Here at RSG, we frequently get questions from drivers who are interested in sharing their own experiences – they want to start their own driver blogs, or a vlog on YouTube, or perhaps even their own podcast. In this article, senior RSG contributor Jay Cradeur takes us behind the scenes of what producing high quality information looks like by showing his own process for the taxi project.
LA Drivers – it’s Driver Appreciation Month and Cargo wants to celebrate with drivers! Come get a free lunch and meet me on Monday, April 29 for a book signing. Cargo will be giving away free copies of The Rideshare Guide to the first 100 drivers – plus, I’ll be there to sign your copy! Click here to register for the lunch and for directions.
You may not know this but The Rideshare Guy blog has over 75,000 e-mail subscribers and gets hundreds of thousands of visitors a month. That is one heck of a lot of drivers reading about the latest and greatest news in the rideshare industry. The Rideshare Guy is far and away the number one blog for rideshare drivers, and Harry, who started this blog, is now recognized as one of the industry’s most knowledgeable influencers. How did The Rideshare Guy get to be so successful? This article will share with you just one of many strategies RSG uses to promote and share all the latest and greatest rideshare news and strategies for drivers.
And if you’re wondering why it matters, there are two reasons that come to mind. First, I know many of you are entrepreneurial in nature and have thought about starting a rideshare blog or Youtube channel so this is one of the main strategies we’ve used to grow (or maybe it’s another niche, the same strategies will apply). Second, the more exposure we get and the more visitors, the more money we make and the more we can invest in content and providing support to drivers.
My Part on the RSG Team: Writing and Videos
If you have been around the blog for a while, you know that I am a senior contributor to the blog and YouTube channel. I have done over 24,000 Uber and Lyft trips and write about anything having to do with being a driver. I cover product reviews as well as tips and techniques to becoming a successful and more profitable driver. I’ll also take on mini projects, like driving a taxi and comparing it to being an Uber driver. Today, we’re going to focus in on that taxi project.
Obviously, you need the right type of person to do this but it’s also expensive since there was a lot of work involved. I make a lot of money driving Uber and Lyft in San Francisco so Harry had to cover my shortfall, a bonus for going through the whole sign-up process + pay for the articles, videos and podcast we did.
The Taxi Experiment
With this project, I started by researching how to become a taxi driver. I contacted a taxi company called Flywheel here in San Francisco and we agreed to a one-week driving gig. I undertook a drug test, background check, online studying and finally passed a test to earn the right to drive a taxi in San Francisco. After my week of driving, I wrote up two articles about the experience and created two corresponding videos.
I thought that would be the end of the project, but Harry had a bigger plan in mind. Now we will open the kimono, which is a trendy way of saying “disclosing information about the inner workings of a company.”
The Strategy to Promote My Taxi Project
The strategy was simple as 1-2-3.
- Create a compelling story. This we did by conducting the taxi experiment and then writing a good article that would interest readers.
2. Share the story. Harry did this by sending out a summary of the result of the experiment to many media outlets. Here is an example:
Pro-tip: Every time Harry gets an e-mail from a member of the media, he tags it in his gmail as ‘Media’ and then once a quarter, has his virtual assistant adds it to a google spreadsheet with their contact details (first/last name, email, etc). That way, when we have a story like this to share with the media, we have a list of hundreds of reporters and Harry has given them help before – which makes them more likely to at least look at the pitch.
3. Mention and promote The Rideshare Guy as much as possible during media interviews.
This was my job. I provided the RSG logo for Public Relations purposes. I introduced myself as “Jay Cradeur, Senior Contributor for the wildly successful blog and podcast, The Rideshare Guy.” When I could, I would mention RSG in the interview as well. Often, the interviewer would also throw out a mention for the blog. If it was an online article, it’s important to ask for a link back for SEO juice.
Promoting the Taxi Experiment
After a few weeks, we started to get some emails about interviews. And before I knew it, I was interviewed by KCBS radio, RM World Travel (a radio show), The List (a television program in select US markets) and also on Harry’s RSG podcast.
KCBS Radio
I met Jenna, the radio segment producer, at the KCBS office in San Francisco. She wanted to drive with me and ask me questions. So that is what we did. I drove for about 30 minutes from the Financial District to the Marina and back again while she recorded our conversation on her phone.
You can listen to it here: KCBS Radio Interview
RM World Travel
My segment was one of five segments that were used in a one-hour show which aired across the United States.
The List
This interview was a video recording of me driving around in my blue Prius and answering questions. I set up my GoPro video camera while the interviewer, Jimmy, asked me questions about the taxi experiment. Once we finished the interview, I uploaded the video for Jimmy to edit down. You can see my appearance on The List here.
Summary
This is a great look at how an effective internet marketing strategy works when done right. Harry paid me to do the taxi experiment, to write the articles, to make the video, and to participate in the interviews. What Harry got in return was infinitely more valuable. The name, The Rideshare Guy, was broadcast to thousands and thousands of viewers and listeners across America.
While you could pay for advertising to do the same thing, it would cost many times more and it would not be as effective. By creating a story, which is presented as news, the impact is far greater. I find this type of stuff fascinating. I hope you enjoyed seeing just one of the many ways entrepreneurs such as Harry build their brand and reputation. Be safe out there.
Readers, what questions do you have for Harry/Jay about building a business? Let us know in the comments.
-Jay @ RSG
