my entire guess with the corporate was to show it round, take the money flows, and spend money on others as a enterprise capitalist, extra in direction of an exponential income. That has all the time been the thesis.

ClickFlow, the content material intelligence software program that enhances your web optimization site visitors, got here into place as I got here from the SAAS trade. I consider SAAS is the doorway to earnings era as a result of it’s a supply of exponential earnings. ClickFlow was the thought I despatched to the e-mail record we had. Most of them have been all in favour of ClickFlow. Let me share a couple of particulars with you in regards to the startup globe. Within the trade of startups, it takes 3 to 4 years to construct a startup that might present a break-even, after which it’s offered out relying upon its potential. The identical phenomenon occurred with ClickFlow because it took 3 years to show round and now we have now a complete group, LevelingUp, that helps gamify your life for fulfillment. By way of that, we purchase different companies which have the potential to try and thrive.

Cloudways: How did the thought of moving into affiliate internet marketing and associates program administration come to you? Additionally, are you able to inform us about your podcast Advertising Faculty with Neil Patel? Our associates would like to understand how they’ll profit from its insights!

Eric: Internet affiliate marketing has vital significance. A number of the main businesses I do know are categorically centered on affiliate internet marketing solely. Considered one of my good friend’s affiliate internet marketing businesses generates $500 million in income on an annual foundation with over 330+ staff.

Internet affiliate marketing is essentially the most environment friendly enterprise as they’re working on efficiency. The associates have to face out out there whereas bringing out-of-the-box concepts that might seize consideration and convey the most effective outcomes. As an affiliate, you’re related along with your companion firm for selling their merchandise. Our ClickFlow additionally has its associates program

Internet affiliate marketing is essentially the most environment friendly enterprise as they’re working on efficiency. The associates have to face out out there whereas bringing out-of-the-box concepts that might seize consideration and convey the most effective outcomes.

Cloudways: In episode #652 of your Advertising Faculty Podcast with Neil, you mentioned the rules of being a profitable affiliate and efficiency marketer. May you share some highlights of it with our associates?

Eric: Advertising Faculty is my each day podcast with Neil Patel with roughly 50 million downloads. It’s a each day podcast wherein we talk about developments and adjustments for 5 to 10 minutes. That’s how Neil and I get to speak about completely different concepts and we catch as much as discover the unexplored and unidentified areas or blue oceans that we might take a step ahead in. So, it’s a mechanism for us to study and to articulate our ideas.

If you’re an affiliate marketer, you concentrate on constructing an viewers. So, with Advertising Faculty, we will do affiliate internet marketing all day however as an alternative, we promote our personal merchandise, finally, we get higher margins that means.

Cloudways: What are the dos and don’ts of being an affiliate? What errors impression the credibility of an affiliate that they need to chorus from doing?

I all the time inform associates that in the event you don’t have your personal product otherwise you don’t know easy methods to model or promotional ways for it, you’ll be able to take a step ahead and turn out to be an affiliate of any firm, after which you’ll be able to ultimately create your personal product.  So, Cloudways can be a superb instance to advertise managed internet hosting, as you get to study promotional ways via their affiliate managers which helps you keep up to date in regards to the digital advertising world

To turn out to be a profitable affiliate efficiency marketer, you have to know your buyer (KYC) and the platform you employ for promotion. Have a way of humility and have a way of long-term imaginative and prescient for a specified services or products.

Cloudways: Contemplating the market competitors, how can an aspiring affiliate marketer get began on this trade “earlier than” having a big viewers? What’s the go-to Affiliate Advertising Mannequin for 10x success?

Eric: Entrepreneurs who don’t have any viewers can simply get began fascinated by how they’ll leverage the partnerships and associations. Let’s say you don’t have any cash, you’ll companion up with them and say, “Hey in the event you promote this factor, I’ll give 10 {dollars} for it.” Since you’ll be incomes 30 {dollars}, you’ll be giving 33% revenue to the man who is aware of easy methods to get the sale and additionally, you will perceive the ways by observing him.

It’s all about relationship constructing along with your stakeholders and when you earn cash, you can begin utilizing paid channels like PPC, AdSense, and AdWords.

Let me share the step-by-step process:

Step 1: You begin partnerships and have agreements.

Step 2: You study from them and purchase cash.

Step 3: You utilize ways and a/b check by way of paid channels to get the most effective outcomes.

Step 4: You begin constructing your viewers and maintain looping the method till you get the success you need.

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Cloudways: You mentioned in one in every of your podcasts that it’s actually necessary to have an affiliate supervisor to speed up your income stream. May you share why you mentioned that and why affiliate managers are necessary for aspiring associates?

Eric: Affiliate managers know the lay of the land. They know easy methods to handle the associates and easy methods to get the most effective outcomes out of them with the newest developments and insights. They know easy methods to present the precise assets based mostly on the gross sales funnel the affiliate is on, and so they know which assets are used in your viewers.

A directional strategy is just about wanted to maneuver ahead as an affiliate and Cloudways affiliate managers are a professional at it. For instance, if we don’t give your gross sales staff the eye they deserve, or your dev-ops or design staff doesn’t get the property they require, then the entire mechanism would simply crumble. The identical goes for the associates in the event that they suppose that the affiliate supervisor’s help isn’t required to get the most effective outcome. So, you’ll be able to’t simply say, “it’s promoting to get issues”. Signing up for an associates program doesn’t imply you’re achieved; it means you simply began and stepped into this trade.

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Cloudways: So, we might be asking some rapid-fire questions from you to know your perspective of life, happiness, and success

Right here we go!

• Your Motto in Life: Simply maintain leveling up. Getting $1 higher each single day is what it’s all about. That’s your entire recreation and I benefit from the recreation because it goes
• Your Favourite E-book: The Laborious Factor About The Laborious Issues by Ben Horowitz
• Supply of Motivation: Studying and studying. So long as I get concepts from wherever, it might be a guide or documentary or an off-the-cuff dialog. Studying is my supply of motivation. Actually talking, Twitter offers me a window into a variety of sensible individuals’s minds
• Splendid trip spot: Anyplace there’s water. I usually take pleasure in spending time at  4 Seasons, Miami.

Cloudways: What do you take pleasure in doing while you’re away from work?

Eric: Work is a recreation for me. The sensation of waking up daily and doing one thing completely different that I have to work on makes me excited each time. For instance, I can work on shopping for an organization. I take pleasure in engaged on content material creation however other than that, I take pleasure in touring. Assembly with superb individuals and having an ideal dialog about what sort of impression all of us can have on one another, with our concepts, plans, and improvements cheers me up.

Cloudways: Eric, thanks for taking the day out for us. Earlier than we go, who would you suggest that we should always interview subsequent?
Eric: Neil Patel

The social hyperlinks of Eric Siu are given beneath:

Fb: Eric Siu, Twitter: @ericosiu. Linkedin: @Eric

Faiza Ismail

Faiza Ismail is a Digital Marketer and handles affiliate partnerships at Cloudways – A Managed Cloud Internet hosting Platform. She has an intensive historical past of working in varied aspects of Digital Advertising, Group Administration, and Company Communication. She likes to play chess. Get in contact together with her at [email protected]

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