Anthony Gaenzle Interview: How to Build Personal Brand with Blogging and Social Media (BRIS-6)

Hey, Welcome to the 6th Interview in BloggingRay Interview Series (BRIS).

Today, I am interviewing the personal branding blogger and marketer Anthony Gaenzle.

You can find insane blogging and personal branding tips from this interview.

Interview of Anthony Gaenzle from anthonygaenzle.com

Without any further delay let’s jump into the interview.

Q1. Hey Anthony, Can you introduce yourself to my community?

Thanks for hosting me, Venkat!

I’m Anthony Gaenzle, and I’m the owner of Anthony Gaenzle Marketing. I’ve been in the marketing space for over 15 years, and I’ve worked across multiple industries.

My focus now is on helping small businesses and startups create and execute digital marketing campaigns as well as helping individuals grow their personal brands.

Q2. Can you share about your educational background?

Sure. Most recently, I earned an MBA from Clemson University. Go Tigers. Prior to that, I earned two degrees from the University of South Florida. A BS in Mass Communication as well as an MS in Marketing from the MUMA College of Business.

I received my first degree in film and video production from Full Sail University, and I bring what I learned there into all the video productions I’ve done for clients and companies I’ve worked with over the years.

Q3. Who inspired you to start blogging & digital marketing?

I just really have always had a passion for writing and marketing as well as helping others by offering whatever advice I could.

Blogging and digital marketing were always in me, and it’s just something that’s grown over the years.

Of course there are tons of bloggers and marketers who have inspired me. Joe Pulizzi, for example, and what he built at the Content Marketing Institute has always been a shining example for me.

He carefully crafted a really powerful personal brand, and it’s just amazing that he started CMI from scratch – and now look what it is today.

Q4. What are the reasons behind the selection of anthonygaenzle.com domain?

I’ve been really focused on building my personal brand, and thus I chose to incorporate my name into the domain.

I plan to launch other sites with unique domain names, but selecting this domain was largely a part of my overarching personal branding strategy.

Personal branding is so important in today’s digital space, and it’s been really valuable for me in that way.

Q5.  What is your daily routine? Can you share some productivity tips?

Having a daily to do list is absolutely critical. I use Evernote to keep things in order and prioritize tasks each day.

I have a longer list of projects, and I bring in project management tools for larger ones, but generally my to do list ensures that I knock out the most urgent tasks each day.

Slack is another great tool. A lot of the projects I work on require collaborating with other marketers, so Slack allows us to work together smoothly and keep the lines of communication open throughout a project.

Technology has really improved collaboration and helped me be more productive each day. I also make it a point to create a work-life balance.

If you work all day and never take time for yourself or time to spend with family, you can burnout. And when you’re burned out, your productivity and quality of work suffers.

Q6. Which hosting you recommend for beginners? And why?

I use Bionic WP for my hosting solution. It’s a bit more expensive than some other hosting options, but the reason I would recommend it for beginners is the support.

They offer unlimited edits, so it’s like having a developer on your team for a super low cost. Their team will even publish your blog articles for you.

You just need to send them to copy and any accompanying images. It’s really given my productivity a boost as well as added a lift in speed to the site.

Q7. What are your thoughts on Blogging vs YouTube?

I think it’s important to look at them as a part of a larger strategy. The two should really work together.

As you produce video content, you should look at ways to incorporate those videos into your articles, for example. Doing things like this can keep people on your site longer and increase time on page stats as well as help to lower your bounce rate.

Visual elements can really add a dynamic feel to your website and create a better user experience.

Q8. Can you share some email marketing tips?

Two important things that factor into email marketing success are personalization and segmentation.

By segmenting your lists, you can send more targeted content, leading to better open and click rates.

And there are lots of tools that allow you to add personalized content easily, even when you send to mass lists.

You can add first names, which goes a long way, and you can pull in dynamic elements based on the activities and needs of the people on your list.

Q9. Which books do you recommend for bloggers and marketers?

I have to do a little shameless self-promotion here first! I recently published two books, Blogging for Business and The Business of Branding You.

For aspiring bloggers, Blogging for Business serves as a blueprint for launching and growing your blog.

And for any professional, blogger, or aspiring influencer, The Business of Branding You is so important in helping you create a powerful personal brand to really lead to true success.

Beyond that, I highly recommend reading Influence by Robert Cialdini, and I’m a big fan of anything by Good to Great author, Jim Collins.

And for content entrepreneurs and bloggers, one of the top books on the market is Joe Pulizzi’s Content Inc.

Q10. You are leveraging Twitter more? What are tips to Leverage blogging with Twitter?

Twitter is my favorite space to spread the word about my blog and help give a boost to my personal brand. The key to success on Twitter is being present.

You don’t have to be on 24/7. But you do need to get involved in conversations and engage with other users. The more you engage, the more your own brand grows.

The power of Twitter is in the relationships you build. I’ve connected with some really great people, and we help one another grow our businesses and our blogs. You, for example.

We connected on Twitter, and we work together quite a bit to share one another’s content. And often you start to really get to know people, who they are, and what drives them.

So, the connections go beyond just fake online connections and grow into true personal connections where you’re really excited to see others growing alongside you.

Q11. What are your thoughts on my blog Blogging Ray? Can you share some suggestions?

The content is great. I love the interview series. You’ve got some very well-recognized bloggers on there, Ryan Biddulph and Chayan Chakrabarti to name just two.

And I like that you have the “write for us” page. That’s been a huge key for me in being able to post 1 or more posts every day as you can really gain attention from talented guest bloggers.

A few minor suggestions. I would recommend designing a logo and coming up with clear branding. That can make your blog so much more recognizable and help spread the word.

I would also boost up the About page and tell your story a bit more. Think about the value you add and expand the content there. Maybe add logos of blogs you’re featured on to showcase your authority a bit more.

And then highlight your YouTube channel more as well. Maybe put it right in the main navigation. And work the videos into posts as well. You’ve got a great thing going. Keep up the amazing work!

Q13. Can you share some tips to network with other bloggers?

You should have a plan in place as far as who you’re targeting and make sure they align with your goals. They should be in your niche, have lots of engagement on their posts, have a solid audience in place, and be approachable.

But before you jump in and ask them for help in any way, it’s important to take things slow and do what you can to help them first. Find ways to add value.

Share their content on your social media channels, add links to their content in your blog posts, offer to make connections to others who can help them. As you do this, the relationships will grow.

And as they grow, the bloggers you’re looking to build relationships with will see the value you bring and they will start to give back.

This is when the networking turns into mutually beneficial relationships, and I find the professional relationships often turn into real friendships.

There are so many amazing people out there behind these blogs. Understand they are people and not just mysterious entities magically producing amazing content.

Approach them as you’d want to be approached, and be patient. The relationships will grow!

Q14. Can you share some guest blogging tips?

First and foremost, make sure you are targeting relevant, high-authority sites. Guest blogging on sites where the subject matter isn’t relevant to your own blog will only hinder your efforts.

And earning links from poor quality sites, even if they are in your niche, will hurt as well. Make sure you focus first on creating guest content that solves problems and adds value.

Go for the dofollow link, but don’t make that your main focus. Focus first on producing quality content. The search engines are watching, and so are potential new fans who could flock to your blog if you produce amazing guest posts.

Build a list of target sites, and then work to forge relationships with the site owners and editors.

Develop a clear pitch for each submission that states the value you bring to the publication and how it would benefit them to publish your content.

And once you’re accepted, make sure to submit only high-quality, completely polished content.

Q15. What is the best monetizing method for blogging? Which monetization tips would you give for aspiring bloggers?

It really depends on your niche. A lot of bloggers make the mistake of putting all their eggs in the ad network basket, but those ad networks don’t really drive a lot of revenue until you start seeing crazy traffic like 30,000+ visitors per day.

Most of my revenue comes through brands paying me as an influencer to promote their products, clients that come to me for consulting, revenue from my books, sponsored content (only the highest quality sponsored posts are accepted), and a smaller amount from affiliate marketing.

You really have to understand your topic and the monetization methods that come from that. I work with bloggers as a part of my personal branding services to uncover things like this and help them determine the best ways to monetize their blog.

Q16. How to write books? Can you share some tips to promote these books?

Promoting books is a lot like promoting your blog in many ways. For one, SEO is a factor. Look for ways to gain backlinks to your books, whether you publish them on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or elsewhere.

Share links to your books on social media, and start the promotions early. You don’t have to wait until your book launches to start promoting it. And be sure to grab reviews.

You’ll want them to be authentic, so tell your family and friends about the book. They’ll likely buy it and leave you positive reviews. Then consider giving away copies to authoritative bloggers and others in your field.

Don’t ask for reviews, but offer your book to them and if they accept (and they like your work), they may give you a review, which can go a long way.

You can also put in ad dollars on various networks, but all the things I mentioned above will help you cut back on the cost.

Q17. How you got more guest authors for your blog?

When I first started my blog, I had to ask around for guest bloggers. I got turned down by a lot of top names, but as my blog grew, and the relationships with others in my field grew,it became easier.

Adding the “write for us” page was a huge boost as well. I don’t have to ask people to guest post any more.

In fact, I have too many requests, and I often have to turn submissions down because they aren’t high enough quality, the subject has already been covered extensively, or they are off topic.

As a result, I’m able to publish 1 or more posts every day. And once you hit that 4 or more posts per week mark, the stats really start to rise. Focus on boosting your domain authority through backlinks and other SEO efforts.

This will attract more guest bloggers, as they will crave the do-follow link from your high-DA blog.

Q18. You are focusing a lot on personal branding? Why? Can you share some tips to build a strong personal brand?

Personal branding is so important, especially for consultants and influencers.

But it’s also important for brands. People connect with companies with visible CEOs, for example, who’ve built a positive reputation in their space and in the world.

Companies should focus on helping their team members build their own personal brands. Your people are a part of your company, so branding your people helps your company seem more real and it makes connecting with your audience much easier.

The first step is to clean up your online reputation. Do a Google search and remove any negative info out there about yourself. And you can really boost that reputation by helping others through powerful content and really anything you can do to lift others up.

As you create amazing content, start to publish it on various social media channels to grow your audience and website traffic.

Your personal brand will grow along with it if you do this the right way, engage with other users, and be kind and helpful.

Obviously there is a lot more to building a powerful personal brand, but these three things are critical components you need to consider.

Q19. Hey Anthony Gaenzle, Where to contact you?

I really enjoy meeting new people and making connections. Your readers can visit my website and connect through Anthony Gaenzle Marketing, or they can feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or even via email (you can find my email address on the website).

And while you’re on the site, you can sign up for my newsletter which goes out once a month and includes updates to keep you in tune with the latest trends in marketing, blogging, and the overall digital space.

Also Read:

• Interview of Ryan Biddulph from BloggingFromParadise
• Interview of Bishnu Mahali from BloggerSelf
• Interview of Chayan Chakrabarti from SimpleFactsOnline

Conclusion

I hope this interview of Anthony Gaenzle will help you.

If you have questions, let me know in the comments.

If you found this helpful, share it on your social media.

Thank you.