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    Putting More Effort into LinkedIn

    The social media platform wars are an ongoing nuisance for content creators. It seems like you need to be on all of them all the time.

    But with claimed that Twitter is dying1, and a potential ban on TikTok from the US Government, the push and pull of where to be continues to be a constant question.

    Upon reflection, I’ve realized that I get the most engagement, growth, and positive leads from LinkedIn. This is likely a result of my niche — marketers and business owners who are serious about making a podcast part of their business — being there primarily.

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    How My Toddler Taught Me to Sell Results not Features

    Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.

    Yoda, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

    That quote is from Master Yoda, as he’s trying to help Obi-Wan Kenobi try to find a missing planet. Obi-Wan let his assumption (“that’s impossible because only Jedi can access this data”) get in the way of the actual answer — which was given to him by a young Padawan.

    Similarly, my son Louis, who’s 2 and can only say a few words and sentences, helped reinforce a very important sales lesson for me:

    Don’t sell features. Sell the results.

    See, I was trying to get my son to abandon the wide-open world of the front yard (and active road), for the safer, albeit less exciting back yard. First, I ask my son if he wanted to go to the backyard (or the platform/product). He said no. What can the backyard offer him that the front yard can’t?

    So then I ask if he wanted to go on the trampoline (a unique feature of the platform). Again, he said no. Perhaps he didn’t realize what the trampoline was, or what it can do for him.

    Finally, I asked him if he wanted to bounce (the results of using the feature), and he said yes.

    Don’t sell your product or service by talking about features (or worse, how you made it). Sell what your product or services can do for your customers.

  • What is the Best CTA for Podcasts?

    We’ve all experienced analysis paralysis. There are too many items on the menu at a restaurant and you’re not sure what to order. There are seemingly a million Apple Watch bands – which do you pick? What’s really the difference between the Honda Odyssey EX and EX-L?1

    What’s the balance between offering choice and getting people to take action? That really depends on the medium. For example, you may notice podcasts have a ton of calls to action (CTAs). Maybe you do. My podcast does at times. Is that really the right route? And if not, what should your podcast’s CTA be? Let’s explore.

    Read More “What is the Best CTA for Podcasts?”
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    The Wix / WordPress Campaign Exposes Some Ugly Trends in Both Communities

    Let me start with a full disclosure: I got the Bose headphones. Wix reached out in January and cryptically wanted to send me “swag” because I’m a “WordPress influencer.” If it weren’t for my Year of Opportunity, I may have passed them up completely. I’m grateful they selected me, and find more humor in the campaign than malice. But as this, and the WordPress community’s reaction to it, has been rattling around in my head all week, there are a few thoughts I’d like to share.

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    Making The Most Of Your Podcast Guest Spot

    A few weeks ago I wrote about how to get on someone’s podcast. Congrats! Now you have your first podcast guest spot lined up. You’re set to provide value for a ready and willing audience. But being a podcast guest is about more than just talking. While you shouldn’t be going on just to hawk your wares, you should be ready to help listeners learn more about you. Here’s how.

    Read More “Making The Most Of Your Podcast Guest Spot”
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    What Would You do if You got $100K for Your Business?

    Over the weekend my friend Dave asked me an interesting question regarding my business: What would you do if someone handed you a bunch of money today? The root of this question, to me, is this: what would I pay for that I currently do myself? The context of the conversation that lead up to that question follows suit. He also asked me if I’ll ever grow to hire someone, and who that would be. After talking through so solutions I came up with an an answer.

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    CaboPress: The Business Conference I Needed

    When you tell people that you’re going to Cabo San Lucas for a business conference, you get some funny looks. Well, you get one specific look: “Oh sure. I bet you’ll do a ton of work there.” It’s easy to think. I mean, we are in paradise. Our sessions were in pools. We had afternoons off. But let me tell you: CaboPress is the best business conference I’ve ever attended, and exactly what I needed.

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