Help us with Moz Academy!

[Nick_Sayers]

Hey Q&Aers!

I just wanted to create a discussion thread here to talk solicit some feedback and help with Moz Academy! We want your help coming up with future lessons so we’re getting you the content you need. So, think about what you’d or your team would like to learn from Rand and others at Moz. Let us know!

“So, what is Moz Academy?” you may ask. Well, Moz Academy gives subscribers the power to be better marketers, which will enable them to use Moz’s products with more depth and awesomeness. We want to provide a hub of marketing knowledge that will create a stronger community where people can teach each other while using Academy as a frame of reference. The key to this project is empowering you to kick even more ass than you already do!

If you have any questions about Moz Academy, feedback about lessons, or ideas on a future curriculum please feel free to get involved in the discussion below.

Looking forward to see what everyone comes up with.

[jesse-landry]

Cool!

(link above is broken: http://moz.com/academy )

[Nick_Sayers]

Woops! Thanks. Should be all fixed up.

[SEO5Team]

Hi Nick,

This is a fantastic resource that we can share internally with our team members. My feedback below:

• More case studies will be awesome. Showcasing real time examples to drive home the concepts would be really helpful
• More discussion on the effectiveness and usage of analytics in marketing campaigns would be very helpful
• Topics like mobile and video marketing would also be very helpful

Cant wait to see more content in the academy. Great initiative. Just this resource in itself is worth the pro membership fee.

Cheers,

SEO5..

[MoosaHemani]

+1 for Mobil and Video Marketing related topics!

[Martijn_Scheijbeler]

I absolutely agree with Nick on the case studies, this is for me most relevant as it gives better insights in how other people are using certain tools and creating a strategy around it then straight forward following marketing books.

I'd also would like to see some more videos on technical SEO and dealing with really big sites.

Looking forward to more videos!

[Modi]

Hi Nick,

My compliments for the excellent video - quality and stuff out there from Mr. Rand

a) Is it possible to download videos and store it so as to view it as per convenience.

b) Some of the topics to my view will add value, if covered are:-

1. Reputation Management,

2. Brand Building for Small to Medium Sites,

3. Competition Management through Search Engines,

4. Tips for Level 2 Sites who are through with Beginner SEO - Onpage & Offpage to double up traffic -

5. A live case study for sites on how they doubled up visitors from 1 Lakh to 2 Lakh or say 5 Lakh to 10 Lakh in a year

[RobertFisher]

Hello Nick,

In looking over what you have now it is a nice mix and obviously some great topics. One of the issues many seem to miss is the actual business of Inbound Marketing, Earned Marketing (thanks Rand), SEO, or marketing in general. Many of those who come to Moz are starting out as "freelance SEO's" and wanting to build a business around their profession or trying to establish a lifestyle business for themselves. Some already have agencies and are wanting to grow. And, others are working for someone and still can use some of the entrepreneurial knowledge.

Many seem to know a bit about SEO and, minimally, where to go for the data, but have little understanding of the business of marketing: Do's and Don't to customer acquisition, How to prospect, what are the best mechanisms to "get the word out" about your services? Or, How do I charge for this or that? What are the pitfalls I need to be aware of? What kind of contract should I have? Who do I hire first? How do I hire? How did Moz (or other companies) create the culture that they have? etc.

The last one is very important in my opinion. You guys say a lot about the story of Moz and TAGFEE and that is good. But some may not realize that it takes work to create a culture and it takes a set of beliefs at the top that are unshakable. IMO, if you are to truly build a great company, you have to go far beyond "Core Values" and "Mission Statements:" You have to go to living what you say you believe. Moz has proven many times that Transparency is important (think bandwidth arbitrage-that one blew me away and I still tell people about the way you guys just said, "This is what happened.") The same is true for the rest of TAGFEE. But, it did not happen because someone thought it was cool and then sprinkled unicorn dust everywhere. So, Culture Acquisition is something you can teach.

I know because over the last few years I borrowed a bit from you guys. I walk into an office that I love to be in with people I love to work with. It did not get this way overnight nor by accident. It was deliberate, others had buy in, and it has taken and is still taking time. But, that culture is what prospective clients see when they sit in our offices. That culture is what brings people asking if we are hiring. That culture is what has interns showing up, working, and looking forward to coming to work here when school is out for them. If you can teach people the importance of a quality culture and how to achieve it, they will be flocking to your doors.

I look forward to seeing the end result.

Best,

Robert Fisher

[Nick_Sayers]

Whoa! Excellent suggestion. I love the idea of adding a section about building a great company and I know Rand is extremely passionate + knowledgable about the topic. I will put something in the queue for that type curriculum and send out an internal email to get some ideas around it. Many thanks for the awesome and well thought out suggestion.

[SarahBird]

Thank you for writing this Robert!

I couldn't agree with you more! Building your culture is foundational. Before doing the work, it's important to talk about how to do the work. And the how is all about culture.  Are we collaborative? Transparent? Focused on solutions? Okay with failure? Willing to take risks? What's the most important thing to us? How do we want to give and take feedback? What should we do when we disagree about something important? and on and on...

[RobertFisher]

Thanks Nick, 
Back in June, Rand did a post on Generosity and Entitlement. These type of posts I find enjoyable on a couple of levels: they are not the same "How to link, etc." posts that we all see, and they are about the heart of business...The people in the business. They are about how do we develop conflict and how do we resolve conflict. They are about are we just in it to make money or can there actually be something greater?

So, Keep up the good work for all of you at Moz. Frankly, it's my third home.

[RobertFisher]

Thank You.

[MB07]

+1 for download videos!

[MB07]

Your are missing content from the 3rd point in the 2nd video.

[Nick_Sayers]

Hey!

Are you talking about the 2nd video on the Inbound section? This one: http://moz.com/academy/marketing-funnel

Thanks for the help!

[Nick_Sayers]

I will put that in the feature pipeline! Thanks.

[Nick_Sayers]

Love all the ideas here Gagan!

I like all the topics you cover here. #5 = That's a lot of visits to generate a year, but I think we can manage something about driving up traffic.

[Nick_Sayers]

Good ideas. I will talk to Rand about using specific case studies. I know he likes to talk about other what other companies are doing, but maybe we can pinpoint it a little more.

[Nick_Sayers]

We have plans for both!

[ScottMcPherson]

First of all, thanks for the awesome videos.

I live in kind of a small town and work with a lot of local brick and mortar businesses. I could really benefit from some videos on local SEO and local inbound marketing.

Thanks,

Scott