You can’t not have heard about Aaron Agius if you’ve been into digital marketing for some time.
He’s everywhere: from articles on Entrepreneur, Forbes or Hubspot or the guides he co-wrote with Neil Patel to his booming digital agency Louder Online. I had to interview him for this series to learn from him and get his secrets for you!
I was lucky to be introduced by Matt Tanguay who interviewed Aaron in his Business Growth Geniuses series.
1. I’ve read that your career in digital marketing started following your 4-hour work week epiphany in Thailand. Since achieving the levels of success you have today, is Digital Nomadism something you’ve been able to experience?
Yes. It’s an opportunity I’ve had that I’m very grateful for. We spent several years living in Thailand, which is what inspired us to find a way to live a geographically-independent life (even though we were doing so at the start of the global financial crisis in 2008).
Since then, my family has done years of travel around the world, living in other countries and running the agency wherever we are. We’ve loved it, and it’s an experience I’m glad my kids are able to have.
Read more about Digital Nomadism on my blog
2. What would you do differently if you were starting in Digital Marketing right now?
I’d absolutely start investing in my personal brand from day one. A few years back, I had the experience of seeing guys that I’d come up with in digital marketing have their careers take off suddenly. They were getting speaking gigs, contributing to top-tier publications and generally getting the opportunities I wanted for myself.
I spent a lot of time studying what they do, and I eventually figured out the processes and systems that are needed to build a brand these days. If I could go back in time with that knowledge, I’m sure I’d be farther ahead today.
3. What are the 2 least & 2 most sexy moments of your career? What did you learn from them?
One experience jumps to mind that was actually both: signing Louder’s first $1 million contract and then losing it a few months later to factors outside of our control (internal restructuring, budget cuts, etc). The moment definitely taught me some humility, and it put into perspective that I don’t do what I do for the money.
$1 million is nice, but it can be taken away in an instant. What matters more than the numbers on a contract is our commitment to driving great results for our clients. Wins there are what really matter.
4. You’ve written A LOT of content since you’ve started in marketing. What’s your process?
My process has evolved a lot in recent years, and that’s helped me to get more efficient and faster. I’ve learned how to carve out the right time for content creation, as well as how to build individual content pieces across similar themes for different publications to minimise research time.
Beyond that, it’s been about getting the right team in place around me. I’m fortunate to have great editors on Louder’s team who refine the raw product I create, as well as admin support that handles the heavy lifting of submitting articles and queuing them up for publication.
5. How does Aaron Agius prioritizes & scales content production?
Content prioritisation, for me, depends on several things. What trends do I see shaping the future of marketing? What topics do I want to be part of the conversation on? How have past articles performed, and how should that affect where I publish in the future?
Where should I be publishing to reach the audience I want to connect with? Having the right people on my team also helps tremendously. Working with talented editors and admin team members lets me spend most of my time thinking through high-value concepts, rather than getting bogged down with line editing or CMS uploading.
6. You’ve co-written “The Complete Guide To Building Your Personal Brand” by Neil Patel & Aaron Agius. To this day, what are your favourite Personal Branding hacks?
Getting published in editorial publications, for sure. What I’ve found is that, if you’re able to connect with the right editors and journalists, you can create a kind of snowball effect. People see your articles, and that leads to interview requests and podcast appearances.
Those lead to invitations to speak at conferences or write books, which I’ll be doing later this year. It feels like a lot of work for nothing upfront, but the residual impact is really powerful – if you do it long enough.
Read more about Personal Branding
7. What are the 3 main things you’ve learned from working with Neil Patel?
Neil has been a tremendous partner to Louder, and a great mentor for me to learn from. In particular, he’s taught me: To never accept the mediocre. To figure out what it takes to maintain longevity in an industry. That when you find something that works, double – even triple – down on it.
When you think about how long Neil has been in the game and the standards he’s been able to maintain, it’s pretty impressive. I’ve learned a lot from his ability to hone in on what’s working and invest heavily to maintain longevity.
Where can people find Aaron Agius online?
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/IAmAaronAgius
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronagius/
- Website: https://louder.online/
