Interview With Dean Hunt – The Buzz Marketing Genius
There are over 85 billion pages on the web.
Once upon a time, good content was enough to ensure exposure to your site, that, however, is not the case nowadays.
What’s the point of composing the most amazing piece of writing if nobody’s ever going to know about it? Don’t get me wrong here, content will always be important, but if nobody knows about your masterpiece, then you’re better off not writing it in the first place.
This is where buzz marketing comes into play, and where Dean Hunt performs rather excellently. In case you haven’t heard of Dean, he is one of the best buzz marketers in the world. Just read the interview…
Rajaie: Tell us a bit about yourself (your name, age, and occupation etc.)
Dean: My name is Dean Hunt, I am 26, from the UK and work in Internet Marketing. I am considered a leader in buzz marketing, and one of the most influential, young bloggers on the planet.
Rajaie: Many of us have never heard of the term “Buzz Marketing”, what exactly is it?
Dean: It is basically any form of marketing that creates a lot of emotion. Often I use humor, excitement, controversy etc to do this.
Rajaie: What on earth compelled you to turn such innocent little creatures into killer bunnies?
Dean: I like the anonymity that you can get from the Internet, and I wanted to take this a step further by diverting the attention to something else. Killer bunnies seemed the right choice at the time.
Rajaie: If the Internet did not exist, what do you think you’d be doing right now?
Dean: Probably something really boring. It was the Internet that helped me realize that you don’t have to get stuck doing crappy jobs from 9 to 5. I would probably be someone’s bitch in retail or something.
Rajaie: In ten years, will Buzz Marketing still be as useful as it is today?
Dean: Buzz will be more important in the next 10 years. You see, there are already over 85 billion web pages on the net, information is no longer enough, people need to start entertaining as well as informing, that is why you see people like Gary Vaynerchuk breaking onto the scene, yet 3 years ago, nobody had heard of him. Also, this is why video is becoming so popular.
Rajaie: I noticed that your blog has no advertisements, how do you monetize the traffic it gets?
Dean: I monetize my personal brand, so I go to events, use my name to launch products etc… we have been very slow on that recently, me and my biz partner (Barry Dunlop) are launching a membership site in the coming weeks, where people can get access to all the secrets, strategies and tips that we use to get millions of visitors. Go to www.BuzzProfits.com and sign up for access.
Rajaie: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Dean: “If you don’t value your time, nobody else will.” This is so true.
Rajaie: We all make mistakes, what do you think is the biggest mistake you have ever made? (In terms of your online business.)
Dean: Not selling enough. I appreciate that many people in this industry have the OPPOSITE problem, but we have been giving away all our best stuff for years, and it is about time we started monetizing it properly. Another big mistake I have made is trying to do everything myself, there are many areas we should outsource, you HAVE to play to your strengths in this game.
Rajaie: If you could give someone just starting out with the Internet some advice, what would it be?
Dean: Network like a rockstar. It is not who you know, but who knows you. So get out there and hustle.
Rajaie: What do you think is more important: writing for the search engines, or writing for real people?
Dean: The days of writing for search engines are long gone. Especially since the boom of online video. Write for people, get links, and you will rank in the search engines.
Rajaie: Tell us one true thing about yourself that nobody has ever heard before
Dean: At aged 20 I had a glass bottle go through my knee. I had to have rehab to learn to walk again.
Rajaie: Your blog is full of awesome posts that I have greatly enjoyed reading, any specific ones you’d like to tell us about?
Dean: There are too many to mention… But this recent post about going viral with low traffic websites was a good one I also suggest people download our free report, this spinning lady is kinda weird and this makes me laugh everytime.
Rajaie: You’ve recently been to Dubai, what are some of the other places you have traveled to? Anything you dislike about travel?
Dean: Dubai was great, I hung with all the other speakers, including Mike Filsaime and John Carlton. I have visited a lot of places across America, I think I enjoyed Los Angeles the most. The only part of travel I don’t like is the jet-lag.
Rajaie: Build it and they will come. Content is king. What is your personal stance on those two statements?
Dean: They are both wrong. You can build something great, but if nobody hears about it, they won’t visit. For example, you can create a great video, but if you don’t upload it to the net, nobody will ever see it.
As for “Content is king”. CREATIVE content is king…. content is generally boring, copied, and lame. Remember, there are 85 billion web pages on the net, you gotta stand out.
Rajaie: I’ve heard thousands of people say that social media traffic is useless. They come, they go, and they crash your blog. Oh yeah, they also don’t click any AdSense. What do you have to say about this?
Dean: In terms of directly monetizing the traffic, yes, it is pretty useless. BUT, indirectly, it is valuable. For example, some people may link to your content from their site, they may blog about you, they may submit your page to other sites like Digg. So they are valuable, just in a different way.
Rajaie: Is there you’d like to tell us about yourself that I haven’t asked yet? (We could do a series. Kidding.) 
Dean: Haha, I think that covers everything. I would like to remind people that if they do want to get huge amounts of traffic to their site, they need to sign up at www.buzzprofits.com right now. There is so much killer info in there, a lot of which I can’t believe we are even sharing publicly.
Oh, and we may be hiring in the near future. We are looking for a developer who gets stuff done, an action orientated guy or gal. If interested, email me at dean@buzzprofits.com
I would really like to thank Dean for giving me the opportunity to interview him, I hope you find this interview useful. For those interested in making money online and driving tons of free to their site, subscribing to DeanHunt.com is a must. Do it now.
37 Responses to “Interview With Dean Hunt – The Buzz Marketing Genius”
Great interview! I always wondered what Dean actually did.
“In terms of directly monetizing the traffic, yes, it is pretty useless. BUT, indirectly, it is valuable. For example, some people may link to your content from their site, they may blog about you, they may submit your page to other sites like Digg. So they are valuable, just in a different way.”
Digg users love to link to content but not StumbleUpon Users. They are worthless.
Tom – Same here!
Franklin – Although that is true, a Stumble could lead to a Digg, so StumbleUpon isn’t that useless.
Awesome. I have always wanted to know more about his guy. I have been reading his blog for like 3 months.
Just a quick question, how did you get a hold of him?
Great informative questions Rajaie. I have yet to do a blog interview, and so this gives me a nice blueprint to follow. Your questions are very original, and you have a lot of them that makes it worth the read. Congrats on getting Dean to do it, that’s quite a coup.
Great and descent review Rajaie. Those are some great questions there rajaie. One doubt does his blog really has 6 billion subscribers?
Great interview… I just thought reading it is nice… Dean’s been into this thing for a long time and I think he’s the only one in terms of buzz marketing..
Blogict – He actually approached me.
Master of SEO – I’m glad you found it useful.
Harish – Haha, no, that Feedburner image is just a joke.
Melvin – Yeah, I haven’t heard of many others that are in the field of buzz marketing.
Spot on with the best advice comment.
Thanks for the interview.
Cheers
Andy
AndyBrown.org
Good stuff, People have made a killing from social media..John Chow says its coz of social media that his blog is what it is today
His feedburner count says 6 BIllion……yes I rubed my eyes a few times, it did not change..it says 6Billion ….His average post comments are 9 out of which 4 are his own comments….Strange for a 6 Billion feedburner site to have an average of 4-5 comments…..I wonder if there is any learning here ?
Hi all,
Thanks for the kind words.
I cant believe that some of you didnt get the world’s most obvious joke, 6 billion readers? even google doesnt get that sort of traffic… (bangs head against wall)
ZK – some of my posts have had over 200 comments.
Ref Buzz Marketing, there are thousands of experts in it, some call it viral marketing, social media marketing, word of mouth marketing…. they all require the same skills.
Have a great holidays.
Andy – I’m happy to hear you found it useful.
ZK – Hehe, I’m sure there are people out there that would tear you apart for saying something like that – search engine traffic is all they care about.
Dean –
I was surprised myself! Thanks for dropping by, and keep up the great work over at your blog.
Great interview! I always wondered what Dean actually did.
I would feel so cool if some one like Dean contacted me.
Way off topic, but what happened to your old theme?
Blogict – I changed the theme to see if it would have any effect on my search engine rankings.
ohh, if it matters at all i liked the old one
Blogict – Same here; I’m going to be adding the panel again, but at the bottom.
This guy is a true genius – there is so much to buzz marketing and almost no one knows how to monetize it properlly.
Great Interview Rajaie
I have been reading his book and got very useful tips and idea from it.
I was wondering to know more about him and you helped us a lot to do so.
Thanks for the interview you shared with us.
Dean Hunt is a real innovator in Internet Marketing. He is a founder of Buzz Marketing.That’s great! The wise man says-everything of genius is simple.He proves that. A man is an emotional creature.And to touch upon human emotions is an easy mode.But the same task is fulfilled by arts.I like his comparing a blogger with a rockstar.Both professions need creativity and many artistic skills, I’d rather add that I was deeply impressed by the interview.
That’s a great interview! There really is simplicity in genious…
Hello, Rajaie – actually tripped into your site, by accident, however Dean Hunt is not an unknown to me.
Have been corresponding with him for some time and have done some cross-promoting.
Introduced him, as “The New Sherrif In Town” for Viral/Buzz Marketing to my valued contact network and to some InfoMarketing heavies, awhile back.
This was to promote his & Barry’s powerful workshop.
Was introduced to Dean, by an article marketing website – they indicated that he had done astounding things on DIGG and other social media sites.
His approaches cannot even be described, as Out of the box thinking or Edgy Marketing – beyond that – it is just raw innovation & excitement – the kind that big companies forgot about decades ago, because they became too complacent and fat.
Hope Dean picks-up on this commentary, because he is truly unique and his techniques can make a big difference, especially in this tough Market Economy.
Realize that I am an unknown to you and your blog readership, however by introduction – head-up PMG, a US-based, high-powered Market Programs firm – a recognized Industry source and the author of Market Warfare: Leadership & Domination Over Competitors – a breakthrough Marketing work.
Given the state of affairs and the financial meltdown that is taking place out there – now, more than ever – especially, small-to-medium sized firms and the Business Warriors that drive them to success – need new, innovative approaches to generate business and cope with brutal competition.
Remember: Anything goes and it’s Warfare in today’s Market Jungle!
Thanks for the chance to crow on your impressive and open blog.
Edmond Hawkeye Hennessy
Excellent interview. It’s nice to see the perspective of one of the youngest internet marketers. Some of the tips by Dean are really excellent.
Awesome interview dude! Very nicely done.
I like the interview very much.It is very informative and didactic.The young show the remarkable examples of success and lifepassion.I hope they have excellent perspectives in business and free mind.
I like the interview very much.It is very informative and didactic.The young show the remarkable examples of success and lifepassion.I hope they have excellent perspectives in business and free mind.
I love interviews because I can always learn something new from people. If I have an opportunity to interview someone, I would interview anyone regardless of their level of expertise. New bloggers, professionals, etc. they are all people who blog. Great interview and you asked a lot of good questions.
Dean about tweet: “If you are a social, people person, who loves to network and share… then you are likely to love Twitter, and will likely find a way to make it benefit your brand and business.”
What’s amazing about this industry is that it is dominated by young people. It’s really an amazing thing to look at.
I had never heard of Dean Hunt, good to know about him. Thanks!
Dean is hilarious — and good at what he does. I watched the killer bunny vid like 200 times.
Yes, i have come acroos first time with Dean Hunt. Interview was really good which left some good information.
I think I saw Dean hunt in one of the website just today. That was good anyways
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