go big or go home…

Hannah Smith@hannah_bo_banna

…a phrase usually used to

goad someone into an

outlandish or awesome act

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

…actually often said act is pretty dumb

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

today’s not about

big drinking

@hannah_bo_banna

today’s about

big content

@hannah_bo_banna

WTF?!

@hannah_bo_banna

expensivecontent

@hannah_bo_banna

WTF?!

@hannah_bo_banna

takes more than

40 hours to create

@hannah_bo_banna

plus

further timeto outreach

@hannah_bo_banna

sounds like a gamble?

@hannah_bo_banna

funnily

enough

@hannah_bo_banna

I used to be a betting shop manager

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

gambling is a

mug’s game

@hannah_bo_banna

which presents something

of a problem

@hannah_bo_banna

because investing in

big content

@hannah_bo_banna

is a major

gamble

@hannah_bo_banna

and I am

risk averse

@hannah_bo_banna

this is the story of howI learned to embrace

gambling

@hannah_bo_banna

but first, some context…

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

it was always a competitive niche…

@hannah_bo_banna

Jan 2012: we’d been working

together for over a year…

@hannah_bo_banna

‘small’

content

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

+ some guest blogging

@hannah_bo_banna

consistent

results

@hannah_bo_banna

then@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

it got real@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

the stuff we were doing

@hannah_bo_banna

playing it

safe

@hannah_bo_banna

small

content

@hannah_bo_banna

small

gamble

@hannah_bo_banna

small

reward

@hannah_bo_banna

these consistent

results

@hannah_bo_banna

were not going to be

enough

@hannah_bo_banna

to really

compete

@hannah_bo_banna

the client was

happy

@hannah_bo_banna

the client was

happy

@hannah_bo_banna

the client was

happy

@hannah_bo_banna

but we were on

borrowed time

@hannah_bo_banna

go big or

go home?

@hannah_bo_banna

sounds

risky

@hannah_bo_banna

remember, I’m

risk averse

@hannah_bo_banna

but@hannah_bo_banna

is it really a

gamble?

@hannah_bo_banna

maybe not when you’re the

agency

@hannah_bo_banna

but you still need to

persuade

the client…

@hannah_bo_banna

they are the ones that stand to

lose

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

they agreed to a test

@hannah_bo_banna

don’t expect the client to

pay more

@hannah_bo_banna

we pitched to go

slower

@hannah_bo_banna

moved from a 4 week content cycle

to an 8 week content cycle

@hannah_bo_banna

we absorbed some

risk

@hannah_bo_banna

we

over-delivered

@hannah_bo_banna

like

crazy

@hannah_bo_banna

we

figured

@hannah_bo_banna

if we could

proveit worked

@hannah_bo_banna

we could pitch for

moremoney later

@hannah_bo_banna

it was a

gamble

@hannah_bo_banna

but that nag

romped home

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

148linking root domains

@hannah_bo_banna

what happened next

@hannah_bo_banna

it’s not about going

bigonce

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

101linking root domains

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

79linking root domains

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

74linking root domains

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

197linking root domains

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

55linking root domains

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

188linking root domains

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

6linking root domains(don’t panic, it’s new)

@hannah_bo_banna

it’s not been the

smoothestride

@hannah_bo_banna

Socia

l Media

Producti

vity

AdWord

sHirin

g

Word

Press

Blogging

Google Analy

tics

Email (N

ew)0

50

100

150

200

250

Linking Root Domains

@hannah_bo_banna

however

@hannah_bo_banna

per £1 invested in

content & outreach

@hannah_bo_banna

we’re now building more than

double

the number of links

@hannah_bo_banna

we’re twice as

effectivenow as when we were

playing it safe

@hannah_bo_banna

but it’s not just about

links@hannah_bo_banna

results you actually careabout

@hannah_bo_banna

Jan 2012

versusJan 2013

@hannah_bo_banna

improved rankings

for head terms

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

45% increasein organic traffic

@hannah_bo_banna

increasedconversions

@hannah_bo_banna

conversions are

money#justsayin

@hannah_bo_banna

happyclient

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

5 tips for going big or how to avoid going home

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

your content needs to support the brand’s

positioning

@hannah_bo_banna

in order to get

sign off

@hannah_bo_banna

& in order to be

repeatable

@hannah_bo_banna

‘whacky’ideas

@hannah_bo_banna

cost too much

time

@hannah_bo_banna

& are hard to

repeat

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

evergreen content is far

less risky

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

use your best idea

first

@hannah_bo_banna

but have plenty more in your

back pocket

@hannah_bo_banna

it’s not about going

bigonce

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

set benchmarks for

‘success’

@hannah_bo_banna

beforelaunch

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

don’t believe the

hype

@hannah_bo_banna

“great content produces

out-sizedreturns”

@hannah_bo_banna

one cold

email

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

sadly, that only happens

sometimes

@hannah_bo_banna

great content gets you

top-tierguest posts

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

a word of warning

@hannah_bo_banna

I was hoping to build a

flywheel

@hannah_bo_banna

#naive

@hannah_bo_banna

nevertheless

@hannah_bo_banna

investing in

big content

@hannah_bo_banna

is a major

gamble

@hannah_bo_banna

that can

pay off

@hannah_bo_banna

& if you too are in a

rut

@hannah_bo_banna

small

content

@hannah_bo_banna

small

gamble

@hannah_bo_banna

small

reward

@hannah_bo_banna

& it’s not

enough

@hannah_bo_banna

to really

compete

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

hannah.smith@distilled.net

@hannah_bo_banna

Caffeine Addict

SEOmoz Associate

Writer for State of Search & SEO Chicks

HANNAH SMITH

Principal Consultant, Distilled

Image Credits

Shots - http://www.thethirstypig.com/2011/01/13/100-shots-at-blue-frog-%E8%93%9D%E8%9B%99/Please drink responsibly - http://lmaotwitpics.com/2012/12/27/drink-responsibly/Ladbrokes - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaggers/8047471537/sizes/l/F*ck Yeah - http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669791/infographic-the-rise-of-tumblrs-fuck-yeah-movement1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/204714598/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159394280/2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5489483429/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159392957/3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/94877877/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159391763/4 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5122443605/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159390514/5 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/4322212584/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159389491/Clock - http://digitalbloggers.com/gregfionascott/how-to-stop-procrastinating/Your best shot - http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2012/10/04/40-things-to-say-before-you-die/2/Go big or go home - http://kristiehuey.com/GO-BIG

@hannah_bo_banna