“Content marketing is two words: content and marketing.” 📣
Interviewing Jeff Bullas was a dream. I met him at BNLF Mumbai, and after a long talk about social media and content marketing, we moved to the lounge for this interview. 🎙️
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 📱 How it started in 2008
- 📣 Content plus distribution
- 🔍 Why long posts win on Google
- 🐦 Twitter vs Facebook
- 📧 The money is in the email list
🎥 Watch the full episode:
📱 How It Started in 2008
Jeff logged on to Facebook for the first time in 2008 and saw people were obsessed. Six months later, Twitter showed the same behavior. 📱
He calls it the intersection of humanity and technology: anyone could speak to the world for free without asking gatekeepers. Curious, he started a blog to create content and have conversations about social media. 💡
📣 Content Plus Distribution
Two things built his brand: creating the best content he could, and building the largest network he could. You need both content and distribution. 📣
He built distribution on social, email and Google. About 55% of his traffic comes from Google, free in the sense that it shows up daily without pulling out a credit card, though it took time and effort. For more on Google rankings, read Bill Slawski on ranking factors. 🔗
🔍 Why Long Posts Win on Google
Many of Jeff’s posts are 1,000+ words, up to 2,000–3,000. They’re resource posts people want to link to, which builds organic inbound links. 🔍
He believes Google gives good authority to longer posts, and that being the resource motivates people to link to you. After publishing, posts go out with multiple tweets over 24 hours, then to LinkedIn, Facebook and Flipboard, which he found can drive more traffic than Facebook. 📤
🐦 Twitter vs Facebook
Twitter brings about 20% of his social traffic; Facebook only 3–4%. With 35,000 Facebook followers, he’d be lucky to get five or six likes. Organic reach is “damn close to zero”. 🐦
He hadn’t paid for Facebook ads yet: he set up retargeting and won’t pay for traffic until he can measure cost per lead and cost per sale. Twitter, he says, is top-of-funnel awareness that leads to links, rankings and email signups. For more on social, read Christina Szekeres, the FB Queen. 🔗
📧 The Money Is in the Email List
Your email list is traffic you own, not dependent on Facebook’s or Google’s algorithms. Jeff builds it mainly through his blog, using pop-ups on entry and exit. 📧
About 80–90% of his email signups come from pop-ups. He follows Social Media Examiner and Michael Stelzner, and conversion experts like Neil Patel, DigitalMarketer, Russell Brunson, Todd Brown and Danny Iny, because social media is only one part of digital marketing. For another BNLF interview, read Christoph Trappe on storytelling. 🔗
📝 Key Takeaways From the Jeff Bullas Interview
- 📣 Content needs distribution to work
- 🔍 Long resource posts earn links and Google traffic
- 🐦 Facebook organic reach is close to zero
- 📊 Don’t pay for traffic you can’t measure
- 📧 Build an email list you own, using pop-ups
❓ FAQs About Jeff Bullas
Who is Jeff Bullas?
A blogger, author and speaker known for social media and content marketing, who started blogging about social media after joining Facebook and Twitter in 2008.
Where does Jeff Bullas get his traffic?
About 55% from Google and roughly 20% from Twitter, with Facebook bringing only 3–4% of his social traffic.
How does Jeff Bullas build his email list?
Mainly through pop-ups on his blog, on entry and exit, which bring 80–90% of his signups.
🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
- Expert Chat with Ann Smarty Discussing How To Build Authority in Your Niche
- Interview of Ron Vining from ClickZ Live Bangkok 2015
- Rand Fishkin Ex MOZ CEO Tells Why He Left Moz & Started His New Venture
- Video Interview With Kimberly De Vries From IMMarketNews
Which channel drives most of your traffic? Share this with a blogger. 💬
🔔 Subscribe & Follow Jitendra Vaswani Everywhere
🎧 Subscribe to Inside A Hustler’s Brain on YouTube and Follow Jitendra Vaswani on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, everywhere. 🙌
Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.