⚠️ Podcast downloads.

Finding YouTube influencers, growing your brand with giveaways, and more. September 28, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Wednesday. Here’s a short list of good things that make hump day less hump-y: - Smiling. - Fist-bumping. - Googling pictures of Gimmelwald, Switzerland. See that? Not all good things take time. ADVERTISING Podcasts are buying “listeners” to rack up download numbers [article-image] Well this seems shady… [Podcasters are using—or abusing—video game ads]( to make users download shows so they can boost stats and increase prices on ad placements. Playing the players: Freemium video games incentivize actions such as downloading a podcast, for example, to earn some kind of “virtual loot.” And since podcast companies rely on download numbers for ad sales, this tactic allows them to ramp up their “listener” count quickly. Not listening: Unsurprisingly, users that download podcasts this way rarely have listening intent. That’s bad news for marketers, who risk overpaying on podcast ad placements. Why we care: If you’re running podcast ads, make sure you rely on the foundations of marketing—loyal user base, community building, brand ambassadors, and honesty. And if you’re buying ad placements, find out where podcasters get their listeners before you sign any checks. MARKETING LinkedIn creators weigh in on finding the next marketing gig Your skills are in high demand right now. Unfortunately, so are the skills of your competitors. Level up: CNBC [recently interviewed a few LinkedIn creators]( who shared career advice to young marketers. Their recommendations include things like: - Sending cold messages. No, it’s not always pleasant but it can be effective. Sending a cold, yet genuine message to people from your marketing field can help you build rapport and potential opportunities. - Encouraging yourself. Sometimes it can feel like slamming your head on a brick wall, but be persistent in your search. If you need help, look for help. If things get tough, tell yourself—I can handle this. - Becoming a “combo” specialist. Specializing in more than one skill can increase your value. A social media manager that dabbles in design apps will be worth more. Just be careful you don’t turn into a “jack of all trades.” Hey there, stranger: By the way, a recent LinkedIn study claims that if you want to secure a gig, you [should connect with people you don’t know](. Apparently, sharing more than 10 mutual connections with someone on LinkedIn reduces that connection’s usefulness. Why we care: You know what they say… your network is your net worth. In addition to learning skills, it’s always prudent to make new connections—especially when the economy is in flux. And hey, we’re marketers too. We don’t want you to be stuck on the job hunt for long! SPONSORED BY PINS4PROFIT $35M spent on Pinterest Ads. $100M generated in 2022. And the entire strategy free… if you act now [article-image]( Want to try a new customer acquisition channel—without the risk of burning budget and time? This is your chance. Lindsay Shearer has helped 1150+ brands scale their Pinterest sales beyond six and seven figures. She generated $100M for her clients this year alone. … And she broke down the strategy that allows them to repeatedly launch successful campaigns on Pinterest every year. [You can download the Full Strategy Guide for free](. Here’s what you’ll find inside: - Her exact system broken down into 10 stupidly easy steps. - The “behind the scenes” audience creation and targeting tactics responsible for scaling to 7 figures. - The images and creatives she used. That’s not all. [You can also get $20,000 in Pinterest Ad Credit.]( [Get Lindsay Shearer's million dollar Pinterest Ads strategy for free now.]( INFLUENCER MARKETING How to find YouTube influencers for your next campaign [article-image] The right creators can boost awareness and provide much-needed social proof for your brand. And with YouTube introducing [revenue sharing for Shorts](, there’s a good chance we’ll see an influx of new creators, which could give you more people to choose from. But finding quality, niche creators is hard. So how do you snatch creative, under-the-radar influencers for your niche? Similarweb lays out [a few suggestions in this post](. Let the search for influencers begin… Do manual search: Nothing quite replaces rolling up your sleeves and doing some smart research. Type relevant niche keywords into YouTube’s search bar and see which influencers promote them. For example, you might search for “best drill bit for stainless steel.” The first couple of creators that pop up with review videos might be people with influence in that particular field. Similarweb recommends looking for micro influencers with 10–50k subscribers because they’re most likely to be open to partnering up, and they often have a loyal following. Look for previously sponsored content: Another great hack is to look for hashtags like “ad” or “sponsored” + your niche to find influencers that have promoted products in the past. This will show you creators that are open to collaboration and have already had success in previous campaigns. Use influencer marketing platforms: Influencer marketplaces allow you to narrow your search to the exact category, view count, subscribers, and more. On the downside, these platforms can be a bit pricier than doing manual work, but can pay off if you have the budget. The article also recommends a list of free tools to find YouTube keywords, influencer emails, and more, so it may be worth it to [read the whole thing](. SPONSORED BY DTCX Meet top DTC leaders like Nick Shackelford, Ezra Firestone, and Aaron Spivak this October [article-image]( DTCx Retain is bringing e-commerce leaders from all around the world to Los Angeles to help you create a brand that thrives for years to come. It’s going to be [three days of sharing, networking, and discovering tactics]( used by brands like Liquid Death, Hush, and True Classics to win and retain customers. Can’t make it to LA? You can attend virtually for free. [Find out more here.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Three insights for running successful giveaways [article-image] If hearing “giveaway” gives you flashbacks to early 2010s YouTubers begging for subscribers, we don’t blame you. But giveaways can be just like Facebook Ads or sponsored content: They’re tools to acquire more customers at a desirable cost. At Stacked Marketer, we’ve run our fair share of giveaways. Here’s what we’ve learned along the way: - Decide on a prize. The definition of a good prize depends on your audience. If your audience is fairly broad, like ours, go broad! We’ve found success with electronics, like AirPods and MacBooks. Items that anyone can enjoy tend to outperform tickets to conferences or online masterminds. - Get the word out. You could be giving away a 20% stake in Tesla, but if nobody knows about it, your giveaway will fall flat. Our less-successful giveaways have been ones that we haven’t featured prominently in the newsletter. - When to announce? Announcing too late reduces your overall surface area, but announcing too early reduces urgency. We’ve found between 3 and 7 days to be a good window for the first announcement of your giveaway. Make sure you follow up until the giveaway is over. Last-minute reminders can perform well. These are simple tips, but they’ll help increase the odds your giveaway is successful. Best of luck out there! ROUNDING UP THE STACK [USER-GENERATED CONTENT:]( Do you need UGC assets to fuel your campaigns? minisocial equips brands like Native and Doordash with fully licensed UGC assets, quickly! [And right now, Stacked Marketer readers get a 15% discount.](* [INSTAGRAM:]( Is Meta giving up on in-platform commerce? Apparently Instagram removed the Shop tab from their latest app test. It hasn’t been confirmed whether it’s a test variation or whether the tab is going away for good… Guess we’ll see. [YOUTUBE:]( Hope you can do a good Morgan Freeman impression. YouTube added a voiceover feature that brands and creators can use to narrate their Shorts. Sounds like narrating content just got a whole lot easier… [SEO:]( Core updates, helpful content updates… keeping track of Google updates has become quite hectic over the past month or so. This little monthly news wrap-up will refresh your memory, and maybe help you catch important info you might’ve missed. [TIKTOK:]( Want to go LIVE on TikTok? You’ll need to comply with some new rules. The platform is introducing 7-day trial access requirements and 180-day access requirements, and there are several for each. Good to know! *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER I'm teary-eyed but never cry, silver-tongued but never lie, double-winged but never fly, air-cooled, but never dry. What am I? You can find the [answer here.]( [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT No need to bring a cooler to these beaches [article-image] Good news if you’re in Alaska… [Yeti Coolers are literally washing up on the beach.]( Yep, these high-end coolers, which go for as much as $400 each, started heading for shore after a cargo ship spilled 109 of them. Was it an accident? A marketing stunt? Guess we’ll never know. What we do know is now they’re washing up in mint shape… and that’s a marketing campaign in its own right. We just hope all 109 will find its way to their new owners...and keep the beaches clean. SHARING IS CARING We’re total suckers for the rule of reciprocity. It seriously means a lot to us when you share our newsletter. So when you share Stacked Marketer with other marketers—and they subscribe—we reciprocate instantly with awesome content and merch, like: - Our growing library of The Crew’s Insights (2 referrals) - The Marketer Mug (30 referrals). … And lots more. Hit the link below to get started! [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [SM PRO]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. 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