More Than A Few Words

A few weeks ago, I dropped a quick marketing tip about creating less content.  That advice might seem counter intuitive when you are engaged in the battles of the content wars.  But the trick is  finding ways to expand your content.  I shared some suggestions on how repurpose your content instead of reinventing the wheel. Now, I have one more suggestion.  Let AI do the work for you. Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating you actually publish that very stuffy, or all too bro style content.  Instead, let AI do what it does best.  Summarize transcripts of interviews and meetings.   Create bullet lists, social shares or blog posts from your original content.  Yes, you will still need to rewrite, but at least you have a starting point.  And my new favorite too is Opus Pro,  which will transform a longer video, into a series of short, binge-worthy clips.  If you’ve enjoyed this conversation sign up for a weekly newsletter get links to episodes you might have missed and other resources for your business   https://m

Business owners often tell me they know some of their marketing is working they just don't know which part.  So as a result, they waste a lot of money on the wrong types of marketing. So I invited Sara Nay, of Duct Tape Marketing to join me for a conversation about how business owners can stop wasting money.  She had some great tips.   Strategic Approach Over Tactical Rush: Many business owners dive into marketing tactics without a clear strategy. Instead of blindly following trends or competitor actions, they should focus on understanding their target audience and crafting messages that resonate on the right channels. It's about thinking strategically about the entire customer journey, not just individual marketing tactics. Measuring Success and ROI: Another common mistake is not measuring the effectiveness of marketing efforts. Metrics like conversion rates, click-through rates, and customer retention are crucial for determining the success of marketing campaigns. Without proper tracking and analysis, bu

I love working with entrepreneurs. They’re excited and enthusiastic and their energy is contagious as they talk about their great idea. Unfortunately, I often have to tell these amazing people I can’t help them because excitement and energy is not enough to make a business successful. Usually it’s because their idea is only half-baked. There’s a good concept but they haven’t really done the homework to fill in the details. The gaps usually occur in one of several categories Not enough experience in the industry They haven’t thought through the fulfillment process Incomplete competitive assessment In this episode, I share a few examples of how half-baked ideas could have been completed with a little work and a little patience  but entrepreneurs are impatient. Don’t let this happen to you.  If you have an idea for a business do your homework learn about the industry, your competitors and your customers.  Give your idea a chance to succeed by putting it back in the oven for a little while. When you’re ready to

If you are like many small business owners, you're probably laying awake at night worrying about your business, working all day long and in your spare time, thinking about your business Well, according to Joey Drolshagen that's not the way to get ahead.   He suggests: Mindset Shift: From the traditional notion of hard work to a more strategic approach, Joey challenges the idea that exhaustive effort is the only path to success,. Awareness and Alignment: Many business owners dive into tasks without considering alignment with their goals, leading to burnout and inefficiency. Dynamic Vision: Your vision should inspire and motivate you, helping you make prioritize tasks and make better decisions. 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://morethanafewwords.com/avoid-fomo/ Open-mindedness and Learning: Even if you have been doing this for awhile, Joey stresses the importance of having an open mind an

I love to tell stories. Not only because they’re fun, but because they’re great for business.  That’s why I was excited to sit down with master storyteller, David Hutchins a few years ago.   If you missed the conversation back then, here's you chance to learn more about storytelling.  The Power of Stories: Stories create connection and belief, which leads to better outcomes in business. Selecting the Right Stories: Choosing the right stories by strategically identifying the types of stories that align with a business's goals  drive engagement and shape the organization's culture. "Us at Our Best" Stories: These stories illustrate what it looks like when a business is delivering top-notch value and excellence. Intentional Storytelling: Hutchens stresses that storytelling should be intentional and methodical, crafting stories purposefully to achieve their desired results. Repetition and Consistency: The more often people hear the stories, the  more likely that people will engage with the business's vis

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