Actionable Marketing Podcast

How ethical is your marketing practice? Imagine describing your job to your best non-marketing friend. What's your response if they think your work is ethically gray or morally suspect? Today's guest is Robin Cangie from The Empowered Freelancer. Robin talks about how to do work that's radically effective and ethical, where marketers avoid ethical shortcuts by focusing on work that is genuinely helpful for leads, prospects, and customers. Some of the highlights of the show include: The Empowered Freelancer: Real, raw talk about being self-employed Radically Ethical Marketing: Honesty, transparency, and genuine helpfulness What isn't radically ethical? Retargeting ads without permission from customers Copy designed to deceive rather than inform Goal is to get users to convert rather than help them see product value Why should marketers choose tactics or structure strategy? Right thing to do Quit or speak up? Figure out your threshold, values, and what you can do What is a smart way to do good and better without the approach backfiring? Marketers/Leaders: Think about how negative perceptions harm the business Valid but Risky: Raising ethical concerns takes a tremendous amount of courage Beloved Brands: Wonderful products/services and messaging tone aligns values Links: Robin Cangie on LinkedIn The Empowered Freelancer General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Robin Cangie: "Radically Ethical Marketing is simply marketing that puts honesty, transparency, and genuine helpfulness at its center." "People are becoming more wise to ways that marketers try to manipulate their perceptions, use their data to get them to buy as much stuff as possible." "Being radically ethical is a more sustainable long-term choice." "Truth be told, it was a matter of needing to look in the mirror every morning and feel good about the work that I was doing. That is something that's very important to me." "You may have more power than you realize to effect change."

As a marketer, do you need to create content that applies insights derived from data and research? If so, pay attention to the right data and apply it the right way to produce the most effective work possible. Today's guest is Anastasia Leng from CreativeX. She talks about where marketers get misled with data and how to merge data and creativity to create content that connects with customers. Some of the highlights of the show include: Data-backed Content: Objective way to understand what's in each content piece Performance: After putting piece of content out, what has happened as a result? Views/Variables: Marketers should move away from biases and assumptions Trust gut or data? Marketers want to be right; get comfortable with being wrong CreativeX's Mission: Enhance and elevate creativity expression through data Consistent Content: Number of clicks vs. what reflects brand and audience Best Practices: Creative quality and distinctive brand assets to increase sales Cheat Sheet for Content: What should your definition of creative quality incorporate? Brand right away; marketers have 2-3 seconds to make impression Don't waste money by running same piece of content across channels Get around brevities Links: Anastasia Leng on LinkedIn CreativeX Think with Google Distinctive Brand Assets by Jenni Romaniuk Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Anastasia Leng: "It's really about having a common language for evaluating every piece of content that we create." "Understand what is the long-term metric that really matters, and how can you start to get creative and whatever that KPI is closer together so you can understand the relationship and the journey these two things take together." "Analyze content more objectively so that we're not letting our own biases drive our understanding of what is working and what is not working in our content strategy." "If you're not even aware of these things, how can you truly be a good marketer? How can you truly put out great content if you're not actually able to really look deeply within it?"

Too often, content marketing strategies follow one of two paths: Keyword driven or driven based on what the writer thinks makes an interesting topic. The path to success is somewhere in between those two strategies. Today's guest is Brad Smith from Wordable, Codeless, and uSERP. He talks about how to create data-backed and ROI-driven content strategies that blend both approaches for maximum results. Some of the highlights of the show include: Problems: Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) are incredibly competitive Affiliate Space: 70% of revenue comes from two or three keywords Temporary Approach: Create great content to find an audience Referral Traffic: Completely relying on what other people find interesting Ads: Companies turn to other channels that are less profitable, more competitive Game Plan: What components/expectations will move content and keywords? Marketers don't need more or better ideas—but test and execute them better Decision-Making Process: Do it or be grounded in reality to produce best results Wordable: Format, optimize, upload, and publish content in minutes for clients Links: Brad Smith on LinkedIn Wordable Codeless uSERP Seth Godin HubSpot Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Brad Smith: "If you're relatively small, relatively new, not well-funded, don't have a name for yourself or brand yet, that kind of excludes like 70 percent of the good stuff from a keyword perspective that you'd want to write for, ultimately, that's going to bring in ROI." "When you're following this method of let's just create 'good' content, you're completely 100 percent relying on what other people find interesting." "Social things are going to be a lot more beneficial shorter term. Over the long term, it's just about scale." "The whole ranking thing is like the chicken and the egg. I can't rank for big keywords until I'm big, but I'm not going to be big until I rank for some keywords." "Marketers don't need more ideas. They don't need better ideas. They just need to execute better, and executing better comes from processes and boring systems and operations."

CoSchedule started as an editorial calendar WordPress plugin created by an agency that co-founders, Garrett Moon and Justin Walsh, ran called Todaymade. Since then, CoSchedule has grown. Not only has the core content calendar gone through a lot of changes, but so has the company. Today's guest is Nathan Ellering, Head of Marketing at CoSchedule, which now offers multiple different product lines under one brand name. Nathan explains how CoSchedule made pivots and tackled some risks and challenges. His advice will help you navigate from being one company that makes one product and expand to one company that makes four products. Some of the highlights of the show include: Product Positioning: How to funnel people in and say the right things Marketing Automation: Where to build out those funnels and nurture people Marketing Design: Make sure everything published is visually built and modern Customer Service: Incorporate customer service much more with marketing History of CoSchedule: How core marketing calendar software evolved Company Philosophy: Start where you're at with a smaller test product Marketing Work Management Software: Organize everything in one place Content Calendars: Meet deadlines and manage work effectively, efficiently Agile Marketing Tools: Hire product to finish work, deliver projects, prove value Current Products: Marketing Calendar/Suite, Headline Analyzer, Headline Studio Academy: Marketing education platform for marketers to understand, build skills Mission Statement: CoSchedule wants to help every marketer do amazing work CoSchedule Experience: Get the right messaging to get them into a product True Tenants of Agile: Where to ship, measure, learn, iterate, and begin Testing Culture: Launch something new with other people's market research Links: Headline Analyzer Headline Studio Marketing Calendar Marketing Suite CoSchedule Academy Marketing Strategy Guide Nathan Ellering on LinkedIn Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Nathan Ellering: "We're aiming to create experiences that help out people who really are being marketed to...from a customer service perspective. That's been really fun so far." "We were working a lot with bloggers and we discovered many years ago that marketers are starting to turn to blogging as a great way to do content marketing." "We identified the need that they had to just organize everything in one place. We say those words all the time. They really resonate with people." "We want every experience at CoSchedule to be a positive one and one that lasts a lifetime of you being a marketer."

Why are marketers good at content production, but not so great at content distribution? They are judged based on how much work they get done, rather than the actual results that they produce. Also, content promotion with traditional channels is harder to do. Today's guest is Jonathan Gandolf from The Juice. He talks about a better way for content marketers to produce and distribute value. Curation is actually more powerful than creation. Some of the highlights of the show include: The Juice: A startup that aspires to be the Spotify of B2B content Beta Program: Marketers distribute curated content and consumers discover it Content Distribution: Same channels, same audience equals diminishing returns Keyword Salad: Who are we creating content for? Algorithms or humans? Talk to Consumers: Understand why quality content is not producing returns The Right Content: Prospects want solutions to problems, not more content B2B Buyer's Journey: Map out funnel and map content to it Down the Drain: 59% content isn't read, 23% budget applied to content creation Forms: Don't expect good things from content consumers with such deliverables Safe Space: Create platform to be anonymous, no contact, or generate leads Marketers: Slow down and curate content for consumers at right time and place Links: The Juice Jonathan Gandolf on LinkedIn Jonathan Gandolf on Twitter Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Jonathan Gandolf: "What ends up happening is we create really compelling content, but then we end up going to the same channels and the same audience over and over and over again." "You hit this law of diminishing returns. You're getting less returns out of that same audience. The only way to get more returns is to create more content. You end up on this hamster wheel of content creation." "Nobody, right now, is looking for more content. They're just looking for the right content." "Curation is actually more powerful than creation."

Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT-3) and artificial intelligence (AI) first made their way into the marketing industry last year. There's been a lot of talk about whether or not robots will take over content marketers' jobs. Probably not, as long as they're doing quality work. Machines like a degree of certainty. Today's guest is Jeff Coyle, co-founder and chief strategy officer at MarketMuse, an AI-driven content planning and strategy platform. He knows how AI is and will affect content marketing by making our jobs easier and our work better. What do content marketers need to know to prepare for the inevitable future? Some of the highlights of the show include: Horizon Scanning: What are we going to be doing a year from now? MarketMuse: Sets the standards for content quality by investing in clients Hype Cycle: AI's influence on writers' jobs isn't going away, but ramping up MarketMuse's Mission: Improve content quality on the Internet Content: AI is making writers more efficient and giving more time to be creative Cost of Content: Two-order disconnect to value and revenue AI: Takes guesswork out of things that drive anxiety, figures out quick wins Stage One: Experts have blind spots and forget stuff Stage Two: Create content briefs Stage Three: Insight is personalized prioritization of content AI Branches: Natural language processing provides insights and editing lens Competitive Analysis: Publish page on concept, don't copy or make good enough What comprehensiveness means? Creating dice-roll content by copying others Wisdom: Knowing what was regurgitated, commonly used, and SME aspects Correlation Hangover: Susceptible to competitive risk Content Efficiency: Do you know it? Document processes, post-publish tuning Links: Jeff Coyle on LinkedIn Jeff Coyle on Twitter Jeff Coyle's Email MarketMuse Grammarly Hemingway Amazon Echo Copyscape Garrett Moon on LinkedIn Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Jeff Coyle: "Focus on the client and focus on our audience, even if they're not clients. How can they ensure that they're getting the most out of their investments in content?" "The various aspects of artificial intelligence that influence writers' jobs isn't going away. It's only going to ramp up. But is it coming for their jobs? Not really." "Content already in many businesses has a two-order disconnect to value and revenue. Some people don't have the real value of content. They don't understand the true cost of content. They don't understand how it connects directly to revenue." "That's what AI can do. It can figure out those quick wins versus those infrastructure pieces, versus those risk avoidance pieces. It can actually help to define why you're writing." "if you go copy those people, you're sorely mistaken. That is one of the biggest pitfalls, and one of the biggest misconceptions of search engine optimization."

Some marketers have side hustles to learn new skills, explore their passion projects, and make a little extra cash. Are you a marketer struggling to overcome challenges to be successful outside of your day job? Today's guest is John Bonini of Databox, a business analytics platform, and his side hustle, Some Good Content, a subscription-based marketing education product. John offers advice on how to find balance and avoid burnout with content marketing. Some of the highlights of the show include: Why start a side hustle? Two reasons: Passionate about a specific subject and can't not talk about it Accelerates learning by creating content and building a community Why you shouldn't start a side hustle: Motivated to get rich quick, make money Some Good Content: Advice, education, training should be helpful, not general Content Marketers: Expectations over their heads to drive traffic, generate leads Launch to Learn: Do something to get started, solicit feedback, feel productive Emotional Experience: Short-term setbacks and long-term mindset for side jobs Busy Work: Start quickly and don't doubt yourself or get lost in the details Side Hustle Scope: Growth goals vs. supplemental time and money boundaries Links: John Bonini on LinkedIn Databox Some Good Content The 7 Day Startup: You Don't Learn Until You Launch by Dan Norris HubSpot Drip G2 Help Scout Animalz Gong Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from John Bonini: "You really enjoy and/or are passionate about a specific subject and you can't not talk about it." "You get to play founder with none of the risk." "Most content advice, most content education, most content training is often too general to be helpful." "I just saw this gap between people wanting to get better at content and the content out there not really existing to help them do that." "When you start to get lost in those thoughts of, 'I don't know if this is viable,' what you end up doing is, you start defaulting to busy work."

When you're in a leadership position, sometimes it's hard to know who to ask or where to look when you need answers to questions and solutions to problems—especially because others expect you to have all the answers and solutions. Today's guest is Simon Berg, CEO at Ceros, an experiential content creation platform that empowers marketers and designers to create engaging, interactive, and immersive content experiences. Simon talks about what to do when forced to use your own critical-thinking and problem-solving skills instead of a paint-by-numbers playbook. Creativity matters! Some of the highlights of the show include: COVID vs. Conventional Wisdom: Layoff people during global catastrophe? 2020: Incredibly difficult year of suffering, fear, desperation, anxiety, uncertainty Real Life: Other feelings of presence, pause, introspection, reflection, unity Adversity and Constraint: Ceros chooses opportunity for growth and creativity Big Deal: Happy Birthday, Mr. Berg; time to get drunk because the deal is dead Creativity in Captivity: Takes transparency, compassion, doubt, experiences Survive and Thrive: Commit to not touch salaries/jobs, if you support each other Best Year Ever: Build confidence and grow by believing in yourself and others Advice to Leaders: Stop looking in the book, instead look up and in front of you I can't…What can you do? Only thing that you can truly control is yourself Reminder: Opportunities and problems are never easy, but hard to do Leadership Playbook Police: Break free from constraints by reframing goals Links: Simon Berg on LinkedIn Ceros Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Simon Berg: "There's a lot of feelings involved. Feelings of the people that you lead, and feelings as the leader." "I attempted to lead through, predominantly authenticity, being authentically myself, and then also, trying very hard to make sure that I was at the right time in the right ways leading through vulnerability." "Every single person in a position of leadership, or otherwise, is a human being, and human beings are fundamentally flawed." "Step forward and fight for what I believe made sense and have the courage to do the difficult thing." "You won't find a chapter that says, 'how to run a company in a global pandemic with civil unrest, economic crisis, and an insane president. It's not in the book."

Data problems are probably lurking somewhere inside of your marketing stack. Don't freak out, just yet. Most analytics packages and marketing software services that deal with data have some gaps or inaccuracies. Today's guest is Dan McGaw, CEO and founder of McGaw.io, a marketing technology and marketing analytics consulting company. Dan talks about how to make better marketing decisions—identify and fix deeper issues to avoid data disasters. He explains everything you need to know to keep your data clean and metrics moving. Some of the highlights of the show include: Why is data cleanliness important? Analytics + Bad Data = Bad Decisions Directional: Data is not meant to be perfect, the goal is to grow and take action Data Spectrums: Everybody has unreliable data—how bad is it? Marketing Stacks: Different problems stem from data issues Taxonomy: Common problem is not having consistent or connecting names Be Intentional: Set up and configure marketing tech, or set yourself up for failure Audit: You know there's a problem, but you don't know what it is, where to begin Solution: Plan and be more proactive by understanding how data flows in Best Practices: Urchin tracking parameters (UTM) are culprits of bad data How to Build Cool Sh*t: Take it slow, take your time, don't try to rush projects Links: Dan McGaw on LinkedIn Mcgaw.io McGaw.io Downloads and Resources How to Build Cool Sh*t by Dan McGaw UTM.io KissMetrics Pluralsight - Code School BrowserStack Segment Tag Inspector Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Dan McGaw: "If you have analytics and your analytics have bad data that means your analytics are wrong, which means that you're naturally going to be making bad decisions." "Companies that are typically growing the fastest, are the ones who are less focused on definitive and more focused on how do we get directional data that's going to tell us which way is growth and let's start moving and let's make action." "If you take the quality time to do taxonomy right, you see really, really good outcomes. Trying to make sure that taxonomy works across the stack I think is where you get the best outcomes, as well." "The best way to audit is really to build good rigor around your analytics, understand how that data flows in, and use the auditing tools to be able to do that."

How does design happen, and how do designers and marketers collaborate? As a common courtesy, provide details to get more work done better and faster. CoSchedule is consistently committed to quality design and creative output. Today's guest is Tim Walker, visual designer at CoSchedule. Tim talks about how he infuses brand with individual style that is distinctly CoSchedule. Discover how to replicate CoSchedule's processes and philosophies. Some of the highlights of the show include: Onboarding: Intimidating, exciting, and challenging to integrate individual style Standards and Guidelines: Set and define them to have fun within them Design Playground: Time and place to test new ideas, styles, and color palettes Collaboration Challenge: Communicate clearly about team/department needs What Works, What Doesn't: Specificity, purpose vs. vagueness, no direction Intent: Good design doesn't happen by accident, it takes thoughtful planning Investment: Don't cut corners—good aesthetics authenticate your brand Inspiration: Collect designs from Pinterest, Dribble, Ehance, and Instagram Links: Tim Walker on LinkedIn Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Tim Walker: "Every designer has their own style. A lot of designers can do a lot of things, but I think each designer kind of has their own unique kind of signature. Integrating that into the brand, that's always a fun little challenge." "It's really important to kind of have those standards set in place and well-defined, and then you can kind of have some fun within those. It was enjoyable to try to meld my own style with the existing guidelines." "Everyone's really great at communicating exactly what they need from design and the purpose of the design, too, and what we're trying to achieve with it." "If you have valuable content to share, why not give it some great clothes to wear?" "Humans are visual creatures. When we see images, our brains store the details verbally and visually. If you want people to pay attention to your content, and recognize your brand, or buy your product, share your posts, you need to have strong design or you'll be forgotten and ignored."

In a single sentence, describe your ideal customer. Where do they hang out online? What are their biggest problems? How often do you talk to them? Don't rely on assumptions. Consciously focus on your customers by creating content that serves their needs and beats the competition. Today's guest is Shondell Varcianna from Varci Media, a content writing company for financial institutions, about how to get to know your audience. She shares effective and easy-to-follow advice to improve audience research without extra time and resources. Some of the highlights of the show include: Reach Real Customers: You can't offer something to someone you don't know Real Problems: Sell your product or service as a solution for your customers Relationships: Are you the right person to serve your audience at highest level? Recommendations: Know who to target, where they are, and what they want Website Content: Match with searched keywords and make it resonate Communities: Wherever your target audience is, is where you want to be Ask Audience for Answers: What do you do for fun? Where do you hang out? Social Media Connections: Meet strangers and don't take 'no' personally Know, Like, and Trust: Offer consistent content that informs, educates, inspires Content Strategy: Videos, podcasts, posts—get creative when creating content Authenticity: Where it all begins to get your audience what they (and you) want Links: Shondell Varcianna on LinkedIn Varci Media Facebook Groups LinkedIn Sales Navigator Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Shondell Varcianna: "If I know of you, but I don't know you, how can I offer you anything because I don't really know what you want." "Wherever your target audience is, is where you want to be. You'll have to find out where they are, and then you just need to show up where they are, consistently." "Everyone is accessible on social media. Everybody. I connect with strangers every single day on social media." "Content that speaks to everyone is content that speaks to no one."

High-profile data breaches at big-name companies have become an all-too-common pitfall that creates negative press. Marketers need to protect their company and customers by knowing how to prevent a cybersecurity attack or security lapse. Today's guest is Gary S. Chan from Alfizo Security Solutions. Gary is a cybersecurity expert and helps organizations make sure software and systems are safe and secure. Avoid being the next victim and consider the cost of inaction. Some of the highlights of the show include: Why should marketers care about cybersecurity? To stay safe and do a better job Best Practices: Proper messaging, deliverability, and documentation gets clients Settings: Configure SPF and other security options for recipients to receive email Security Defense: Stop bad things from happening to you and your customers Remote Security: Technical services and tools to prevent serious problems Privacy Policies: Read terms and conditions to understand intended use of data Repeatable Software: Always use what others use, not something unfamiliar Security Certifications: ISO/IEC 27001 and Soc 2; clarify certifications Free Software: Money is being made somehow, so make sure it's secure Collaborative Communication: Increase understanding and measure success Risks and Consequences: Takes only one event to close business, cause chaos Security Benefits: Leverage good security hygiene for peace of mind Google not only ranks content, but offers higher rating for better Website security Advice for Marketers: Follow guidance, use strong passwords, report suspicious activity, and attend security training Links: Gary S. Chan on LinkedIn Alfizo Security Solutions Security Awareness Training ISO/IEC 27001 Certification Soc 2 Certification CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Gary S. Chan: "I help businesses improve their sales, meet compliance, and stay safe." "Larger clients tend to care about buying from companies with good security." "If you don't configure things properly, a lot of your emails will go to Spam boxes, which means that your recipients don't read them." "You're going to lose customer data, you're going to lose intellectual property, you're going to lose time, you're going to lose money, and you're going to lose some of your reputation."

Are you familiar with the dark mode? About 92% of those with smartphones use dark mode on at least one app. The increased use of dark mode with various email services and clients present challenges. How do email marketers make sure that emails are easy to read in dark mode? Today's guest is Melissa Sargeant, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Litmus, a well-known email marketing software company. She explains exactly why dark mode matters for marketers, and what they can do to make sure their emails look their best. Melissa provides insights into why this is important for marketers to understand, test, and optimize. Some of the highlights of the show include: App Developers: Dark mode makes type and visuals lighter on dark backgrounds Functional Trend: People use dark mode to read content; easier on their eyes Benefits: Reduce screen brightness to preserve battery; accessibility preference Email Clients: Apple, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo offer dark mode Problems: Prioritize dark mode for subscriber preference, different email clients Cost: Sending email versus potential cost of not optimizing email to be visible Tips and Tricks: Settings, assets, code, examples, and guide to dark mode Do More with Less: Build, test, and analyze emails, then send them for review Email Analytics/Insights: It doesn't end with send; use data to make better email Test every email, every time to deliver an experience that exceeds expectations Links: Melissa Sargeant on LinkedIn Litmus Litmus Blog The Ultimate Guide to Dark Mode for Email Marketers Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Melissa Sargeant: "The reason why a lot of people are viewing things in dark mode—we talk a lot in email marketing about accessibility to your emails—for some folks, it's just easier on their eyes. It's an easier way for them to read content." "We think about email as a channel. It's truly this one-to-one connection that you have with your subscribers. If they are showing a preference for how they want to view their content, it's a good idea to honor that and respect that and do the best you can to deliver them their content the way they want to read it." "If you are using an email optimization platform, you can do all this building and testing across all these devices and ensure end clients that when that email goes out the door, you'll know with certainty that people who are viewing in dark mode are able to view it in dark mode." "Efficiency and the email workflow process is super important."

What does it take to write a great headline? A simple, yet effective tool that makes marketers more confident when writing headlines. Take the guesswork out of improving headlines. Today's guest is LaRissa Hendricks from CoSchedule's product marketing team. She introduces Headline Studio, CoSchedule's new premium headline testing platform that takes your headline writing to the next level. Some of the highlights of the show include: Differences between CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer and Headline Studio Headline Data: Leads to more engagement, traffic, clicks, higher rankings Challenge: Know what to write to get people's attention, click to read content? Familiar and New Features/Functions: Word/character count Headline feedback and suggestions History of past headlines Headline and SEO scores Word banks (power, emotional, common, and uncommon) Full thesaurus Free browser extension Search competition Links: CoSchedule's Headline Studio CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer LaRissa Hendricks on LinkedIn Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from LaRissa Hendricks: "Writing headlines can feel very vague." "How are you even supposed to know what to write for your headline? How are you supposed to know what's actually going to catch people's attention? What's actually going to make them click and read your content? That's a huge challenge." "With over four million headlines, we have a very good idea of what works and what doesn't." "Headline Studio is like a super fun playground for your headlines."

What's the problem with doing what everybody else is doing? Marketers are expected to come up with something wildly innovative or creative. Dare to be different and get unstuck by presenting interesting or authentic ideas in a meaningful way. Today's guest is Mike Poznansky, founder and managing partner at Neato—a full-service marketing agency that helps brands connect with young audiences, including college students and Gen Z. Mike explains how to break out of a rut and do work that reflects you and your brand. What makes you uniquely valuable, instead of someone simply following the leader of the pack? Some of the highlights of the show include: Neato: Uncovers insights, develops strategies, and creates marketing programs Turnkey Tactics: Marketers observe how successful brands market themselves Thoughtful: Put time, energy, and effort into effectively identifying 'why' or 'how' Copy-and-Paste Marketing: Don't expect the same results by mimicking tactics College Culture: People's needs, pain points, aspirations are always changing Human-Centered Approach: Understand brand, organization, accomplishments Iterative Process: People on the ground and prototypes represent audiences Authenticity: Be yourself, know who you are, what resources/assets are available Failures: Try to do something for the sake of evolving and learning Links: Mike Poznansky on LinkedIn Neato Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes from Mike Poznansky: "Prototype it, and then get out there and try stuff, and show up. Be a part of that experience or that event, and see how people respond, and talk to people afterwards. Then, refine it. It's an iterative process." "Everyone acknowledges in some capacity, the need to build a genuine and meaningful relationship with the segment in order to get them to care about your brand. It's critical for brands to show up in an authentic way." "Stay invested, stay involved, continue to refine that approach, continue to learn, continue to listen to your segment, assess the results, and figure out how you can improve and make it better." "Fear of failure or fear of sounding stupid or uninformed, those are real creativity killers in businesses and in the agency-client dynamics."

How do marketers bring customers back to maximize revenue? Loyalty programs build customer devotion and retention by incentivizing repeat business. Buying becomes a habit. Today's guest is Matt Baglia, co-founder and CEO of SlickText, an SMS marketing platform. If a loyalty program makes sense for your business, Matt talks about what it takes to make a loyalty program work as a growth lever. Some of the highlights of the show include: Why loyalty programs matter? 20% of company's customers make 80% revenue Brand Champions: Pay attention to their interests, what they're buying or not What is a loyalty program? Distinct difference w/two purposes—register, rewards Customer Behavior: Value-add messages give customers a reason to return Getting Started with a Loyalty Program: Step 1: Understand clientele Step 2: Incentivize customers Step 3: Talk and listen to customers Step 4: Select a loyalty service Growing a Loyalty Program: Interaction: Ask, are you a member of our loyalty program yet? Incentivize: Join loyalty program by providing value Integration: Plugin pop-ups and other online opportunities for information Marketing Metrics: Subscription velocity, click-thru links, opt-out rates, check-ins Do's/Don'ts: Get permission to send messages, or face legal ramifications Links: Matt Baglia on LinkedIn SlickText Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes: "Research shows that 20 percent of a company's customers will typically make up about 80 percent of their revenue." Ben Sailer "You have a small cohort of your best customers, and it's really important that we're paying attention to what they're doing, what their interests are, what they're buying, what they're not buying, how they're buying, and make sure that we communicate and market to them appropriately." Matt Baglia "When we think, loyalty program, we actually think, 'Register for our loyalty program and earn points towards rewards'." Matt Baglia "The value is very, very simple. For us, it serves two purposes. One, we need to get people to come back, and in order to do that, we need to give them a reason to come back." Matt Baglia

How can marketers retain an engaged audience? Treat content like a carousel by getting people to come back for unique value from you and your brand. Today's guest is Lindsay Tjepkema, CEO and co-founder of Casted—the first and only B2B marketing platform for brand podcasts. Lindsay knows what it takes to build, grow, and retain an audience. Some of the highlights of the show include: Podcast: Opportunity to connect with audience and sales by providing content Marketing Channels: Leverage content for podcast business to amplify voices Content Challenges: Underwhelming access to software and experts Actionable Advice: Be the change you wish to see, and practice what you preach Casted: Create, publish, syndicate, and leverage show content across channels Content Carousel: What is it, who's it for, how will you continue to serve them? Good or bad thing? Customers stop coming once they get what they came for Audit Audience Trends: Downloads, listens, and other signs people stay or leave CRM Capabilities: Engagement and retention rates—who listens and when? Advocate for Seasons: Make and compare changes, but don't change audience Repurpose content and re-order ingredients to re-engage audience Links: Lindsay Tjepkema on LinkedIn Casted Creating a Content Carousel for Your Podcast with OpenView's Meg Johnson HubSpot Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Lindsay Tjepkema: "Is it a bad thing if people aren't listening or consuming that content anymore? Are they advancing onto the next step? Then, it's not a bad thing, as long as you keep filling that funnel." "If it is a bad thing, and you're losing people for the wrong reasons, how can you just go back to the basics? How can you better understand your audience and give them more of what they are looking for?" "Repurpose your content. You put a lot of effort into it. If it's good, it's good, especially if it's evergreen." "An expert is someone who knows a lot about the subject matter that your audience cares about."

What strategies can marketers learn from nonprofits about building brand advocacy? Successful nonprofits know what it takes to get people to rally behind a belief or cause. Brands that turn their best customers into advocates build brand loyalty and drive sales. Today's guest is Spencer Brooks from Brooks Digital, an agency that helps health-focused nonprofits grow a digital presence and turn patients into advocates. Some of the highlights of the show include: What is an advocate? Highly engaged customer doing work on brand's behalf Passive to Active Promoters: How to turn customers into brand advocates Why do brands need advocates? Free marketing saves time and money How? Gift products and provide positive referrals, reviews, recommendations What makes nonprofits effective? Fewer resources rely on constituents Meaningful Why: Nonprofits use emotional storytelling to create advocates Company values solve some philosophical problems when things are done right Foundational Concept: Brand advocacy resonates product/service with identity Links: Spencer Brooks on LinkedIn Brooks Digital Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller Traction by Gino Wickman Lean Customer Development: Building Products Your Customers Will Buy by Cindy Alvarez Why Digital Marketing Tactics Are a Waste of Time for Nonprofits Actionable Marketing Podcast: Free Resources From Ben & Spencer's Interview Squatch Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Spencer Brooks: "It's this push from passive to active that I think really represents turning a customer into an advocate." "Advocates are important because they provide a leverage point. They are doing, a lot of times, free marketing for you." "Creating advocates is work, and you have to recognize when that is an appropriate strategy to be using." "Nonprofits are really good about using emotional storytelling to turn people into advocates."

What are the best ways for brands to make a difference during times of crisis? Connect customers with solutions to their problems. Today's guest is Richard Lau, founder of Logo and executive director at Water School. Richard discusses how to build a business and brand. Find the right balance between being genuinely helpful and useful while driving sales and revenue. Some of the highlights of the show include: Donations: Time, money, and network covers clean water project costs NamesCon: Purpose of conference and partnerships to raise awareness Sun, not Son: Women and girls are burdened with getting clean water Colon Cancer Crisis: How it changed Richard's perspective on life and business Doctor's Orders: Required workaholic to rollback on number of hours worked Life Goals and Lifestyle: Borrowed or gifted time where life is about relationships Compliment: Create a culture where everyone feels like more than a paycheck COVID: Companies can better serve customers, employees, and communities How to help other people? Prayer and passion; publicity is not the goal Change Management: Invite and support others to do something—small or big Pay It Forward: How are you, each and every day, a hero in your own life? Links: Richard Lau on LinkedIn Logo Water School NamesCon Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Richard Lau: "We use the sun as the main focus. The sun is what disinfects the water, rather than using chlorine or wood." "Life is about relationships. It's not about money." "Life is too short to work for a bad boss." "There's no better remedy for self-motivation than for helping someone in need."

The belief that being empathetic means being emotional is not actually very empathetic. Marketers often misunderstand customers when crafting messaging and marketing content. How can marketers be genuinely empathetic? Today's guest is Megan Thudium from MTC - The Content Agency. Megan discusses how to adjust, adapt, and authentically understand the needs of customers from different cultures and countries. Some of the highlights of the show include: MTC: Berlin-based B2B organic content marketing agency w/empathetic mindset COVID and Cultural Barriers: Stay connected and relevant during tough times Empathy Marketing: Long-term gain emphasized now when emotions are high Empathy: Them to you, not you to them process for messaging and marketing Worst-case Scenario: Miss the marketing message? Lose customers Bottom Line for Business: Make messaging more empathetic for direct impact Marketing Evolution: People want authentic, engaging, empathetic conversations Consequences: Failing to do right messaging or following cookie-cutter structure Practical Takeaways: Connect with and talk to customers/teams to get feedback Back to Basics: Marketing should be empathetic; put buyer personas into action Links: Megan Thudium on LinkedIn MTC - The Content Agency Patagonia Slack Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Megan Thudium: "Empathy marketing is a long-term gain." "Empathy is understanding your audience at a level that has a deeper understanding of what they need." "You're going to isolate your audience. They're going to step away from you. They're going to disconnect, which is the worst thing that we want in marketing because then we lose customers." "Depending on your specific audience, there might be specific needs."

Consumer behavior is always changing. Even with COVID-19 affecting people's lives and how businesses operate, it will never be the same. How can businesses better serve customers by staying ahead of changes and trends? Data. Today's guest is Jonathan Silver from Affinity Solutions, a data intelligence platform with access to consumer data. Jonathan talks about how businesses need to collect data, know how to interpret that data, and turn it into action to succeed. Some of the highlights of the show include: Affinity Solutions: Access to unique data around people's purchasing habits Permission and Participation: Banks provide businesses with consumer data Business Benefits: Use data to build relationships and grow, retain market share Consumer Benefits: Use data to improve people's lives to get what they want Shifts: COVID changes behavior with price sensitivity, personalized experiences Trends: Parallel reality where physical environments change with technologies Predictions: Colder weather will spike COVID cases, continue habit to buy online Data Types: Understand and adapt to consumer behavior with purchasing info Regulatory and Privacy Trends: Personal data cloud and operating system Survive and Thrive: Expand to include external data to redefine competition Insight into Action: Distinguishes successful businesses and drives returns Data Platform: Artificial intelligence/machine learning make directed decisions Downward to Upward: Use data-driven tools, dashboards during difficult times Links: Jonathan Silver on LinkedIn Affinity Solutions Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Jonathan Silver: "We have a ton of unique data around people's purchasing habits." "Businesses build deeper relationships with consumers, with their customers and prospects, so that they can grow and retain their market share." "(Parallel reality and personalized experiences) where physical environments are changing with these different technologies is going to become a norm." "The best predictor of future purchase behavior is what you've done in the past."

Two things are true about marketing—saturation across digital channels makes it difficult to be different and using direct mail is a unique option to reach customers at home where they are spending most of their time these days. Today's guest is Nick Runyon from PFL. The software company makes tools that help marketers bridge the gap between digital and direct mail marketing using Tactile Marketing Automation (TMA). Go beyond the send! Some of the highlights of the show include: PFL: Orchestrates digital difference between TMA and direct mail marketing Pandemic vs. Marketing Plans: Collectively, society remains pessimistic, fearful Consumption and Conversion: Cut through digital clutter for direct mail comfort CRM Mishaps: Direct mail data mashed together from multiple people, places TMA: Enables direct mail to be triggered to send based on digital intent signals Getting Started: What's the overall experience that you want to deliver? What business objectives do you want to move with that experience? Sales Process Sequence: Experience value proposition via opt-in engagement Bottom Line: Direct mail is popular right now but more expensive without TMA Advanced Tactics: Accelerate value with TMA software through PFL Links: Nick Runyon on LinkedIn PFL AMP 205: Cutting Through the Noise By Integrating Direct Mail With Digital Marketing With Ryan Cote From Ballantine The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Nick Runyon: "When I think about direct mail and I think about Tactile Marketing Automation, the difference between those two is that we've taken direct mail into really the digital environment." "Tactile Marketing Automation is really the orchestration of an overall multichannel customer journey." "One of the challenges that marketers are facing now with this increase in digital consumption is really cutting through the clutter and making an impact and gaining a moment of attention from our customers and our prospects." "Reasons why direct mail is overall resurging: It's comfortable, it's familiar, it also monopolizes my attention whenever direct mail is in my hand."

Marketers have access to more data than ever before that enables them to offer better customer experiences—if they make use of that data. Don't struggle to find and apply the right information. Today's guest is Michael Loban, Chief Growth Officer at InfoTrust. Also, Michael is the co-author of Crawl, Walk, Run, a new book on advancing marketing analytics maturity. He describes how to level up your analytics progress with consistent practice. Some of the highlights of the show include: Crawl, Walk, Run: How organizations progress through digital analytics maturity Target Audience: Every marketer with every level of analytics experience Three Industries: Direct-to-consumer, consumer packaged goods, news/media Marketers, Pay Attention: Change is inevitable, but progress is optional Missing Skills: Being data driven makes some marketers fail to be successful Google Marketing Platform: Helps marketing teams keep pace with changes Google Optimize: Test hypothesis by reviewing analytics to improve experience Data-driven Daily Practices: Marketers need to change or adapt to be effective Metrics: Maximize data to generate greatest ROI/revenue for business Links: InfoTrust Crawl, Walk, Run by Michael Loban Michael Loban on LinkedIn Google Marketing Platform Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Michael Loban: "The idea of Crawl, Walk, Run is to demonstrate how organizations tend to progress through certain subject matter." "Just like with data, if you know what you are looking for, you will find some help in this book." "Change is inevitable, but progress is optional."

Research shows that 73% of consumers expect brands to personalize and tailor online experiences to meet their needs. It feels weird when websites don't give people what they want and expect. Personalization matters for your business, even in difficult times. Today's guest is Amey Shivapurkar, an experienced optimization SME at Avionos. Amey helps clients create data-driven experiences that deliver business outcomes. He talks about how personalization isn't always easy, but worth considering for marketers to maximize CRO, create meaningful results, and drive user experiences. Some of the highlights of the show include: Personalization: Relevant products, services, content based on previous visits Key Investment Benefits: Improves customer loyalty, engagement, vanity metrics Steps to Start: Crawl, walk, and run to get to end product Define measurement framework that tracks customer's journey Identify best opportunities/skills for personalization to improve bottom line Experiment and iterate personalization to build and grow business Best Practices: Excel personalization by solidifying available data to automate Complex Learning Curve: How can personalization increase conversion rates? Personalization Pitfalls: Know purpose/intention and provide time to run results Links: Amey Shivapurkar on LinkedIn Avionos Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Amey Shivapurkar: "Customers are really looking for brands to give an experience based off of previous interactions that they've done." "It's really about providing the most relevant content at the right time." "Bad experiences will lead to bad personalization." "Personalization is one of those things where a lot of people...they think it's a nice-to-have. Personally, I think it's kind of a must."

Former professional boxer Mike Tyson wisely stated, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." Unexpected blows, such as a global pandemic and recession, have marketers evaluating their strategies to learn how to change, respond, and adapt during times of crisis. Today's guest is Tony Guarnaccia, a brand consultant, founder, and author. He knows how to turn businesses around and out of tailspins. If you don't know what you don't know about how to grow a business, you and your business will fail. Some of the highlights of the show include: Bakery 2.0: Bounce back by studying marketing, business, and entrepreneurship 10-Year Journey: If you don't know, follow those that do to grow a business Resources, Strategies, Tools: Learn what you don't know; teach what you learn Right or wrong decision? Reduce marketing budget when revenue drops Rules to Follow: Make business sustainable and maintain profitability Maintain advertising spend in marketing; make cuts elsewhere Expand market share due to less competition and lower acquisition costs Red Flags: Results that can or can't be controlled to drive growth Results Loop Framework: What markets are you serving? Be in the right niche What are your offerings? Identify products/services that create traction How do you grow revenue? Create trust, value, and loyalty Pain Points: Problems clients experience are opportunities to sell, provide value Supply and Demand: Trigger events and money are available, but shift and pivot Links: Tony Guarnaccia's Website Tony Guarnaccia on LinkedIn Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Tony Guarnaccia: "You want to make sure you are sustainable.If you don't have a sustainable business and it's not profitable, then you don't have a business. You're going to go out." "Now is the greatest time to expand your market share." "The problems that your customers or clients are experiencing are the opportunities for you to sell." "I'm a believer that money is always there, it just shifts."

Do you spend too much time and money creating content from scratch every time you need to publish a piece, launch a video, or ship a campaign? Create a year's worth of content in one day for a specific channel through the power of repurposing. Today's guest is Shaina Weisinger from Repurpose House. Shaina talks about how to make the most of your time and resources, while using less effort to make your ROI go through the roof. Some of the highlights of the show include: Purpose of Repurpose House: Help those struggling with repurposing content Savvy Digital Marketing Strategy: Video production at same time in same place Pain Points and Pieces: Changes to content takes too much time and effort Repurposing Content vs. Creating New Assets: Cost- and time-saving benefits Chasing Content: Creating content that's impossible to keep up with every day Content Map: Be in better place before making content and measurable results Where to start? Go through content that crushed it to start finding small snippets Cutting Corners: Avoid sacrificing quality for speed when repurposing content Headlines: Make them catchy and include a number whenever possible Data: Go with your gut, trends, and results from studies to spread the word Links: Shaina Weisinger on LinkedIn Repurpose House Headliner HubSpot Infusionsoft Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes by Shaina Weisinger: "If you can map all of that out before you sit down and make content just to make content, I think that you're in a much better place." "You want to know what your strategy looks like and why the content you're putting up there matters." "It's absolutely doable. If you take the time to sit down and really create the strategy, it's a no brainer. You can supplement your social media calendar with other things." "if you have a library of content...that's how you're going to fill your calendar and you don't even have to create new content."

Email inboxes, social media feeds, and internet experiences are filled with marketing messages. However, what's old is new again in marketing. Direct mail can be an effective way to cut through the noise and grab people's attention. Today's guest is Ryan Cote, Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine. Ryan talks about how to make the most out of direct mail by integrating it with digital strategies and tactics. Some of the highlights of the show include: Two Things: Ballantine's transition has combined direct mail and digital marketing High Demand: Direct mail isn't dead, but has changed print marketing Mail vs. Email: Printed mail is less competitive than congested inboxes Print and Digital Tactics: Complement and work together for integrated campaign Informed Delivery. Find out from USPS what's in your physical mailbox Direct or Digital? Determine which makes more sense for your brand Direct mail is expensive, so start with something simple and cheaper Mailing List: Stay specific and targeted to add value and get/keep clients Partners: Find broker/production company to help with printing plan Measure ROI Impact: Put trackable phone number on mail Set up special landing page Some mail can't be tracked Two Data Types: In-house and rented to create mailing lists, fix discrepancies Links: Ryan Cote on LinkedIn Ballantine USPS Informed Delivery Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes: "Print is definitely not dead. It's just changing like anything, like SEO, like any digital channel. It just changes. We've had to change with the times." "It's usually less competitive in a mailbox. If you think about your inbox—how much email you get. Email is still very important, but it's just very congested." "They're basically just using direct mail and digital to fully blanket their customer because you don't know where you're going to get them to respond." "If you have the budget to do both print and digital, that's always the best-case scenario because you're getting multiple touchpoints."

Does your business rely on revenue from selling tickets for live events? To stay in business due to COVID-19, you may need to turn to other options for profits. Today's guest is Jim McCarthy, CEO and co-founder of Goldstar. With more live shows, concerts, and other events going digital, Goldstar quickly created Stellar. Within just a few months, the new streaming and ticket platform launched to help organizations continue to make money. Some of the highlights of the show include: New Normal? Pandemic shutdown forced switch from live to online events Stellar Solution: Learning curve to what does/doesn't work with digital events Live vs. Digital Events: Either, neither, all, or nothing, which will people prefer? Goldmine for Goldstar? Make, film, stream new forms of online entertainment Pros and Cons: More people and money, different expectations and experiences Getting Started, Going Digital: Commit to quality not money to build/market product or service Make thoughtful and aggressive use of assets (i.e., mailing lists) Utilize existing audiences/fans plus geo target platforms Promote partnerships and other distribution channels Links: Jim McCarthy on LinkedIn Goldstar Stellar Tickets Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule Quotes: "This toolset, some other knowledge, and some marketing skills can really enable them to use online events to their great advantage." "We just want everybody to be able to survive the crisis and thrive by learning how to make online events that are great." "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get out a little bit more and go have some fun." "For every one person you successfully get in the door to enjoy the show or the event, there's 99 or maybe even 999 people who would be there if they could, if they knew about it, or if it was available to them. This is just a huge marketing opportunity."

Do you have something to say and share with others? Start a podcast, but don't sell yourself short when trying to get your dream guests on the show. It takes connections. Today's guest is Stephanie Cox, vice president of sales and marketing at Lumavate. She hosts the company's Real Marketers Podcast and has talked to guests from the world's biggest companies. What did she do to make it happen, and how can you do the same with your own podcast? Some of the highlights of the show include: Lumavate: Platform enables marketers to build mobile apps without code Real Marketers: Authentic conversations that ask forgiveness, not permission Strategic Networking: Who and what you know, and who and what they know Podcast Launch: First few episodes feature big names to build credibility Timeline: Four weeks post-launch of podcast to regularly land high-profile guests Dream 'Guest' List: Goals to get ultimate brands/names (Google's Alex Russell) What's the worst that could happen? All you have to do is ask and outreach Missing Pieces: What stories do you want to tell and best people to tell them? Success Rate: Love what you do and be a passionate thought leader Links: Stephanie Cox on LinkedIn Lumavate Real Marketers Podcast Progressive Web Apps: The Future of Mobile Web, Episode 11 with Alex Russell, Senior Staff Engineer at Google Progressive Web Apps: The Future of Mobile Web (Part Two), Episode 12 with Alex Russell, Senior Staff Software Engineer at Google Calendly Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

Are your emails failing to reach and resonate with readers? Maybe, you're asking for too much information without offering enough value. Every time someone opens their inbox, they're flooded with people asking them to do something. What do they get in return? Today's guest is Brendan Hufford from SEO for the Rest of Us. Brendan emailed thousands of subscribers to ask: What frustrates them the most about SEO? As promised, Brendan followed up by sending every person who replied a custom video response. Was all his hard work worth the thoughtful effort? Some of the highlights of the show include: Stay in School: Transition from being a teacher to helping clients learn SEO Bright Idea: Utilize unique video content on what people care about Incentive: How to get people to reply to emails and build relationships Numbers Game: Subscribers in traffic are costs; make money on sales Timeline: About 50 videos made, each taking 10 minutes equals 500 minutes Replies and Responses: Quantify what it's worth by understanding content Primary Pain Points: People are struggling, whether they're in-house or with clients Begging for backlinks, whether you're on the giving or receiving end Creating solid content strategy, not repurpose copycat content Free Time/Money: Resources are free, and there are no secrets to SEO writing SEO Framework: Intent, Asset, and Medium (IAM) SEO Roadmap: Build foundation and structure Value Proposition: Suffering from email fatigue, due to lack of human contact? Results: Immediate engagement and affinity with people on your email list Links: Brendan Hufford SEO for the Rest of Us Flipped Lifestyle with Shane and Jocelyn Sams Miles Beckler Ahrefs Loom CloudApp SEMrush Podia Joel Klettke (Copywriter) Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

The ad tech industry—specifically, Facebook—continues to create privacy consent concerns and public discontent. How much do people trust social networks and the brands that advertise on them? Today's guest is Richard Jones, chief marketing officer (CMO) for Cheetah Digital. If you rely on social advertising to promote your business, Richard talks about what you need to know to prevent or handle damage to your brand's reputation. Some of the highlights of the show include: Ethics: What problems does ad tech introduce into social marketing? Digital Footprint: Personal information gets presented without permission Under the Knife: Invasion of privacy when bombarded with ads on Facebook Stop Hate for Profit: Campaign to curb hate speech and put people before profit Money or Morality? Ad pressure makes it okay to break up with social media For Sale: Personal data creates polarization of society, dangerous environment Algorithms: People's inability to curate truth, not simply sort shared information Social Media Alternatives: How to shut off highly effective or targeted ad spend? End of Era: Fast and loose data powering third-party advertising economy is over Trust Economy: Why trust is most impactful economic power over data privacy COVID Impact: Expect increase in promotions and people looking for value Links: Richard Jones on LinkedIn Cheetah Digital Stop Hate for Profit Econsultancy Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

Is a picture still worth a 1,000 words? What about videos? Any business or organization can use the power of video content to build its brand and promote its products. However, it's not always cheap to do or get it right to make a difference. Today's guest is Doug Scott from Tectonic. He describes how nonprofits with small budgets, but big aspirations, maximize their impact with video marketing. Some of the highlights of the show include: Film School Dropout: Doug's dream to make movies wasn't his reality Newfound Desire: Passion for storytelling led to helping nonprofits Why Video? Efficient, engaging, and preferred form of communication Challenges: Level of clarity to quantify cost for return on investment SMART Goals: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-bound SMART Metrics: Benchmarking, baseline, and big strategic objectives Mindset Shift: Video versus any content created based on outcome, not output Change Management: Provide data, demonstrate impact, and make progress Ethics: Offer marketing messages with simplicity, positivity, and compellingness Promotion: Gain exposure with compelling videos that the press can't ignore Social Media: Most engaging are user-generated single-shot videos Links: Tectonic Nonprofit Video Index Mutual Rescue Heads Up: Health Awareness for Concussion Prevention TeachAids Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

When looking to get ahead in marketing, business, or life, the black community faces challenges and structural issues. What should white people consider to be effective allies to black colleagues, friends, and neighbors? Today's guest is Muyinza Kasirye from APRT Media in Los Angeles. Muyinza immigrated from Uganda to Toronto and relocated to Boston after his mother's death due to cancer. Muyinza grew up with little money or privileges but worked his way up. He shares his perspective on challenges that black marketers and business owners experience. Some of the highlights of the show include: Black Entrepreneur Challenges: Don't know about or denied initial money to start a business Higher barrier of proof required to get work Fair distribution for work, investment, and positions of real power Negative Consequences: Economy isn't achieving its true potential Equal Opportunities: Different approaches equal different outcomes Status Quo: Drive positive change in the direction it is needed What white people need to know and do to dismantle barriers to success? Help when and where you can Start investing in black individuals to move forward Listen, not Lecture: Wherever white people are on spectrum of understanding Links: APRT Media APRT Media on Instagram Muyinza Kasirye on LinkedIn Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

Doing social media marketing in a regulated industry isn't easy. Legal considerations, regulatory red tape, and compliance restrictions can make your job more difficult. Today's guest is Regina DeMars, Director of Content Marketing and Social Media Strategy at First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). How can financial services marketers make friends with compliance and win at social media? Get creative with solutions to problems. Some of the highlights of the show include: Content: Create financial advice/guidance that existing/potential customers want Common Problems: Marketers face ever-changing regulatory space and timeline Top Tactics: Urgent requests, audits, and procedures eliminate potential issues Social Media Channels: Monitor and archive online brand reputation, compliance Relationships Matter: Identify those interested in and active on social media Collaborative Compliance: Mitigate risk, accomplish goals, and stay compliant Organic Messaging: Focus on educational, inspirational, and entertaining content Paid Perspective: Focus on awareness, consideration, and conversion content Other Options: Social selling, influencer marketing, and employee ambassadors Make the Case: Do content marketing work that matters with more resources Mistakes Happen: Ensure everyone's following processes, procedures, policies Links: Regina DeMars on LinkedIn First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) FNBO's Dollar Belles on YouTube FNBO's Cashology Facebook Group Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

Does adding new martech tools always tackle problems and challenges for marketers? What matters most is finding the best technology solutions to solve the right problems at the right times for you, your team, and your organization. Today's guest is Sean Doyle, co-founder, principal, and director of strategy at FitzMartin. Sean applies the science of behavior change to the art of sales and marketing. Rather than only choosing to make decisions based on thoughts and emotions, choose to use the power of data. Some of the highlights of the show include: Reason Behind Sean's Book: Change how B2B marketers are respected or not FitzMartin: Modern marketing/sales that demonstrates ability to provide products Point of View: Comes from behavioral science—how people change Changing for Good: Book on transtheoretical theory of behavioral science Firings/Failures: Focus framework on capital and commitment to measurement Martech: Why it continues to expand? Measurable and customer-focused Vanity Metrics: Meaningful when understood by peers, clients, or customers Problem: Takes talent to read data, view analytics, and communicate effectively Martech Behavioral Science Categories: Demand generation Sales enablement Customer success Simplify Scale: Ease of use wins over powerful and sophisticated martech Sales Barrier/Gap Analysis: Audit of all sales and marketing efforts Subjective Theory of Value: Three ways people buy Revenue gain Cost reduction Emotional and strategic contribution Links: Sean Doyle's Email Shift: 19 Practical, Business-driven Ideas for an Executive in Charge of Marketing but not Trained for the Task by Sean M. Doyle FitzMartin Sean Doyle on LinkedIn Changing for Good by James O. Prochaska, John Norcross, and Carlo DiClemente Web Analytics by Avinash Kaushik Google Ads HubSpot AdRoll Ignitium Salesforce Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

It may be a cliche, but it remains true that nothing is certain for business right now and in the future due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brand building is a long-term sport with no finish line. Today's guest is David Lemley, a brand strategist with Retail Voodoo. He has worked with beloved brands, including Starbucks, REI, and KIND. David describes what steps to take to future-proof business and brands to thrive and survive for sustained success. Some of the highlights of the show include: Branding's Value: More than a logo—develop a truly authentic brand built to last Past Background: Branding used to be all about making marks and doing things Present and Future Branding: Promises you make, keep, and feel New Things: Help food, beverage, wellness, and fitness brands win market share Future-proof Brand: Plan to survive and thrive during unforeseen circumstances Consequences: Loss of market share and impacts partner/customer relationships Essential Component: Data and research from brightest minds erodes resistance Future-Proof Process: Understand core audience to anticipate changing needs Building Blocks: People view brands as personal identity with values and morals Tasks, Tactics, and Tips: Read David's book, Beloved and Dominant Brands Vectors: Ingredient/technology, consumer preferences, worldwide, and relevance Links: Retail Voodoo David Lemley on LinkedIn Beloved and Dominant Brands by David Lemley Essential Water LesserEvil Managing The Professional Service Firm by David Maister Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

How can you make remote work actually work? The right technology stack and the right processes to work from home on a distributed team. Today's guest is Lars Helgeson from GreenRope. Based on Lars' two decades of 100% remote work experience, he offers simple and practical advice to pair technology with processes that establish a solid, remote-working foundation. Some of the highlights of the show include: GreenRope: CRM/marketing automation software in single, unified platform Simplify Complexity: Successfully scale company by shifting toward remote work Advantages: Freedom and flexibility to work when and where you want Disadvantages: Not ideal for those needing space, structure, and office/cubicle Remote Work Necessities: Internet connection and quiet workspace Focus: What do you need to get work done? Requirements and right tools Data: How to create and distribute it to hold people accountable? Processes: Manage, control, understand, and document how people do things Structure: People need to have structure and know what they're working toward Key to Success: Solid CRM that has all data fully integrated, built into platform Work-from-Home Policies: Mistakes made due to lack of structure and planning Links: GreenRope Zoom FaceTime GoToMeeting Microsoft Teams Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

How can businesses and marketers adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, such as COVID-19? Seek reassurance and practical advice to move forward when there's no clear end in sight. Not only survive, but thrive. Today's guest is David Schneider, CEO of Shortlist.io, a digital marketing agency. David understands how to handle challenges that affect businesses, marketers, and clients. Some of the highlights of the show include: Challenges: Budget cuts, resource constraints, adjusting KPIs, building network Networking Concept: Recognize importance of recession-proof buffer for career Human Connection: Reach out to others and acknowledge/recognize importance Cultivate Relationships: Who do you admire/follow on social media channels? Natural Ice Breaker: Start a conversation by checking in; still happy and healthy? Marketing Copy and Conversion: Pivot messaging away from content cliches Growth: Despite less money and resources, work more efficiently and effectively Links: David Schneider on LinkedIn Shortlist.io NinjaOutreach Ben Sailer on LinkedIn CoSchedule

What does it take to make sponsorships successfully work? Turn one-off transactions into powerful, long-term relationships between brands by picking the best partners and proving ROI. Today's guest is Ken Ungar, founder and president of CHARGE, a sponsorship marketing agency. Also, Ken's a former chief executive for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and author of Ahead of the Game: What Every Athlete Needs to Know About Sports in Business. Some of the highlights of the show include: Take CHARGE: Unlock power of sponsorship to accomplish business objectives Third-Party Validation: Marketers convince consumers, sponsors transfer affect Partners and Collaborators: Choose wisely to create a positive relationship Potential Sponsors: Know/share audiences; identify brand/property reputation Pitch Perspectives: Create win-win attitude when attracting or selling sponsors Relationship Results: Both sides benefit; if nothing's invested, nothing's gained Strategy, Plan, Work: Leverage and activate relationship to make it mutually beneficial Mindful Mistakes: Understand audiences via discussions, surveys, and data Activate sponsorship to advertise benefits Measure success or plan to fail Stakeholder Sponsorship Skepticism: Convince with case studies, testimonials Links: CHARGE CHARGE Sponsorship Insights Ahead of the Game: What Every Athlete Needs to Know About Sports in Business SurveyMonkey CoSchedule

Everyone knows the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted sales, marketing, and businesses worldwide. Uncertain times call for empathy to best serve others. Today's guest is Jim Benton from Chorus.ai, a conversation intelligence platform. Early on, Jim and his data science team recognized the need to crunch and record a lot of numbers to analyze how customer bases are adapting and adjusting to changes. Some of the highlights of the show include: Daily Briefing: Share unique and empowering productivity, sales, business data Weekly Briefing: Bring rich data and best practices to market to adjust/reopen Why bring CFOs into sales calls? Rationalize numbers and reduce friction Extreme/Outsized ROI: Present with clarity, rigor, and above-the-line selling Human Side of Problem Solving: Challenging events create massive change Leadership: From chaos to sanity through data-driven coaching to grow people Intimidating Interactions: Team effort, roles to play, and desired outcomes Collaboration: Offer equal access to rich data, come together to solve problems Future Trends: Dealing with even bigger issues, not related to COVID Links: ai CoSchedule

How do you build long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with your best customers? Treat influencer marketing more like relationship building and less like a cash transaction. Today's guest is Magda Houalla, Director of Marketing Strategy at AspireIQ. She describes how to elevate influencer marketing beyond clichés to achieve results. Some of the highlights of the show include: Influential Evolution: Find influencers, manage relationships, analyze results What it means to be influential? Focus on product for community building Who is influential? Customers, enthusiasts, subject matter experts, employees Business Objectives: Self-serve access to technology and relevant information Where to begin? When overwhelmed with possibilities, focus on personalization Fan of Brand: Target audience, customer personas, and values-first approach Start with a Story: Value-focused pitch and communication are key elements Building-type Mindset: Engage and approach people with more of a relationship ROI: Exponentially greater over long-term than waving money in someone's face Next Step: Provide value beyond money and products via experiences No Fear: Don't be afraid to amicably end a partnership with people Marketing Mistakes: Everyone in community is an extension of your business Links: AspireIQ CoSchedule

Good content with bad design equals bad content. Good design can be expensive and hard to scale, but the value of quality graphic design can't be overstated. Today's guest is Russ Perry from Design Pickle, a flat-rate creative services platform. What's the catch? Never pay more than a monthly subscription. Get help with your branding and design without breaking the bank, or settling for below-average work. Some of the highlights of the show include: Scale investment by allocating design resources without cutting corners Challenges: Find good talent, attract customers, take competitive advantage Brand: More than just a logo; communicate through visuals and creativity Mistakes and Excuses: No time, money, or understanding of good vs. bad design When design needs outpace resources: Narrow niche, segment needs, and select specialists Trolls: Trigger reversal by providing help and proving your value to haters Create/Update: Communicate confidence to reflect niche, audience, and value FreshStock: Stock asset library of templates and visuals save time and money Fix, Revise, Grow: Nothing's going to break in the world, if you just start creating Links: Design Pickle FreshStock CoSchedule

Some apps skyrocket, while others fly under the radar and fade away. Apps that succeed apply simple, yet effective tactics that drive rapid growth and sustain revenue. Today's guest is Sean Casto, founder and CEO of PreApps. Sean's #1 app marketing agency in the United States offers proven strategies and techniques to achieve launch, download, and other goals for apps. Some of the highlights of the show include: 10X Revenue Model: Sean's straightforward framework for building, scaling apps Step 1: Increase sales conversions Step 2: Increase prices and premium offers Step 3: Increase frequency of sales per user Step 4: Increase product offerings App Stats: 90% of marketplace apps make less than $500 per month 80% of app's revenue comes from 20% of app's customers Roadmap: Begin with end in mind without reinventing wheel, getting distracted Links: PreApps Sean Casto Sean Casto on LinkedIn App Marketing Secrets Podcast Gartner CoSchedule

Stuck in a rut at work? Bored beyond belief? If you're thinking about or wanting to change jobs and careers, consider the following: How long will it take to learn new skills? Will it affect your income? Are jobs available? Will it make you happy? Today's guest is Kevin Urrutia, a former software programmer at Mint that now runs the Voy Media marketing agency in New York City. Kevin knows exactly how some of you feel. He shares useful insights and nuggets of career development wisdom. Some of the highlights of the show include: Why change careers? Curiosity, necessity, and desire to do what you do best Mindset Shift: From tech hackathons to marketing startup and SEO skills Facebook Advertising: Learn by doing to grow in marketing industry Career Advice and Questions to Ask: What do you enjoy, even in tough times? Strategies: How to do Facebook ads, SEO, Amazon—instead, start from scratch Stay Connected: Keep up with what people are saying via social groups Mistakes Made: Courses/coaches accelerate learning; avoid imposter syndrome Links: Kevin Urrutia on LinkedIn Voy Media Mint Zaarly Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) Google Analytics TechCrunch Stack Overflow Moz SEO Software Search Engine Land Twitter Facebook Groups com by Ryan Deiss CoSchedule

Collaborative ideation isn't always easy because everyone has ideas and opinions. You can't execute every idea all the time, but need to narrow the list and make sure input is heard and time is respected. So, how do you filter and service only the best ones? Today's guest is Sean Ironside, global brand director for EGYM. He describes how to develop a sound process when creativity and ideation are at odds. It just needs to be consistent to workout for everyone and everywhere. Some of the highlights of the show include: EGYM: Global provider of fitness hardware and software Responsibilities: Coordinate branding efforts across departments, teams, offices Ideation Process: Creative, collaborative, and effective consistently Replicate Remote Process: Successful solution⁠—no matter the size Disconnected Differences: Process/platform meets maturity, needs, and culture Step-by-Step: Create or modify existing idea Identify subject matter experts (SMEs) Identify group to ideate Share knowledge of past and future possibilities Perform design dash with all kinds of people from different disciplines Onboard by adding information that shapes knowledge of problem Identify and advocate solutions to follow or further develop Challenges: Overcome communication, physicality, priorities, and timelines Healthy ways to accept and provide criticism or feedback Get Unstuck: Unblock, walk away, and leverage resources Links: Sean Ironside on LinkedIn EGYM Google Hangouts Slack Zoom CoSchedule

How can you grow your marketing career with just a few years of experience? Through the power of personal branding. But you better get started now—just ask an accomplished and successful 24-year-old entrepreneur from down under. Today's guest is Lachlan Kirkwood, a digital marketing and conversions specialist who established ClickThrough, a startup that connects marketing talent with some of the biggest brands in the world. Some of the highlights of the show include: Personal Branding: Why it matters for marketers to add value Sole Intention: Build blog to practice digital marketing skills, not to build business Personal Brand Portfolio: Know, engage, leverage audience to iterate content Personal Brand Benefits: Agencies serve as source to attract new clients Distribution Channel: Personal branding and team members remain active How to get started on personal branding? Start small and set low expectations Biggest Barriers: Being a perfectionist and fear that your opinions aren't valuable Highs and Lows: Personal branding should be based around storytelling Consistency and Persistence: Forget performance metrics, results will happen Life is Business: Common mistakes marketers make with personal branding Links: Lachlan Kirkwood ClickThrough Lachlan Kirkwood's Blog Lachlan Kirkwood on LinkedIn Google Analytics CoSchedule

Is your company looking for ways to cut costs? Whenever there's a steep economic downturn, marketers' budgets tend to suffer. To survive, learn to do more with less. Today's guest is Naira Perez from SpringHill Digital. She describes how to maximize marketing results with a minimal budget. Bigger budgets do not mean better results. Some of the highlights of the show include: Why? Company isn't doing well and economic environment is in downturn Communicate Bottom Line: Convince company that cutting marketing costs more Cost vs. Resource Center: Marketing can adapt to changing consumer behaviors Bigger Budgets: Does lack of budget inhibit marketers' success? Audience Acquisition: Who are you talking to, and what are you telling them? What can you get for less? Consider existing clients and user-generated content Outsource: Need to do same amount of work with fewer people, hire freelancers Resources: Prioritize people over software due to irreplaceable knowledge/value Research and Reflect: Look at yourself and company—what can be done better? Recommendations: Find low-cost, high-impact tactics to prioritize opportunities Links: Naira Perez on LinkedIn SpringHill Digital Quora CoSchedule

How can a startup's revenue double in six months? By creating content that's authentic and based on personal experience. Authenticity isn't just a marketing buzzword. Today's guest is Jason Quey from Growth Ramp. He provides guidance on how to infuse authenticity into content marketing because it's easier said than done. Some of the highlights of the show include: Mission: Assist 1,000 entrepreneurs go from idea to scale to get 1,000 customers What is authenticity in marketing? Advertising equals salesmanship times print Cite own experience or duplicate others' research by borrowing credibility What is your value proposition? Unique selling proposition? Problems and Solutions: Talk to customers to understand outcomes to achieve Brand Messaging: Customers talk about the same problem using different words Experience: Bring own ideas, values, and language that others easily understand Teardown Analysis: Create content authenticate to you that's valuable to others Prioritize content creation for buyer types (most aware, product aware, solution aware, problem aware, and unaware customers) Links: Free 14-day Product Marketing Email Course Jason Quey Growth Ramp 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly John E. Kennedy Rosser Reeves Claude Hopkins David Ogilvy Blake Mycoskie (TOMS) Decibite Hiten Shah (KISSmetrics) Eugene Schwartz Hootsuite GoDaddy CoSchedule

Do you need a prescription for fixing what's wrong with marketing in the manufacturing space? It's not a dose of flashy trends or tactics, but philosophical and foundational ways of thinking differently. Today's guest is James Soto from Industrial Strength Marketing, an agency dedicated to helping industrial manufacturers make marketing the strength of their business to meet customers' needs. Some of the highlights of the show include: Family Business: Manufacturing experience through analog, digital, cell transition Bluetooth Backbone: Visual reality momentum on standards and sources Promise to practice being better marketers and sellers of products and services Critical Component: Make way of living life and doing business obsolete Top Tenets: Change, plan, communicate, respond, and measure success Marketers' Mindset: Change should not mean doing, making, or writing stuff Clarity: Who are we? Where're we going? How do we get there? Communication: Persistently create engaging, useful, and actionable content Excellence in Execution: Being who you are and being the industrial-est Marketing Readiness Assessment: What should be the next steps? Links: James Soto on LinkedIn Industrial Strength Marketing Get Marketing Ready Harvard Business Review Elon Musk of SpaceX CoSchedule