CHAPTER

@marketingharry 1
CHAPTER 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 00......................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 01.......................................................................................................................................5
THE HEROIC JOURNEY

CHAPTER 02.......................................................................................................................................12
PROFILE OPTIMISATION

CHAPTER 03.......................................................................................................................................39
TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

CHAPTER 04......................................................................................................................................76
MINDSET

CHAPTER 05......................................................................................................................................90
CONTENT CREATION

CHAPTER 06.......................................................................................................................................140
BONUSES

2 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 00

Introduction

WHY SHOULD YOU LISTEN?

This book has been designed based on the 8 years of experience I have
had in the social media marketing industry and the millions of followers I
have gained for my clients and myself

Sharing all of this for 1 simple reason - get you to listen. I know how many
fraudsters there are in my space, you might even have been burned by
some of them. But rest assured, this book and the knowledge I am about
to share with you will be:

100% Bullshit-Free

Full of practical knowledge, no fluff

Based on verified information, no myths

Read this book, understand the concepts I am about to share and more
importantly, implement them. Once you do, Instagram domination won’t
be far off.

P.S: P.P.S:

If you prefer video If you need personal

lessons, subscribe to guidance, book a
my YT channel consultation with me

@marketingharry 3
CHAPTER 00

Introduction

HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE?

This is not an ordinary book. It includes:

01 02 03 04

Resources To Routines To Sheets To Fill Videos To

Screenshot Follow Out Watch

I wanted to give you a complete guide to follow, not just words to read.

The book is broken down into 5 main chapters + bonuses. Based on your
experience with Instagram different paths through this resource are
possible.

In order to understand which is the optimal path for you, go through

these few pages which will act as an entry into your journey From Zero To
Hero On Instagram.

4 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 01

The heroic Journey

@marketingharry 5
CHAPTER 01

The heroic Journey

HOW GROWTH WORKS

Growth on lnstagram comes down to 2 elements:

Traffic (Profile Visits)

Conversions (Profile Visits Turned Into Followers).

If you ever feel like you aren’t growing as fast as possible, you:
A: Aren’t generating enough traffic
B: Aren’t converting traffic effectively into followers
Learn how to check the 2 metrics that matter and identify what kind of
growth problem you have in the following few pages.

6 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 01

The heroic Journey

THE 2 CRUCIAL METRICS

There are dozens of metrics we can track on lnstagram. But by far, these
are the 2 most important ones for growth:

Profile Visits: How many people see our profile

Follower CVR1 : How many people become followers after seeing our
profile

Here is how to track and calculate them:

STEP 1: OPEN INSIGHTS STEP 2: OPEN 2 SECTIONS

STEP 3.1: PROFILE VISIT STEP 3.2: FOLLOWER CVR

1 Conversion Rate

@marketingharry 7
CHAPTER 01

The heroic Journey

FORMULA FOR GROWTH

Now we have all the needed ingredients to calculate your Follower
Conversion Rate.

The formula is simple:

(A/ B) * 100 = C %2

A. Net Followers (Check Step 3.2)

B. Profile Visits (Check Step 3.1)
C. Follower Conversion Rate

Example:
(5683 / 13959) * 100 = 40.7% Follower Conversion Rate

This means from 10 people visiting my profile, 4 became followers - which

is great!

2 Disclaimer:
This isn’t a 100% sure method due to technical limitations (unable to check if PV are from followers or
not). That is why you need to measure this consistently and take the average of your conversion rates
from 4-8 weeks.

8 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 01

The heroic Journey

CONVERSION RATE CHEATSHEET

After you have calculated your Follower Conversion Rate. You can
conclude if you have a traffic or a conversion rate problem. Follow this
cheatsheet:

BAD 10-15%

GOOD 15-25%

GREAT 25-35%

*For accurate data: measure based on 1000 profile visits

If your Follower Conversion Rate right now is BAD fear not. We will
optimize it in this book.

If your CVR rate is good or great though and you still aren’t growing,
then you have a traffic problem (we will fix that as well).

@marketingharry 9
CHAPTER 01

The heroic Journey

HOW TO SET GOALS

Once you understand how growth on lnstagram works, you can calculate
how much traffic you need to reach your goals. For example:

If you want 10,000 followers and have 10% CVR

You will need to generate 100 000 Profile visits

Now that you are super clear on your goal, you can break it into monthly,
weekly, daily micro-goals:

10,000 followers in 3 months with 10% CVR:

33,333 8,333 277

Profile Visits/ Profile Visits/ Profile Visits/
monthly weekly daily

And to assist you on your journey, I have included two Google Sheets in
this book to help you calculate and track your Follower Conversion over
time.

Access the Google Watch a video on how to

Sheets use them

10 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 01

The heroic Journey

WHAT IS NEXT?
This has been The Beginning. If all of these formulas, Conversion Rates
and mumbo-jumbo have gotten your head spinning - fear not. Everything
will soon make sense. Here are your next steps:

@marketingharry 11
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

12 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

WHY CONVERSION MATTERS?

In order to understand the power of conversion rate (CVR), let us take a
look at something everyone has seen: cars.

Imagine two cars next to each other, competing who can reach the finish
line faster.

The first car is a red

Ferrari, state of the
art vehicle capable
BLUE
of going past 300
Km/h. FORD TRUCK
In the first case,the
Ferrari reaches the The other is a blue
finish line in secs. Ford truck from the
80s which is breaking
apart on the race-
track.

RED
FERRARI

In the first case, the Ferrari reaches the finish line in seconds.
Whilst in the second, the Ford will struggle to keep up.

@marketingharry 13
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Your vehicle matters. In the case of lnstagram, the vehicle is your

profile, and the fuel is profile visits. Optimize your profile completely,
that way you will reach the finish line faster!

Example:
The difference between a Bad (10-15%) and a Great (25-35%) conversion
rate can cost you thousands of followers. Let us do a quick experiment
to prove it:

800 follower 9600 follower

In a month, this is an 800 follower In a year, this is a 9600 follower
difference. difference. This is the power of a
great CVR.

14 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

IMPROVE YOUR CVR

What are heat maps, and how can they change your lnstagram profile
forever?

Heat maps are a data visualization technique used primarily for website
optimization.

Having said that, They are extremely handy when we talk about lnstagram
growth as well. Why, you may ask? Heat maps enable us to understand
what people look at on our profile and how it impacts them.

In other words, they tell us which parts of our lnstagram pages we should
focus on for the best CVR.

@marketingharry 15
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Based on the 8 years of experience in the industry, this is the heat map I
have created for lnstagram profiles

The warmer a region is, the more attention the user has given it.

The colder a region Is, the less attention the user has given it.

This allows us to rank the different elements of our lnstagram profiles

and better understand how a user goes through them.

The trick is to make sure each element is strong on its own but it also
flows naturally with how users check our profiles.

16 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

INSTAGRAM PROFILE RANKED

Using our-newly found knowledge about Heat Maps we can rank the
elements of our lnstagram profile based on their significance to our
growth:

We will take a deep dive into each of these 8 elements in the following
pages. No matter if you think you have mastered them or you are just
starting out, keep reading. I am sure you will learn something new.

@marketingharry 17
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Where The Profile Picture Is Seen:

1. PROFILE 2. SEARCH

3. DIRECT MESSAGE 4. COMMENT SECTION

5. HOME FEED 6. STORIES/LIVE TAB

7. INSTAGRAM SHOPS 8. INSTAGRAM REELS

When creating your profile picture, you need to keep in mind all of these
placements. In the following pages, we will take a deeper look at what
makes a great profile picture

18 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC PROFILE PICTURES

Examples Of Heroic Profile Pictures:

Branded With Props

@reggiebphoto 01

02 Icon Based Pictures

@squaredacademy

Friendly Expression
@izzydesignideas 03

04 Unique Branding
@genmonster365

Easily Scalable
@letsbazooka 05

06 Prefectly Cropped
@dotlung

@marketingharry 19
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

What Makes A Heroic Profile Picture:

01. Optimised for small sizes

02. Branded (colors/props/style)

03. Approachable facial expression

04. If logo - use icons, not type

05. Following IG Size Requirements3

06. Cropped in the center

07. Good color contrast4

08. Tested between multiple choices5

09. Consistent across different platforms

10. It stands out from Instagram’s white/black user interface.

3 Minimum size: 320x320px

4 Use coolors.co to test the contrast between the background and your clothes/skin
5 Use Photofeeler.com to get an unbiased test of pictures

20 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC HANDLE
Where The Handle Is Seen:

1. PROFILE 2. SEARCH

3. TAG STORIES/POST 4. COMMENT SECTION

5. HOME FEED 6. STORIES/LIVE TAB

7. INSTAGRAM SHOPS 8. INSTAGRAM REELS

The profile picture and handle placements overlap a ton, the most
common placement is handle + profile picture, so we have to make sure
they fit nicely, here is how:

@marketingharry 21
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Examples Of Heroic Handles:

Great Handles Bad Handles

1. @jujubranding (keyword) 1. @_brandingmaster_

(symbols)
2. @jayshetty (same across
platforms) 2. @marketinghary (similar to
others)
3. @garyvee (short & easy to
remember) 3. @thebestvideomaker (4
words)
4. @davetalas (2 words)
4. @609dave43 (hard to
5. @marketingharry (no remember)
symbols)
5. @chiaroscurist (hard to
write)

What Makes A Heroic Handle:

01. Easy to remember/spell

02. No symbols (looks spammy)

03. Unique (no similar ones)

04. Use maximum of 2 words

05. Use the most searched for keywords6

06. Consistent across platforms7

07. Fits your long-term vision

6 Use Google Planner or Keyword Surfer to check search volume for your keywords - choose the one with
the most search volume on Google
7 Use namechk.com to make sure your handle is free on the majority of the big social media platforms

22 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC HEADLINE
Where The Headline Is Seen:

1. PROFILE 2. SEARCH

3. DIRECT MESSAGES 4. SFY* LISTS

The Headline + Handle are the only elements of your profile which are
searchable inside of lnstagram. Optimising them to appear in the search
results on IG is extremely important for generating organic traffic.

Learn how to create an impactful Headline in the next pages

*Suggested For You Lists - will explore them in Chapter 3

@marketingharry 23
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Examples Of Heroic Headlines:

Great Headlines Bad Headlines

1. Brave Social Media 1. Marketing Harry

Marketing repeating my handle
unique + keyword intensive
2. Harry I Brand Strategy
2. Lucas I Social Media not relevant to my content/
Marketing bio
using “I” to make it easier to
read 3. Hrabren Bankov
not using any relevant
3. Digital Marketing NYC keywords
using NYC for geo-targeting

What Makes A Heroic Headline:

01. Keyword intensive

02. Doesn’t repeat handle

03. Accurately describes your content

04. Drives curiosity8

05. Properly formatted9

06. Geo-targed if relevant10

07. Avoids overlapping with competitors

8 The majority of the people will read your headline, the goal of it is to make them want to visit your profile
or/and read your bio
9 Examples of proper formatting on previous page
10 If your business is local, use gee-targeted keywords (Example: Best Marketing Agency NYC)

24 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC BIO
What Is The Role Of The Bio:

A great bio will be aware of the elements that surround it

And continue the journey the user is on:

The Bio is usually the 4th element the

user sees after:

The profile picture

The handle

The headline

The goal of the bio is to align with the interests of the user,
show how your profile can be beneficial and then spark action!
If you lose the attention of the user in your bio, or don’t give
clear directive what the user should do next, you
lose a lot of opportunities for conversion.

Check the following page for tips on creating a heroic bio.

@marketingharry 25
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Examples Of Heroic Bio:

Great Bio Bad Bio

1. I help people dominate social 1. Owner of @boringbio

media Focused on himself, no value
Gives the user a benefit to user
(dominate social)
2. PPC SEO For the highest ROI
2. I create bold content + Use of jargon + no formatting
strategies
Gives context to line 1 3. Like my content, follow, DM
me
3. DM me and get your roar Too many call-to-actions +
heard unclear
Gives a clear call-to-action

What Makes A Heroic Bio:

01. Includes keywords

02. Doesn’t repeat headline

03. No technical words/jargon

04. First line focused on users

05. Second line giving context on 1st

06. Third line giving a simple Call-To-Action

07. No hashtags/special symbols

08. If you use emojis, brand them

26 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC FEED
What Is The Role Of The Feed:

Your feed, and to be specific, your last 12 posts, have one of the biggest
roles in turning a profile visit into a follower.

The strength of your feed doesn’t only come down to your feed layout -
rather, a combination of these elements should be considered:

• Do you post consistently?

• Do your post look visually cohesive?
• Are the topics of your posts relevant to bio/
headline?

The combination of the look, feel and relevance attributes to the overall
strength of your feed (following a feed layout is a bonus).

In the next few pages, we will go over the checklist for a heroic feed, as
well as a few examples

@marketingharry 27
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Examples Of Heroic Profile Pictures:

01
Diverse Formats
@reggiebphoto

02
Scale To Small Sizes
@squaredacademy

03
Shows What He Does
@izzydesignideas

04 Show Content Pillars

@genmonster365

05
Aligned With Bio
@marketingharry

06 Aligned With Brand

@dotlung

28 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

What Makes A Heroic Feed:

01. Consistent visual identity11

02. Relevant to bio/headline

03. Easy to see from far away12

04. Last 12 posts show your content pillars

05. Last 12 posts showcase what you do13

06. Has diverse content formats

11 Isn’t limited to the pattern you follow, but includes: fonts, imagery, colors, etc
12 Take 1 step back, can you still see your content clearly? Avoid small text + detailed images as your posts
will appear smaller in Hashtag/Explore pages than on your Feed
13 Use case-studies, informative posts, testimonials to showcase how you help people

@marketingharry 29
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC HIGHLIGHTS
What Is The Role Of Highlights:

A good set of highlights can not only increase the time a user spends
on your profile (and thus your CVR14), but they can also act as additional
call-to-actions.

In order to use highlights to the utmost of their potential, they have to

achieve these 3 things:

1. Hook Attention

2. Retain Attention

3. Command Attention

In the next few pages, we are going to reverse-engineer how we can do

this and I will give you a few highlights that you absolutely must-have in
your profile.

14 Cognitive bias due to which the more time you invest in researching a profile, the more likely
you are to follow it so you prove you haven’t wasted your time

30 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Examples Of Heroic Highlights:

1. About Me 2. Services

Who are you?
What do you offer?

How do you help others?
Who do you help?

Simple call to action
What is your process?

Testimonial

Clear Call to action

3. Products 4. Social Proof

What is the product?
Case studies

Who is it for?
Awards

What are the benefits?
Publications

Testimonial
Courses

Simple Call to action
Testimonial

What Makes Heroic Highlights:

1. Keep people on your profile 2. Follow a clear structure

3. Prioritizes the 1st highlight 4. l Have 3-5 slides per highlight

5. Is updated frequently (every 6. Introduces who you are

quarter)

7. Shares how you help people 8. Builds authority with social

proof

9. Have covers that fit your visuals

@marketingharry 31
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC ALTERNATIVE FEEDS

What Is The Role Of Alternative Feeds: Similar to Highlights, the goal of
Alternative Feeds is to increase the time people spend on your profile.
Another benefit of having multiple feeds is the fact that you can connect
with your audience on different levels.

Here are the Alternative Feeds you can set-up on IG:

01. Tagged Friends

02. Reels Feed

03. Shop Feed

04. Special Filter Feed

Each feed has a specific purpose based on which we can optimise them
- the next pages will take a deep dive at this.

32 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Examples Of Heroic Alternative Feeds

01
Tagged - Portfolio
@thesamcaron

02
Effects - Growth
@neilathayde

03
Shop - Monetise
@nike

04
Reels - Growth
@marketingharry

@marketingharry 33
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

What Makes Heroic Alternative Feeds:

1. Are updated frequently (every month)

2. Use Tagged Feed as a portfolio

3. Use Reels to attract a larger community

4. Use Effects for branding/growth

5. Use Shop for monetization

6. Have separate pinned posts on the Reels Feed.

34 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

HEROIC BONUS ELEMENTS

Which Are The Bonus Elements:

In addition to the main elements of your profile, there are some

miscellaneous elements, which when added together can make an
impact on your profile.

These Bonus Elements are:

1. Category of account

2. Action Button

3. FAQ Section

The next page will showcase the bonus elements and how you can use
them in your profile.

What Makes Heroic Bonus Elements:

1. Category of account* is searchable

2. Category of account is relevant

3. Category of account is visible

4. Add action buttons** if relevant

5. Set FAQ if relevant***

*Category Of Account **Action Button ***FAQ

@marketingharry 35
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

THE PERFECT PROFILE CHECKLIST

I know that optimizing each small element of your profile can be daunting.
Here is a checklist you can use to make sure everything is optimized:

1. Branded profile picture

which is scalable

2. Short & easy to remember

handle with keywords

3. Headline optimised for

search

4. Relevant category of
account

5. Optimised bio:
y Focuses on benefits
y Gives clarity
y Simple CTA

6. 3 Highlights with 3-5 slides

each

7. 5 Alternative feeds

8. Optimised feed:
y Cohesive visuals
y Relevant to bio/headline
y Different content formats

36 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

TRACK CONVERSION RATE

Based on studying the previous pages, you should have a good idea of
what makes a Ferrari type profile and a Ford type profile.

Having said that, optimising your profile once doesn’t mean you are
done. You need to maintain your profile. Your business, content, audience,
platform might change. And that means your profile needs to change as
well.

That is why knowing how to change elements of your profile and test
their effectiveness is key. Here are the steps you need to take:

Step 1
Change 1 element at a time

If your results improve or worsen, you know wha1 caused it

@marketingharry 37
CHAPTER 02

Profile optimisation

Step 2
Gather enough data

Test for 2-4 weeks (with minimum 100 profile visits/weekly)

Step 3
Analyze your results using an A/8 test calculator

Open www.neilpatel.com/ab-testing-calculator

Input profile visits and followers you got in week A

Input profile visits and followers you got in week B

Validate if the results are statistically significant

This ensures that the changes you made improved your stats, not pure
luck.

38 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

@marketingharry 39
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

WHY TRAFFIC MATTERS

Even if you had the best profile if no one saw it, what’s the point? Here is
where generating traffic (aka profile visits) comes into the mix. Making
sure that you not only have the fastest car (profile) but you also have
fuel (profile visits) is essential for growth.

Here are recommended traffic sources to fuel your lnstagram account,

based on your followers:

Of course, you can use any of these traffic sources at any moment of your
lnstagram journey, but it might not be the most time-effective strategy

40 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

ENGAGEMENT FOR GROWTH

Engaging with other accounts is the best way to generate traffic and
grow on lnstagram. Why?

Because it is entirely in your control. While the other growth techniques

remove covered in this chapter can be extremely powerful, it is hard to
predict what results they will bring and when.

Engagement, on the other hand, is based on basic human and social

media principles:

Be social on social media

Give the kind of engagement you’d like to receive

You scratch my back, I scratch yours (reciprocity principle)

This makes Engagement extremely powerful. Having said that -

Engagement is also super hard. Most people find it boring, and they give
up way too soon. That is why in the following pages, we are going to
create a solid engagement routine that is sustainable.

@marketingharry 41
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

An engagement routine which can be implemented consistently, is an

engagement routine which is clearn on:

• Who is your target audience?

• Where can you find your target audience?
• What interactions do you have to do daily?

Giving a clear answer to these questions is the difference between

implementing consistently (leading to growth) and giving up before you
see results.

The information we have gathered thus far will act as our support when
implementing this step-by-step strategy:

Step 1 - Find 15-25 Relevant Accounts*

Search for them on:

lnstagram With Broad Keywords

Relevant Hashtag Pages

Your Explore Page

*There is a video on this in Chapter 5

Step 2 - Break Them In 3 Categories

Best for traffic Best for collabs Best connection

Big Account Medium Accounts Small Accounts

(25K+ Followers) (5-25K Followers) (1-5K Followers)

42 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Step 3 - Pick 5 Perfect Accounts Which:

Post consistently (3+ times a week)

Have a good amount of comments per post (25+)

Their tribe best represents your target audience

Step 4 - Break Your Engagement In Two:

Break Your Engagement In Two:

Spontaneous Engagement Planned Engagement

Turn post notifications for all
Comment on the posts of your

accounts 5 Dream Accounts

When they post - comment
Visit the profiles of the other
within the 1st hour people who commented

If there is a pinned comment -
Interact with them by leaving
comment under it as well 1-3 pieces of engagement15

Repeat this 4-8 times through
the day (15 min each)

By doing this you will eventually become part of the bigger community
and start growing yours as well:

15 Like posts/leave comments/send a DM/interact in stories

@marketingharry 43
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

After nailing down your engagement routine, you also want to ensure
you are engaging with intention. Commenting with fire emojis or bland
messages won’t get you far.

Here are my templates which you can use to make sure each engagement
you leave is as powerful as it can be:

Bonus - Templates For Engagement

TEMPLATE 1

Loved this post!

[Low Friction - Easy to read]

I especially liked X - it stood out to me because of Y!

[Shows that you have consumed the post]

From my experience on X, this is what is true (share your personal

experience/opinion on the topic).[Shows expertise - Builds curiosity -
People reading will visit your profile]

TEMPLATE 2

Really interesting post! I agree with X, but I’d like to share why I
disagree with Y
[Be authentic - If you disagree, share your opinion respectfully]

TEMPLATE 3

Wow! The way you designed X/talked about X was great

[Compliment them on what they have spent most time on]

I felt like watching a movie with going through this

[Share how you have felt during the post]

Will definitely implement this in my brand/content

[Subtle hint to people reading you also have a presence]

44 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

GENERAL TIPS FOR ENGAGING

01. First consume the content - then engage

02. Make your comments straight to the point

03. Show respect to the creator and his efforts

04. Always check for mistakes before you post it

05. Build curiousity with your story and drive traffic

06. Share your expertise and build authority by doing it

07. Like your comment when you publish it (social proof)

08. Be consistent in your tone-of-voice when commenting

09. Identify what the creator values - compliment them on it

(Design, Copywriting, Depth of knowledge)

@marketingharry 45
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

HASHTAG STRATEGY
You can look at a good hashtag strategy as an investment. You put time
and resources into forming it once and it pays dividends every time you
make a post using hashtags16

Because of this fact, hashtags are considered by many the ultimate form
of growth (which is BS). You can still grow without them17, but the fact they
require minimum effort to initially set-up, makes them quite appealing.

Most people don’t grow with hashtags because of the enormous amount
of myths surrounding them. So before we dive into the hashtag strategy,
we need to debunk some of them:

You have to use than 30 #’s (MYTH)

Hashtags with a lot of posts = views (MYTH)

You shouldn’t repeat hashtags across posts (MYTH)

Copy/pasting hashtags from others work (MYTH)

Your hashtag placement matters (MYTH)

Now that we have gotten rid of the myths, let us dive into the actual
mistakes that might be costing you hashtag reach:

16 With minimum maintenance

17 Below 5% of my growth has come from hashtags

46 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Dead Hashtags
Top posts are 30 days or older

Spam Hashtags
Get-rich quick equivalent for hashtags

Banned Hashtags
Banned due to a lot of activity

@marketingharry 47
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Avoiding the BS myths and the 3 hashtags groups should already start
producing results for you. Having said that, let us drive this section home
with a step-by-step guide on how to research #’s in minutes:

Step 1 - Open Flick Tech18

Step 2 - Search for a general keyword (#marketing)

18 Flick Tech isn’t a necessity - it just saves time.

48 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Step 3 - Apply filters based on engagement

Step 4 - Verify # content is similar to yours

Step 5 - Select & Audit Hashtags

Banned/
dead#’s

Too
competitive
(1000s of daily
posts)

Too big
(SM+ posts)

@marketingharry 49
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

After you create a few sets (3 sets if you daily post) with 3-5 highly relevant
hashtags hashtags each, you are done. The only thing for you to do is to
maintain your hashtag selection as you grow:

Step 1 Remove #’s with smaller engagement

Step 2 Check which #’s you rank on consistently19

Step 3 Review your sets for banned/dead #’s

Step 4 Measure # set performance with A/B tests

Step 5 Make sure # content has stayed relevant to yours

Do this once a month and keep your hashtag reach healthy.

19 This is a feature of Flick, if you’d like to try out a 7 day free trial - use my affiliate link:
Try Flick Tech For FREE

50 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

CROSS-PLATFORM PROMOTION
We concluded that growth comes down to 2 elements: traffic +
conversions. But who said traffic had to come only from lnstagram?

Cross-platform promotion consists of driving traffic from any alternative

source of attention on the internet or offline and funnelling it into
lnstagram, such as:

Search Engine Socials: YouTube + Pinterest

Facebook (Facebook Groups/Ads) Community

Social Medias: Linkedln+ Twitter

Other Social Medias: Clubhouse+ TikTok

Subreddits + Online Forums

Quora

Conferences

Blog Posts

Podcasts

Email Marketing

In the next pages, I will cover the 2 most powerful ones.

@marketingharry 51
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

FACEBOOK GROUPS
There is a Facebook Group for almost any interest. And unlike the organic
reach on the rest of Facebook (which is pretty much dead), becoming a
part of a FB Group can result in huge organic reach for you - the best
part is, you can repurpose your content.

Step-by-step tutorial on using Facebook Groups:

Step 1 - Search for 10-15 Relevant Groups

Step 2 - Read Rules and Check if Content is Relevant

52 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Step 3 - Join Groups & Interact with Posts

Step 4 - After 3-7 Days of Commenting - Make a Post

Step 5 - Watermark your Post + Link to IG in Comments

@marketingharry 53
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

PINTEREST STORY PINS

At the time of writing this book, Pinterest Story Pins are still in beta
testing, and their organic reach is insane. Anyone creating short video
content (Reels/TikTok) or carousels, infographic content can reap huge
benefits from them.

Here is how to utilise them effectively:

Step 1 - Request Story Pin Access20

Step 2 - Upload Your lmages/Videos (2-5 Slides)

20 You need business account(+ to be in certain regions)

54 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Step 3 - Perfect your Designs (Change Size)

Step 4 - Make a Last Slide a CTA to Check Profile

Step 5 - Add Relevant Tags so it Reaches your Audience

@marketingharry 55
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

CURATION PAGES
Curation pages can be a gold mine for a developing account. These are
lnstagram accounts whose content strategy is focused on sharing others
content (with credits pointing back to you) - they get attention - you get
attention - everyone wins.

An extra benefit is that if you get featured by 1 curation page, others will
soon follow. Investing time into finding these pages for your industry and
building relationships with them will definitely pay off.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial21 on how to find curation pages and DM

them:

Step 1: Search For General Keywords (ux)

Step 2 - Check The SFY List For More Pages

21 Not every industry has Curation Pages (It might be a chance for you to make one)

56 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Step 3 - DM22 The Curation Page (Template)

FIRST MESSAGE

Hey [@handle]!

I loved the content you are sharing.

As an aspiring [PROFESSION] I am heavily inspired by it.
[Break The Ice]

I noticed that X, Y and Z posts did really well I I actually have posts on
the same topic which I am sure will be helpful to your audience - here are
they [Do your research on their best performing posts]

I’d love to share them with your audience and help them out [Simple CTA].

FOLLOW-UP

Hey [handle]!

I know you probably get hundreds of these messages like these so I

wanted to make sure you’ve seen this one. [Break the Ice]

Hope you have a phenomenal day - can’t wait to hear back from you.
[Setting expectations]

22 Make sure to follow-up in 3-7 days

@marketingharry 57
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

SHOUTOUTS
In compared to curation pages, theme pages or certain accounts in
your industry might offer shoutouts for a fee. You get attention, they get
money, it still is a win-win.

HUGE DISCLAIMER: You need to be 100% sure of the

authenticity of their audiences before purchasing a
shoutout:

Î Check who liked their posts

Î Check who commented on their posts
Î Ask for story view metrics/past promotions

Most theme pages use BS methods for growth - follow4follow, spam

hashtags, mother-child method. Thus their following is often not filled
with the type of people you want to attract.

Never, and I repeat, never choose the short-term

attention and pay for these kinds of shoutouts.

After filtering pages you can invest your time in, let us learn how to
negotiate with them by following the advice on the next page

58 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

If you have found a legit page, here is how to get the most bang for your
buck:

Require to be tagged in first line of captions

First ask for 24 hour shoutout, but then offer to buy the 12 hour one for
60% of the price23

Ask for discount for multiple shoutouts

In order to maximise the impact of the shoutout, do the

following steps:

Step 1 Post immediately after shoutout is made

Step 2 Do a story welcoming new followers

Step 3 Ask for insights and comparison to usual posts

Step 4 If test went well= repeat (1 shoutout a week)

23 Most of the post engagement happens in the first 12 hours, often 24+ hour shoutouts aren’t worth it

@marketingharry 59
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

COLLABORATIONS
Collaborations are another great way to borrow the attention of another
lnstagram profile. If done correctly they have the potential to grow
thousands of followers for your account.

This was the case of the collaborators of @thechrisdo for example. One
of them was even able to generate 30K followers from his guest posts
and their momentum.

There are 2 main ways of collaborating:

One way collaborations (host makes a post and tags you)

Two way collaborations (host makes the post and features you as a
collaborator)

I personally recommend always striving to utilize the collaboration

feature as it boosts your account overall health significantly.

Now that we have understood what are the types of collaborations, let
us review how to make sure our collaborations go smoothly - check the
next page

Step 1 - Choose Your Collaborators

Find 5-10 pages with content/audience overlapping with yours

Step 2 - Study Their Content/Audience

Look for posts which got more engagement than usual and see what
people liked in the comments

60 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Step 3 - Build A Connection With Them

Join their IG Lives

Reply to their stories

Join their newsletters

Follow them on other platforms

Be active in their comment section

Step 4 - Pitch them using my template

Hey [@handle]!

I have been following you for a while, I am sure you have seen me in your
stories, lives, comment sections - I love what you are doing.

I noticed that a few of your posts outperformed your others and had a
couple of ideas for a great collaboration around them!

Let me know if you’d like to hear more.

When pitching remember: A good collaboration is one which is born of

selfless reasons. Make sure you focus on how you can make this a winning
situation for your collaborator and you’d not only gain attention, but a
relationship with that person.

@marketingharry 61
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

EXPLORE PAGE/HOME FEED RECOMMENDATIONS

Most creators see exponential growth usually when they start appearing
on the Explore Page or when they are recommended on user’s Home
Feeds consistently.

But why? Because the Explore Page signifies Instagram acknowledging

you as a creator and believing your content deserves more attention.

The Explore Page/Home Feed Recommendations are powerful, but also

unpredictable. No one can be certain on how they work (if we were,
people would cheat them).

Having said that, there are some fundamentals which are verified by
Instagram and I will showcase in the next pages.

62 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Explore Page/Feed Recommendations Are Unique

The Algorithm makes sure that the Explore Page or Feed
Recommendations are tailored to the individual. This is based on
the user’s habits on the platform and preference (as well as random
chance 24)

24 lnstagram also shows random pieces of content once in a while to explore your interests further and
keep you engaged.

@marketingharry 63
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Instagram Categorizes Content

Then on the creator side of things, Instagram categorizes our content.
Starting out with the most general categories (#marketing) and
branching into their subsets (#sociaImedia, #traditionaImarketing,
#digitaImarketing)

64 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

lnstagram Matches Content + Users

And finally, the match between the user and the creators is made.

Effectively making content recommendations which are tailored to your

interactions inside of the lnstagram ecosystem, as well as the content
categories and creators you would enjoy consuming

User A likes photography and is shown photography.

User B likes marketing and is shown marketing.

But then the question remains. How does lnstagram decide which pieces
of content from a specific category are shown on the Explore Page/
Home Feed Recommendations and which are left out?

@marketingharry 65
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Here are the 5 factors* I believe play a role in this decision:

1. Your account must be categorized

Are you sharing content about everything that comes to mind

or have you developed a content strategy focused on 1 specific
category (#cooking, #fitness, etc)?

2. Your audience must be united

Did you have followers interested in cooking, but then rebranded to

a traveling page - this might lead to your audience being separated
and thus lnstagram doesn’t know who to promote your content to.

3. Your visuals + content should be relevant

lnstagram scans the visuals + text on your posts. You have to make
sure you have included keywords inside of them so they can be
properly tracked (captions, text on slides, images, etc)

4. Have previous user interactions

y The user opening your post from their Explore

y The user interacting with your post (like, save, share)
y You engaging with the user account/stories/lives

5. Your post performance should be high

All posts are tested on the Explore Page, few remain there. This all
depends on your post performance. And I don’t mean the basic
metrics we can look at as creators, but the dozens of other signals
that lnstagram can pick up:
y Time spend watching your post
y Did the user leave the post midway
y Were they redirected outside of Instagram
Everything is tracked. And the combination of all the data and all
the factors we covered, determines how well your posts will perform
on the Explore Page.

66 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

ADS
Thus far, we primarily focused on the organic approaches25 of growth
on lnstagram. Having said that, sometimes you have to spend money in
order to make even more in return.

lnstagram ads are a great way to do that. Especially if you have a business
that turns attention into cash.

Great way to visualise ads is through imagining your social media

presence as a fire.

You have used wood (your organic efforts) to get

it started

But pouring a bottle of gasoline (ads) on top of it

will make the fire grow bigger and faster

Now that we have understood the power of Instagram ads and when to
use them. Here are the 2 main objectives of paid growth on Instagram:

To generate attention and growth

To generate sales

There might be an overlap between your goals, but your campaigns must
always focus on one or the other.

25 *Except for shoutouts everything we covered was organic

@marketingharry 67
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Here are the best campaigns for growth/attentions:

Instagram Story Ads

Make a great story ad:

Stop the swipe of the user

Show them the benefit

Give them a clear CTA

Pro tip: Facebook charges per swipe-up, if you

make them click your profile, you won’t get
charged

68 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Boost a Viral Post

The best ads are the ones which perform great organically:

Find your best posts

Boost them inside of IG26

Use the likes & comments which are built organically
to earn trust

Here are the best campaigns for monetisation:

26 That way the post looks as organic as possible

@marketingharry 69
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Demonstrational Videos
Best way to showcase a product/service - short (under 15 sec) video ad27

Capture attention first 3 sec

Show the benefits in 6 sec

Make a simple CTA in 3 sec

Give a guarantee in 2 sec

Influencers have built trust with their audience making

selling easier

Find 10-15 influencers

Study their audience

Build connections*

Offer them % of sales

27 Check Masterclass - “So much new to know” video ad

70 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

People are bombarded with ads so much so that they start ignoring them
subconsciously. If you want to grow/monetise with ads, you have to:

Disguise your ads as organic content

Make it entertaining/educational/inspiring

Use underrated content formats (IG Stories)

Take what is working organically and boost it

Make your CTA simple (Swipe up, Follow, Learn More)

@marketingharry 71
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

SUGGESTED FOR YOU LISTS (SFY)

Suggested For You Lists (SFY Lists) are one of the best and yet most
unknown sources of growth on Instagram. They are similar to the Explore
Page in the way that Instagram is promoting you to new users.

The diference from the Explore Page is that SFY promotes your account
(not posts).

There are 3 main SFY Lists:

1 Profile SFY Lists

2 Notification SFY Lists
3 Miscellaneous SFY Lists (Following/DMs/Feed)28

28 *lnstagram is constantly experimenting with new placements

72 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

The question now is - How do we get on these SFY Lists? Well, it isn’t easy
(if it was, everyone would do it), but I can speculate on how SFY Lists
work:

The goal of Instagram with suggested accounts is to keep users hooked

for longer periods ol time. The logic is:

“If you followed this account, you will love these ones”

“The more accounts you follow, the more content you see”

“The more content you see, the more ads you will consume”

“The more ads you see, the more money we will make” (IG)

@marketingharry 73
CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

Now that we have a good understanding of how SFY Lists work and we
also have gained a good idea of what the goals of these lists are:

Categorise accounts (marketing accounts fo example)

Recommend relevant categories of accounts to users

Increase time spent on the platfrom + ad revenue

If we want to win, we have to make Instagram win as well. In order to

do that, we have to do everything we covered in the traffic chapter
consistently:

Engage with the audience of similar accounts

Collaborate with people in your industry

Use relevant hashtags to categorise your content

Focus on specific topics consistently for Explore Page

Use ad to target parts of the community

Appear on industry curation pages

Get shoutouts from pages you want to connect with

By doing this consistently, Instagram will recognise you as part of the

larger community and suggest your account to more people interested
in the specific category.

74 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 03

TRAFFIC OPTIMISATION

INSTAGRAM TRAFFIC SUMMARY

We have covered all elective ways of generating traffic to your Instagram
Page. Now it is time to implement.

But before you do that, here are the 2 IG traffic rules:

Diversify Your Traffic Sources

Focus on the Best Sources Based on Size

@marketingharry 75
CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

76 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

WHY MINDSET MATTERS

In this book thus far, you have learned a lot:-

How growth on Instagram ACTUALLY works

How to create a profile that converts

How to drive traffic to your profile

But even if you understand these technical aspects, you still won’t
make it, UNLESS you nail down the right mindset.

I have seen plenty of people with banger content FAIL

I have seen plenty of people with experience FAIL

I have seen plenty of profiles - good and bad, and the ones which
succeed are the ones who have the mindset traits.

This chapter, the final one will be devoted to the 5 traits you can’t
afford to not have as someone looking to grow on Instagram.

Ignore them, and you shall fail, no matter how good your profile or
content is

@marketingharry 77
CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

PAINT THE BIG PICTURE

Remember the feeling when you started your social media presence?
You were excited, filled with hopes and dreams. For most of us, that
feeling often fades away, making room for the hard work and failures
we meet during our social media growth.

This is a graph showcasing motivation on social media:

That is why you can’t count on motivation alone. You need to have a
purpose: “He who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how. ”
Friedrich Nietzsche

As cliche as it sounds, it is true. In the darkest moments of your social

media growth, when you are just on the verge of quitting, remembering
your purpose can save you.

For me, after building a successful agency, being hospitalized due to

overworking and death taking away my loved ones, I realized life is too
short to be building someone else’s dreams.

Having a social media presence of my own, which enables me to share

my knowledge and experience with others, has been a goal of mine since
I was 13.

78 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

And seeing the hundreds of comments, DMs and supporters who

appreciate my work now is showing me that my only mistake was not
starting earlier.

Here is how you can find your own purpose. I use a concept called
Ikigai - literally translating from japanese as “a reason for
being”.

Here is the diagram that opened my eyes.

Ask yourself questions based on these 4 spheres and look for

overlapping areas. This shall paint the bigger picture for you and

@marketingharry 79
CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

instead of focusing on how many likes your posts are getting and
worrying that your growth has slowed down, you will be able to see
things clearly and stay motivated.

COMPARISON IS YOUR ENEMY

One of the deadliest sins on social media is comparison. But because
of the way platforms such as lnstagram are created, it is extremely
hard to escape from it:

Comparing to coworkers enjoying vacations

Comparing to content creators with more likes

Comparing to businesses making more money

These are all opportunities to compare to others and put ourselves down.
Reducing our motivation, self-esteem and quality of work. What has
helped me escape from this treadmill of negative thoughts have been:

1. Everyone is on their journey

mine might be different from yours and that is okay

2. We don’t see the complete picture

people might be overworking, faking it, or be miserable happy

3. Looking at my competitors as heroes, not enemies

motivate yourself to improve, don’t focus on them winning

Even now, after close to 3 years growing my personal brand. I still catch
myself comparing to others every once in a while. But by being mindful
and practicing the 3 points mentioned above, I am inspired, not envious.

80 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

COMPOUND INTEREST IS YOUR HERO

It took me 22 days to grow to 1000 followers on Instagram Compound
growth It took me 22 day s to grow to 1000 followers on lnstagram. If I had
kept that rate, I would have grown to 10K followers in 220 days (good, not
great)

But because of how growth works, I didn’t grow to 10K followers in 220
days, it only took 54 days. In fact, in the first 220 days I grew to more
than 70K followers29

This is the power of compound growth. Things don’t move linearly.

There is also one more element which is affected by the compound

phenomenon - difficulty. In the beginning, when it’s the most difficult,
growth is the slowest.

29 Don’t compare my journey to yours. I was working 14 hours a day and I have 8 years of experience

@marketingharry 81
CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

COMPOUND GROWTH
The beginning is challenging because:

You don’t know what your audience wants

You don’t know what the platform wants

You don’t have clarity on what you want

Creating content takes ages (no habits)

You are constantly doubting yourself

With time these uncertainties will fade away and it will become easier.
The key is not to give up too early

You have to trust the process:

It will become easier

Growth shall come

Don’t give up

82 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

DON’T BURN YOURSELF

Burnout. The reason why 90% of people quit. The ironic thing about
burnout is that in almost all cases it is caused by us - pushing ourselves
too hard.

Here are 3 things that helped me the most when it comes down to
dealing with burnout:

GIVING MYSELF PERMISSION TO REST

Most entrepreneurs consuming social media have been victims of

the hustle culture. The constant need to work harder and better than
everyone else in order to win.

To a large extent this caused my hospitalisation. But it was actually a

blessing in disguise - at that moment I realised that there was no point
in being miserable and running to a place which I could reach with a
pleasant walk.

If you want to remain healthy and at the same time improve the quality
of your work, you have to rest.

Whenever you feel overworked, tired, stressed. Learn to actively rest, not
quit.

Then come back to your work better, smarter and rested.

@marketingharry 83
CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

DON’T BURN YOURSELF

GROWTH, FAME, MONEY WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH

Hedonic treadmill - the tendency for our minds to go back to normal.

This phenomenon comes handy in traumatic experiences, but also hurts
us more than we can imagine.

Because of it, we get accustomed to our achieved goals, the same ones
that seemed like far-fetched dreams once.

Want 10K followers really?
Want 10 big clients?

You get 10K followers - now You get 10 big clients - now
you want 20K you want 20

More will never be enough. If you are going to chase something - chase
balance.

84 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

DON’T BURN YOURSELF

NOT DOING ALL THE WORK - DOING THE SUSTAINABLE WORK
During the period of writing this book I also continued:

Building my personal brand with 20+ pieces of content/week

Running my agency helping people dominate social media

Collaborating with industry leaders and building authority

Continuously developing my skills

Needless to say, investing 1-2 hours per day in the span of a few months
writing this book wasn’t an easy task. And I caught myself feeling burnt
out a couple of times.

Here is what I did to fix it:

1. Made myself publicly accountable

2. Rewarded myself every time I wrote

3. Immediately took rest from all my tasks

4. Visualized the positive impact this will have on others

5. Broke down the big task of writing a book into small steps of writing
a few chapters and writing a few pages each day

This enabled me to keep my mental health intact while still crushing it.

@marketingharry 85
CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

ALWAYS MAKE IT A WIN-WIN

Most people have selfish reasons for being on social media:

• Grow THEIR following

• Grow THEIR influence
• Grow THEIR business

Having said that, the easiest way to do all of the above isn’t by only
thinking how you can benefit from others. On the contrary. The easiest
way to grow your following and business is by being selfless and focusing
on others.

But, Harry, how can I make my Instagram grow by helping others?

Glad you asked, here are the 2 ways you can WIN by helping others WIN:

1. WIN by helping lnstagram WIN

2. WIN by helping your audience WIN

86 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

ALWAYS MAKE IT A WIN-WIN

WIN by helping lnstagram WIN
If you want lnstagram to promote your account, to help you grow, to help
you make money, you need to FIRST help lnstagram do the same.

Realising the goals of lnstagram and assisting them is your ticket to

lnstagram Growth:

lnstagram wants NEW users

lnstagram wants to retain OLD users

lnstagram wants to monetise ALL users

In order to help lnstagram, you have to:

Create content bringing NEW users

Be consistent so you retain OLD users

Interact with your community so they stay on IG

Thus, if you always think

“How can I help lnstagram win”

lnstagram will actively help you win as well

@marketingharry 87
CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

ALWAYS MAKE IT A WIN-WIN

WIN by your audience WIN
Think about it. Who are the most famous martial artists? Are they:

A. The most skilled martial artists

B. The martial artists with the most students

If you chose B, you are correct.

If you want to be the best in your craft, you don’t have to worry about
sharing your secrets and helping others.

BUT, if you want to be the most well-known in your craft and thus charge
a premium, leverage your presence and build a legacy, you have to share
everything.

And don’t worry, when you share your secrets you won’t end up without
clients. On the other hand , you will get more and better paying clients,
the type who don’t have time, but have money to pay you.

Now you know why I am making this book as well. Helping you - WIN (so
I can WIN as well) ;)

88 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 04

MINDSET

THE ULTIMATE CHECKLIST

Growth on social media is SIMPLE.

In the first few chapters of the book you understood exactly how lnstagram
works and what is needed to reach your goals.

But growth on social media is also HARD. As we saw in this last chapter,
there are a lot of underwater stones, which can be fatal to your success

Here are the 10 mindset rules for success on social media:

A. Paint the big picture - find your purpose

B. Don’t compare to others - you don’t know their journey
C. Compound interest works - don’t quit too soon
D. Don’t burn yourself - do what Is sustalnable
E. Foster a giving mindset • help others win first
F. Be process, not goal oriented - enjoy your path
G. Don’t have expectations - focus on being consistent
H. Don’t wish it was easy - if it was, everyone would do it
I. Be grateful for what you have - 10 llkes or 10 000 llkes
J. Enjoy your mistakes - they are priceless lessons

@marketingharry 89
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

90 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

IMPORTANCE OF CONTENT MARKETING

If you are reading this, you know that content is essential. Content is
king has turned into a cliché at this point, and that’s because it’s true.
Content truly is king.

• But why is that the case on an algorithmic level?

• What impact does it have on user behaviour?
• And how can we use this insight to level-up our
content?

These are the questions we will be answering.

Let’s start with the basics. Content helps us:

Grow followers

Get sales

Why? One word - trust. The goal of our content is to act as the middleman
between our expertise and potential clients/followers. Every post we
make is a touchpoint between creators and consumers. The more
touchpoints we have, the easier gaining followers and sales will be. And
that’s because of 2 reasons:

The Algorithmic Reason

The algorithm better understands your content and can serve it to the
right audience. And we also understand what the algorithm wants so we
can create better content in the first place.

@marketingharry 91
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

The User Behavior Reason

Our content builds goodwill and positive habits with our tribe. People
expect and look forward to our content, and the more our content helps
them, the more they’d like to help us back. That’s called The Reciprocity
Principle. I scratch your back, you scratch my back.

From what you’ve read thus far, it should be evident that content is
essential. And half-assing it just won’t work in the long term. So now the
question is, how do you create content that:

Builds goodwill with users

Generates trust by showcasing your experiences

And enables you to stand out in the eyes of the algorithm

These will be the questions we answer in the following chapters. Let’s

begin by understanding what we SHOULDN’T be doing with our content.

92 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

CONTENT MISTAKES KILLING YOUR GROWTH

I have created more than 1000 content pieces for my Instagram account.
Thousands more for clients. I’ve also analysed tens of thousands of posts
for my students. You’d presume I have a pretty good idea of what makes
a viral post and a bad one. WRONG. This leads me to the first mistake
content creators make:

Having expectations about your posts

The biggest sin you can make when creating content. Why? Because it
inevitably leads to disappointment. It’s safe to say I’ve spent more than
10 000 hours in content creation; by Malcolm Gladwell’s standards, that
would make me a master of it. But even now, consistently making viral
posts remains a mystery to me. Maybe I have some learning disabilities
(my first-grade teacher would undoubtedly agree), but my experience
says otherwise.

There are so many moving parts in content creation that it is impossible

to predict the outcome of any given post.

Hook;

Visuals;

Context;

Audience;

Posting time;

Call-to-action;

Wording;

Attention retention;

Bounce rate;

Content saturation.

@marketingharry 93
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

These are just a few of the factors that play a role in a post going viral
or not. Because of the algorithm’s complexity, anyone who tells you he
can consistently make content go viral is a liar. You can get to a point
in which you have a good guess if a post will perform well or not, but you
will never be able to predict its outcome fully.

And that is the essence of this first mistake. Never have expectations
about your posts. Don’t hope for them to go viral. Don’t avoid posting
them because you believe they will perform poorly. Just post them and
use them as a learning experience.

Suppose they perform well - great ! Do more of that! Suppose

they perform terribly - even better!

Now you have the chance to learn and improve. Focus on the process
of creating, learning and improving rather than having expectations
about vanity metrics such as likes and follows. In doing so, success shall
come as a byproduct of your efforts.

94 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Marrying your work

Love makes you blind. True in relationships and content creation. If you
love your work, you can never judge it rationally. If you can’t judge it
rationally, you can never improve. If you can’t improve, you can guess the
rest. The best thing you can do when beginning your content creation
journey or changing a platform/format is proactively seeking criticism.

Don’t try to find reasons why your posts are good. Instead, actively find
ways in which your posts could be lacking. This is the scientific approach.
The same approach that turned a nobody from a small citiy in the USA
into the most influential YouTuber of all time (MrBeast).

@marketingharry 95
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

So stop falling in love with your work. Instead, look at it through a

scientific lens and ask yourself questions such as:

Is the hook strong enough;

Is the copy simple to understand;

If I saw this post, would it make me stop scrolling;

If I read this post, would it benefit me in some way;

If I place it next to a competitors post, would it stand out

Then find 3-5 people and ask them for feedback as well. That is how you
improve. That is how your content gets better.

Quality vs Quantity

After reading the previous point, some people might get the wrong idea.
So let me be clear. Fuck quality content. But before you bring out the
pitchforks - let me clarify. Fuck quality content because early quantity
leads to future quality.

You see, gathering feedback and looking for criticism isn’t an excuse to
procrastinate putting out content. On the contrary, post more content,
gather more input and improve faster. This is especially true for beginners.

The reality is you don’t know what “quality” even means. Quality is
subjective and comparative. So by your current standards, you might’ve
created a great post. But by your standards, in 30 days, that post might
be nothing more than a disappointment.

This also applies to your audience. Their previous experience with

content determines their ability to judge your post. If they’ve never seen
a carousel, your 10-slide educational post might seem like a masterpiece.
But if they are a carousel connoisseur, you better bring your A-game to
impress them.

96 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

So repeat after me.

‘Fuck quality content. Early

quantity leads to future quality.’
Now go ahead and create.

CONTENT STRATEGY MYTH

Creating content can be overwhelming. There are dozens of mistakes
creators can make. On top of that, there are so many elements that go
into the creation of one post.

@marketingharry 97
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Because content creation has so many moving parts, it’s difficult to

know where to begin. That’s why having a strategy matters. When it
comes down to Instagram content strategies, there are a lot of opinions
out there. Most of them are bullshit. Based on the narrow worldview of
the creator.

If someone has grown with Reels, he only recommends Reels.

If someone has gotten sales with Carousels, he only recommends
Carousels.

The reality is different. As of the time of writing this (Q1 of 2023), Instagram
is in the most healthy position when it comes down to the diversity of
content formats. Yes, Reels are powerful. But you can grow just fine only
with Carousels and Static posts.

My account is an example of this. I’ve gotten Static Images that have

reached half a million people each, my Reels have millions of views
combined, and my Carousels helped me stand out in my marketplace
initially. But don’t take my word for it; here are a few more examples:

460K followers with mainly Single Images

880K followers with mainly Carousels

240K followers with mainly Carousels

98 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

You can grow with any format. Choose based on what makes the most
sense for your audience, your strengths and long-term vision.

For example, double down on Carousels if you are great at copywriting

and don’t plan to utilise video in your strategy. On the other hand, if your
product or service is best visualised through video, it might be worthwhile
for you to lean into Reels. Whatever your choice is, I can assure you that
your growth won’t be limited by it.

@marketingharry 99
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

UNDERSTANDING CONTENT FORMATS

With the myth-busting out of the way, it’s time to dive into the fun
part - the practical stuff! A good content strategy is a diversified one.
Each format on Instagram has different strengths and weaknesses.
Understanding them is crucial for creating a cohesive and well-rounded
content machine. Here’s a diagram going over the different formats on
Instagram:

100 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Each format is best suited for a specific purpose. Each format also has
different technical requirements. Here’s another diagram to help you
with that:

With this understanding of the different formats, we can now create our
content strategy. Not one based on myths and fears. But one that can
best fit our needs and goals.

@marketingharry 101
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

CREATING A CONTENT STRATEGY

When creating your content strategy, you must understand and define
your goals intimately. Are you currently focusing on growing your
presence, or are you focusing on monetising it? Based on your answer,
your whole content strategy should change.

A. If you don’t have an audience or haven’t adequately nurtured

them, you should focus 80% of your efforts on growth-oriented
content
B. If you have a healthy audience with which you’ve been building
trust and goodwill for a few months - you can focus 80% of your
content strategy on generating leads30

“But Harry, what does this mean?”

Glad you asked, kind reader! You see, you can look at
your content marketing efforts as a funnel.

30 This should be for a short period of time, between 2-4 weeks - after that period, you should switch to a
growth-oriented strategy again to avoid audience burnout

102 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

TOFU (attention), MOFU (nurture), BOFU(conversion)]

Some content pieces aim to attract people, generate brand awareness

and grow followers. That’s Top-Of-The-Funnel content. Here are a few
examples:

Easy to understand, Simple problem Content which has

basic content that (Reel mistakes) and solid execution yet is
can be implemented straightforward yet easy to replicate
immediately and isn’t effective solutions
groundbreaking

@marketingharry 103
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Then we have posts that have a little more depth. Their goal is to nurture
your audience and highlight your expertise. That’s Middle-Of-The-Funnel
content. Here are a few examples:

Specific to the New content which A unique format

creator strategy isn’t widespread with which is hard to
tackling a common standard solutions replicate
problem

And lastly, we have the content whose only purpose is to convert our
already existing community members into clients. That’s Bottom-Of-
The-Funnel content. Check the next page for a few examples.

104 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Client case study Direct promotional Transformational

which is impossible post - mission posts showcasing
to replicate statement benefit your clients
seek

If you are just starting, your content funnel should look like this. Its goal
is to put you on the map, grow your brand awareness and begin building
your community:

@marketingharry 105
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

If you already have a strong community and want to launch a new

product or have a promo cycle coming up, your funnel should look like
this:

Understanding the content strategy and how it can serve your current
goals is the most empowering insight a creator can have. It brings you
clarity, and it gives you direction. Now it’s time for action. Check the
following pages to learn how to put all of this into practice.

106 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

CONTENT CREATION ROADMAP

To execute a content strategy, you must understand how content is
created. Breaking down a post into pieces is how we do that. Here’s the
whole roadmap of an Instagram post:

@marketingharry 107
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

This is the roadmap I follow. Yours can be different. But you must have
one as it gives you an intimate understanding of your content creation
processes. With this newfound clarity, you can focus on the individual
elements, improve faster and create smoother processes, so you don’t
waste 8 hours on a single post (like I did).

108 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

IDEA GENERATION
The idea is the first part of any post (after you have clarity on your
strategy). A good idea can compensate for bad execution, but a bad
idea can’t be saved even by perfect execution.

“Harry, what does all of this gibberish even mean?”

In a nutshell, it means that no matter how perfect your design, video

or captions are, if your idea sucks, your post will suck. That’s why
brainstorming ideas and filtering out the good from the great concepts
is so important. Here are the 3 methods for generating viral ideas:

Benchmarking
If you want to create great content, you have to consume great content
first. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, especially in the beginning.
So study what is already out there, make it yours and roll with it. I am not
saying to copy anyone’s posts word for word, that isn’t a sustainable way
to do things, instead, try this:

Step 1 : Find someone with great posts

@marketingharry 109
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Step 2 : Look for viral for them31 posts

Step 3 : Now choose 3 of your posts

one of your oldest, one of your recent, one of your best ones

31 Viral for them: posts that have at least 2x their usual engagement (likes, views, comments)

110 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Step 4 : Place the posts next to each other and compare them

Step 5 : Here’s a checklist for evaluation

@marketingharry 111
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Step 6 :Do this 15 minutes per day for 30 days

Goals, Pillars, Topics, Formats, Action

From the content strategy part of this book, we know that not all content
pieces are created equally. Some posts are better for Top-Of-The-Funnel
goals, whilst others are meant for the MOFU and BOFU sections. Here’s
an exercise which can solve all of your idea generation problems:

112 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05
GOAL CONTENT CREATION

Attract Nurture Convert

Belief
Tutorials Trends Mistakes Opinions Transformations
Shifting
TYPES

Unique
Myths
Value Client
Tricks Objection
Results
Personal
PILLARS
TOPICS
FORMATS

Carousel Single Post Reel Live Stories

@marketingharry 113
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION
PERSONALITY

It’s simple:

Define the goal (1) of your content - TOFU, MOFU, BOFU

Research different types (2) of content for the other parts of the funnel,
here are a few examples: Tutorial; Personal; Client Results

Identify the pillars (3) and specific topics (4) that are important for
your industry, check examples below

Pick a format (5) and a wildcard element (6)

Pick 1 element per section and form your content idea; check the
examples below

114 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Here’s how it should look like filled

GOAL

ATTRACT NURTURE CONVERT

Belief
Tutorials Trends Mistakes Opinions Transformations
Shifting
TYPES

Unique
Myths
Value Client
Tricks Objection
Results
Personal
PILLARS

IG Growth Content Strategy Personal Branding Monetisation

Engagement Carousel Influence Offer

Hashtags Reels Brand Pricing

Bio Stories Voice Sales Calls

TOPICS

Niche Growth Content Value Prospecting

Nurture Content Lead Gen

Sales Content

Copy Writing

Design

@marketingharry 115
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION
FORMATS

Carousel Single Post Reel Live Stories

Past Job Realisations

PERSONALITY

Lessons Learnt Hobbies

People I Know Role models

Relationships Books

Failures Podcasts

Here’s how an example idea might look

Goal: Convert

Type: Belief Shifting

Pillar: Monetisation

Topic: Pricing

Format: Carousel

Personality: Lessons learnt

Hook: Stop being affordable

downsides of being affordable, should charge high

Notes
ticket instead

116 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Title Generators

When I first figured these tools out, it felt like magic. You can get
unlimited content ideas with minimal effort. All you need is the power
of your imagination + title generators like “What To Tweet”, “Portent Title
Generator”, “Ubersuggest” and even AI tools such as “ChatGPT”

Step 1: Step 2: Step 3:

Open ChatGPT Type your prompt Generate results

The way they work is simple. You put in a keyword. They give you a hook
with that keyword. More often than not, the hooks aren’t perfect, but
they provide you with direction, inspiration when everything else has
failed you.

When I am in a content idea rut, I love going to one of these Title Generators
and playing, experimenting and imagining how I can execute a given
idea. The goal of these generators isn’t to create content for you but
act as a spark for your fire. Here are a few post concepts I generated
using these title generators in 3 minutes:

@marketingharry 117
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Idea 1:
“Share an aspirational story of growth”

Idea 2:
“{Industry} myths you should stay away from”

Idea 3:
“The 18 Best {Industry} YouTube videos to learn from”

Idea 4:
“Dummies guide to {Topic}”

Idea 5:
“Insider’s guide to {Topic}”

Tools

SEMRush

Portent Title Generator

Google Trends

ChatGPT

Ubersuggest

What To Tweet

118 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Resources

365 Content Ideas

Content Calendar

@marketingharry 119
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Checklist:
What makes a solid idea? Here’s your checklist:

01. Reflects an audience pain point

02. Serves your goals as a creator

03. Is short and simple, so even a cold audience will get it

04. Makes you want to read the rest of the post

05. Follows a proven formula32

06. Accurately describes the rest of the post

07. Raises an open-ended question

08. Bonus points if it’s relevant to current events

32 check the examples in the content calendar

120 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

WRITING COPY
Once you’ve got yourself a viral idea, the next thing you have to do is
write it out. Depending on the type, format and purpose, your copy
should differ. For example, the text you write for your captions will be
much different than the one you craft for your hooks.

The easiest way to improve your copywriting is to follow proven

structures (1). and read battle-tested texts (2). The first one is simple. In
this chapter, you will find all the tools, resources and structures I use when
writing copy for my social media content. For the second one, you’d have
to do most of the heavy lifting. Here’s what you have to do. The next time
you are on Instagram mindlessly scrolling, pay attention to:

The hooks other people use

The keywords they utilise

The structure and pace of their posts

Here is an example of a post broken down:

@marketingharry 121
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

When starting out, all of this might seem overwhelming. That’s normal.
But I promise you - the more you write, the easier writing will get.

Creating easy-to-consume copy that captures and converts attention

will become second nature to you. In the meantime, I recommend you
stick to proven structures such as the AIDA33 model. To make this easier
for you, I’ve prepared 2 structures you can use when writing and planning
out your Reels and Carousels. Both of them are optimised for the AIDA
model and can be found in the resources section of this chapter.

33 Attention, Interest, Desire (Or Detail), Action

122 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Tools

Hemingway

Grammarly

Copy.AI

Swipefiles

Resources
Books - Breakthrough Advertising

Made to Stick The Copy Book Everybody Writes

@marketingharry 123
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Template for Reels

Template for Carousels

124 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Checklist

01. People don’t read. They scan. Internalise this

02. Make it easy for people to get the gist only by scanning headlines

03. Avoid jargon, especially early on

04. Use metaphors from real life

05. Write your draft. Edit 24 hours. Don’t publish immediately

06. Make the benefit of reading your copy crystal clear

07. Rhyme long and short sentences to make it enjoyable

08. Avoid sentences with more than 7-9 words

@marketingharry 125
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

DESIGN, SHOOT, EDIT

Depending on the content format, the execution will differ. Duh! Some
formats might come naturally to you, whilst others might seem foreign.
Duh!! In the beginning, no matter the format, your execution will suck -
and that’s fine! Here’s a secret…everyone (even the creators you worship)
made bad content for a long time before they started making anything
half-decent. So don’t be too harsh on yourself. Remember what we said
earlier:

“Early quantity leads to

future quality.”
I want you to forget about perfection and focus on building a collection.
Collection of content pieces which all incrementally get better 1% at a
time. Start simple, don’t overcomplicate it, be efficient. You don’t need
fancy designs or cinema-level videos, you need practice.

126 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

March 2020 March 2021

March 2022 Now

When you’ve grasped this concept, you are ready to conquer content
creation. Check below for all the tools, resources and tutorials you will
ever need to create content.

@marketingharry 127
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Tools
Design

Photoshop - Photopea

Canva

Figma

Recording:

Phone

Camera

Lights

Teleprompter

Edit:

CapCut tutorial

Instagram Reel

Premiere Pro

TokBoard

128 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Checklist
Design Checklist

01. Clarity > Cleverness - keep the design clean & clear
02. Spend 80% of your time on the cover
03. Guide the eye with design elements such as arrows
04. Always left-align text longer than 2 lines
05. Use visual hierarchy to make your CTA’s pop

Recording checklist

01. Clean your camera lens before recording

02. Record in a bright environment
03. Start with action
04. Stay close enough to fill the frame;
far away to show your hand movement
05. Batch record videos and only change outfits

Editing Checklist

01. Insert action/transitions every 2-3 seconds

02. Avoid heavy filters
03. Remove empty spaces between sentences
04. Don’t overedit. It may look like ad. Keep the edits native to the
platform
05. Show your Reels to friends/family - ask them where you lose
their attention and edit that part out

@marketingharry 129
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

SCHEDULING & ANALYTICS

You’ve completed the hard part. Now it’s time to make sure all your
backbreaking work pays off. Post, wait and analyse your results. Pretty
straightforward…until it isn’t. There are a few key lessons you’d have to
fully grasp before you can operate your social media presence like the
top 1%.

Content Analysis Mistakes

Analysing too soon - a lot of people message me saying their

account is dead. I ask them why they think so. Their answer usually
is - my reach has been down for 2 weeks. I know it can be frustrating
seeing your metrics go down, but you have to chill. Growth comes
in cycles, and it can’t always be up. Instead, look at metrics in the
span of at least 30 days, optimally 90.

Analysing without enough data - another common mistake. So how

much data is enough? For profile-wide metrics (profile visits, for
example, look for at least 1000). For post-wide metrics (likes, saves,
etc - look for double your usual; eg: if you usually have 100 likes, look
for posts that have 200).

Focusing on the wrong metrics - there are so many metrics out
there that it is easy to get confused. In terms of growth, we
discussed the two crucial metrics in the first part of this book
(traffic/conversions). In terms of content, depending on the
format, different metrics matter.

For example, when it comes down to Reels - retention rate34 is the

king of metrics. At the moment, we can’t track it on Instagram. The
workaround is tracking plays/reach and looking for 120%.

34 Retention rate - percentage representing the time people spend

consuming your video

130 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

For every other format, there is a different metric you should

be looking at. It all depends on the goal of the content piece. For
example, if you make an educational carousel, you should aim for a
like/save ratio of

1:1 (1000 likes:1000 saves)

If you make an inspirational post, on the other hand, you should track
like/share ratio and aim for

1:10 (1000 likes:100 shares)

There are dozens of metrics out there, hundreds more to which we,
as creators, don’t have access, so stop bothering with everything.
Instead, focus on the foundational ones, and everything else shall
follow.

@marketingharry 131
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Posting Time

Does it matter - it does, but not as much as people would like to

believe. The perfect posting time won’t save your posts. Here’s the
harsh truth - If your content is shit. The performance will be shit.
Having said that, if you make a great post at the perfect time, it’s
short-term (6-24 hours) performance will be slightly better (5-10%).
So posting time matters, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for
poor post-performance.

How to find it - if you are starting out, I recommend looking at your

closest competitors (3-5) and trying to spot patterns (are all of them
posting around the same time, for example). Then just post 15-30
minutes before/after them. If you target a global audience, you can
also use tables such as this one which provides a good direction:

132 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

The most trustworthy source of information can be gained from

your own analytics. Once you gain a statistically relevant audience
(at least 1000 followers, recommended 10 000). Then you can check
your active hours with any scheduling tool shown in the Resources
section.

How to ensure it works - testing, testing, testing. Once you generate

a hypothesis for a specific posting time - stick to it for 30 days. Then
compare your posts’ results to the previous 30 days. Ensure there
is minimum other change in the quality of the content you publish.
Test another posting time if you don’t notice a significant increase
in reach/engagement (at least 15-20%).

@marketingharry 133
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

3. Looking for Trends and Repurposing

Identify posts that have gone viral for you* - as we’ve seen thus
far, making sure the information we handle is statistically relevant
is crucial. Things aren’t different when it comes down to identifying
“viral for you” posts. Look for at least a 2x increase in any of the 4
crucial metrics - likes, saves, shares, and comments. This is a viral
for you post which you can take advantage of.

Don’t leave money on the table - when you find a post that has gone
“viral for you” in the past - milk it as much as you can. Reform it,
rework it, repost it. This way, you can create a few powerful content
pillars that you know consistently resonate with your audience.

Now, you have to be mindful of how you execute this. There is a fine
line between only repurposing old content, not creating anything
new and spamming your audience with the same old message - which
will undoubtedly lead to audience burnout—and repurposing a few
critical points in fresh and new ways. If you apply a proper content
repurposing strategy, you will unlock a superpower. A superpower of
accurately predicting what real pain points your audience has and
solving them.

How to repurpose your content efficiently - there are a few different

ways to repurpose content:
y Basic: Same content; Same format - do this every 6 month or
after you gain a significant amount of new followers (double your
follower-base).
y Advanced: Same content; Different Format or vice versa. You can
take a carousel and turn it into a Reel or the other way around.
People learn in different ways, and showcasing information in a
variety of formats can help them assimilate given information
better. Here are a few examples:

134 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

You can do this every 3 months

Pro:
y Same concept
y Different content
y Different Format

After you’ve found a post which works, you must strive to understand
the reason for it. This should lead to mapping out your audience’s pain
points and creating entirely new information that tackles them. Take a
look at these viral posts:

@marketingharry 135
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

All of these posts target the need to create content faster and are
executed in different formats

You can talk about the same content pillar every week.

As you can see, even simple, straightforward tasks such as scheduling

content and analysing results hide a lot under the surface. You know me,
I won’t leave you hanging. Below you will find all the tools, resources
and checklists necessary to schedule and analyse content.

136 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

Tools

SEMRush Social

Meta Business Suite

Buffer/Hootsuite/Sprout

MeetEdgar

Resources

Templates For Analysing Posts

Template For Analysing Growth

Checklist
Before Posting

01. Tease audience with the upcoming post in stories (6-12 hours
before post)

02. Begin engaging 30 minutes before making the new post

03. Prepare to answer any comments your post gets 30-60

minutes after you’ve made it

@marketingharry 137
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

After Posting

01. Like the comments you’ve received on your previous posts

02. Answer any comments you haven’t gotten to from the past 3-5
content pieces

03. Continue engaging based on strategy in part 1 of the book

04. Share your post to stories with a sticker

05. Take note of results after 1-hour

Analysing Checklist

01. Fill in post results in the abovementioned template after 24

hours

02. Look if a post has gotten significantly more reach or any

other post-specific metrics

03. Look if a post has gotten significantly less reach or any other
post-specific metrics

04. If any of the above is true, go through the checklists for the
previous post elements and make sure you comply with the
provided recommendations

138 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

CONTENT PROCESSES
What’s the deal with batch content creation? Should you create 30
posts in a single day, schedule them out and then drink Margaritas on
the beach for the rest of the month? You can. But chances you will be
making a mistake. Here’s the truth.

Should you batch-create content?

Short answer
When starting out, create content daily.

When experienced, create content in batches.

Long answer
Wire me $500 for a 1-hour consultation, and I will give it to you—the end.

@marketingharry 139
CHAPTER 05

CONTENT CREATION

I am joking…or am I?!

Okay, here’s the truth. Batch content creation is great. But it has some
severe downsides. That’s why I don’t recommend it to beginners. Let’s
dive deeper into it:

Pro’s & Con’s of Batch Content Creation

Pro’s Con’s

You will save time (by going into You will be slower in
a flow state of content creation) implementing feedback
Your efficiency will skyrocket
You don’t build content creation
(you won’t have to switch
habits
between different tasks)
Your stress will be less (you will You can’t react to trends
always have content ready to go) efficiently.

That’s why I don’t recommend batch-creating content when starting

out. Instead, choose the harder in the short-term path and create content
daily. That way, you will be more agile and build habits as a content
creator. Then after 30-60 days, switch to a batch content creation
process like mine.

Copy My Content Processes

Let’s cut to the chase. Creating content takes time. Too much time if
you don’t follow the right processes. But if you have a system in place,
you can quite literally become a content-creation machine. I went from
spending 8 hours per post to creating 28 posts per week. Same quality
(way better actually) but in a lot less time. Here’s the secret that has
enabled me to turn my content creation game at 180 degrees:

“I dedicate each day to a specific content creation task”

140 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 06

BONUSES

Here’s what an average week of mine can look like:

@marketingharry 141
CHAPTER 06

BONUSES

You don’t have to copy the exact process I use, instead use it as
inspiration when creating a system that works for you.

The key here is to look at content creation as solving a puzzle. Each

task of the content production process is a different piece of the overall
picture. Each day, you will focus on another part of the puzzle until you
finally combine them into a finished product.

This works because of how our brains operate. We aren’t created to

multitask. In reality, we can’t do multiple things at the same time. Our
brains just switch rapidly between tasks. And when creating a post, on
average, requires you to switch between 5 completely different tasks,
things can become hectic and take way more time than they are supposed
to.

For example, imagine you are shooting a Reel. You first have to come
up with an idea, then plan what you have to say, then record it, but then
you notice your idea wasn’t as good as you thought it would be, so you
go back to the drawing board and begin brainstorming ideas again. God
forbid you also have to worry about managing your business, family and
health. It’s mission impossible.

In comparison, I can dedicate my Monday mornings to ideas research,

making sure they are solid, and then move to the next task, where I will
again pour 100% of my focus. That’s what peak performance looks like.
You don’t have to have the same process as mine, but you have to have
a process if you want to stay consistent and keep your sanity.

142 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 06

BONUSES

@marketingharry 143
CHAPTER 06

BONUSES

SUMMARY
Growth isn’t easy. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. Having said that,
if you play your cards right, it doesn’t have to be overcomplicated.

Create processes, soak up knowledge and implement it.

Start and learn as you go - you will thank me later.

Use the information in this book and grow your first or next 10K followers.

Additionally, if you feel like you need more help, you can:

Book 1-1 Consultation With Me

144 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 06

BONUSES

ALL THE TOOLS I USE

Content Scheduling: Creator Studio

Content Creation: Photoshop

Content Ideas: FAQFox

Content Images: Envato Elements

Content Scheduling: Creator Studio

Account Analytics: Hypeauditor

Creative Assets: Creative Market

Hashtags: Flick Tech

Link in bio: Znap link

Profile picture creator: Pfpmaker

Add subtitles to videos: Clips

*To some of these I am an affiliate

@marketingharry 145
CHAPTER 06

BONUSES

BONUS VIDEOS
1. How To Engage For Growth

2. How To Find Relevant #’s

3. How To Find Curation Pages

4. How To Calculate CVR

5. How To Use Data Sheets

BONUS DOCUMENTS
The Ultimate ChatGPT SMM Guide

146 @marketingharry
 CHAPTER 06

BONUSES

BONUS DOCUMENTS
Track Your Post Performance

Track your Profile Growth

Track your content ideas

@marketingharry 147