1

I N T R O D U C T I O N

BAMF was started just over one year ago, in the

Fall of 2016, as a community for founders,
marketers and growth hackers to help each other
by sharing their previously "top secret" tactics.
Through Josh's relentless commitment to posting
valuable content daily, he inspired others to do the
same, and the community flourished.  

Now, we are a collective of more than 17,000+

Badass Marketers & Founders, and Zuckerberg
himself named us one of his favorite Facebook
Groups.

In the Summer of '17, Josh and I decided to quit our

jobs and focus on turning BAMF into a full-time
business.

BAMF MEDIA was born. 

HOUSTON GOLDEN

2
 I N D E X

Preface 6

Put the Right People in Your Network 7

Create Engaging Facebook & LinkedIn Statuses 11

Create a Facebook Group 38

Leverage Traffic into High-Value Weekly Content 44

Leverage Your Audience for Virality 50

Create Writing Prompts 54

How to Find Content Inspiration 57

Create a Ridiculous Amount of Focus 63

Keep Track of all Your Stories in a Folder 69

Engagement Pod Work...At First 72

How to Respond to Comments and Blocking 75

Empower Others to Inspire Your Creativity 79

Run eBook Campaigns 82

Use Content to Leverage Recruiting 90

Repurpose Content for Organic Channels  94

Repurpose Content for Ads 110

How to Do None of the Work 117

Tie Everything Together with a Paid Community 121

Go Viral 135

Final Thoughts 139

BAMF is on a mission to
empower 1 million founders
in 5 years. 

4
 Preface

I posted a status on Quora.

6,000 upvotes later, I felt I had championed the site.

A month later, I took that Quora answer and put it on my Facebook profile.

The result?

A ton of engagement and 70 shares!

Another two months later, I took that answer and posted it on LinkedIn.

The result?

6,000 engagements.

Several months later, I reposted it on LinkedIn.

41,000 engagements.

What I realized is that you can repost, repurpose, and rehash content forever.

So, that's exactly what I started doing.

As a result, I’ve created a content machine that’s generated over 150 million views in the
last six months.

And today, I’m sharing with you step by step how I created it:

- Josh Fechter

6
PUT THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN
YOUR NETWORK

5
 Put the Right People in Your Network

When producing content, you need an audience.

It starts with optimizing your profile for a high add-back rate.

You can find instructions on how to do so in my book, LinkedIn Influencer (one of the most
upvoted books on Product Hunt).

Next, you want to skip over the pain of manually connecting to people who’d be interested
in your content. Tools like Linked Helper and a custom Facebook auto adder will automate
this for you.

For Linked Helper, you can connect to a hundred people a day on LinkedIn if you have a
Sales Navigator account.

You can get granular – searching by job title, company, or keywords in their profile.

The next tool is a Facebook auto adder.

7
You need to outsource it.

The good news is it only costs a couple hundred dollars to do so via Upwork.

You upload a list of Facebook profile URLs, then it sends out friend requests.

I recommend sending 75 friend requests every day.

To get Facebook URLs, there are three ways:

1. You can extract members from a Facebook Group

2. Extract friends from Facebook profiles

3. Export a custom list from Crunchbase

For the first two, you can use Grouply or Scrapely.

For the third, you need a Crunchbase account. I prefer this method because it provides the
highest quality Facebook URLs of influencers, and there’s a lot less data to sort through.

8
Once you have your LinkedIn and Facebook automation set up – you’re adding hundreds of
relevant people to your audience every day.

It’s time to nurture them with content.

9
CREATE ENGAGING
FACEBOOK AND LINKEDIN
STATUSES

10
 Create Engaging Facebook & LinkedIn Statuses

Let’s pretend you have zero subscribers.

All you have are new connections.

To build rapport with these new connections to turn them into subscribers, you need to
write statuses that pull their attention.

If you only rely on blog posts, it’s a losing game.

So how did I pull the attention of 150 million views.

After posting close to five thousand pieces of content in the last three years, I’ve honed the
process of creating engaging copy.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Optimize it for Mobile

More than half of all engagement with LinkedIn, 57% in fact, takes place via mobile.

However, people still don’t understand how to write mobile-optimized content.

They stick with chunky paragraphs that make it hard to read.

Through 2017, I noticed only a few writers taking into consideration mobile first when
writing.

And these writers were getting millions of views like James Alutcher.

But few of these writers regularly participated on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.

11
And none were participating in the status area.

This opened up a HUGE void for someone to fill.

That person was me.

By writing mobile first, you’re helping the reader consume your content. It’s hard for them
to read blocks of text on their tiny phones.

They lose their place.

They lose their attention.

12
And you lose engagement.

2. Create a Wave Pattern that Draws the Reader

Anticipation.

That’s what people feel when they see this design.

You’re about to run down a hill.

As you start running – you pick up speed.

The anticipation of moving faster excites you.

Now if you’re running on a flat street there’s a lot less of it.

This type of curvature in the picture below is like that of a hill.

You see the sentences shortening.

Your reading speed increases.

Then it stops for a second.

Maybe it’s a one or two-word sentence.

It packs a punch.

BOOM!

All the emotion makes you want to read on.

So you continue with the next sentence that’s much longer.

13
And the pattern repeats.

By providing anticipation – you’re providing the reader more emotion.

As a result, they’ll like or share your status.

3. Understand Your Audience

Let’s start with LinkedIn.

LinkedIn usage is the highest among the 18–29 year old age group.

Here’s what the age split looks like:

14
 ● 34% of 18–29 year olds use LinkedIn
● 33% of 30–49 year olds use LinkedIn
● 24% of 50–64 year olds use LinkedIn
● 20% of 65+ year olds use LinkedIn
Here’s what the gender split looks like:

● 31% of online men use LinkedIn

● 27% of online women use LinkedIn
Because these stats don’t heavily skew one way or another, you need to pay attention to
other relevant cues.

These include posting times and who you’re connected with.

If I’m connected on LinkedIn with mostly people in the U.S., then my Friday night is their
Friday night up until west coast 9 p.m. (I live in Los Angeles).

I’ll post a status like this one:

By using the phrase “Friday night” and posting this status on Friday night, my hook is now
more relevant to my audience.

I’ve done this with Saturday and Sunday, too.

Now, let’s talk about Facebook.

15
People aged 18-29 are the most prevalent Facebook users (65+ Is the least)

● The age groups on Facebook break down by use as such:

● 88% of those 18-29
● 84% of those 30-49
● 72% for those 50-64
● 62% for those 65+

This demographic stays more up to date on cutting-edge technology.

That’s why I promote my technical guides much more on Facebook than I do on LinkedIn.

And ask them for more technical feedback on projects.

There are a thousand ways to get creative here – it depends on your audience.

Ask yourself:

“Who am I connected to? And what do I share in common with them?”

16
4. How to Start a Status

Every quality piece begins with a pain point, significant change, announcement, career
relevance or credibility.

You can mix and match these characteristics.

Here are a number of examples:

1.
I start with pain.

Then I dig into the pain with a tangible example.

2.
I start with pain.

Then explain it with a tangible example.

17
3.
I start with pain.

Then explain it with career relevance.

4.
I start with a major change.

Then explain it with controversy.

18
5.
I start with pain.

Then I dig into the pain with career relevance.

6.
I start with career relevance.

Then lead it into controversy.

19
7.
I start with controversy.

Then lead with more controversy.

To make it easier, here are a number of openers that will make your statuses pop:

20
Now that you know how to start a status, the hard part begins.

Everything in-between.

5. Use Tangible Conversation

The more tangible your piece, the more engaging it is.

To make a piece tangible, it means the reader can imagine what’s happening.

And the most tangible writing is re-enacting conversation.

There’s a fine balance.

You need to leave a little imagination to the reader, but not enough to make them pause to
think.

If the reader pauses to think – you’ve lost them.

Here’s an example of a re-enacted conversation:

21
Notice how I didn’t put the “I asked” or “He replied” after the quotations. I have it lead to
the quotations because it reads faster. It keeps the reader from pausing.

You can also see this in the example below:

I recommend using one or two pieces of tangible conversation in every status.

This will take your game to a new level.

The next step is to be specific.

22
People will write “it’s expensive.”

How expensive was it?

“I lost money.”

How much money did you lose?

If you’re not specific, then you’re not tangible.

You’re giving the reader too much room to think.

There is a balance.

You don’t want to say “I helped my brother, sister, mom, dad, and uncle.”

Say, “I helped my family.”

It’s up to you to find it the balance.

Put yourself in the shoes of the reader.

6. Simplify Complex Words

Don’t overestimate your readers’ intelligence.

Complex words will lose them.

Even if they know the definition – if it takes them a second to recall it, then you’ve lost
them.

Here’s a list of words you should stay away from.

23
I included the simpler version on the right.

● Cognizant — aware
● Commence — begin, start
● Inception — start
● Leverage — use
● Optimize — perfect
● Prescribed — required
● Proficiencies — skills
● Subsequently — after or later
● Numerous — Many
● Sufficient — Enough

7. Be Known for One or Two Adverbs

Adverbs make your writing unique.

And they destroy your writing at the same time.

If you use the word “so,” then don’t use the word “just” in the same sentence.

For example, don’t write “So he could just go on his way.”

This is awful writing.

Stick with one or two to sound personal.

The more adverbs you have – the more people think.

If they’re thinking, then you’ve lost them.

And when it comes to adverbs – don’t use any that end in “-ly”

There’s no exception to this rule.

24
Here’s a list of common adverbs to stay away from:

“So”

“Just”

“Also”

“Very”

“Well”

“Still”

“As”

“Actually”

“Probably”

“Already”

“Finally”

“Simply”

8. Avoid Common Adjectives

This is my biggest pet peeve.

Common adjectives will cripple any status no matter how engaging the intro or outro.

Adjectives give room for readers to interpret – the opposite of what we want.

25
We want a clear picture of the story you’re writing in their head.

“It was great.”

How great was it?

The problem is obvious – adjectives are blanketed statements that mean nothing.

Never, and I repeat, never use these common adjectives:

“Great”

“Excellent”

“Wonderful”

“Beautiful”

“Good”

“Bad”

“Big”

“Best”

“Able”

“Small”

“Low”

“High”

A few of these adjectives in a status can derail the entire piece.

26
And this is where most writers fail.

Don’t be one of them.

9. Avoid Non-Definite Words and Phrases

If you’re not definite in your writing, then you’ll lose the reader.

It makes you appear not confident in your opinions or ability to recap stories.

For example,

“I think he went to the store.” vs. “He went to the store.”

You trust the second sentence more.

To build more trust with your audience, avoid these words and phrases below:

“Sometimes”

“If”

“Possibly”

“I think”

“I decided”

“I thought”

“Usually”

“Particularly”

27
“Close to”

“Maybe”

“It seems”

10. Avoid Unnecessary Questions in the Middle

I don’t know why this has become a thing, but it is.

People use rhetorical questions in their writing.

And it makes the reader pause to think.

As a result, they get no engagement on their statuses.

There are four times when you can use a question in status writing:

1. Self-conscious thoughts of the writer

“What would my friends think?”

“How would my mom feel?”

2. Intro-ing your last one or two sentences

28
3. Ending on a question for engagement

4. Tangible conversation

29
That’s it.

11. Don’t Interrupt the Flow

Stay away from these words and symbols.

1. “And”

This word elongates your sentences.

Here’s how to avoid the word “and.”

You can write the paragraph this way:

“I don’t expect most people to know what it’s like. I moved cities to live with my co-founder,
built the company on a credit card, and had friends call me crazy.”

Or, it can be broken down in a more engaging way.

30
2. “Or”

Bad example: I could run for it or take the bullet.

Good example:

“I had two choices:

Run for it.

Or take the bullet.”

The second example pulls the emotion out of the “or” by adding a pause with the colon
after the word “choices.”

3. “!”

If you’re a descriptive writer, then an exclamation mark won’t add value.

For example, “It was great!” vs. “It was great.”

There’s no difference of emotion between these sentences..

Use a description over an exclamation mark.

4. “()”

31
If something needs to be said, then say it.

Don’t hide it.

It will only serve to puzzle the reader.

5. “…”

Somehow this is a thing, too.

Ellipsis don’t provide suspense – descriptions do.

Avoid them at all costs.

12. Be Dangerous

My high school grammar teacher would kill me for saying this.

You don’t need to write in complete sentences.

You need to write for momentum.

Here’s an example:

I don’t include the subject in the last two sentences.

It doesn’t matter because you know the subject.

The momentum keeps the “he” present.

32
Here’s another example.

I end a status on two incomplete sentences.

And again there’s no subject.

The momentum keeps the “You’re choosing” present.

This takes a lot of skill.

If you can master it, you’ll stand out as a top-tier writer.

33
13. How to End a Status

Tie it to a call to action.

Then back to the premise.

This is where most statuses fail.

People read it through, then don’t know the main takeaway.

In the example below, the ending ties back to the company.

This is the organic CTA.

Then the status reiterates the premise while making it about the reader.

It ends on a note of biased inspiration – something everyone can agree with.

Here’s another example.

The status ties back to the company’s culture – this is the organic CTA.

Then it dives into biased inspiration.

34
If you don’t make it about the reader, then make it about your employees.

Or, make it about both.

If people don’t walk away feeling a strong emotion, then don’t expect them to like,
comment, or share your post. Adhere to what works.

You’re Ready to Write Copy like A Pro

35
This step-by-step guide – is only that, a guide.

You need stories worth telling that make the read worthwhile.

And it’s hard to write with tangible examples and momentum if you don’t feel it.

The hardest part is not understanding copy principles –

It’s feeling enough empathy to know the reader will have a strong emotional response to
what you wrote.

You can’t train this.

It comes from the experience of living through the stories worth sharing.

If you don’t have them.

Create them.

And in time, you should aim to write an engaging status a couple of times a day.

Post it on your LinkedIn profile, personal Facebook, and your Facebook Group, too.

This brings me to my next point: You need a Facebook Group

36
CREATE A FACEBOOK
GROUP

37
 Create a Facebook Group

There are four primary ways to drive traffic to a Facebook Group.

1. Emailing people after an in-person event

2. Inviting your existing Facebook network
3. Emailing your LinkedIn connections
4. Cold emailing targeted people
Once you have a Facebook Group, it’s important you establish yourself as an authority.

This happens by producing ridiculously helpful and original industry content.

This comes mostly in form of step-by-step tutorials.

Ideally, you should produce 1 – 2 of these pieces every week.

38
This tutorial gets tons of engagement.

And I don’t even put a lead magnet on it – it’s pure value.

I also include it in a Google Doc so people can add it to their drive in a couple seconds.

Use LinkedIn for distribution.

I repurpose each one of these tutorials for my company blog and LinkedIn Pulse:

39
The best part about these how-to articles is they drive traffic back to your website.

Never give them all the tips on your LinkedIn Pulse.

Leave the last few on the full-written piece on your blog.

Create credibility, connections, and addictive loops.

With enough guides, you can create a drive folder like this one below.

This is a powerful way to establish your credibility.

40
It’s not all about posting value.

It’s about giving people the opportunity to create their own.

In the status below, I present the opportunity for people connect with each other.

If you post enough valuable industry content, you will create an audience who will buy from
you.

41
When they see the Facebook or LinkedIn notification that you posted – they’ll click it.

Then they’ll like, comment, and share.

Before they even read it.

Because they know you post valuable content consistently.

42
LEVERAGE TRAFFIC INTO
HIGH - VALUE WEEKLY
CONTENT

43
 Leverage Traffic into High-Value Weekly Content

You finished the hard part.

It’s time to leverage this engaged audience into your initial subscriber base.

This will take a few posts – that’s it.

Here’s an example LinkedIn post that leads to an optin to get notified of my book release.

You can copy it – then do the same.

44
Here’s another example post of me asking people to join my Messenger to get viral post
templates.

45
With several more posts, I hit a subscriber base of 1,000 people.

This initial amount gave me the momentum I needed to leverage another 13,000.

To keep the list the active, I distribute my weekly tutorials via Messenger every week.

46
I link them straight to the blog posts on our website.

You can see the weekly spikes in website traffic from the Messenger blasts:

This is what a Messenger message looks like on mobile:

It’s just like a normal text.

The difference is I see over an eighty percent open rate – that’s insane.

47
The average email open rate is 24.71%.

And the average click-through rate is 4.19%.

We’re seeing 4X those numbers.

For a Messenger blast, keep the message short and sweet.

People don’t like reading long texts.

Be consistent.

I send out my Messenger blast every week.

Because consistency makes you memorable.

It’s the one skill most people lack with content creation.

48
LEVERAGE YOUR AUDIENCE
FOR VIRALITY

49
 Leverage Your Audience for Virality

Congrats.

When you post on social media, you get engagement.

When you send out a Messenger blast, people respond.

It’s time to leverage this base into more subscribers at scale.

How?

Viral platforms.

In this example, we use Product Hunt.

However, it could also be sites like Reddit.

As long as the site promotes content with momentum, then you have an opportunity to
shine.

Not just any promotion, but if your content does well then thousands – or even hundreds
of thousands – will see it.

First, study the platform - what do they like that’s inexpensive?

And what do they like enough to exchange an email for?

For our industry (marketing and entrepreneurship), they want books about growth hacking.

I went ahead and pieced together a 300+ page book about growth hacking.

Submitted it to Product Hunt.

Followed this Product Hunt launch formula.

50
Then received over 8,000 new subscribers.

Then I repeated it a month later with a new growth hacking book.

And I received another 4,000 subscribers.

By then, I’d also done more giveaways resulting in 14,000 subscribers.

51
Whenever we release a tutorial, we’re no longer promoting it to the 1,000-person list.

We’re hitting 14,000 people. That’s powerful.

Because we include opt-ins on all our blog posts and around our site, this wave of direct
traffic from Messenger will generate organic traffic via direct referrals, sharing, and better
SEO.

Direct referrals: People sending the blog post link to friends via Messenger and email

Sharing: Sharing the post on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter

SEO: Increased backlinks, ranking on Google overtime

Here’s an opt-in I use on my personal website.

This led to over 3,000 new subscribers!

You never know where they’re coming from.

The next step is to do one viral release every month on the right platform.

Even though I release books, it doesn’t mean you need to do the same.

52
CREATE WRITING PROMPTS

53
 Create Writing Prompts

If you want to write story-driven content, then you need prompts.

If you’re new to writing content, then you probably have hundreds (maybe thousands) of
untold stories. You just need to dig them up.

Rather than have you think about the questions, here are two ways to generate content
ideas fast.

List as many moments as possible where you’ve experienced an obstacle:

1. When I had no money left to keep pushing my first startup forward

2. When I had to fire 150 writers for my publication
3. When I couldn’t get job at a tech company in Silicon Valley
4. When I bought an expensive office that forced us to make sales

Do the same for successes:

1. When I read 120 books in one year

2. When I bootstrapped my startup to two million dollars
3. When I became the head of growth at a VC firm
4. When I led growth for one of the fastest growing SaaS companies

And for people you’ve learned something valuable (whether positive or negative) from and
when:

1. When I led growth at 22Social, I learned from the co-founder

2. When I co-founded BAMF Media, I learned from my co-founder
3. When I led growth at UpOut, I learned from my CEO
4. When I got rejected from Looker, I learned from their account executive

Next step:

Find one small tangible moment with each obstacle, success, or person you’ve learned
something from.

54
Here’s an example:

Success: When I read 120 books in one year

Tangible moment: “I remember lying on my blow up bed in a one-room apartment reading

Tolstoy.”

Now let’s add some more tangibility with a conversation:

“My Dad felt bad for me.

So he’d say, “Josh, insist on being successful. That’s how it will happen.”

Let’s add a learning lesson:

I learned that you can’t just want things.

You need to insist they happen. That means taking action.

Now we have all the main pieces needed craft a status worth a thousand engagements.

The more you do this exercise, the more content you’ll have in your backlog to share.

55
HOW TO FIND CONTENT
INSPIRATION

56
 How to Find Content Inspiration

It’s a mindset.

If you’re not learning from people, adding people to your community, making mistakes,
and solving problems, then it’ll be hard to come up with content.

Here’s the thing.

You need to do this non-stop.

This is what we call a growth mindset -

Learning and executing all the time.

To build an engaged following, you must add one more variable: documenting what you
learn all the time.

Consistency is a huge difference maker.

It turns your avid readers into superfans.

57
To write the status below, I had to step into the role of a recruiter. As someone new to
recruiting, I ran into a number of problems.

These problems made for great content so I can’t complain:

As a founder of a growing team, I also experience adding people to our tribe almost every
week. It’s exciting and a bit hectic. This gives me a ton of content to write about when it
comes to new people making a positive impact in my life.

Want to learn faster? Have more high-level meetings.

I interview founders of successful companies, high-performance entrepreneurs, and

experts in their relative domains. This helps me put out more and more content.

58
It doesn’t always work out.

You can’t write about every deal.

The boundaries are thin for getting yourself in trouble.

Here’s an example:

59
I overstepped my boundaries, and I got warned.

It happens.

If you produce a couple of pieces of content a day, you’re guaranteed to make mistakes.

Find Relevant Questions on Quora

If you still need help coming up with new statuses, then hop on Quora.

Look for questions where you feel an emotional tug to answer.

60
Then do it.

You can use this Quora post for Facebook, LinkedIn, or even an Instagram description now.

So you have some ideas of what to post.

And maybe you’ve already got your first one done.

What’s next?

61
CREATE A RIDICULOUS
AMOUNT OF FOCUS

62
 Create a Ridiculous Amount of Focus

If you’re writing content on the internet, you’ll run into one HUGE problem.

Focus.

It’s easy to adopt a squirrel brain.

You type a few words, then check YouTube.

You type a few more words, then check Facebook.

Another few words, it’s Reddit.

If you want to growth hack your content production you need to think like a creator, not a
consumer.

Here’s how I do this -

I use a Chrome extension called Block site.

It’s exactly what the title implies - blocking you from viewing any site you include.

I plug in every site that will distract me.

Here’s what happens now when I try to access YouTube:

63
As you see, I’ve tried 31 times.

Just imagine how much time I’ve saved.

I don’t stop there.

I block out Facebook.

And LinkedIn, too.

64
How?

I outsourced a custom Chrome extension for several hundred dollars.

If you want it, you can download it here: http://bit.ly/2EYZwmA

Here’s how to make it work for you.

Download the Zip file, then open it up. You’ll see a folder.

Go to your browser Settings, and click on Extensions.

65
Now upload this folder on the right-hand side where it says “Update extensions now.”

Make sure you have Developer mode turned on.

The next step is to go to your Facebook and LinkedIn news feeds.

Right click and you’ll see an option to “Disable Quote mode” or turn it on.

66
And blocking your news feeds is as easy as that.

The only way to write content -

Is to force yourself to write it.

Do it enough times.

Make it a habit.

Strong enough to where you have withdrawals if you quit.

At that point, if you show up every day, I promise you - you’ll create content thought
leadership.

67
KEEP TRACK OF ALL YOUR
STORIES IN A FOLDER

68
 Keep Track of all Your Stories in a Folder

You can’t view your activity from over two months ago on LinkedIn.

All the posts you wanted to reshare?

They’re gone.

Or how about scrolling through Quora posts to find one to repurpose?

Good luck finding it.

I have to scroll through five hundred posts to do that.

What about looking through your past Facebook posts in a Group?

Sorry, but Facebook organizes them according to last engaged with.

And you’ll be searching through thousands of posts.

Don’t do that.

That’s why whenever you write a post that gets a lot of engagement, store it in a folder.

Then categorize it.

“Short-form”

“Funny”

“Long-form”

“Inspirational”

“Meeting”

69
Whichever tags are relevant to the content you produce.

Here’s a look into my folder right before I’m about to start categorizing.

These folders are the most valuable assets I own.

They’ll enable me to repurpose content over and again for years.

Nothing better than staying top of mind with zero effort - it’s awesome.

70
ENGAGEMENT PODS
WORK... AT FIRST

71
 Engagement Pods Work...at First

I don’t use engagement pods.

It doesn’t mean they don’t work.

They just cover up the problem.

A strong Quora answer will get engagement and go viral.

It doesn’t matter if you have one follower or three thousand.

People respond to remarkable content.

My most engaged post on LinkedIn happened when I had 2,000 followers.

And six months later when I had 54,000 followers, I still hadn’t beaten it.

If you’re looking for marginal gains in content marketing, then use an engagement pod

If you’re looking to write content that reaches millions, then focus on creating insanely
engaging content because it works.

With that said, if you want to start an engagement pod, it’s as simple as clicking the plus
button to add participants to a Facebook Messenger chat.

Then when someone publishes a post, they drop the post link in there.

72
Pod engagement does come with another danger - groupthink.

The more you see other people’s content and engage with it, the more likely you’ll create
content just like theirs. And if you never find your voice, you’ll never build a passionate
following.

73
HOW TO RESPOND TO
COMMENTS AND BLOCKING

74
 How to Respond to Comments and Blocking

I’ve written posts that have received thousands of negative comments.

And posts with thousands of positive comments.

I’ve learned the hard way how to respond.

If someone says something negative, you only have two choices:

1. Thank them for the feedback

2. Don’t respond at all

Anything else, and I REALLY mean anything else, will instigate them to attack you further.

And the other commenters will rarely - if ever - take your side.

As soon as you get into a comment war - you’re done for.

The best policy is in fact to not look at the comments.

Most people can’t do that.

So it’s best to, at least, have boundaries.

When someone comments something positive, you don’t need to respond.

If you have a huge following, this is almost impossible to do anyways.

I get a hundred comments per a post.

75
Way too many to respond to.

What I can do is have virtual assistant respond to comments like so:

This way you can turn you avid followers into superfans.

And it alleviates all the work of responding to people.

But what happens if some of the commenters get out of control?

For example, a commenter decides to respond to every positive comment telling them that
you’re an a**hole.

You need to block them. They’re hurting your brand and instigating hate.

76
The most important rule?

Don’t delete their comments unless you’re willing to block them as well.

If you delete a comment, they’ll go bezerk with more comments.

You don’t want to learn the hard way.

77
EMPOWER OTHERS TO
INSPIRE YOUR CREATIVITY

78
 Empower Others to Inspire Your Creativity

If you want to double your results, then empower your team.

If they’re creating content, then you can reach twice as many people. In this example, my
employee wrote a post about getting hired by us:

I took a lot of what was in his post, then wrote one about the same topic except from my
point of view:

In total, we hit close to two million views.

79
Then I did it again with my co-founder:

I re-wrote his post except from my perspective.

As result, we hit close to 3.5 million views.

The stories are similar, but the perspectives are different - and that’s what matters.

People won’t tire of the same story if comes from a different angle.

The more you inspire your team to create content, the more you’ll have.

It’s the best win-win scenario.

80
RUN EBOOK CAMPAIGNS

81
 Run eBook Campaigns

Want to run an eBook campaign that can net 500 subscribers?

Here’s how you do it for both Facebook and LinkedIn.

Step One for Facebook: Write an Engaging Piece of Copy as a Status

“Wish you had [insert benefit]?

I recently wrote/created [e.g. course, book] about how I did exactly that.

I'm taking people step by step of how I reversed engineered all of this in six months.

-[Benefit one]
-[Benefit two]
-[Benefit three]

Here's how to get the [e.g. course, book] for free:

Comment "I want it" below

She'll then send you a free copy/access.

(This is limited to the first 700 people)

Happy New Years!”

If you posted on your Facebook profile, then you can only give the ebook to your Facebook
friends. That’s considering you don’t friend random people commenting on your post.

The other way is to post on your Facebook fan page. If they comment on this post, you can
automate their subscription to a Messenger list.

You do this by connecting ManyChat to that Facebook post:

82
This is an extremely fast way to build your list.

And one my favorites.

If you want to do a giveaway on LinkedIn, it’s a little harder.

Still, the results are well worth it.

Once again, you start with copy encouraging people to comment.

83
“Wish you had [insert benefit]?

I recently wrote/created [e.g. course, book] about how I did exactly that.

I'm taking people step by step of how I reversed engineered all of this in six months.

-[Benefit one]
-[Benefit two]
-[Benefit three]

Here's how to get the [e.g. course, book] for free:

1. Send a connection request to my assistant [Insert name]

2. Comment "I want it" below

She'll then send you a free copy/access.

(This is limited to the first 700 people)

Happy New Years!”

The difference from the Facebook copy is you’re telling people to connect to your assistant.

We do this for one reason: not everyone who comments will be a high-quality connection.
And if you’re using ads to retarget connections, then you’re wasting money.

Because I don’t have an assistant, I created a fake profile:

84
From a single giveaway, she can gain a 2,000 new connections.

Wow!

This makes it easy to send the post commenters the prize.

The reason being is you can now automate your outbound messages to them.

And there’s two ways to do it.

Since they’re your connections, you can use Linked Helper to message all first connection
based on a list of URLs.

You get this list in two ways:

1. Outsourcing via Upwork to put all the commenters LinkedIn URLs and first names in
a spreadsheet. It cost me $40 for 1500 profiles.
2. The second way is to use a custom-built tool that extracts this data. The only issue is
custom tools tend to break with higher limits.

To upload this list into Linked Helper, click on “Message to 1st connections” in the middle
dropdown. Then click View Collected Recipients.

85
Next step is to click Upload Profile URLs.

From there, you’re ready to send automated messages to a custom LinkedIn URL list of
people.

This is not the only option.

You can also use a custom LinkedIn auto-messaging tool like the one below.

You can outsource it on Upwork for $500.

This will allow you to message a custom list of LinkedIn URLs.

86
It’s even better than Linked Helper.

Because it allows you to send the custom message in the connection note.

This means you can reach them before you’re connected.

And no longer need to accept a couple of thousand connection requests before sending
messages.

Here’s what an example message looks like:

87
And here’s what an example landing page looks like (where the link takes them):

If you run a giveaway every month, then you can add 500 more subscribers every time.

It’s an evergreen channel that works flawlessly.

Jump on it.

88
USE CONTENT TO
LEVERAGE RECRUITING

89
 Use Content to Leverage Recruiting

Writing copy-driven statuses consistently?

Running giveaways?

You now have a devoted fan base.

And it shows with more recommendations, endorsements, followers, and engagement.

So when you reach out to hire people via direct messages, they’ll respond.

I canceled my ZipRecruiter subscription.

And today, I reach out directly via LinkedIn.

It works wonders.

No more waiting for quality candidates.

The best part?

I’ve automated this process.

90
Let’s say I’m hiring for an Email Marketing Manager position.

I can jump into Sales Navigator, type in the criteria of my candidates using keywords,
location, industry, and current job title.

I’ll then use Linked Helper to auto message them.

I’ve hired Growth Strategists, Graphic Designers, and Email Marketing Managers this way.

It gets better.

New hires make for excellent content.

91
Every time we make a new hire?

We can land a new client from a social media status.

92
REPURPOSE CONTENT FOR
ORGANIC CHANNELS

93
 How to Repurpose Content for Organic Channels

Interviews and talks make for gold content.

As long as they’re with your prospect’s desired result (e.g. great marketer, successful
founder).

If you’re speaking at events, hosting events, doing webinar, or just one-on-one interviews
without an audience, then capture this content.

You can repurpose it for statuses, blog posts, LinkedIn Pulse articles, and YouTube videos.

Here’s an example event promotion -

I use a picture of the speaker and myself as the header (you can make something like this
in Google Slides) with copy that focuses on key benefits and credibility:

“Join us for a fireside chat with Olof Mathe, CEO & Co-Founder of Mixmax

You'll learn:
1. How to include virality in your product
2. How to implement a growth framework for sustainable traction
3. How to scale a product's user base using engineering for marketing

94
Olof led the team that built Inkling Habitat, now adopted by the world’s largest publishers. Prior,
he worked at Skype and McKinsey. He organizes Art Hack Day and is now the CEO & founder of
Mixmax.

Mixmax is the platform for all your external communications. Just like you use Slack to talk
within your team, you use Mixmax to talk to people outside of your immediate team, in other
organizations. sales, recruiting, marketing and ops teams use Mixmax to reach anyone,
anywhere and rely on its automation, analytics and instant scheduling features to drive results.“

Tools to Find Emails of Potential Speakers

Chrome extension that works on Gmail: Clearbit

Chrome extension that works on LinkedIn: Contactout

Both are very straightforward to use.

Cold Email Templates & Tools for Landing Speakers

I use Mixmax or Mailshake for sending cold emails out at scale.

Here’s an example email sequence I use to land speakers:

Email 1:

Subject: Speaking opportunity

“Hey {{First Name}},

I love the work you’ve done for {{Company}}.

I happen to run one of the largest marketers and founders communities in Silicon Valley (3000+
members) and an active 13000+ member Facebook Group.

95
As a growth evangelist who hosts close to seventy events a year ranging in attendance from 100 -
400 people, I’m always looking for knowledgeable speakers and people crushing it in tech such
as yourself.

I think you’d make a perfect fit.

Here’s an example of one of our previous speaking events:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4gYdeVpGlU

Do you have fifteen minutes free in the next week to talk about a speaking opportunity?

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Cheers,”

Email 2:

No subject: Email reply

Hey {{First Name}},

I just wanted to ensure you saw this email from the other day.

I love the work you’ve done for {{Company}}.

I happen to run one of the largest marketers and founders communities in Silicon Valley (3000+
members) and an active 13000+ member Facebook Group.

As a growth evangelist who hosts close to seventy events a year ranging in attendance from 200 -
700 people, I’m always looking for knowledgeable speakers. I think you’d make a perfect fit.

Here’s an example of one of our previous speaking events:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4gYdeVpGlU

Do you have fifteen minutes free in the next week to talk about a speaking opportunity?

96
Excited to talk about the opportunity.

Cheers,”

Email 3:

No subject: Email reply

“Hey {{First Name}},

Following up on my previous two emails.

I’m wondering if you’d be interested in an interview in front of a couple of hundred people in San
Francisco. It will be epic! :)

I run one of the largest marketers and founders communities in Silicon Valley (3000+ members)
and an active 13000+ member Facebook Group.

In case you missed it, here’s an example of one of our previous speaking events:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4gYdeVpGlU

Do you have fifteen minutes free in the next week to talk about a speaking opportunity?

Talk soon.

Cheers,”

Use a Content Loop with Email Marketing:

For this example content loop, the interviews take place every other Tuesday.

1st Email: Wednesday Morning, Recap of the Event

97
Subject line: [Cliff Notes & Video ] [name of event; e.g. “How JotForm Increased Revenue
50% YoY”]

“Hey Sarah,

Thank you for registering to see JotForm's VP of Marketing, Leeyen Rogers, talk about
implementing a framework for sustainable growth and increasing revenue for the company 50%
year over year, for 3 straight years.

Here are the cliff notes and video recording:

Hope to see you at our next event soon :)

Josh”

In this email, the video is clickable straight to the cliff notes page.

This is a blog post that covers the main points of the talk. For example, when I interviewed
George Revutsky, founder of ROIworks, this is what it looked like.

Here’s the secret: I didn’t write this post.

We used the service, Book in a Box, to do it for me.

98
We paid $600/post.

It seems like a lot, but if you’re building a huge email list with events or ads to webinars,
then it’s worth it.

You can’t skimp on quality.

And Book in a Box has some of the highest quality writing I’ve read.

Here’s the trick: Make sure to host the YouTube video in your article.

This is extremely important if you want to drive viewership.

I recommend hosting it at the top of the video.

Don’t just stop with your blog.

Publish this blog post as a LinkedIn Pulse article as well.

Now you have three pieces of content for SEO.

2nd Email: Friday Morning, Promo for Next Event

99
You must A/B test subject lines for all emails

This will enable you to scale the most opened one across the rest of your subscribers.

Here’s the example email:

Subject line: How JotForm Increased Revenue 50% Year over Year

“Hey there

Hope all is well.

I'd love for you to join the fun at our next event at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center:

"How JotForm Increased Revenue 50% Year over Year, for 3 Straight Years" with Leeyen
Rogers

You'll learn how to:

1. Include virality in your product

2. Implement a growth framework for sustainable traction

3. Scale a product's user base using engineering for marketing

Leeyen Rogers is the VP of Marketing at JotForm. JotForm is a tool designed to build the most
powerful and beautiful online forms with a drag-and-drop interface. It allows you to create
forms and analyze their data without writing a single line of code.

You can register here for free: http://growth.chat/jotformgrowthstory

In case you can't make it, on May 17th, I'll be speaking at Google:

"How to Growth Hack 0 to 200,000 Followers in One Year"

100
I'll talk about how to acquire customers with zero marketing budget, tactics to gain over 200K
followers in one year, and how to create an engaged online community.

You can register here: http://growth.chat/growthhack200000

Thank you in advance for coming :)

There will be refreshments.

See you soon.

Josh”

In each promotional email, I give them two choices of events.

This helps because people are not always available.

I also use Rebrandly to customize the URLs in the copy.

It provides the same link stats as Bitly except it keeps the branding of your company.

And I usually find speaker images via Google Search, their Facebook profile, or LinkedIn
profile.

I don’t ask for permission.

If they don’t like it, they’ll let me know.

The reason I do this - is great speakers are busy people.

They often care more about wasting time on email than the headshot you chose for them.

3rd Email: Tuesday, How-To or Talk Blog Post

This is my favorite emails.

101
Because it’s meant to do one thing: give the host credibility.

This is where the host writes a piece of content or showcases a talk where he provides
expertise about the industry he’s in.

This encourages people to want to hear them host a talk.

If you’re linking to a talk, then make sure to follow the blog format in the first email of this
series.

Here’s an example email of a how-to blog post:

Subject line: Go viral in three simple steps

“Hey there

Thank you for being a part of the community.

Last week we talked about bootstrapping a software company with content marketing.

But we missed a few secret tactics, especially with LinkedIn marketing.

I wrote this post about how you can write viral LinkedIn content.

Read it here:

How to Reverse Engineer LinkedIn for Predictable Virality

And don’t forget, next week we have George Revutsky of ROIworks speaking (or on the webinar).

Stoked to throw some knowledge bombs.

If you're in town, I'd love to see you there (hyperlink “there” with the event page).

And, of course, if you need anything let me know.

102
Josh”

With this how-to blog post, make sure to drop it in your Facebook Group as a Google Doc.

Then share it on your Facebook profile and fan page as a post.

Later, re-post it as a LinkedIn Pulse article.

Now you’re promoting your piece in five different areas.

1. Email
2. Facebook Group
3. Facebook Profile
4. Facebook Fan Page
5. LinkedIn Pulse Article

4rth Email: Thursday, Event Promo

Subject line: Scale your startup 3 times faster

“Hey there

Just in case you missed it, I'd love for you to join us at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center.

"How JotForm Increased Revenue 50% Year over Year, for 3 Straight Years" with Leeyen
Rogers

You'll learn how to:

1. Include virality in your product

2. Implement a growth framework for sustainable traction

3. Scale a product's user base using engineering for marketing

103
Leeyen Rogers is the VP of Marketing at JotForm. JotForm is a tool designed to build the most
powerful and beautiful online forms with a drag-and-drop interface. It allows you to create
forms and analyze their data without writing a single line of code.

You can register here for free: http://growth.chat/jotformgrowthstory

In case you can't make it, on May 17th, I'll be speaking at Google:

"How to Growth Hack 0 to 200,000 Followers in One Year"

I'll talk about how to acquire customers with zero marketing budget, tactics to gain over 200K
followers in one year, and how to create an engaged online community.

You can register here: http://growth.chat/growthhack200000

Thank you in advance for coming :)

There will be refreshments.

See you soon.

Josh”

5th Email: Tuesday Morning, Personal Invite

This email alone can increase the percentage of attendees by 20%+.

On the morning of the event, I send out an email like this one (check below) from Mixmax
to all the registrants to ensure they arrive. Mixmax results in 90%+ of these emails landing
in the recipient’s primary inbox.

To be safe and stay under Gmail’s limits, I recommend using a different Gmail for every two
hundred email addresses.

Here’s example email copy:

104
Subject line: Coming to the event, tonight?

“Hey there,

Had a few people ring me wondering what the time the JotForm event was taking place.

So, I wanted to send a personal email and let you know it’s at 6 p.m. tonight at Google Developer
Launchpad Space.

For a quick reminder, here are the details: http://growth.chat/jotformgrowthstory

See you soon.

Cheers,

Josh”

This personal email makes a world of difference in attendance.

Don’t forget it.

Repurposing Content for LinkedIn and Facebook Statuses

After every interview, it’s important to remember what you learned.

What were those “aha” moments?

If you remember them, write about them using statuses.

Here’s an example below:

105
Make sure to use the brainstorming formula for statuses mentioned earlier in the book.

Post your story on your LinkedIn profile, Facebook profile, Facebook Group, and fan page.

Here’s why -

The same story on my Facebook profile does even better on LinkedIn:

106
And you’re not just writing about your meetings.

Remember the how-to post you published?

Write about the obstacles you overcame to figure out the answers.

As a result, this is what your content distributions system looks like every two weeks if you
host an event and keep an active newsletter base:

1) 1 Event or Webinar
2) 2 Blog Posts
3) 2 LinkedIn Pulse Articles
4) 2 LinkedIn Statuses
5) 2 Facebook Profile Statuses
6) 2 Facebook Group Statuses
7) 2 Fan Page Statuses
8) 1 YouTube Video

That’s fourteen pieces of content every two weeks.

If you’re having meetings, hiring, and solving tons of problems, then you could add another
six pieces of content here.

107
Now that you have the evergreen content machine in the works, it’s time to add a little
spice.

108
REPURPOSE CONTENT FOR
ADS

109
 Repurpose Content for Ads

To up your engagement on LinkedIn and Facebook statuses, retarget your connections and
friends with Facebook ads.

For LinkedIn, all you need to do is export your LinkedIn connections to retarget them on
Facebook with engaging content. You can find the option to do so in your LinkedIn Settings
– Download your data.

Once you export your connections, LinkedIn will send you a list of their emails. Upload
them to Facebook as a custom audience, then start running ads.

110
I run video ads because the cost-per-view is less than several cents. Every ad has a call to
action to click-through to my website with a “Learn more” button.

Here’s an example video ad I’ve ran to my LinkedIn audience resulting in a 10/10 relevance
score (highest score for a Facebook ad performance).

If you publish engaging statuses, your LinkedIn connections will already know, like, and trust
you. In turn, this will often be your best-performing audience.

Retarget Your Facebook Friends

You can also retarget all your Facebook friends.

It only takes a minute to set up.

111
Here’s how you do it:

Step 1: Create a Yahoo Account

Why Yahoo?

Isn’t that so 2012?

This old platform works in our favor because they had a deal to sync your Yahoo

connections with your Facebook profile. It only takes a second to create your profile, then

another to click on the address book in the top right-hand corner.

Step 2: Import Facebook contacts

Once you click on the address book, you’ll have the option to import your contacts.

Click on the button.

112
Now you have the option to import your contacts from Facebook.

Once your Facebook friends’ emails are imported, it’s almost impossible to scrape them.

Yahoo knows what you’re doing and makes it a huge pain to access this data.

That’s why we created a Chrome extension to extract all these people.

Step 3: Growth hack it

To get the Chrome extension, click here to access the Zip file. Then download it and open
the folder in your extensions area by going to “More Tools,” then click on Extensions.

113
When you’re here, turn on Developer mode.

Next, click Load unpacked extension.

Now when you login to your Yahoo account, you’ll have a Download Contacts CSV button
on the bottom-left corner.

114
Click the blue “Download Contacts CSV.”

You’ll get almost your entire list of your Facebook friends’ emails.

Now plug this list into Facebook as a custom audience to start running ads to them.

How easy was that?

115
HOW TO DO NONE OF THE
WORK

116
 How to Do None of the Work

Don’t like writing statuses?

Hate creating blog posts?

Hire a writer.

Let’s break down the pricing for a top-notch writer.

For twenty unique statuses a month (5/week), it’s $2,500.

For four unique blog posts, it’s $1,500.

Doesn’t that feel amazing?

It should.

Because you have an entire content machine running for $4,000/month.

To identify top writers, look at their LinkedIn bios and content online.

And never hire someone just because they have a journalism degree.

You need proof.

If they haven’t written viral statuses before, then don’t trust them to do it again.

It’s as simple as that.

For example, Laura Riley makes for an excellent writer.

She has tons of blog content written.

Has also written viral statuses.

117
And loves writing.

You’ll find these writers in action.

Here’s Nix, one of the best writers I know.

What makes him different?

He writes copy every day in a status format reaching thousands of people.

And he used his skill to create engage a Facebook Group of thousands.

And whatever you do - don’t just throw up a job description on Upwork or Freelancer.

You need to know they can do the work.

118
Look across LinkedIn, Quora, and Facebook.

The talent is more obvious than you think.

You just need to be willing to pay them what they’re worth.

119
TIE EVERYTHING
TOGETHER WITH A PAID
COMMUNITY

120
 Tie Everything Together with a Paid Community

I’ve built a couple of hyper-local and niche-specific membership models.

I’ve even managed seven city memberships at one time.

Number of members?

Over 5,000 people.

Here’s why you want a membership and the email list that comes along with it:

1. Use your events to create an automated content loop with email

2. Drive more people to blog posts and YouTube videos

If you want to have an active paying community, then here’s an example of how you can
make it happen:

1. Start with a Facebook Ad

In this example, I’m selling a startup membership.

You’ll notice that there’s no picture of startup events, only the city.

This works because the audience has a higher affinity towards their city than startup
events.

In other words, they take more pride in their city – in this case, Los Angeles. We also play to
humor that startup entrepreneurs would enjoy “You won’t find models here.”

This works perfect because it also plays to LA’s vanity culture, too.

121
The audience: we target people interested in Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Startup
Weekend, and much more. The result: an audience of 50,000 people.

The placement: we’re not expecting people to pay. We only want emails for a drip sales
campaign. So we target only the mobile news feed. That’s where we get the lowest cost-
per-conversion.

Cost-per-lead: $2

2. Design a High-Converting Landing Page

The next step is to create a landing page that explains the benefits well.

Because we’re only looking to collect an email and the benefits are clear, we don’t design a
long landing page. We stick to a one-fold design.

And rather than use a background picture of an event, we stick with a picture of Los
Angeles because it converts up to 3X higher. Notice how the copy places an emphasis on
exclusivity with “underground,” and where they’ll get the tickets “your email.”

122
These words help increase the conversion rate by upwards of fifty percent.

Why?

People want to believe their special while knowing where they’ll receive the benefit.

We’re almost ready to drive traffic.

But first we need a thank-you page to complete the entire landing page experience.

3. Make it Exclusive

When visitors hit the thank-you page, they can’t get the benefit right away. This adds value
to the membership by making it more exclusive.

And then we make it clear that we’ll notify them when a spot opens up.

123
The main difference?

We use a picture of a startup event hosted at the Nasdaq to add credibility.

Keep in mind, we haven’t used a picture of startup event until they hit the thank-you page.

4. Deliver Emails Straight from Gmail

If you’re receiving less than a hundred leads a day, then send your follow-up emails right
from your Gmail to increase your deliverability rate.

To do this, I use Zapier to sync Autopilot with Mailshake.

When I have a new a lead, they get added to my Autopilot mailing list. Rather than send the
immediate follow-up emails from there, I have it “zap” the contact information right into a
Mailshake campaign.

124
By sending through Mailshake, it triggers emails in my Gmail account. As a result, the
emails the leads receive look more organic.

The best part: I can send automated reply emails.

This means I can send replies to previous emails to create a thread. This increases the click-
through, open, and reply rate.

Magic!

5. Create Follow-Up Emails

Once someone becomes a lead, I send out three emails to them in the next week.

Each of these emails outline the benefits and makes the membership sound exclusive.

Immediate Email

This email goes out right away.

The secret: We don’t give them access.

125
We play up the exclusivity.

Subject: Hey {{first_name}} you’re Invited to BAMF Insiders

“Hey there {{first_name}}

I’m Josh the CEO at BAMF Media.

We got your request for an invite to Los Angeles’s BAMF Insiders and think you’d enjoy the
experience.

We’re opening up 50 spots in Los Angeles – first come, first serve.

What is UpOut Insiders exactly? It’s the best way to explore LA’s startup scene without the touristy
vibe.

● Each month, we curate a list of LA startup events for you

● You choose your favorite two
● Instantly receive complimentary tickets to each in your inbox
Be warned: If you’re not at least a little entrepreneurs, Los Angeles’s Insiders may not be for you.

It’s only for people who want to try new things, and meet new people.

We’ve sent Los Angeles startup adventurers to meet the founders and execs from Quora, Snap,
YouTube, VC firms, and more.

You can think of us as your own personal and exclusive startup club that will give you the nudge
to try something new.

Interested? Be on the lookout for another email from me TOMORROW morning containing a
special link to claim one of the Los Angeles Insiders spots.

Have an awesome day :)!

Josh
CEO

126
BAMF Media
P.S.

Space is limited and our spots tend to fill up quickly, so please be on the lookout tomorrow to
ensure you don’t miss out!”

Second Email

In this email, our goal is to get the reader to click through on “Join Insiders FREE”

This will take them to a landing page that “warms” them up before they enter their
payment information.

Subject: Hey {{first_name}} your BAMF Insiders invitation [inside]

“Hey there {{first_name}}

My name is Josh and I’m the CEO here at BAMF Media.

We received your request to join Los Angeles’s Insiders and think you’d enjoy the experience.

We’re opening up 50 spots in Los Angeles – first come, first serve.

What is BAMF Insiders exactly? It’s the best way to explore Los Angeles’s underground & secret
events.

● Each month, we curate a list of LA startup events for you

● You choose your favorite two
● Instantly receive complimentary tickets to each in your inbox.
WARNING: If you’re not at least a little adventurous, Los Angeles Insiders may not be for you.
It’s only for people who want to try new things, and meet new people.

To ensure LA Insiders is a good fit for both of us, we’re giving you a 30-day membership –
completely FREE.

Here’s How To Join BAMF Insiders For FREE:

127
Use the code “growthhacking”

after you click the link below to get a full month of Insiders for FREE.

Think of it like a test drive – but one where you get to go to some really cool startup events.

During this month, you get to claim at least a pair of tickets worth between $50 to $300 to events
to see the founders and execs of many top Los Angeles companies.

…plus you have the chance to get another set of bonus tickets as well!

If you love your experiences at Los Angeles’s best startup events and want to continue with
Insiders, dues are only $29 per month.

If not, no worries, you are welcome to cancel at any time hassle-free.

Click the link below now to try Insiders free for a full 30 days.

Join Insiders FREE

If you have any additional questions you can email me back.

In the meantime, have a great week!

Cheers,
Josh
CEO, BAMF Media

P.S.
There is absolutely no risk to join. You get a full 30 days of Insiders for FREE, but to make sure we
can give our members first class service, we can only accept a limited number of new members
at this time. Don’t miss your spot.”

128
Wednesday

For this email, we keep it simple by making it a reply email. This way it looks more organic.

The body copy:

“Hey!

Did you see my email yesterday?”

6. Add Extra Love Mid-Funnel

For a higher conversion rate, you can send LinkedIn connection requests to new leads.

How?

Use a free Chrome extension like Full Contact or Clearbit.

Next pay a virtual assistant to comb through your sent emails to connect with the leads on
LinkedIn at scale.

Another way to do this - is to ask for the person’s LinkedIn profile URL on the thank-you
page for faster access to the community. Sync the submission to a Typeform to make it
easy, then use Zapier to send the results to a Google Sheet.

From there, have the VA check the Google Sheet for new results every day.

129
I recommend the virtual assistant sending them this LinkedIn personal invite:

“Hey {{first name}},

I noticed you were interested in our exclusive LA startup community.

We’d love to have you join. ”

7. Design a Benefits Page

Once they click through to the landing page from the email, this is what they see.

You’ll notice there’s social validation EVERYWHERE.

You can’t escape it.

Plus, we outline the benefits one more time.

130
On this page, they’ll click “Join Insiders.”

8. Design the Payment Page

“Join Insiders” takes them to a payment page.

On this payment page, they review the membership benefits on the right (if on desktop).
And because many were not expecting to pay even though we outlined that fact in the
email copy, we add details on why they need to input their credit card information.

131
Notice how we make the process sound easy with the headline “…in 3 Easy Steps”.

We also include logos and testimonials to provide more social validation.

Another benefit we provide is that we accept Stripe and PayPal.

By only accepting one, we turn off many would-be customers.

The integration only takes a little coding.

And boom! There you have it.

Implement Today

I used Unbounce to create most of the landing pages.

132
I then outsourced the payment page for a couple hundred dollars.

If you copy these steps, it will take you less than a day to create the funnel and drive new
leads.

If you want to build a membership community, then there’s no excuse not to do it.

Are you ready to take the reins?

133
GO VIRAL

134
 Go Viral

You have an email list.

A community.

What happens when you can drive traffic?

You invest in high-level content.

I’m not talking about the next dollar shave club viral video, but close to it.

Here’s how -

Step 1: Scan the internet for viral videos in your niche

Step 2: Make one or two tweaks (e.g. different people, include costumes)

Step 3: Post the video in your community and send it out to your email list

Step 4: Put several hundred dollars of paid traffic behind it.

Now you have a video with a ton of social validation.

It’s time to go viral.

Take this video and pitch it to relevant high-traffic fan pages and publications.

Messages the fan pages.

Email the editors of publications.

It’s that simple.

They’re constantly looking for the next piece of viral content.

135
And if you have enough social validation, they may feature your video.

You only need one viral video to create a waterfall effect.

If BuzzFeed features your video, then it’s likely tons of other fan pages will pick it up as well.

My friend, Kevin Lo, is an expert at this.

He remakes many videos that have already gone viral.

As a result, his videos have been seen millions of times, and he now has over 100K
followers on Instagram. Here’s an example video he did.

This storyline has been done many times.

And it works.

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Find out what works for your company, then roll with it.

The most recent, brilliant video I’ve seen in the B2B space is from Billy Gene is Marketing.

He took an icon scene from the Wolf of Wall Street and made a video using the same
storyline: http://bit.ly/2BhW58g

This video got over 1.5 million plays on YouTube alone.

This is besides the fact that he ran it as a Facebook ad for a long period.

Most founders fear away because they don’t want to represent themselves in a crazy way.

They’re scared of getting judged.

Well, you know what feels a lot worse?

Your company failing because of bad marketing.

136
And not even trying in the first place.

Don’t be them.

Be the entrepreneur who took a chance on creating a content machine.

A machine that took your company from five to five hundred employees.

This is the playbook.

Go.

137
FINAL THOUGHTS

138
 Final Thoughts
There are thousands of excuses.

I’m the CEO, how am I going to find time to create content?

I’m not a good writer.

You don’t need to do it yourself.

Let me repeat that.

You don’t need to be the one doing the work.

Hire a writer.

If you can afford $4,000/month.

You can build an entire content machine.

Maybe better than any of your competitors.

With that said, I’m a CEO who leads our sales and hiring.

And I still find time to produce close to thirty pieces of content every month.

If you put in the work, you will get the results. Promise.

As with every habit and routine, the more you do it - the easier it becomes.

If you have the budget for a ghost writer, then all you need to do is show up for them
interview you.

If you can’t do that?

Well, no one can help you there.

139
If you can, you’ll realize the biggest traction channel you’ve been missing out on.

I know you’ll make the right decision.

Get it.

140
T H E E N D

bamf.media
[ br(eakfast) + (l)unch ]
www.brunch.com

141