More Than A Few Words

I love email .  It is not that I love getting email in my inbox. But I love email as a marketing tool.  There are a lot of people who say things like "email doesn't work" or "it's passe"  They argue there are all sorts of other tools. you can use that are so much more effective. Well,  I agree,  other tools do exist, but there are some things email does better than any other tool.  When I have permission to send you  an email we have an interaction that is one on one in your inbox.  There are no distractions. Even if it's only a few seconds I'm the only thing you're paying attention to. People open emails every single day.  They may ignore social media, taking a break from Tik Tok but too much of their life is still wrapped up in their email . So if you've got a marketing message. You need to be thinking about delivering it in an email. If you’ve enjoyed this conversation sign up for a weekly newsletter get links to episodes you might’ve missed and other resources for your business :  https://morethanafewword

In life you are often judged by the company that you keep.  The same is true online, your reputation is influenced by who you run with and the clubs to which you belong.  You demonstrate those connections through backlinks. What are backlinks? How do you get them? Why do you need them?  Those are just some of the questions I asked Brandon Leibowitz What Are Backlinks? Backlinks are clickable links from other websites that point to your site. For example, if an article on Forbes.com links to your website, you gain a backlink from Forbes. The more quality websites that link to your site, the more credible and trustworthy you appear to search engines like Google. Strategies for Cultivating Backlinks: Analyze Your Competitors: Tools such as Moz, Semrush, and Ahrefs can help you identify who is linking to your competitors. By examining their backlink profiles, you can discover potential opportunities for your own site. Guest Posting: Offer to write valuable guest posts for other blogs in your industry. This prov

From my archive:  When you started your business you probably assumed that sooner or later you would get around to building a life to go with it.  According to guest Nicole Bandes, that is not necessarily the best way to approach things. She believes you can actually build a successful business around your amazing life.   Here are a few of the key points from our conversation Ditch Tradition and Embrace Your Own Path: Many of us feel pressure to follow traditional paths set by our parents or grandparents. But when you  forge your own paths you can design a business that suits your lifestyle and values.   Seek Harmony, Not Balance: The idea of work-life balance can feel unattainable, but focusing on harmony offers a more realistic approach. It allows you to dedicate more time to your business when needed, like during a launch or product creation. The trick is to use flexibility to prioritize personal interests and family time when you are not in crunch time.   Outsource and Delegate: There’s never a wro

Client relationships are just that, they are relationships.  While you hope that every new clients is in it for the long haul, we've all had those clients that we wanted to break up with.  So as you are looking for your next client relationship, maybe you need to think about it like a date.  Jennifer Tamborski, a seasoned digital marketing strategist, shared some of the parallels between dating and client acquisition. Just like dating there are stages in the process: Introduction, flirting, dating, commitment, and keeping the romance alive. The Introduction - It is about knowing who your ideal client is and creating marketing how to attract them messaging to attract them.  Flirting through content and communication: This is about creating awareness and engaging with potential clients through the right channels and content. Knowing where your ideal clients hanging out and tailoring messages to attract their attention.   Dating - Next, prospects have to get to know you. Using lead magnets and drip campaigns bui

When it comes to using AI for your marketing, I am reminded of the Russian proverb - Trust, but Verify.  It rhymes in Russian... But it makes sense in any language.   When you are thinking about using AI, remember that sometimes, AI will make up information to answer a question. There are some really alarming instances where someone used AI. They even cited the information given to it by the robot only to find out at the worst possible moment that the source didn't exist.  So use the tool to write content, but never never never let it go without looking it over.  Ask yourself, is this up to my standard? Does it sound like me? And, most important, is it accurate.  

It was a real treat to have Robin Waite back in the guest chair. A business coach and public speaker, Robin share a success story about one interview that lead to 1,500 leads and over £150,000 (approximately $180,000) in business revenue. His story underscores that the journey to overnight success often involves months or years of effort, intentional networking, and value creation. So how did he do it? Robin shared a simple five step process that helped him create a successful partnership, and is only marketing plan.  Hyper Intentionality: Be clear about who you want to partner with and what you want to achieve from the partnership. Instead of focusing solely on personal gain, begin by delivering value to the other party and building relationships that benefit everyone.  Get Out and Meet People: In today's digital age, it's easy to rely solely on online interactions. However, there is real value of attending events, meeting people face-to-face, and making personal connections.  Be Helpful: When you are willin

So today's marketing minute is a bit of a rant. Every day people reach out to me on LinkedIn, offering to help me grow my business. I’m sure they genuinely believe (not) they can help me. I’m just not interested. Don't get me wrong, it isn't because I think I am the leading authority on every subject and have nothing else to learn. I object to their sales process, targeting anyone with a key word in their bio. Don't be someone I will hate!  Before you reach out and offer your services to me or anyone else on LinkedIn look at my career path and my experience. Consider where I am on my journey to make sure you are offering a relevant solution. That will make your marketing efforts more productive. I’ve been podcasting for 15 years and I have released one thousand episodes. I don’t need tips on how to start or promote a podcast. If I haven’t figured it out by now, I never will. Ask questions about what I’m working on or struggling with before you dive in with your solution. I ran a digital agency for 19 years,

Earlier this year, I had a chance to chat with Samantha Bradshaw, a small business and IP lawyer, about how to pick a name for your business.  If you missed that episode, you can find it here. This is a continuation of that conversation where we focus on whether you should invest in a trademark for your business.   Samantha shared a few things to consider as you weigh the pros and cons. Consider Your Business Goals:  If you plan to expand your business, work in it long-term, or pass it on to others, trademarking can solidify your reputation and become a valuable asset when selling the business or protecting your brand. On the other hand, if this is a lifestyle business or you don’t expect to grow beyond you local community, you may not need a trademark. Understand Your Risk Level:  The purpose of a trademark is to protect what you are building.  For a small local business, such as with a single-location restaurant, your risk level may be lower and trademarking may not be necessary. You will still want to run

How many times have you heard someone say, “s.ocial media is social”?   When you hear that, what do you wonder what it really means, or how you actually get social on social media?  That was the topic of my conversation with Deirdre Tshien co-founder and CEO of Capsho, the world’s first AI-powered Podcast Copywriter. Dierdre’s explained a good strategy is based on more than just posting  content.  It is built on conversations and interactions with your audience.  To do this effectively, you need four types of social media posts. Awareness Post: Start with a question or statement to open a conversation and gauge interest. Elaboration Post: Dive deeper into the topic you’ve introduced, providing more value and demonstrating your expertise. Mixing interactive and informative content keeps your audience interested and establishes you as authority.  Community Post: You don’t have to have all the answers. Sometimes the best thing to do is share content from someone else.  Also, build community by letting your audie

So you want to become the expert in your field. and you are writing blogs, crafting seminar slides, recording podcasts.  You’re doing it all. But let’s be real, constantly coming up with fresh angles on the same topic can be draining. And in the fast-paced world of online content, what’s hot today might be forgotten tomorrow. Or, your best piece of content was released at the wrong time, so very few people saw it. The trick for every professional, trying to build a reputation as a subject matter expert is how do you make the most of your best work without boring your audience to tears?  I will let you in on a secret, it isn’t about creating more and more content.  It is  about repurposing your content smartly. Instead of reinventing the wheel, give your existing stuff a new lease on life.  Then, instead of killing yourself to create a mountain of new content, use some of my favorite repurposing tips  to fill your feed. Then you will have more time to create fewer, better pieces of content. Check out these tri

I spent some time with Denzil Eden, the founder of Smarty AI, an AI productivity assistant that aims to enhance routines and automate tasks. Denzil shared her experience as a female entrepreneur in the tech space.  Throughout our conversation, she had great insights and advice for other women looking to play in the tech space.  Here are the key points from the interview: Challenges in the Tech Space: Denzil shares her journey as a young, female founder in the tech space and highlights the uphill battle she faced due to the crowded productivity market and the subconscious biases against women in tech. Her perseverance and resilience helped her navigate these challenges, ultimately leading her to success. Advice for Aspiring Founders: Denzil emphasizes the importance of validating ideas and understanding customers' needs before building a product. She suggests using landing pages, prototypes, and user interviews to gauge interest and gather feedback before investing significant time and resources, which can

I don't know about you,  but I spend way too much time creating content. I'm always looking for a faster way to get it done so I can get back to the part of my business that actually generates revenue.  If you're struggling with those same issues this conversation with Aaron Witnish is just for you. Aaron introduces a three-step process for generating thirty days of content in just ninety minutes. To start the process, do a bit of research.  Use Google’s "People Also Ask" feature to identify questions real people are asking about your product  or service every day.  Once you have the questions record the answers.  You can gather a wealth of material in a short video that can be repurposed into  clips for social media or longer written posts.  Using AI Tools like Opus Clip you can easily cut long videos into short clips, saving time and effort in the editing process. Using Chat GPT to summarize the transcript  creates content that is still authentic because it started with your words, not a generic search  Aar

If you had told me fifteen years ago, when I was running around recording conversations on my iphone that I would still be doing it a thousand episodes later, I would have told you you were crazy. But here I am, celebrating 1,000 episodes. I have had an amazing ride meeting interesting people from all over the world. I have learned so much from them about marketing and marketing trends and I have enjoyed sharing that information with you, my audience. So instead of asking for anniversary presents, I want to give you one.  I have a special thank you offer.  If you comment on post and tag me, anywhere on social media, share a screen grab of a review, or simply drop me a note, I'll send you a code for unlimited, free access the toolbox. That is a lifetime membership so you'll have the ability to access all of the training programs, all the workbooks, all the content, forever. So drop a review, send me a note or leave a comment and you're in. And, if you're curious about any of the conversations you've missed  yo

Like it or not, short form video needs to be a part of your overall plan.  So Jennifer Denney and I chatted about some of the things you can do to make better looking, short form content, with minimal effort. 1) Remember it is disposable content, so it doesn't need to be perfect.  2) Record longer content and break it up into smaller bites (under a minute in length). That is much easier than trying to record one short tip every day.  3) Use AI to create shorts with captions.  4) Keep the main image in the frame.  Different platforms will crop; the video in different ways.  5) Mix up the style so the content looks fresh in the feed, but still looks like your brand 6) Don't be afraid to reshare videos that your audience may not have seen.    More on this topic FREE TRIAL OF OPUS CLIPS TO START CREATING YOUR SHORT VIDEOS. 

If you are like most business owners there is a lot of chaos and stress in your day.  So sometimes you just need to take a breath.  I have talked with other stress reduction experts in the past, so it was fun to revisit the topic with Ann Swanson, a best-selling author whose book on yoga practices has been translated into 15 languages. In this conversation we talk about how  a few minutes of yoga or meditation can completely reset your day. These simple techniques provide immediate stress reduction and improvement in your ability to focus.  A short pause can also lower blood pressure and heart rate.  Ann shared some simple techniques such as focusing on breath and body sensations.  Shifting your attention to relaxing just one part of your body. Integrating mindfulness cues into your daily activities,   LEARN MORE

These days, every content marketer is experimenting with AI.  And it is a wonderful tool if you use it well. For example, you can ask it to create 10 or 12 social media posts that refer back to one blog post. However, you need to review those updates and make sure they actually sound like you because left to its own devices, artificial intelligence has essentially two voices. Stuffy Professional and College Frat Boy. If neither of those tones are you, you need to go in and tweak the tone so the content content sounds like it's coming from you. I've had a lot of great conversations about AI lately with some really smart people.  Be sure to look for them in the feed and subscribe, so you never miss another episode. 

If you’re like most business owners you don’t have all the answers. There’s so many skills you need to master, and tasks you need to accomplish that you may need to turn to the experts to get your questions answered. Hiring an army of consultants can be overwhelming and expensive so that’s when belonging to a mastermind group can be so beneficial Zachary Parker Harris joined me to discuss the benefits of mastermind groups for business owners. As the leader of Junto Global, he helps entrepreneurs connect and build relationships for business success. Parker explained how a mastermind group creates the space for continuous learning and relationship building. To be effective, there needs to be open and authentic communication where members can bring both their strengths and weaknesses to the table. They discuss the value of exploring high-leverage questions and how masterminds can uncover deeper issues than initially apparent. Comparing mastermind groups to consulting, Parker explains the unique advantage is havi

If you're like me, you're cranking out a ton of marketing content and your wishing you could get way more bang for every minute you put into it. Well, according to Greg Wasserman, head of growth partnerships and community for Cast Magic, if you're willing to enlist the aid of a little AI your can make the time you spend much more effective. Greg really believes in the importance of recording everything, whether it's thoughts, meetings, or conversations, as potential content sources. With the help of AI tools you can transform these recordings into various resources, such as blog posts, social media clips, and LinkedIn posts, giving you a consistent content presence without spending hours and hours to create the content. . Think about content as a volume play, as you try to increase your brand visibility and engagement. Greg suggests using AI to repurpose content not only saves time but also allows you to cater to the evolving algorithms of search platforms.  For example, Google prioritizes content that answer

As a kid I loved the story of the tortoise and the hare.  One day the tortoise and the hare line up for a race. The hare with its speed seemed destined for victory. But the tortoise pulled off a surprising win. While he was clearly outclassed in speed the tortoise focused on the finish line.  Steady and plodding he made consistent motion forward.  In contrast the speedy rabbit burst forward, then paused and started again. His mad dash at the end just wasn't enough to win the day.  I often think of this fable when I talk to business owners who are frustrated by the lack of results in their marketing. It's usually because they're approaching marketing like the hare.  They get excited about a marketing idea and dive in with great energy and enthusiasm.  Of course, they are expecting immediate results.  When the results don't come they get distracted by the next great idea. They lose interest or simply forget.  But good marketing rarely provides instant results. Sure it would be great if the first time you ran an

In this conversation, I jumped into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications beyond just content creation. Focusing on automation and workflow efficiency,  AI enthusiast, Parker Olson discusses how he uses AI to streamline operations in his business, PodPitch - an initiative fueled by AI. Day-to-day business tasks like data collection, data analysis, content creation, and more can be efficiently automated using AI. Olson introduces us to some handy tools for such purposes, like Bardeen and the ChatGPT API for Google Sheets. These tools can gather data from popular websites, analyze large datasets, clean and summarize the data, and even outreach prospective customers - all in real-time. Today's businesses are leveraging AI to automate their LinkedIn tasks, using tools like MeetAlfred. Coupled with ChatGPT and Bardeen, this AI trio can run a comprehensive LinkedIn profile analysis to determine potential customers. By comparing and contrasting your profile information with others, it gives