Episode 137: Blogging Your Way to Success with Jacob Cass

Show Notes for This Episode:

[1:00] Tom and the gang welcome Jacob to the show.
[1:40] Jacob Cass shares a little about who he is as a designer.
[2:30] Tom asks Jacob how he got his foot in the door early in his career.
[3:00] Is it as simple as a lot of hard work and a dash of luck?
[4:00] JackCass Productions.
[5:20] Jacob drops everything and heads to the US, but it’s short lived.
[6:00] Hustling back to New York pays off with Seinfeld, Powerade & Nintendo.
[7:30] Ian remembers finding Jacob’s blog, Just Creative.
[8:00] Education drives Jacob to write.
[9:00] Tom has a similar experience with demand on his first design blog.
[10:00] Blogging is a game where the best content wins.
[11:00] Where 99% of Jacobs’s blog visits come. Shocker!
[12:00] Just Creative was initially design basics.
[13:00] From design principles to logo design to a wide array of blog topics.
[14:00] A blog needs to pivot around where you are in your design career.
[15:00] Sharing benefits more than your audience. Don’t hold your secrets.
[16:00] Seeing behind the curtain makes people want to get involved with you.
[17:00] Trust wins jobs.
[18:00] Jacob markets as a personal brand.
[19:00] There is still room for designers to start a blog.
[20:00] What you need to do to get your first blog up and running.
[21:00] Discover your goals.
[22:00] The New Blog – Low Engagement struggle.
[23:00] Give yourself 6 months to get your blog off the ground.
[24:00] Links back to your site = Trust in the search engines eyes.
[25:00] Link building strategy in a nutshell.
[26:10] Google link building tips to get rolling.
[27:20] How to stop sucking at Marketing.
[28:00] Investing the time to build the skills to win the views.
[29:10] Jacobs drops a crash course on SEO marketing.
[30:00] 80% of SEO is Title Tags and Links.
[31:00] Jacob doesn’t write for humans not search engines.
[32:00] Write about your topic and edit for keywords afterwards.
[33:00] Ian’s metaphor for search engine optimization.
[34:00] The ebbs and flows of running your own business.
[35:00] Comparison – Highlight Reels – Real World.
[36:00] Jacob shares some cuteness about his new family addition.
[37:00] Balance is always a work in progress.
[38:00] Tom asks if Jacob is as chill in life and work as he appears.
[39:00] Overcoming challenges is part of the game.
[40:00] Routines make the day move smoother.
[41:00] A typical work day in Jacob’s world.
[42:00] 7 hour work day with a Netflix and chill ending.
[43:00] Jacob has worked the long 12-14 hour days.
[44:20] Tom crushes on Jacob’s logo design.
[45:00] Principles of Great Logo Design.
[46:00] Don’t fall into this logo design pit.
[47:00] Jacob talks about the next logo challenge he wants to tackle.
[48:00] Where you can find Jacob Cass online.
[49:00] Grab the best design goodies and lots of freebies.
[50:00] And that’s a wrap!

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