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When you spend 17 years creating content for your business and others, you kind of have it down to a system.   You write, you post, you check all the boxes.  But what happens if one day you wakle u…

When you spend 17 ye…

When you spend 17 years creating content for your business and others, you kind of have it down to a system.   You write, you post, you check all the boxes.  But what happens if one day you wakle up and realize, your content is boring.  That happened to industry veteran, Rachel Allen. One day she looked at her own freshly published Substack and thought, "I wouldn't read that." Ouch. I suspect we've all written that post at least once.   The really scary part wasn't that her content wasn't working. It was what she did next. She stopped. No backup plan. No carefully crafted pivot. She simp…

When you spend 17 years creating content for your business and others, you kind of have it down to a system.   You write, you post, you check all the boxes.  But what happens if one day you wakle u…

When you spend 17 ye…

When you spend 17 years creating content for your business and others, you kind of have it down to a system.   You write, you post, you check all the boxes.  But what happens if one day you wakle up and realize, your content is boring.  That happened to industry veteran, Rachel Allen. One day she looked at her own freshly published Substack and thought, "I wouldn't read that." Ouch. I suspect we've all written that post at least once.   The really scary part wasn't that her content wasn't working. It was what she did next. She stopped. No backup plan. No carefully crafted pivot. She simp…

People may tell their friends they're fine. They may tell a salesperson what they think they should say. But when they open Google, they're honest. They type in the questions they're almost afraid to …

People may tell thei…

People may tell their friends they're fine. They may tell a salesperson what they think they should say. But when they open Google, they're honest. They type in the questions they're almost afraid to ask out loud. That simple idea turned into a fascinating conversation about why so many businesses miss the mark online. Stephan Bajaio one of the pioneers in enterprise SEO, and now leads Vibe Logic. After years helping some of the biggest brands in the world understand search behavior, he's convinced the real opportunity isn't chasing keywords. It's understanding people. Here are a few ideas tha…

I want to talk about upselling, and when it actually works against you. Most smart companies have a core product and a menu of add-ons. The really smart ones know not to throw every extra at a custome…

I want to talk about…

I want to talk about upselling, and when it actually works against you. Most smart companies have a core product and a menu of add-ons. The really smart ones know not to throw every extra at a customer the minute they say yes.  You listen first. You find out what they need. Then you decide which add-ons make sense. The other day, I stopped at Hardee's and ordered a hamburger. No cheese. What followed felt like an interrogation. Did I want a combo? A drink? A pastry? Was it a number one? A number seven? Meanwhile, I kept repeating the same thing: "I just want a hamburger." By the end of th…

Ever feel like your marketing plan is the rope in a tug-of-war match? The sales team is pulling one way. The owner is pulling another. Someone's daughter took a marketing class in college and has opin…

Ever feel like your …

Ever feel like your marketing plan is the rope in a tug-of-war match? The sales team is pulling one way. The owner is pulling another. Someone's daughter took a marketing class in college and has opinions. And the person who's actually responsible for the campaign is standing in the middle, trying not to get dragged through the mud. That's why my conversation with Beth Trejo really struck a chord with me.  Beth is the CEO and co-founder of Chatterkick, and she works with Franchise organizations, multi-location businesses, and other companies where marketing decisions rarely come from just one…

I’ve watched a lot of entrepreneurs build amazing communities, only to discover that applause doesn’t always pay the bills. In this conversation with , we talked about the moment she realized her …

I’ve watched a lot…

I’ve watched a lot of entrepreneurs build amazing communities, only to discover that applause doesn’t always pay the bills. In this conversation with , we talked about the moment she realized her thriving podcast community needed more than goodwill and good vibes to become a sustainable business. Angel has always been brilliant at bringing people together. Her podcast networking platform created real Relationships, real collaborations, and real opportunities. But somewhere along the way, she realized she was creating enormous value without building a business model around it. That’s a le…

Great Marketing Isn't About Being Clever. It's About Being Understood. One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is chasing creativity for creativity's sake. A clever campaign might win awards, but i…

Great Marketing Isn'…

Great Marketing Isn't About Being Clever. It's About Being Understood. One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is chasing creativity for creativity's sake. A clever campaign might win awards, but if it doesn't help customers understand why they should buy, it misses the mark. That was the heart of my conversation with Scott Flood, a veteran copywriter who has spent decades helping companies communicate complex ideas in ways that drive results. Whether you're selling snacks, software, or something that costs a quarter of a million dollars, the goal is the same. Your marketing needs to connec…

Marketing Lessons Everywhere Here’s the thing about marketing—lessons are everywhere. You just have to know where to look. Sometimes it’s in the obvious places, like watching how competitors rol…

Marketing Lessons Ev…

Marketing Lessons Everywhere Here’s the thing about marketing—lessons are everywhere. You just have to know where to look. Sometimes it’s in the obvious places, like watching how competitors roll out a campaign. Other times it’s less obvious. Like standing on a floating dock in Santiago, staring at a mussel farm. There, I learned that mussels grow best when they have room. The farmers pull up the ropes, remove the ones that aren’t thriving, and separate the rest so they can mature. The smallest, youngest mussels are placed where the water is richest, giving them the best chance to gr…

As a podcaster, you can crank out 100 episodes and still get nowhere. That’s an uncomfortable truth for many podcasters.  So how do hosts get into this situation? I sat down with Nathalie Dorémieu…

As a podcaster, you …

As a podcaster, you can crank out 100 episodes and still get nowhere. That’s an uncomfortable truth for many podcasters.  So how do hosts get into this situation? I sat down with Nathalie Dorémieux, who helps podcasters turn listeners into real business results, and she shared how her first podcast started as a bold experiment and stalled out just as quickly. The idea was simple. Nathalie took 100 days of Facebook Lives and turned them into a podcast. Plenty of content, plenty of consistency, and zero results. What went wrong? No strategy, no clear goal, and no path for the listener to tak…

Ever notice how often someone asks for a brochure when what they really need is something else entirely? That’s where this conversation goes, and it’s a good one. I sat down with Bill Shander, an …

Ever notice how ofte…

Ever notice how often someone asks for a brochure when what they really need is something else entirely? That’s where this conversation goes, and it’s a good one. I sat down with Bill Shander, an information designer and author who calls himself a “stakeholder whisperer.” And trust me, it’s not as mystical as it sounds. It’s actually a practical, powerful way to rethink how you show up in your marketing conversations. We talked about why storytelling isn’t just about your audience. It’s also about how you communicate with the people inside your business who shape what gets crea…

After twelve hundred episodes and sixteen years of conversations, I’ve heard a lot of smart ideas about marketing and sales. But every once in a while, one sticks with me. This one goes all the way …

After twelve hundred…

After twelve hundred episodes and sixteen years of conversations, I’ve heard a lot of smart ideas about marketing and sales. But every once in a while, one sticks with me. This one goes all the way back to the beginning, to a conversation with my very first and very frequent guest, Matt Nettleton. It’s about sales, but not the pushy, fight-your-way-in kind. It’s about something much simpler and a whole lot more effective. I sat down with Matt, a sales coach and founder of Sandler Training, to talk about what he calls “storming the castle.” And no, it’s not about medieval strategy. …

I knew that Danielle Hughes and I were kindred spirits the first time I saw the name of her company More Than Words Copywriting. Clearly, we had the same attitude about words, but our bond was stronge…

I knew that Danielle…

I knew that Danielle Hughes and I were kindred spirits the first time I saw the name of her company More Than Words Copywriting. Clearly, we had the same attitude about words, but our bond was stronger than that. We agreed on so many things in marketing that it has been an absolute pleasure to get to know her over the years. And so I could not dive into my archives without sharing at least one of our conversations, this one about creating a bio that makes people want to get to know you is my favorite.  Ever read a bio that sounded like a LinkedIn résumé in a tuxedo? Polished, proper, and co…