Analyzing Neil Patel’s Post – 15 Tools for Effective Content Promotion

Today morning I read Neil’s new post on QuickSprout – Want More Effective Content Promotion? Choose From These 15 Tools, published on 13 Jan, 2016.

I tried to analyze exactly how Neil writes his articles – what sets him apart? Does he use the “so-called” techniques that’ll fetch you more traffic?

In short, yes. And he does so brilliantly. Here’s what I found.

The topic of the article is content promotion tools. A bit of analysis would tell you that an interested or new reader might be interested the following topics as well:

1. “What is content promotion?” Well, that’s dumb. “How to go about content promotion” is a better question. They’re outlined under content promotion strategies.
2. How to make good content? Niel has included an awesome guide.

Let’s begin by examining the introduction. Any good rule book (I mean, authority article) would tell you to get the reader hooked in the first few lines. This is under the assumption that you’ve created an awesome headline that hooked the reader to open your article in the first place. But that’s Neil we’re talking about.. so, yeah.

Building an Effective Hook

Here’s what Neil does to get the reader hooked.

Fear. 

That’s right. Neil creates a sense of fear, insecurity and competition in our minds. Read the first line very carefully.

Now that the reader has a reason to stick to the post, Neil gives them a solution.

What’s the solution? How to create great content, and how to promote it.

(1) Create fear. (2) Lay the bait. (3) Extend your arm.

Neil effectively created a sense of insecurity – described the problem for us. And then (like a knight in shining armor) he gave us two awesome solutions.

If this is not marketing, I don’t know what is.

Interlinking Strategy

Now, let’s talk about Niel’s interlinking strategy. There are three interlinks in the article’s introduction.

1. Advanced Guide to Content Marketing labelled under “truly great content”
2. “content shock” (external)
3. 11 Things To Do After You Publish a Post under “content promotion strategies”
4. A Step by Step Guide to Modern Broken Link Building
5. Citation and Trust Flow Metrics (external)

After describing the problem, look how he carefully interlinks his previous (godlike) content as the solution.

So now the groundwork is laid. But wait. We haven’t begun to talk about the actual list of content promotion tools.

As you might have guessed it by now, this is what Neil does. Present the reader with another problem. And you know what? It works. Every. Single. Time.

Of course, the solution is nothing but the related content of the actual article!

Here’s a screenshot of the same.

Here’s another example where Neil links to an external article, which would genuinely help the reader.

The Actual Article

Finally, the list is awesome. I’ve learnt about 5 new tools. Here’s how I would like to categorize them.

1. Email Outreach

• Contact Management
  • #1) Nimble
• Email Open/Close Analytics
  • #2) Yesware
  • #3) BananaTag
• Organization/Productivity
  • #4) FollowUpThen
• Outreach Organization and Tracking
  • #5) BuzzStream
  • #6) ContentMarketer.io

2. Social Media Tools

• Outreach
  • #7) Narrow.io (careful)
  • #8) Topsy
• Social Account Management Tools
  • #9) Tweetdeck
• Social Media Schedulers 
  • #10) Buffer
• Social Media Sharing Plugins
  • #11) Image Sharer Plugin by SumoMe

3. SEO Tools

• Link Building Tools
  • #12) Citation Labs – Broken Link Builder. This also includes a link to Advanced Guide to Broken Link Building.
• Content Discovery and Research
  • From of #12) Citation Labs – Link Prospector
  • #13) Ahrefs
  • #14) Majestic
  • #15) BuzzSumo
  • #8) Topsy

Strategy: After going through the list, I think that Neil quantitatively explains the  (a) purpose each tool fulfills and (b) the benefits the user will enjoy.

Neil also explains the unique selling points of each tool, and gives a brief tutorial using annotated screenshots of the tools he personally uses.

Analyzing The Conclusion

Neil begins with some simple advice. (He’s reached a position to do so.)

He uses a metaphor to explain the purpose of his article – specifically the things you could gain from this post. Whether you use it or now is an entirely different story. The tools described in this post are simply the hammers and saws for the carpenters.

Finally, he ends with a humbling suggestion asking the readers to take action. Not leave a comment, but to share a tool that they love which is not in the list.

And that, ladies and gentlemen is how Neil Patel ends a blog post!

Concluding This Article

This is my very first attempt at documenting some of the pointers I’ve gained by analyzing Neil’s post. There’s a difference between analyzing a post and reading it. You’ll know when you do it. 😉

I’m sure I’ve missed out a lot of great points – so I ask you to share your expertise. If you think I’ve missed a point, or got something wrong, please share your thoughts in the comments.

I would love to hear your observations! Let’s find out how the pros do it!

Fin.