The Process-Driven Approach to Scaling Effective DTC Influencer Programs, with Paul Benigeri

by | Aug 19, 2021

When people with a proven track record share their tactics, I listen closely and take notes. 

Like for example, taking a blog from scratch, and growing it to 250k monthly organic visitors in 14 months. 

Here’s how Paul Benigeri, did that as VP of Growth & Engineering at H.V.M.N., a nutritional supplements brand in the ketogenic space. 

Process-driven Content Creation

Here’s the components of the system that Paul built to get a flywheel of organic traffic: 

  1. Keyword research system: there are three parts to the keyword research: 
    1. High volume of traffic – are there enough people searching this query in Google? 
    2. Low competition – are the existing results easy to beat–both in their quality and the Domain Authority of the site
    3. Where in the funnel the search term is — the more purchase-focused, the better. For example, “best keto protein” is someone ready to purchase. “How to build strength on keto” is not looking to buy. 
  1. Hire & Manage quality writers – H.V.M.N. had 4-10 writers in their rotation at any given time. They would pick a keyword, and write. 
  2. Create epic content – Easier said than done, but the content has to be a comprehensive that will rank. 

Here’s an example, for a top-ranking result of “how to use MCT oil for Keto” — and their top result 

The Takeaway: be laser-focused on the exact mindset, and search query you are looking to attract. Build content just for that reader. It’s about focus. 

How He Got up to 2000% improvement in Opt Ins

Paul constantly tested different headlines and offers to see what converted better. 

The number of leads was one metric. But quality also matters. 

In a blog post, they would test different Call To Actions for an opt in, in the middle of a lengthy article, and at the end. 

For example, halfway through the article, there is an opt in and offer that is exactly relevant to the content of the article: 

And at the end of the article, another opt in, with a related but different offer: 

These offers increased conversions by up to 2,000%, and ensured a higher quality reader because they had already consumed a lot of the content. 

How To Get Started Building An Influencer Program

Paul shared his process for how he’d build out an Influencer program from scratch, and scale it out. 

For example, suppose you are starting a new spiked seltzer, like White Claw. You’d find some competitors. For example, suppose you are starting a dental brand, competing with Snow At Home Teeth Whitener. 

Step 1: Find competitors. 

Look at their page–who is commenting? How is posting? Who has a significant audience? 

Find 10-20 influencers who have used a competitor or similar brand. 

DM the influencer. Something like, “ “Hey, I saw your content, I know you’re into keto foods. Why don’t you try this product? 

NOte: you can comment on one of their latest posts, which can increase the response rate significantly. 

From here, you can offer free product for them to use in a giveaway to their audience. 

The goal here would be build greater awareness, and generate more content. 

You can also repurpose the content that the influencer creates, and use it for content on your landing pages or ads. 

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Paul is Co-Founder & CEO of Archive, a software to automate digital marketing workflows. 

He shares a lot more about how to strategically build a network of influencers, and how to scale it effectively. 
Listen to the full episode here.