Marketing on Telegram – Rubén Alonso
Rubén Alonso started out in the world of SEO as a blogger in 2013, and now he lives off his blog, mi Posicionamiento Web, precisely because of that start. On his website, he writes about SEO, blogging, WordPress, social media, and digital marketing, among other topics.
If you don’t know how to create a blog, which hosting to choose, how to learn SEO or how to make money with your website, you’ll find plenty of resources and tips to get you started in this world.
In 2024, he co-founded Gramakers, a community for content creators and Telegram group administrators where you can learn about the endless possibilities of this social network with tips, classes, news, bots and automations.
In 2025 Metricgram was launched, a Telegram group management tool that saves time when scheduling content, responding to users, managing paid subscriptions, controlling permissions, analysing interactions and even creating customised AI chatbots.
We talked about how the internet has changed since he started, considering the revolution that artificial intelligence has brought about, as well as the many unknown possibilities that Telegram offers for promoting products and services through marketing.
The first question is a must: why did you become interested in SEO and the idea of having a blog?
Well, it was by chance.
I already had a personal blog where I talked about my daily life, work, topics that interested me, etc., and one day I discovered the term SEO. I looked into it because I thought it would be interesting to talk about it on the blog, and sure enough, I was really interested! I really liked it (because I’m also very competitive), and when I posted it on the blog, it turned out that the blog readers liked it too. That’s when I decided to create an experiment to see how I could rank a new blog on Google based on what I was learning about SEO.
And that’s how miposicionamientoweb.es was born, as a test to see what would happen, how I could rank based on what I was doing, and, of course, explaining everything from the very beginning.
Has the way you made money from your blog changed since you started?
Well, not really in terms of my main source of profits, which still comes mainly from hosting provider affiliations, because I was lucky enough to rank well in that area almost from the first year of the blog.
But it’s true that I no longer have other sources of income that I had back then, such as advertising with Google AdSense, because now the blog doesn’t get as much traffic as it did back then, of course.
Do you think Google’s new AI search modes will destroy the essence of blogging?
Well, I have mixed feelings about this…
On the one hand, the fact that Google’s AI responds directly to informational searches is indeed a significant shock to blogging, which was practically based on that. Spoiler alert: blogs are not just for informational content, XD.
But on the other hand, those who really know how to use and manage a blog intelligently and strategically, those who truly have that ‘blogging culture’ or simply do it as a hobby, will continue to do so; while those who only did it to set up niches to make a few pennies may now lose the desire to do so, and in that sense there may be less competition over time.
Focusing on your latest projects, Gramakers and Metricgram, what did you see in Telegram that made you say: ‘I’m going to show other people the potential this tool has’?
The truth is that I’ve always really liked Telegram and have used it as a daily work tool.
In the end, these 2 projects have been a logical step forward in my personal experience in marketing and in the professional communities I am part of or have been involved with over the years.
Many use Telegram precisely to communicate, stay up to date and learn in specialised groups, even leaving social media aside a little, because they see that the more natural conversation that used to take place there has moved to these groups that are formed in communities.
First, the Gramakers community was born precisely to be that place where professionals who have communities on Telegram can come together. And now Metricgram closes the circle somewhat by being the tool that helps to manage those Telegram groups/communities easily.
We liked the character Graimito Makerito, who hates WhatsApp communities. What would you say to those who still believe that WhatsApp is better for content creation?
Hehehe. Yes, I always liked the idea of having an alter ego or an avatar who doesn’t mince words when it comes to telling the truths that hurt the most. 🙂
Well, WhatsApp has its good points. There’s no doubt that everyone uses it, so it can be very good for attracting and ‘feeding’ an audience, let’s be honest. In that sense, publishing content that is relevant to that audience seems like a good idea to me.
What no longer makes sense is having your community in a WhatsApp group. It has many limitations, is difficult to manage, and privacy is an issue…
For example, I am in a WhatsApp ‘community’ (although it doesn’t really feel like one) that includes senior executives from well-known companies, from different departments, etc. Well, I don’t know them at all, but I can see all of their phone numbers. ☹️
‘Spoiler: the blog is not just for informational content.’
How can a company use Telegram to improve its digital marketing strategy?
Well, a good way to start is undoubtedly to create a channel to grow an audience that may be interested in topics related to what the company offers. The channel can be used to publish free content that helps subscribers with that topic, create surveys, share videos, audio files, templates, etc.
Another option is to create a simple group where that audience has the opportunity to participate more actively and help each other. There are quite a few Telegram groups on SEO today, for example, which have created SEO tools as a branding strategy or to build trust with that audience.
And of course, it’s not just about the acquisition phase; creating a community can be an added value for the company’s customers, who may feel recognised as brand ambassadors in a way, improving retention and trust. In addition, this community can also help the company in many ways to improve its product or service.
In short, as you can see, there are many interesting ways to do this. 🙂
What can you do with Metricgram?
Well, it saves you a lot of time on typical tasks in a professional community, such as managing who joins and leaves the group depending on whether they pay (or stop paying) their community subscription, automatically welcoming and onboarding new members, sending automatic replies when people say or ask something specific, summarising what is being discussed in the group, scheduling automatic messages, etc.
In short, it saves you headaches and improves the group so that members are more comfortable than a basket of cats by the fireplace. 🙂
‘Many communities use Telegram precisely to communicate, stay up to date and learn in specialised groups, even leaving social media aside a little, because they see that the more natural conversation that used to take place there has moved to these groups that are formed in communities.’
For someone starting on Telegram who has seen the potential for creating a community for their business, how could they start to get subscribers?
Well, they could start with a simple group like the one I mentioned before, which some companies and businesses are already doing. A group to explain a specific strategy, how to get started on the topic, etc.
For example, last year the people at YinYang Local SEO created the ‘From ZERO to RENT’ itinerary, where they published 7 lessons on how to create a website focused on a local business and then ‘rent’ it to a business in the same sector.
To do this, they created a group organised by topic, one for each lesson and a few more (within Telegram groups, you can create topics that are like conversation threads, like a forum), and they guided and helped the group members in each of the lessons by creating conversation on each topic, helping them, sharing what they were doing with everyone, etc.
In the end, many of these people, after seeing the results of the itinerary, the help they have received and what they have learned, end up joining the YinYang academy and its private community (with another private group on Telegram 🙂) to continue their training in local SEO.
This is a very good example of a strategy that a business can follow to attract customers or create a good community.
You have launched a newsletter on Telegram, the ‘botletter’. How often would you recommend publishing content?
Yes, this is precisely another example of generating an audience and attracting, in my case, potential Gramakers members or Metricgram customers.
Ultimately, the frequency is something more ‘personal’, or perhaps it depends on your niche market. In my case, I send messages every two days or so (I don’t want people to get annoyed by receiving messages every day).
‘Creating a community can be an added value for the company’s customers, who may feel recognised as brand ambassadors in a way, improving retention and trust.’
Last and most important question: have you already prepared Gramakers’ Black Friday non-campaign? Black Friday non-deals are resistance, and they’re also a very clever way of saying: my product/service has the same value all the year. Is that the goal, or is it just for a laugh?
Hahaha. Indeed, we believe that lowering prices is not a good strategy. What’s more, we raise them every year at Gramakers because the community is improving, has more content, is becoming more specialised, etc.
And humour, as it’s a vital part of our identity, is used precisely for ‘anti-marketing’, claiming that our Black Friday offer is that we’re maintaining our prices (until we raise them again). 🙂
