AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs

Hello friends, it's time for the third and final mini 4 AM Report in our series on the 3 Bs that are holding you back. Today's just might resonate with you the most: 🔥🔥🔥 BURNOUT!!! 🔥🔥🔥 If you're NOT suffering from some form of burnout at the moment, well bully for you, Mr. Robot! 🤣🤖😂🤖 But we certainly are, and so are most of the peeps we chat with on the regular. 😭 🦠🦠🦠 Covid-19. Home schooling. Work-from-home. Money stress. Loss of rituals and routines. Keeping a business afloat. Did we mention Covid-19?? 🦠🦠🦠 This year has been a 💥DECADE💥 and yet, we all must keep going. One big thing that helps in times of stress and uncertainty? Humour. Little moments of joy. In this episode, we talk about injecting levity and laughter into your marketing. You don't have to be the 🤡🤡🤡 Court Jester 🤡🤡🤡 but don't be afraid to have – and share - some fun! Enjoy!

Ok, it's time for "mini number two" of our 4 AM Report mini-series! ⭐️💫⭐️ We're looking at each of the three Bs that might be holding you back when it comes to your content marketing, and today – its BANDWIDTH. 😭😭😭 Are you feeling a little stretched these days, when it comes to mental bandwidth? We are, that's for sure. 🦠🦠🦠 Covid-19 🦠🦠🦠 has left us all stretched a bit thin (👈👈👈 understatement!) – servicing clients (YAY!), planning for 2021, finding the time to 📯 toot our horns 📯with our own content output. It's CRAY!! BUT not impossible. The key is to start thinking differently about your content. 🤯🤯🤯 Still writing 500 words and hitting publish? 🛑 Stop that schizz! 🛑 In this episode, we dissect old-school blog posts, and explore the myriad ways you can hack content that goes beyond the written word! 📽🤳📹 🎤 Enjoy!

Hey friends, buckle up because it's time for a special week of the 🎙4 AM Report! 🎙 Yup, you get three times the fun this week – mini-episodes that will run for three days 💫💥🎉💫 And while they may be mini – they're still chock full of mighty Anchor Theory goodness to take your content marketing to the next level! 💪💪💪 Today, we look at the first of what we like to call "the three Bs" – issues holding people back from greatness – the dreaded BUDGET!!! 🙄💸💰😭 How does the Anchor Theory of content creation relate to budgets? B*tch please. 🤣🤣🤣 We've spent the whole of November telling you how to create more with LESS! Seriously though. All kidding aside. These are tough times. 🦠 🦠 🦠 That's why we're sharing our special sauce of how batch production equals efficient dollar usage! As the great Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek puts it: When one of us shines. ALL of us shine! 🌹 Enjoy!

Anchors aweigh!!! 🛳⚓️🛳⚓️ Ok. Admittedly, that's a little lame. 😂😂😂 But we can't help it if we're excited to continue our series on the Anchor Theory! Today, on the 4 AM Report, you're going to learn how to 🌊🌊🌊 flood 🌊🌊🌊 your sales pipeline with anchor content! 🍾🥂🍾 We share: 💫 Why it's time to ditch traditional sales funnels, and instead embrace the flywheel method. 💫 Steps to widen your network - and stay in touch with - the type of people you WANT to work with. 💫 How to pour that tsunami of anchor content into your sales pipeline without getting spammy! 💫 And how to use email effectively by knowing your audience, and only sharing anchor content they'll appreciate. Oh. And an added bonus? Google LOVES that 👆👆👆shizz. Like, a lot. Enjoy!!

Wake up world, it's time for the 4 AM Report! 💫🎉💫 Hard to believe we're looking ahead to 2021 already, because GURL, this has been one long, MOFO year!!! 🤯🦠🍷🇺🇸🤯 But here we are. Still tickin'. ⏰ Today is all about the anchor theory of content marketing – and making your planning easy as 🥧🥧🥧! How to take your anchor content and: Spin 👏 that 👏 thing 👏 into 👏 as many 👏 things 👏 as you 👏 CAN!! 👏 Think of the four formats: ❶ Written format ❷ Audio format ❸ Video format ❹ And, the graphic or image format And use them all to expand upon your anchor piece. Before you know it, you'll be 🏊‍♀️ 🏊‍♀️ 🏊‍♀️ swimming 🏊‍♀️ 🏊‍♀️ 🏊‍♀️ in a river of content, creating SEO magic, and driving people back to your website! #You'reAnExpert! 🤣 Have a listen for tips and tricks. And here's to 2021! 🥂🍾🥂

Hello friends, it's time for another episode of the 4 AM Report. 🎙🎉🎙 Did you know that being "people centric" as a business owner – when you INVEST in caring about your teams and helping your employees grow – results in 3x the revenue and sales versus those who view people as a commodity? 💵💰💵 Hilda Gan knows. She's President and Chief People Officer of People Bright Consulting, an HR management consulting firm that delivers customized HR solutions. And she's our guest this week! We talk about: 💫 Building strong work cultures, and creating strong, healthy foundations with your people. 💫 How to face uncomfortable discussions head on. 💫 The power of the pivot (👈👈👈 UGH, there's that word again! 🤣) when faced with unexpected change. 🦠😷🦠 💫 And knowing your company's VALUES, and matching ('ish) those values when hiring. There's lots to chew on in this episode, have a listen!! About Hilda The President and Chief People Officer of People Bright Consulting, her company, provides strategic Human Resources support to businesses, including recruitment, employee engagement, manager and team training and HR policies and procedures to organizations that recognize that People are their great asset. During COVID-19, she created a weekly webinar series, COVID-19 Tough Decisions for Business Owners, to help businesses navigate the complexities of managing the business and the impact on the employees. A serial entrepreneur, she has built four companies – in Healthcare, HR, Management Consulting, and Engineering. The latter, she co-founded with her husband. iTRANS Consulting was an award-winning, national Engineering consulting Firm that was recognized as a Best Workplaces in Canada – top ten twice and a finalist in Canada's Best Managed Companies. She was recognized by the BWNYR for her work in promoting HR literacy to the Businesses. She is the creator of the Connect with REVUP Program to help organizations build stronger teams, managers and work cultures through training, mentoring and coaching

Wake up, world - it's time for the latest edition of the 4 AM Report! 🎙💥🎉🎙 This week, we talk about having a sense of humour. Or not. 😂🥴😂 Did you catch the latest brand kerfuffle over the weekend? Kraft (specifically KD Mac and Cheese) ruffled some feathers when, on National Noodle Day, they promoted a KD giveaway! What could be better? Fall is here. Yummy mac and cheese goodness. Did we mention FREE??? 🤯💰🤯 The hiccup? Their tagline: Send NOODS. Get it?? Send noods. Noodles. Word play and all that! Pretty funny right? Erm, no. 😬😬😬 Moms – the KD brand-buying moms - were furious at the wink wink, nudge nudge of "send noods." This huge brand missed the mark when it came to who their audience is. Want to try edgy humour? Start commenting on current events or hop on the latest trend? You HAVE TO know 👏 your 👏 audience 👏 – people are stressed, and tolerance is LOW! Have a listen!

Hello friends, and welcome to the second wave of Covid-19!! 🦠🦠🦠 Ok, we kid, we kid, welcome to another edition of the 4 AM Report. Wait. We DON'T kid! We ARE inching into the dreaded "second wave" and BOY are we not ready for this! 🤬 Rolling shutdowns are already occurring, and we're thinking it's going to be a long, cold winter. 🥶😷🥶 Our guest this week, Gini Dietrich, has been juggling a full household on lockdown while being the powerhouse behind umpteen numbers of properties nestled under the Spin Sucks brand. She's an author, featured speaker, and owner of a 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸Chicago based 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 PR/Marketing/Comms agency - plus super hilarious, ridiculously smart, and an all-around great person. We talk: 🦠 Life during this looming second wave of Covid-19. 🤯 The emotional shift that comes with "Oh no. Not AGAIN!" 😴 Its impact on sleep…glorious, delicious sleep…why hast thou forsaken us?? 💣 The "six-month wall" of burnout people hit when faced with uncertainty and upheaval. 🎉 Plus, when you do grab that elusive sleep, the incredible power of dreams! Give yourself a mental health break and have a listen! About Gini Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.

Hey friends, it's time for another episode of the 4 AM Report – where we explore what's keeping marketers and business owners up at night! 🤯 We're quickly ⏰ tick-tock'ing ⏰ our way into cold and flu season 🤒🤧🤒 and watching 🦠Covid-19🦠 cases increase across Canada. HUGE ugh! But facts. So, we thought it was a great time to do a bit of a mid-pandemic checkup for marketers with marketer extraordinaire Martin Waxman! Our guest today, Martin Waxman, was here back in March, when the whole Covid thing had just launched us all into crazy-town! 🥴😬🥴 Basically, he's the perfect person to chat with about what's happened – and what's next! 🔥 Why brand-consumer relationships are more important than ever before. 🔥 What to consider when mapping out goals for 2021 (er, or not!) 🔥 And how marketing has changed due to the pandemic, political unrest, and racial reckoning. We're super excited to have him back, so have a listen. About Martin Martin Waxman, MCM, APR, is a digital communications strategist, leads social media workshops, and conducts AI research. He's a LinkedIn Learning author, president of a consultancy, and senior advisor to Spin Sucks, He's also a past president of CPRS Toronto, a past-chair of PRSA Counselors Academy, and a member of the #AIinPR panel. Martin teaches social media at McMaster University, UToronto SCS, and Seneca College and regularly speaks at conferences and events across North America. He has a Master of Communications Management from McMaster-Syracuse Universities.

Oh. Hello October. What has even happened to time??? 😆📆⏰😆 We're on episode 66 of the 4 AM Report – and it feels like only yesterday we were celebrating our 50th! 🌟🎉🌟 Last week, we talked Kolbe – and this week, yes, we will wax profound about it AGAIN!! So much love. 💘💕💘 Our guest, Meredith Malloch, VP of Marketing and Communications at Investment Planning Council, swears by Kolbe, personally and professionally. We talk: 🔥 The benefits of Kolbe when it comes to hiring. 🔥 How a mix of different people (rather than same) creates better teams. 🔥 And why conflict declines when managers can zero in on team members' zones of genius. It sounds a bit 🔮'woo-woo hippy-dippy' 🔮but it's really not. You'll enjoy this one. Have a listen. About Meredith Since joining Investment Planning Counsel in 2000, Meredith Malloch has held progressive positions leading to her current position as Vice-President, Marketing. In this role, Meredith is responsible for enhancing the company's reputation with stakeholders across the country and managing its brand. Day-to-day, she and her team of marketing, communications and event planning specialists focus on the design and delivery of innovative programs to help Advisors promote their brand in their communities and grow their businesses.

Hey, Super Friends! 🦸🏽‍♀️🦸‍♂️ It's time for another 🎃🎃🎃*definitely NOT pumpkin spiced* 🎃🎃🎃episode of the 4 AM Report! What is UP with all things pumpkin spiced? What's next, pumpkin spiced wine? This week, we talk KOLBE. Have you taken a Kolbe test yet? It's super cool - everyone on our team has done one. Our guest this week, Laural Carr, founder and CEO of Toronto-based marketing firm Impagination, is also a Kolbe certified consultant. Kolbe helps you: 🌟 Define the way you take action and your approach to productivity.🌟 Understand your unique attributes as strengths.🌟 And learn to leverage them to naturally 'do more' in every aspect of your daily life. It sounds a bit 🔮'woo-woo hippy-dippy' 🔮but it's really not. What is IS, however, is a way to really home in on your and your staff's zones of genius - AND then build crazy-complimentary teams! 🔥💥🔥 Have a listen. About Laural "When I was younger, I heard from teachers, family and friends that I should do things a specific way. Disappointingly, I started more things than I finished, experimented with shortcuts and always asked "Why". Luckily, I found my path, achieved success solving problems that generated new business and accolades for my clients. The game-changer came decades ago when introduced to Kolbe. My Kolbe A Index revealed my natural talents, transformed my business and relationships and gave me the confidence to operate in my natural style. I want to help business owners and teams reduce stress, simplify business operations and confidently stand-out in the market. It starts with Kolbe." ~ Laural Carr, Kolbe Certified Consultant, Founder of Impagination Inc. Connect with Laural: www.impaginationinc.com Follow Laural Carr on Linkedin and Twitter Follow Impagination on Linkedin and Instagram Get awesome content and a free consultation at Impagination's Kolbe Services web page – Activate Your Kolbe Advantage

Hey friends! Sleeping better in this lovely cooler weather? 🍁🍂🍁 We hope so, because we're back with another episode of the 4 AM Report. 🌟💫🌟 Today, let's chat about what's keeping US up at night – this staggering statistic from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce: Sixty percent of Canada's restaurants could close by November due to the economic effects of 🦠🦠 Covid-19 🦠🦠!! This 🍽😭🍽 culinary devastation 🍽😭🍽 is top of mind for this week's guest, Stephanie Dickison. Founder of Toronto Restaurants, she's a food writer, journalist and an advocate for the Canadian restaurant industry. We talk: 🍱 Supporting your local eateries. 🥙 The icky side of delivery apps. 🥩 Restaurant wage inequality and the "to tip or not to tip" dilemma of takeout. 🍔 And more! Folks, we simply CAN'T lose upwards of 60% of our fabulous restaurants! Because once they're gone, they won't be back. Have a listen. And support local!! About Stephanie An industry expert covering the Toronto restaurant scene for +15 years, the Founder of Toronto Restaurants is passionate about food and restaurants. In addition to daily articles and features, profiling top chefs and interviewing celebs, her Open/Closed column is a must-read every Thursday morning for the newest openings, and latest news + events. Previous positions include restaurant critic forMetro Newspaper and Dine.TO. There's additional info here and here.

Wake up world - it's time for another edition of the 4 AM Report!! 🎙😴🎙😴 Danny Brown has worn many hats in his marketing career – consultant, executive, author, featured speaker, blogger, podcaster – seriously, the list is as long as your arm! 👏🤯🏆👏 His mantra? Deliver the best interactions for customers and audience at every touchpoint by: 💫 Being good people. 💫 Telling better stories. 💫 Being better businesses. 💫 And living better lives. As he says, "After all, business comes and goes, but we only get one shot at being good people in life and in business." PREACH!!! ✊✊✊ We talk all of the above, plus podcasting, brand responsibility, craft beer 🍺🍺🍺and so much more. The old 🍸🚬🥃👔 MadMen days of marketing are over, friends. Have a listen. About Danny Danny Brown is a podcaster, author, marketer, and content creator. He's the author of 4 books, including The Little Book of Inspiration, and Influence Marketing, cited by Nielsen Bookscan as one of the Top 100 Business Books in America (co-authored with Sam Fiorella). When not hosting the show Podcaster Stories, that takes you behind the scenes to meet the voices of the shows we listen to, he can be found enjoying a quiet life in Muskoka, Ontario with his wife, two kids, and three dogs. Connect: Podcaster Stories Newsletter

It's time for another edition of the 4AM Report, and today we talk about the real harm caused by extreme social isolation. We know that some of you - juggling work, family, kids, 24/7 these past 6 months – might gnaw your right arm off for a little "social isolation." 😆🤣😆 But long-term social isolation – especially in an aging population – can have deleterious results. ✅ Cognitive decline and dementia. ✅ Depression. ✅ Increased risk of mortality. And with a quarter of Canadian seniors living alone – that's not great news. 😢😢😢 When this week's guest began to worry about her own mom's dwindling network – she founded a tech company to help! Today, Charlene Nadalin is President and CEO of Amintro Inc., an online social platform that promotes social inclusion. AND it's exclusively for adults 50+. We are SO HERE for this! 🎉💫👏❤️ (*whispers* We're next, y'all!) It's a fantastic interview, and with 75% of older adults actively online, it's a kick in the pants for marketers and the like, who often forget about an entire segment of the population. Enjoy!! About Charlene Charlene Nadalin is an award-winning entrepreneur; business development expert; and marketing and sales strategist. As the President and CEO of Amintro Inc., Charlene founded a social impact enterprise focused on reducing social isolation and loneliness. Built on the foundation that friendship and knowledge can empower older adults to live better, healthier lives, Amintro is a free, easy-to-use web application that connects adults ages 50plus interested in making new friends and sharing experiences in person; and provides marketers with a dynamic and digital platform where they can engage directly with this growing consumer market.

Is it hot where you are? 🔥🥵🍳 How's your sleep? 😴💤😴 We're struggling - but not complaining - because SUMMER! And summer/lack of sleep be damned – here at c+p digital the show never stops! It's time for the 4 AM Report – where we find out what's keeping marketers up at night. Today's guest is one of our own, writer/editor Lindsay Bell. 🎙 Have you started a podcast lately? 🎙 Have you been thinking about starting a podcast? 🎙 Do you know anything about podcasts? If you answered yes, yes, no (😂😂😂) to the above questions, you'll want to tune in. 💥Discover the power of well written show notes! 💥Learn how to spin off REAMS of content from a single episode!💥 💥And soak up our very own writing tips, tricks, and tactics to help you get found on the God that is Google. 💥 Praise be. Enjoy!! About Lindsay • Shared a smoke with Robbie Robertson. • Ditched 28 years in TO for life in her East Coast homeland. • Wife/Mom/Music Fanatic • READS ALL THE BOOKS A seasoned writer, editor, and content marketing consultant, Lindsay is a former television producer (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) with over 20 years of production experience who brought her knack for creating audience responsive content to the digital space in 2010. She focuses on digital content and editorial strategy, helping organizations improve upon and expand their digital footprint, as well as driving increased lead generation through storytelling. Her writing resume includes some of the top thought leaders and publications in the digital space, in both Canada and the United States.

Hello friends! 🥰 It's time for another edition of the 4 AM Report! And today, we want to talk LOCAL! With 🦠Covid-19🦠 still lurking (such a jerk!) and slow re-openings *carefully* occurring – there's been a definite push everywhere to "think local." 🛍 Shop local. 🍽 Dine local. 🏖 Vacay local. And that's a great opportunity for small to medium sized businesses to support each other and align together (where possible) to get through this next pandemic hump. 😬 Kerri Beaulieu is marketing manager at ClimateCare Canada, a cooperative of heating and cooling businesses. Yes. A cooperative. Back in 1992, they decided to work together, rather than be competitors. And they're uniquely positioned to spread the message of "buy local." Listen and learn. And be a local hero! 🦸🏽‍♀️🦸‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️🦸‍♂️ About Kerri Kerri Beaulieu is the Marketing Manager for ClimateCare Cooperative where she assists 28 heating and cooling businesses across Ontario to elevate their brand in their local communities. She brings her 15 years of marketing, market positioning and brand development experience in the investment industry, to help raise awareness of ClimateCare and its members, as customer driven HVAC companies that support their communities. ClimateCare Canada is 100% member owned, and the largest cooperative of independent, locally-owned heating and cooling professionals in Canada.

Wake up world, it's time for another edition of the 4 AM Report! ⏰🎙⏰🎙 This week, we're going full-on meta, and doing a podcast about doing a podcast. In fact, we'll be doing a series of these, on how a podcast can easily become YOUR flagship marketing property, the 🎁gift that keeps on giving! 🎁 Spin 👏that 👏thing 👏into 👏as many 👏pieces 👏of content 👏as you 👏CAN!! 👏👏👏 ⭐️ Social posts? ✔️ ⭐️ Show notes? ✔️ ⭐️ Blog post? ✔️ ⭐️ Video content? ✔️ Keyword-rich written pieces help drive organic SEO. Which helps drive people to your website. Which helps drive people to get to know you. Which helps drive people to hire you! (well, in a perfect world! 😂) And voila! Your original anchor property has provided real ROI. We're dishing out our special podcast sauce here, folks. Have a listen!

Hello, fellow sleepless digital marketers! 😴 😴 😴 It's time for another episode of the 4 AM Report, the podcast where we dig into the nitty-gritty of what's keeping us all up at night! This week, we spoke to Jackie Porter, an award-winning financial planner and author. And since it feels lately like uncomfortable conversations are (finally!!! 👏✊✊👏) happening all around us, this episode includes uncomfortable – but needed – conversations with Jackie. Naturally we talked money, specifically the hair shirt of shame many people wear when it comes to personal finances and wealth – whether you have lots or none at all - but we also dove into: 💥 Racism and social justice uprisings. 💥 Being a woman of colour with a voice in today's world. 💥 And, the incredible strength that surges when people come together in community. As Jackie said, "…all these different individuals who make up the world - gay, straight, people of different ethnicities - if we can have real conversations with one another, that's how we'll move forward as a nation. That's how we'll all be free." It's a very powerful episode. Have a listen. About Jackie Jackie Porter is an award-winning financial planner who has been in the financial industry for the past 22 years serving thousands of families, established businesses, and professionals in the Greater Toronto Area. Her practice focuses on cash flow management and tax planning strategies. Jackie is one of Canada's most recognized financial planners. Her advice and financial strategies have been featured in top financial publications such as, Forum, Wealth Professional, Investment Executive and The Globe & Mail. Many have benefited from her sound and actionable financial advice offered at business conferences, radio interviews, podcasts and television programs such as CBC, Sun News and BNN. Jackie has also been awarded winner of the Mackenzie Investments Award for 'Female Trailblazer of the Year' category in the 2019 Wealth Professionals awards.

A random selection of social media posts (What? You expected science? 😂😂😂) show that a lot of you aren't sleeping well these days. Perfect timing for another episode of the 4 AM Report, exploring what's keeping business leaders and marketers up at night! 😴 This week, we chat with Melissa Lloyd, founder and chief doodler at Doodle Lovely. Doodles? 🎨🖌🖋✍️ H*LL YEAH! You know how much we love our white boards! And there is real science behind the power of doodling. Whether you call it visual notetaking, sketchnoting, or graphic recording, it's all about putting pen to something, and letting those creative juices flow! As Melissa points out, we are all born with creativity. And yet, many if not most of us lose that natural urge to scribble. Start today. Tear yourself away from your screens for five minutes. In fact, doodle while listening to this podcast episode! Allow your mind to float, and your anxiety settle. 🧠 🧠 🧠 About Melissa MELISSA LLOYD is an international Doodler, designer, teacher, author and inspirationalist. Her passion for creativity can be found globally on products, environments and in the hearts of those with whom she has connected. Melissa combines her twenty plus years of experience in professional design and communication with her passion and connection to humanity, psychology, art therapy and mindfulness; infusing a deep understanding of self. Melissa splits her time between mothering, creating, teaching and living in her little Cottage By The Sea. To discover more of Melissa's work visit: doodlelovely.com

🦠 Covid-19 or no Covid-19 🦠 - marketers gotta market! And voila! 🎩 🎩 🎩 It's time for another edition of the 4 AM Report, and today, we talk returning to the workplace! We've been lucky during this lockdown, as we work from home on the regular. 🌟🌟🌟 But for many, returning to work will bring no amount of trepidation and anxiety! How should your reopening work? How much space-per-employee should you dedicate? How do you keep everyone safe? We went straight to an expert for answers! Today we have with us Kevin Steinberger, Program Director and Producer, Future Offices Conference Series at IQPC. His job is to know the ins and outs of space utilization, leasing new technology, new sanitization measures, automation within design, etc. You name it, he knows it! Through his research with global heads of real estate, workplace HR, and Fortune 500 brands he's synthesized a safe return to the workplace to three main things: Safety, trust and productivity. Have a listen! About Kevin Kevin Steinberger is responsible for developing global market research for corporate real estate, facilities and workplace teams across all industries of the Fortune 500. This research is used for advising tenants on next steps for their workplace strategy and real estate footprint, and additionally is used to develop the speaking content for the annual Future Offices conferences at IQPC. As the producer for these shows, Kevin brings together the highest level of research and content circling around people, place and technology to ultimately help enterprises develop their next generation workplaces. LinkedIn *** You can also listen to the entire episode, as well as all our previous episodes, over on Apple Podcasts. We'd love it if you could subscribe give us a review! If you're losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a line at c+p digital. And as always, sweet dreams…well, hopefully!

It's time for another episode of the 4 AM Report, and folks - we're halfway through 2020! Woohoo!! 🦠🎉🦠🎉 #ByeFelicia This week, we chat with Dale McDermott, COO of Canada's LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, about the impact of the LGBTQ+ community on travel and tourism. For example, taking Pride 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 and the Pride Parade/Weekend virtual due to Covid-19, while super fun and well attended, left a massive economic hole in its wake. How massive? Check these numbers from Pride/Pride Weekend, 2019: 🌈 1.7 million+ Pride Toronto attendees 🌈 $100,000+ donated to charity 🌈 A whopping $374 million to Ontario's GDP 🌈 $149 million in tax revenue 🌈 And events directly supported 3,392 jobs Dale talks about the LGBTQ+ traveler, and why it behooves those in the travel industry to give their marketing a shake, become more inclusive, and tap into what is, year-round, a $12 billion-dollar travel market. 💰💰💰 It's the power of love, friends! 💞 💘 💞 Enjoy! About Dale Dale McDermott is Chief Operating Officer of CGLCC, Canada's LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce. Established in 2003, CGLCC is a trusted partner linking LGBT+ businesses in Canada to the wider business community. Dale has held many leadership positions within not-for-profit organizations. Dale is a member of the Board of Directors of Canadian Club Toronto, Canada's preeminent public affairs podium. He is a member of the Banff Forum, a network of young Canadian leaders from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors committed to reinvigorating debate in Canada about key public policy issues with the goal of building a better Canada. Contact [email protected]

Wake up, world!! 🌎 🌎 🌎 ⏰ ⏰ ⏰ And welcome to a special Friday edition of the 4 AM Report! 🎙🎙🎙 Why Friday? Because we have a guest for you today who is SO special, we couldn't wait until Thursday to share her with you! This week, we're chatting with Eleanor Beaton (yes, we stan) and if you don't know her – YOU SHOULD! An award-winning journalist, speaker, executive coach and host of the Fierce Feminine Leadership podcast, she's committed to unleashing the power of women's voices through business coaching and leadership development. We talk all things juicy, including: 📣 The conversation around systemic racism and the global BLM protests, and the *koff* influencers who are definitely NOT getting it right! 📣 The importance of knowing your values and communicating same online without getting dragged. 📣 And how entrepreneurs MUST build their authentic voice before they bulldoze their way through social media. Have a listen. You will LOVE it. About Eleanor Beaton Eleanor Beaton is an internationally-recognized expert in women's leadership, and an advisor to growth-oriented women entrepreneurs. She has served as chair of the Visiting Women's Executive Exchange Program at the Yale School of Management and sits on the board of directors of two Canadian venture capital organizations. She's been recognized by the Corporate Excellence Awards as Canada's Leadership Coach of the Year, and was named by entrepreneurial guru for women Ali Brown as "one of the foremost women's leadership experts in North America." Eleanor is the host and executive producer of a top-ranked podcast for women entrepreneurs, Fierce Feminine Leadership. A former journalist reporting for the CBC, Globe and Mail and Canadian Business, Eleanor was a finalist for a National Business Book of the Year, Canada's top business book honour, and has won national prizes for her journalistic work covering key issues related to women in leadership. Eleanor has spoken internationally at events whose rosters include notables such as the former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She lives in Eastern Canada with her husband and two sons. Website LinkedIn

Cheers to all you woke folk (literally and figuratively!) who are doing the hard work of fighting for equality and social justice for all! 🎉✊🌈 It's time for the 4am report! June is Pride Month here in Canada - a celebration of LGBTQ-plus people, 🏳️‍🌈rainbows 🏳️‍🌈abound, (usually) parades and parties are had (thanks, Covid) 😭, and it's generally a month of festivity and equality. Except when it isn't. Which is why we wanted to talk to this week's guest, Colin Druhan The Executive Director at Pride at Work Canada, his mission is to hold people accountable when it comes to true inclusion for queer and trans people in the workplace. The not-for-profit supports employers and their diversity and inclusion strategies, including: 🌈 Sexual orientation 🌈 Gender identity 🌈 And gender expression This is extremely important work, because as Colin says, "You don't change the system overnight." Have a listen. Because you WILL learn something. About Colin Colin joined Pride at Work Canada/Fierté au travail Canada as Executive Director in 2014. Since then, he has prioritized the extension of the organization's reach outside of Canada's largest cities into a wide range of communities across the country. Originally from Cole Harbour, NS, he has lived in Toronto for fifteen years, during which time he has consistently engaged with queer, trans and 2S communities through working and volunteering with organizations like The 519, the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film & Video Festival and the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation. Connect with Colin on LinkedIn or email him at [email protected]. Read Colin's writing for IN Magazine.

Wake up friends, because it's time for another episode of the 4 AM Report! 🎙⏰🎙 While we are POOPED 💤💤💤from our recent "50th episode" 🎉🌟🎉celebrations, the show must go on! Today's guest is Neil Stephen, a brand communicator and CEO of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia's This is Marketing. What keeps Neil up at night 😬? The economic viability of Atlantic Canada! 🌊 🐳 🌊(our resident fellow Maritimer/writer Lindsay Bell agrees!). His goal as an entrepreneur? To create 1000 jobs in his part of Canada, by helping businesses succeed, then grow their employees exponentially. We talk: 💥 Financial sustainability. 💥 Elevating your brand in times of crisis. 💥 Going toe-to-toe against corporate monoliths like Walmart and Amazon. 💥 And NASCAR! 🏎 🏁 🏎 What does NASCAR have to do with marketing? You'll have to tune in to find out! About Neil Stephen Neil Stephen is a brand communicator and CEO of This is Marketing. Since 2015 Neil and his team have helped small business brands understand and speak with their unique voice on the path to growth. A graduate of StFX University, Neil brings 15 years of brand centric strategy to companies looking to grow and compete with bigger brands - keeping jobs and investment in Atlantic Canada.

🎉🎉🎉 Cue the ticker tape parade!! Cue the day drinking!! 🍾🥂🍷 Today, 🎙The 4AM Report 🎙hits EPISODE 50! Ok. Last week we wanted to talk crisis comms, not birthdays (obvs!) and we published two extra episodes – but we labelled them "Episode 49.5 and episode 49 and three-quarters"! 😂 We make the rules. We break the rules. 🤘 💫 💫 💫 And we were NOT going to miss out on our celebratory 5-0! 💫 💫 💫 Ok, back to biz: Why should YOU create a podcast? Because our podcast is literally 🎁 the content gift 🎁 that keeps on giving – pure gold that's sliced and diced in myriad ways to flood our funnels and keep those conversions happening! Sound appealing? Listen and learn. 🌟 Why the broadcast-only model is dead, and what that means. 🌟 How to use that content gold to help you connect with people online and drive real ROI. 🌟 Tips and tricks to have up your sleeve to help take your digital networking from 0 to 100! 🌟 Plus, when it's appropriate to put the brakes on and adjust your messaging (see above re: crisis comms). 🌟 And why it's KEY to let your personality be its own marketing sparkle-bomb! Like we do! (No 💩 eh? 😂) Are we feeling pretty good about ourselves? Damn straight! 🙌 🙌 🙌 And that's a mighty good feeling to have.

EXTRA EXTRA 🗞️🗞️🗞️ This episode started from a place of having seen one influencer voice after another, get it WRONG. And then come up with self indulgent apologies 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ which was not really serving their audiences. Everyone from mayors and politicians, to influencers, business voices and large brands have walked on shaky ground this past week. They're either being really quiet, conspicuously quiet and this time, or they're taking a mis-step and then trying to be defensive. Nobody gives a shit! 💩💩💩 If you said it, deal with the consequences. And if you didn't, deal with those consequences too…. So, that prompted a discussion that raised a question: Is there a CRISIS 101 FRAMEWORK? We broke it down into a few areas. Obviously stop, take that pause, reflect and consider. Re messaging! And we break that down for you a little bit in this episode; we talk about this a lot on our podcast. And it's funny that in the last three months, we've discussed re messaging more times than we care to remember! Crisis times!!!! Then we'll talk about the value of a team, you've obviously got yourself surrounded by some type of team if you have a voice in this moment. So really, where to use them, how to use them and what to think about. And then next, we'll go to backup plans. Shits going to go wrong. When it does, how do you default? I mean, a lot can be inferred about brands, from how they deal with things when it's not going to plan. And then finally, this is highly cliched, but the idea of values and the reason why Nike keeps coming up repeatedly in the news is because they really, really, really subscribe to a set of values. We are in the middle of a crisis WITHIN a crisis. The words that you put out on your channels is your voice. You're sharing what you or your brand feels and says. This can't be an impromptu, situation of 'just dash something off'. You've got to really think and look to your team for advice. Sweat, the messaging you're putting out. So yeah, don't wing it. Listen to the full episode for details. If our podcast masterclass is of interest, read on and the sign up is here: https://cp.digital/podcastmasterclass/ Not every medium is for everyone. We do try to cover a broad range at c+p digital. And if you're listening to us now, you know that we have this podcast.One of the things we're doing is helping others curious about exploring podcasting and communicating and getting their voice out via that method of communication. We are planning a podcast three day kind of boot camp/masterclass. It is next week June 11 -13 (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday). It's free. And it's an hour each day. It's not a lot of time and we promise it'll be enjoyable, but it'll focus on branding and messaging, and the technical side of how to do it as well. It's for those of you who either already have a podcast and you're struggling with the messaging around it in this moment, or you've been thinking for a while about what the next infrastructure piece is. But even beyond the podcast, have a think about what medium suits you. We often hear things like, 'I don't like to go on video and I feel like I should be going on video.' Don't let the FOMO get to you. If you're not a video person, ignore it. If you're not a podcast person, ignore it. Find your medium. Everybody has one. If that means just posting an image with a commentary on an image then more power to you just do it with your voice!

Today is a special short but important episode of the 4 AM Report. Those of us of a certain age remember the Rodney King trial verdict and the resultant L.A riots. Twenty-eight years later, and frankly, little has changed. America is righteously burning. Due to pain, rage, fear, and frustration. Protests are happening globally. And for marketers, it's time to stop, drop, and roll, and put the brakes on your campaigns. 🛑 STOP: Press pause on your marketing, lest something tone deaf or tasteless goes out. 🛑 DROP: Drop all your current marketing plans and re-assess all your content. Scheduled social posts, email campaigns, etc. 🛑 ROLL: Once you've got a grip on what's happening and how you can contribute respectively and supportively roll with it. Now's the time to be extra sensitive. People are crying out for justice. Don't be the brand that shoves the metaphorical middle-finger in their faces.

Welcome to another edition of the 4 AM Report – and today, we chat about what's keeping US up at night? 🎉🎉🎉 EXCITEMENT 🎉🎉🎉 We're fast approaching a milestone – we're soon turning ONE! Thursday after Thursday – and we haven't missed a beat! Watch this space for celebrations and frivolity (we're actually pretty good at frivolity 🍷🕺💃🍷)! Because we're a year old soon, we thought it was the perfect time to share some info on how to get high ROI out of your content. Today you'll hear about: 🌟 Engagement 🌟 Amplification 🌟 Consistency 🌟 The Humblebrag 🌟 And of course, the almighty dollar Because while this has been fun, we're not doing it just "for" fun. 😉 Listen in for all the buzz!

How are your sleeps going now that Covid-19 is entering a new phase of cautious rule-loosening? 🦠😴😱🦠 Hopefully slightly better – because it's time for another edition of the 4 AM Report! 🍷🥃🍷 This week Will and Susan chat about investing in an often-overlooked part of small biz infrastructure – human resources! What better time, really, when the work-world is upside down! Guest Helen Patterson helps businesses grow by creating people strategies, and heart-centered, high-performance cultures. You'll learn: 🌟 The importance of having HR policies in place BEFORE the scramble starts. 🌟 Why the hiring process isn't the best use of time for a busy entrepreneur. 🌟 And why compassionate and humane leaders who treat staff with respect will sail through any crisis. Let's face it, it's your people who are helping your company thrive. And right now, during these crazy times of economic uncertainty – to thrive is to survive. About Helen As the Founder of Life Works Well, Helen Patterson brings 20 years of passion and experience to creating high performance heart-centred cultures that deliver proven results and increased revenues. She is known for leading National firsts and has increased market share and brand awareness by up to 400%. She's also helped these companies with millions of dollars in cost-savings through innovative people strategy and risk mitigation. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lifeworkswell/ Twitter: @HMPatterson19 Instagram: @HMPatterson19 and @lifeworkswell.caWebsite: lifeworkswell.ca

Upending a Successful Business to Follow Your Passion? That's NUTS! Or IS it? It's time for another edition of the 4 AM Report ⏰ ⏰ ⏰ – our micro podcast bringing you valuable conversations with smart people on the marketing dilemmas keeping them up at night. 😱 😱 😱 Today's guest is Sandra D'Souza, Founder and Managing Director of Sandstone Solutions Group. As an experienced business professional with over 20 years' experience in senior finance and recruitment roles, Sandra shifted the focus of her very successful business – going from a comfortable money-making space, into new uncharted waters! 🌊 🌊 🌊 Very BRAVE! 👏 👏 👏 That said, it's not surprising that what keeps her up at night is breaking into a new audience segment and making those solid connections we all strive for in order to grow. 🌱🌱🌱 We talk about upending your tried and true business networks, what it's like to feel like a "newbie" while dipping your toes into a new sector, and what it's like to start again from scratch (sort of). Settle in, press play, and be prepared to hear about one marketer's deep dark nightmares! 😬 About Sandra D'Souza Sandra D'Souza is the Founder and Managing Director of Sandstone Solutions Group and The Make Good Project. Sandstone Solutions Group is a boutique search firm dedicated to providing executive search and interim management solutions to companies across all sectors. We help progressive, growth-oriented companies recruit the team they need to get to the next level. Through The Make Good Project, we help forward thinking Non-Profits and Social Enterprises streamline their staffing and operations to help them be as profitable and efficient as possible so they can continue to do good things in the world. Website

Sick and Tired of Non-Stop Bad News? Get Ready to Be Covid Inspired!! Hello friends and welcome to a special edition of the 4 AM Report! 😴 Ugh. The news-cycle these days is brutal. And as if 2020 couldn't get any worse – we now have Murder Hornets!! Murder. Hornets. Ugh. So, rather than wonder what's keeping you up at night – we've decided to shift focus and bring you ALL THE GOOD NEWS! Today, we explore some really exciting and innovative things companies are doing to stay in business and 🦠🦠🦠 survive Covid-19! 🦠🦠🦠 We focused on four categories: 👩‍🔬 The all-in, boots to the ground, search for a vaccine! 💅 Health and lifestyle/beauty (Hello! Remember haircuts?) 🎾 Sports 💻 And technology We could all use a few more smiles these days. And some reassurance that all is not lost. Enjoy! We're All Collectively Grieving There've been many many articles about the strangeness we're all going though right now – and most agree that the emotional discomfort you're feeling right now is grief – grieving a loss of life and liberty on many levels for many people, whether it's jobs or you know, something much less, like damaging to your financial bottom line, whatever it is. Everyone's feeling that loss and that pain in this moment and understanding that, is part of emotionally intelligent self-responsibility, isn't it? We're absolutely NOT saying that each and every one of us who runs a business has to jump in and be doing something awesome. For many of us, it's just too much pressure on top of everything else. But if there was inspiration out there, it's only going to come to you if you seek it. So, we really wanted to dedicate this post (and the podcast) to the entrepreneurial spirit and doing whatever it is you have to do to – that takes you to the next step and keeps you from jumping off those cliffs! And by leading today, you'll be a leader tomorrow when this all ends. Because it will end. Eventually. The Search for a Vaccine "The first example is, as I said, this company called Serum Institute. They're in India, and this particular company is an independently owned company that manufactures like a significant amount of the global sort of serums and vaccines. Notably, they were involved with the Oxford University malaria vaccines as well as Ebola vaccines. So, this company approached Oxford University because they had previously worked with them, and asked for rights to be able to help them (in their vaccine search). They've taken a bet on the first fact that it's going to work, and they've made improvements or changes or whatever it is to their machinery. And in addition to that, and this blows my mind, they're preparing to produce about 60 million units of this vaccine at their own cost. They'll obviously sell it if it's viable. But they've promised to keep it at affordable prices. This is like to me, not only like extreme visionary behavior, spotting those opportunities, cutting through red tape, India's not an easy country in which to have things like this happen, right? Doing all of that, but also like putting your money where your mouth is, like, it's straight up, like sticking your neck out and being like, you know, what, if someone loses their head, it's me." Honey, Your Roots are Showing "Even like places where you go and get your hair done, hair salons, are doing virtual consults and helping people cut their hair digitally. Two of my friends go to a higher end hair salon to have their roots and hair touched up. And they were doing delivery where you could get the actual same product your hair stylist uses with instructions. And you know, it was good stuff because you had to use it up in 24 hours or went bad. But it was the exact same stuff you used in the salon. I mean, obviously, you don't have the wonderful professional doing it for you. It's probably still not gonna be as good, but still allowing you to use those same products and get this almost the same, the same type of results. So yeah, it's just pretty amazing what people are doing to still make sure they have some cash flow coming in the door." Wimbledon Rolled the Dice – And WON! "Apparently in 2003, after the SARS outbreak had come and gone – they thought they should consider pandemic insurance. And I guess they went with it. And then kudos to whoever that company is who, who a pitched them and suggested it and came up with that strategic plan and got it approved. It's phenomenal. Think about that now, like 17 years later, that is the best decision of the Wimbledon, you know, events life because they were just paid out $141 million on pandemic insurance. And this is what like, I mean, we obviously don't know the industry deeply, but what we're reading is that this is likely to probably change the way in which insurance is delivered forever. This is one of those like milestone moments." Thank You, Technology "But a couple of examples of people who are shining in this moment. I think it's the delivery apps of different types, whether it's

Remember the great Aretha Franklin's hit 🎶Who's Zoomin' Who? 🎶 Well, lately it appears we're ALL Zoomin' someone, often multiple times a day. During this 🦠 pandemic lock-down 🦠 Zoom has become the video conferencing provider of choice. That's why, on this week's episode of the 4 AM Report, we're bringing you top talk with a video expert! Janine Harris is the executive producer at Keyring Media Inc., specializing in video for business. She shares: 📹 Tips and tricks for looking fine 💅 on camera. 📹 How to jazz 🎷up 🎷 your surroundings so people are focussed on YOU! 📹 And how to use video, in general, in your marketing efforts. All that, PLUS a special surprise (hint: it involves ukuleles)! Let's get started, shall we! *** Video Killed the Radio Star Video might have killed the radio star, but it ALSO provided many (if not most) of us the ability to continue working during these crazy, Covid times. It's also added a valuable extra layer to marketing efforts, if done right. According to a recent Hubspot survey, "…92% of marketers who use video say that it's an important part of their marketing strategy — the highest percentage of any year since 2015." BUT - if you're adding simple DIY video to your campaigns this year – it better look good. The average consumer will spend more than 80 percent more time on your site if it has video – but will surely bounce if it's crap. Let's take a look at some of what video expert (and executive producer) Janine Harris had to say about video – both in office – AND in your marketing efforts. A Checklist to Help You Up Your Zoom Conferencing Game "Lighting is one of them. The first thing that we always look at in video production is how well can we see you. So many people's offices, home offices are set up with their back against a window. And you just see this halo of dark face and you can't see them at all. I think setting up a situation where you've got some decent lighting, and it can be as simple as just turn your desk around, face your window. And the difference is unbelievable, you get this beautiful glow a light on your face, and it's perfect. You really don't have to stress too much more beyond that." "The second one, probably for me is the positioning of the camera where you know, a lot of people are on laptops, and that camera is pointing up to us, or you see the face where they're right at the bottom of the screen and there's all this headroom above them. So, you want to put your best foot forward. I'm not saying you have to dress up or do anything like that, but you should have should be easy for people to watch you and they shouldn't feel awkward, you know?" "Third. Backdrop. There's so much you can do. When I moved from my office into my home office, I took over what was essentially a storage space. I set up my background with camera equipment and my ukuleles, because I love playing ukuleles and most clients who knew me know that we play ukuleles around the office from time to time. And I collect keys, so they went up on the wall and just things that reflect me! Also, my favorite - a strike of color on the wall, it could be an art print or it could be some fabric. The worst thing to me is the white wall. I think a little bit of perspective, a little bit of personality behind you is a good thing. I have some fun with it." DIY Video Marketing "There's nothing wrong with DIY videos. I'm seeing so many people doing great stuff with zoom, and just with their webcam or their phone. But for some people, they do need to take it up a notch to get above the noise. So, I've got a few clients who are producing content on their phone. And what we've done is created an animated opening and closing just to help make a cohesive brand for them. They're shooting their videos, and we package them with this opening and closing, it's super affordable, but it ups their game." On the Power of Video to Help Build – or Maintain - Relationships "People are leaning towards video to create connections. They don't even have any FaceTime in person, with people and their employees, especially the larger organizations of companies that have offices across Canada. They have no FaceTime. There's a reason Why the Prime Minister is on video every day giving us updates. They're not just putting an article out in the newspaper, right people, people appreciate that human connection. And so, we are so lucky if you think about it, if this had happened 10 years ago, we wouldn't have had the technology to have this FaceTime with all these people. And I don't mean FaceTime the product, but I literally mean, being able to get on Zoom or Skype or whatever you're using." *** About Janine Janine Harris is a Producer, Director and Editor with a passion for telling stories. With over 20 years experience developing and producing for commercial, television series and documentaries, she brings broadcast skill and technique along with web strategies to telling the stories of business. From marketing videos to

Time's kind of making its own rules up these days, eh? ⏰ 🥴 🦠 🗓 Well, you can count on knowing it's Thursday – because we're back with The 4 AM Report, your weekly dose of late-night insomnia! 😴 😴 😴 And we're excited to introduce you to Scott MacMillan, President and Executive Publisher at Grammar Factory Publishing. Be honest. We've all thought at one time or another "I should write a book!"…right? Or, maybe you're looking at the screen cock-eyed right now wondering why a business owner/entrepreneur should put the work in and get a book out? Here's why – of those who wrote a book: 📕 86% of them grew their business. 📗 72% got speaking engagements. 📘 And 34% saw their overall earnings double! Being published gave them authority and helped them stand out from competitors. So, if you're curious about self-publishing, put your feet up and have a listen. For those of you who prefer the "skim" technique, scroll down for some snippets from Scott! The ROI of Writing a Business Book "(Of those who wrote books) some were just for the exposure. And the majority of them, you know, two thirds got media exposure of some kind, whether it be online, radio, TV, newspapers, or what have you. So, if we if we step back and think about these outcomes, what a book did for these entrepreneurs anyway, was give them a differentiator that their competitors didn't have and couldn't quickly replicate. Gave them authority signals that allowed them to raise their rates and be more selective around choosing which clients to work with. You know, it opened doors with media and event organizers and strategic partners who could help them achieve their business goals. And you know, what isn't captured in the survey - what I know anecdotally - is that the book asset provides these benefits in a scalable way. So, you write it once, and then you leverage it in your business. And while you have to work it alongside with your business, it keeps doing his job 24 seven, right, anytime, anywhere, whether you can be there or not." Me? Write a Book?? Come On!! "The reality is, you know, any of us who are in business, we've got something to offer our clients, right. If we didn't, we wouldn't have a business. And the key to writing an effective book, a book that supports your business and grows your business, is converting that proprietary knowledge, proprietary approach expertise, converting that into an IP asset that gets into book form. And you know, what's really great about that is that it reflects the way you do your business. And, you know, you're no way an imposter because you're being authentic to the way that you work every day. And I think that's where a lot of people get hung up. But that's really the solution - if your book captures that, that uniqueness and those novel ideas, then you really have something that is of value to people. And generally speaking, the ideal reader of your book is the same as the ideal client for your business. And that's where the two really come together and really work together." Short. Sharp. Shocked. "I would say that writing styles for books have become more informal, a little bit more 'user friendly'. The caveat to that is the expectation when somebody's reading a book is a bit higher than what they feel when they're reading an article online. So, you know, grammatically, it still has to follow the general rules, right? But, you know, not those same strict rules that we would all have learned in school. If it has the intended effect to help you relate with the reader. It's really about understanding who your reader is, how they talk, and writing in a way that is going to impact them and move them. I think the other thing that is happening is the length of books is getting a bit shorter. You know, a nonfiction book 10 years ago might have been, you know, 400 pages, let's say. Most of the books that we publish now are somewhere between two to three hundred pages. Some are as short as 100 pages and, you know, I think that's probably a direct reflection of attention spans. And the fact that for these types of books in particular, people aren't reading them to be entertained right there. They're reading them for an outcome and the quicker you can deliver that outcome, the more value you're delivering." If you're thinking of writing and publishing a book to help elevate yourself in the business space, Scott might just be the guy to make that happen for you! About Scott Scott MacMillan is President & Executive Publisher at Grammar Factory Publishing, a Toronto-based professional service publisher that has helped more than 200 entrepreneurs write and publish books that build authority and grow businesses. Hope you've enjoyed this week's episode - now hop on over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe to us – you won't regret it! Plus, if you're losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a

Well aren't you all lucky ducks! 🦆 🦆 🦆 This week, with the current calamity that is Covid-19, we're bringing you two episodes of The 4 AM Report! There's a lot of noise about what we should be doing. So we're keeping our episodes short and sweet 🍭 🍭 🍭 - delivering lots of marketing and comms advice that you can use today! Today? We talk strategy. When all this broke, we put the brakes on: 🦠 Immediately stopped everything we were doing for every client. 🦠 We paused the calendars and ALL automation. 🦠 And looked at our strategic process - rinsing through every step with this new COVID lens. That strategy? We call it the five degrees of simplification – AKA "The Toddler Method" – and there's a special "Toddler" workbook available you can download for free. And when we say free, we mean free, like - free free - like not even your email required! 😂 This is something we've been talking about a lot with this pandemic – that businesses – where they can – should be un-gating any content that would help other business owners and entrepreneurs get through this chaos. So yes – we're snorting our own blow. Have a listen – and get ready to re-jig your strategy (if you haven't already!). Or, continue reading for a few quick tips! The Toddler Method "The Toddler Method (Five Degrees of Simplification) kind of has its origins in my little girl who is nine years old right now. But when she was a toddler, she helped me simplify most things by asking the question "Why?" a lot. A LOT. That's why they call it the terrible twos - they keep asking why it's annoying! LOL And most parents, like make jokes about it or try to stem that. I think it comes from a deep need they have to understand "What is the simplest version of this message?" So, we decided to go with that. And we ask ourselves "why" a lot when we're trying to do anything, and we really think that has value in the moment, about defining that compelling reason why you need to continue to communicate amidst the noise WHILE making sure that your audience understands it." "The workbook is an 11-step strategic process. It takes you from start to finish and is a really, really good exercise to go through when you have the time. We're just going to pull out five parts of that to talk about just for the sake of timing, and we don't want to overwhelm you. The very first thing that we recommend - before you get into strategy even- is to a content audit. Everybody knows what a content audit is. Go through your library of content, things you've created, things you've produced, podcasts you've done, go through everything, and put anything that you feel is relevant and helpful to your audience right now in a little figurative box. And maybe those things need a little tweaking, maybe they're old, maybe you need to have a copywriter. Maybe write something up to make sure it's clear why this is relevant to the audience now during this time, but you know, you don't need to go and reinvent stuff, probably most of you have a lot of great, great content already produced, you just need a way of repurposing it a bit for these times." "You've been marketing to this 40 year old mother of three: you know what she does for work, you know what she does after work. You know what she likes to do with her friends, you know what her kids' activities are, you know, you've planned that whole thing out. You still want to market to that 40 year old mother of three. But her life is turned upside down right now!! She's trying to do work at home. She's trying to keep the kids busy. She's trying to think of educational activities for them to do she's probably going a little bit insane. Are you going to be messaging to your audience the same way? I don't think so. We definitely aren't. So, you know, have some empathy here and think right now about your audience -because what they want might have changed a little bit right now." There's much more in the podcast, including how to think about competitors, and why it's so important to have your messaging ON POINT during these difficult times. We hope you enjoy! Now get yourself over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe to us – you won't regret it! Plus, if you're losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a line at C+P Digital. And as always, sweet dreams…well, hopefully!

WAKE UP EVERYONE!! Oh, who are we kidding – no one's sleeping that much these days, amiright?? Covid-19 has caused us to shift gears slightly – especially here on The 4 AM Report. This week we continue the trend – to help you cut through the clutter of information on what you should be doing with your marketing during this time of crisis. Here's one tiny tip you can put into play immediately - especially if you are pushing out content to "help" businesses get through these crazy-turbulent times. DITCH THE DREADED OPT-IN BUTTON We get it. It's lead generation. List building. BUT if you're promoting and sharing your wealth of information – no matter your industry – as a "good deed" – then requiring an email address to access it? Guess what? That's not a good deed. In fact, it's more than a little tone deaf. And if for some reason you can't un-gate something (which I guess happens) – at the very least DO NOT bombard people with follow-up emails. I get it. We're all adjusting to this thing that's turned the business world upside down. And that's why it's never been more important to get it right. Listen in for more on opting OUT of opt-ins in times of crisis. No email required. Or, scroll down and keep reading for some snippets from the podcast. To Opt-In, Or Not To Opt-In – That is the Question "Great, I got the free guide. In a normal world, I'd be hit with another email from that person's funnel a few days later, saying, 'Hey, did you really enjoy the guide? Well, if you enjoyed that, then you should try this and this…' you know, it's that funnel to make the sale. So, it goes to the automation doesn't it? It's like not everyone like two or three weeks into this pandemic has modified their automated funnel. If you sign up to get these free things, you're instantly going to get hit with what might be potentially off color, automated sequences, pushing for the sale. And here's the thing if you want to keep your gated opt-in going, then give it some context, maybe the landing page it lives on, you need to acknowledge why this opt-in is relevant and why you think this audience should have it now, AND why you're not able to remove the email wall to get it and just have it as a free download. Or adjust the follow-up email - write some little copy to go like 'Listen, this was a no strings attached thing. I'm not going to be harassing you for the sale!' So, there's ways to still have the opt in especially if you can't turn it off. Tweak the materials around it, tweak the email landing page, tweak the email that delivers the opt-in, there's lots of stuff you can be doing to be a little less tone deaf around all this." "Right! The easy changes are the text changes. You can even put a banner just across the top of the landing page - we did one of ours - just a little block at the top explaining why we thought this was relevant now and why we were ungating this. The landing page and all the information stays the same because that's the good information that explains what the download is about. But I just put like a little update bar at the top of one of our pages and I think that suffices. Also you might want to be reassuring people if they do still have to give their email that, perhaps by giving their email, they're just going on to a list where you send out only things that are helpful for your business right now, you know, via that email, it could be like, 'if you sign up for this, we're going to be sending you one resource a week to help you keep your business on track or something, feel free to opt out.'" How to Track the Love Without an Opt-In Button "We've been trying for a while to figure out what can be a compelling case for how to track things if you don't have people's email. How do you know who's consuming ads? You know? And that's the hard part. Do we have a compelling answer? Well, possibly not. But there's some things you can be looking at like, how long was someone on a page? If you did send an email out about it? Did they go to that page? So, you know, there's going to be ways for you to track and see if it is still something that people are interested in." "Okay, look at clicks, for example, like, often we find that if you send out a thing, people will read the thing. They may not click through on your call to action. If people are clicking on a free call to action, then that's a good thing. Like Will said, time on page clicks, as well. Where does the traffic coming from? If all of your traffic is coming in from Facebook, you don't actually know who those people are because you don't have their emails. But that's an opportunity to step up your outreach on Facebook. So yeah, essentially, as far as we're concerned, experiment with the option in this moment, if there's information out there that you can provide, which you're already providing it for free one thing that we would say is explore the word free, like, make something completely free and see how that works for you. If the traffic spikes on the b

Welcome to part two of our cracking double header week – it's The 4 AM Report! With Covid-19 gallivanting around the world causing no amount of uncertainty and economic chaos, we're shifting gears here and being proactive with our content! This week we've brought you two brilliant financial minds to share their thoughts for business owner and entrepreneurs on staying fiscally solvent throughout this crazy crisis! If you missed part one, you can check it out here. Today's guest is Colleen O'Connell-Campbell, lead of O'Connell-Campbell Wealth Management at RBC Dominion securities. We're talking about: 🌟 The importance of communicating with your financial advisor directly in times like these. 🌟 How to step away from things you can't control, and focus on what you CAN. 🌟 Why it's never been more important to be able to adapt and pivot quickly. 🌟 And how to ensure decisions aren't driven by fear or panic (or BOTH!). So grab a beverage and have a listen. Then let us know what you think! And if you're more of a 'skimmer,' scroll down for some snippets from the podcast. Consider the Source "Most people recognize right now that there's not a lot they can do if they've got a long-term portfolio, but they're scared. And there is uncertainty. And, you know, it's the health scare and you know, like the ripple effect of the day to day changes and health and it's just everything. It's very, very, very overwhelming. And you know, I'm not immune to it myself. I mean, I am just like my clients. I'm just like everyone else, even though I'm also giving financial advice. So, the approach that I've taken is, I've said to myself, what do I need? What do I want to hear? And essentially what I need to know are the real facts, and getting them from, you know, reliable and sound sources. Like, go right to your major financial institution, don't go to your friend down the street, go right to your financial advisor and talk to them. Find out how this changes your plan, or does it change your plan? I got on top of it right away that first week we had quite a bit of turmoil in the stock market. My outreach has been about you know, relating on a very personal level, and then let's, let's keep calm and make informed decisions if we do make changes." Draw Deep from Your Genius Pool "You know, we all started somewhere, putting one sock on at a time and then likely bootstrapping our business. It's resilience, and it's looking back to some of the things that we needed to do when we were in startup mode. We are creative, and we find solutions to things. Right now, we're like stuck in the mud, it feels like quicksand. But I truly, truly believe that we're ingenious. And we are going to, we are going to get through it. In the meantime, we need to keep our, you know, our mental state healthy. And that's, you know, also maybe stepping away from the things you can't control and looking at the things that you can control. If you sit and watch the media all day long, I mean, you're watching what you have no control over. Right? You're just you're watching it happen to you. And as business owners, let's face it, day in and day out we're making decisions. And those decisions are things that you can control. Let's look at our businesses and let's look at the things that we can control." Keep Your Eye on the Money Prize "I think you know, one thing - as a business owner and even as an individual is to take a deep breath and look at the numbers. And, you know, I would say that if you look at your numbers, and you're really, really worried and even if you're not really, really worried, like, if you think you're good, it's also absolutely a great time to be reaching out to all your suppliers, your financial institutions, whatever and having a conversation. Like, don't put your head in the sand and worry that because you don't have control over worry. Look at your numbers, inform yourself and inform the people around you. Because everybody's in this together right now, right? Look at where your liquidity is. Because things are unknown. So, where can you access cash to keep things moving along, whether it's your payroll, or, you know, other obligations that you have. Or, should you be using that liquidity to double down on strategies that are really needed right now serve your audience - really needed right now and are actually going to help you grow your business. And, you know, for some people that might leave a bit of a sour taste, but if you've got something of value that is going to help somebody else right now, then, you know, step up to the plate and be a leader and put it out there to help everyone else move forward." We hope you enjoyed our special two-parter offering "financial business advice during a pandemic" ( Ok, just WRITING those words was so surreal!) – for more from Colleen check out the entire podcast! And get yourself over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe to us – you won't regret it! Plus, if you're losing sleep over a particular market

Welcome to another edition of The 4AM Report – our weekly look at what's keeping us marketers and fellow business peeps awake at night. I don't know many getting great sleeps these days – what with the Covid-19 virus, social distancing, and (lord helps us) some of us having kids at home 24/7! Hence, we've shifted our focus a bit these past few weeks – and want to talk about the things affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs right now. BONUS!!! This week is also a 4AM Report double header – two exceptional guests will share tips on how to stay financially sound during this crazy time! Today, our guest is Wendy Brookhouse, founder of Black Star Wealth and quite simply a brilliant business mind! We talk: How businesses can tweak financials to ride out this storm Steps to reduce the amount of money you need each month to run your company And things to think about as we look to the future – because this too shall pass! Press pause on the stress and worry and have a listen ! Or if you prefer, read on for some tidbits from the full podcast. Time for A Quick Self-Audit "Step one, take a look at your current expenses. Take a look at your subscriptions. This is an area in particular where I find we can all get a little out of control because we sign up for the free 30 days. And next thing you know, it's been on our credit card for months, and we totally don't even know why we used it, or maybe it made total sense to subscribe six months ago, but now your business has pivoted so you don't need it anymore. It's really important to go through line by line all of our expenses and see what's still needed." Tighten the Personal Belt "We could also be looking at how we can cut our expenses on the personal side - if you can reduce those expenses, you can reduce the amount you actually have to take into the company to support your life - which may allow both of them to proceed for a longer period of time. The first place to start is your housing costs. So, if you have a mortgage, look into the mortgage deferral program, and see if you're eligible, what that would mean for your personal bottom line. If you are a renter, you may want to talk to your landlord because the landlord may be able to take advantage of that program and provide some relief to you." If You Don't Ask You Won't Get! Check Out Available Government Help "Are you eligible for the $2,000 subsidy that is now available through the government? You should check that out? That could help your expenses immensely. And now the government is also announcing additional wage subsidies - you should be investigating those - it started out at 10%. And now it's up as high as 75%. Again, these programs are changing on a regular basis. And you just want to keep your finger on the pulse of those, because every little bit will count! Then you might want to look at different financing options. You may want to start with your bank and see if there's any levels that you can qualify for, because there may or may not be relaxed credit adjudication. Then you can look at the Business Development Bank of Canada, which is all about being the business bank for entrepreneurs. They have programs that you may want to investigate as well. Credit Unions actually have loans that are guaranteed by the government already, so maybe that would make some sense." This Too Shall Pass – Relationships Matter More than Money (like, for a short time! 😆) "What we've been working with our clients on, it's kind of like, you know, reading the room, what was right today might not be right tomorrow, what's right yesterday might not be right today - turn off automation. This is when really, really, really, smart marketing is gonna really matter. And while you're not able to necessarily sell to your customer right now, you've got to keep that relationship going. You've got to be offering them up things that you have a compelling reason to actually offer them right now. No strings attached help. And think about the long-term relationship with that customer, right? It's gonna be tough, but you want when this is all over, for them to still remember you and you know, you want to have been there with them along the way. So, we're really tweaking and changing things up as we go. And I think that's a really important message for businesses." We hope you enjoyed – for more financial advice check out the entire podcast! And get yourself over to Apple Podcasts for more 4 AM Report insights and subscribe to us – you won't regret it! AND don't forget to check back in tomorrow for another special guest! Plus, if you're losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, let us know. Drop us a line at C+P Digital. Sweet dreams….well, hopefully! About Wendy Wendy Brookhouse is a behavioural finance focused advisor who helps smart, ambitious people unleash their money power. Wendy believes that we all have money power. It is buried under life's pleasures, unconscious

It's another edition of the 4 AM Report, but instead of asking fellow marketers what keeps them up at night – we want to ask this: Have you been having some hard chats with yourselves during this bizarrely uncertain (and frankly scary!) time? 🔥🔥🔥 If you haven't – the time to start that is NOW. 🔥🔥🔥 Let's face it, we all have to market, large or little. It's harder than ever to stand out in a cluttered space of one size fits all and copycat marketing moves. But while Covid-19 is stealthily spreading around the globe, our marketing worlds have to change: 🦠 Understand that things can - and will - change on a dime. 🦠 Accept that you'll need to have systems in place to allow you to pivot 🦠 READ THE ROOM!! 🦠 Tone deaf is not the voice you want to be sharing these days 🦠 And yes, it's time to stop automating your social postings Our guest this week is Martin Waxman – and he basically does it all! He specializes in Digital and Social Media Strategy, is a LinkedIn Learning Author, a Social Media Professor, conducts research into AI, and leads custom-tailored social media and communications workshops and training for organizations. Trust us. He knows how to deal with marketing in the time of Covid-19! We're super excited to have him on to share his expertise with everyone, so have a listen. Or, if you want a few quick tips, read on – it's like taking a masterclass without leaving the house. Wait. That's kind of perfect, isn't it? #socialdistancing Relationships Are Everything: Don't Add to the Noise "Relationships are long term, ultimately, and it's important for us to remember that, that it's all the different steps we take over time that affects our reputation, how people outside of our organization or our employees are perceiving us. So, if we're committed to doing the right thing if we're committed to helping if we're committed to going above and beyond as much as we can – because there's still that balance between making sure we do what we need to do to keep our organizations running, to keep our employees informed, and hopefully working. All of that is important. And I think it ties into the notion of communicating and really being open in your communications, and possibly increasing your communications but only when you have something to say….really ask, 'Is this message absolutely necessary in these times, or will it just add to the noise?' Just make sure that you're not adding to the noise pollution out there, that whatever bit of communications you put out is helpful and is essential in these times." Check Tone and Overall Content "For like maybe the last 10 days or so most people are starting to pick up on the tone or 'read the room' thing a little bit. And, you know, there's been a lot of improvement. However, I think some people are actually falling down on the automation, while maybe most social and you know, ads have been checked for tone, one of the things I'm finding is email is quite bad – there's this perception that they need to be going out to people at this time all the time. And they're continuing to go out and a whole bunch of people I know on social are also the picking on these things and pointing out the tone deafness of it….You know, I am on an email list for a retail clothing outlet that I like, and I shop at all the time. And every day, I'm still getting an email from them 60% off, you know, it's like, 'Okay, right now, I'm not looking to buy clothes, I don't really need clothes.' That's not an essential." Don't Be Afraid to Use Humour – But Keep it Simple! "What humour does is it serves as a little bit of a distraction. And it's a way just to help us forget the situation for a moment. You know, think about something else, get a laugh, maybe relax a bit. I mean, humour is a great tension release. Yesterday, I saw on Twitter, I thought this was this a great thing, that was shared and of course, went viral – Neil Diamond - you know, his song Sweet Caroline is pretty famous. What he did is he recorded a short video from his home so you could see him in front of his fireplace talking, singing Sweet Caroline just him and his guitar. And he changed the words to be appropriate. So instead of 'hands touching hands', he said, 'hands, washing hands', and that was just so great. And it, you know, it gives you a break. And that's what you need. Now, that said, if your brand is a very, very serious brand and have never dabbled in humor ever, ever, ever, now is maybe not the time to start because people won't be expecting it from you. They won't know how to take it, especially if it's something that's a little sarcastic or satirical, so you have to be careful with that. And I would say if you are thinking of using humor, that's great, but look to your overall brand - brand values, brand character." We hope you enjoyed this episode - there's loads more goodness on the podcast itself. So, get yourself over to Apple Podcasts for more 4 AM Report insights and subscribe to us – because we know yo

What a difference a week makes. Everything seems slightly surreal, but I can tell you it most certainly is real life, as I watch my child bicycle in circles on the driveway in the middle of a school-day. For the next few months at least, with the spread of the Covid-19 virus, we are all facing uncertain times. So, we waffled a bit about releasing this episode of the 4 AM Report. Clearly, asking people right now what keeps them up at night is a loaded question. But then we all talked - as a team - brought our collective years of experience together, and ultimately decided this: Yes, things are upside down right now. Yes, people are more anxious than ever. But many of us – and YOU - in the digital space are still trying to serve clients and help peers who might need crisis communications advice. And we felt with ALL sincerity that this week's episode of the 4 AM Report – which focuses on writing, writing, writing – might actually be of some help to people right now. Plus, if nothing else, one of our guests sings a Glen Campbell song. What the heck does Glen Campbell have to do with writing for the digital space? You'll have to tune in to find out. Take a break. Have a listen and a laugh, because we do get a little silly. And I think we all need to allow ourselves some laughter at the moment. And if you prefer a sampling of what writing tips and tricks we share, read on. Sd Writing for the User Experience (UX) "A few years ago, I set myself a little goal - I wanted to write websites which had under two under 2000 words in it in total, meaning other than the blog posts and content sections, which gets, you know, regularly updated with larger pieces. A website should actually have very little content is my general thinking. I think time has passed where you're told, sort of long drawn out explanations of how your product or service, or whatever it was, worked and how it benefited the universe - that kind of thing - nobody wants that now anymore. So, to my mind, there's a huge element of visual that's come into writing to make it user friendly. How would this fit into a box? Is this more than eight words? Would it get cut off in the email, subject headlines, those kinds of things." BREAK ALL THE RULES "I was trained to write for media like a PR background. So, I followed the CP style book, you had to write out the numbers one to nine in word form, and then you'd start at the digit 10 and go up like, there's all these rules, right? You'd have to write this way, or you would get zero on projects. But I know now that I write digitally, it seems like all the rules have kind of gone out the window. It's kind of you can invent your own, you can do things your own way." "I would say like when you're writing, you need to have fun with it, as well. So, as you're writing, start thinking about how you can break a sentence up how you can keep it simple and as clear as possible and just break the rules throughout - the grammar Nazi rules that you used to follow. You know, you can't start a sentence with AND, and you can't start a sentence with BUT, you can't do this. You can do that. You can actually do anything! As long as it's interesting and engaging, and it actually means something, at the end of the day, you know, you're writing to a person, how would you talk to them? "I think of it as just like punching almost. Short. Sharp. Shocked. Run on sentences just drive me crazy. You know, you can be very impactful with your writing by just getting like, you know, four or five really powerful words, and then cut that sentence off. I mean, as long as it works, you don't, don't try and force it. But I think there's something very powerful about short, impactful writing." Writing What You DON'T Know! "What I usually do is I try and approach it as if I'm writing a story. So, I'll go out and read as many stories on that subject that I can manage in the time frame that I allocate myself, researching other people's content to see what's going on in that space. I'll go read it, make some notes, some key highlights, and then I'll start expanding on those points. And what I find really helps me as well is to just write like, sometimes you get stuck when you're trying to think of 'What am I going to say and how am I going to make it sound good?' like first I just write whatever is off the top of my head, I just write as much as I possibly can. And then I go back later, and I fix it or add some research or some stats to support that view." "I may be bored to tears – but not intimidated. Hemingway said, write drunk, edit sober. (laughter) Also, read!! Like, read everything, like Melissa was saying, read, read, read, just read for your own personal benefit. I read everything. I read science stuff, I read fictional history, I read real history. And then all of a sudden you're writing an article about some horrible, you know 'how the oil goes through the car's engine or something' And, and then all of a sudden you go, 'oh my god, I remember re

Oh, Daylight Saving Time. You Catch-22 little SHIT. 😂 Dangling "Oh, you want more LIGHT during the daytime, do you…but here's the catch – you LOSE an hour of sleep, suckers!!!" in front of our winter-ravaged minds and bodies! DO YOU THINK THAT'S FAIR, DST?? 🌞 🌞 🌞 *Cue evil laugh* 🌞 🌞 🌞 Ugh. Oh well. Seems a perfect time for another episode of the 4 (3?) AM Report, our weekly podcast that digs deep into what's keeping marketers and entrepreneurs awake at night! This week, we have an incredible guest AND a caveat: Guest? Canadian lawyer and trademark agent for Mason PC, Cynthia Mason is in the house! Caveat? She's one of our clients, BUT she's so brilliant we couldn't keep her all to ourselves! Cynthia has created Markably.ca, an online trademark registration tool that is a game changer for entrepreneurs and businesses. What keeps Cynthia up at night? USER EXPERIENCE! And how vital it is to offer people the most simplified, intuitive system possible. So, have a listen, because she maps out for us a great use-case on trusting yourself, and capitalizing on your knowledge 🧠 🧠 🧠 – the deep understanding you have of the people you're trying to reach, then using those insights for everything from user behaviour to journey mapping until 💥BOOM💥 you have an online UX that converts! And for those of you who want a sampling of what you're going to learn today, read on!! (another example of great UX,👇👇👇 right here! 😆) What Keeps YOU Up at Night? "So, what keeps me up at night…I mean, I'm a trademark lawyer. And one of the new elements of Canadian trademark law is when you register a trademark, you have to classify your goods and services. Now, the classification system is this internationally accepted system where they have divided basically all the products services in the world into 45 different classes, right. And when you register a trademark, your application needs to be indexed according to the classes that your products and services fall into. And your government fees that you pay for that registration will depend on the number of classes that are covered. So it's a huge deal now to classify goods and services to get it right to get the fees, right. Because if you don't, I mean, your application will still be filed, but you're going to receive an objection, your application is going to be delayed, it's going to take you longer in order to get to the registration point…the way I've divided it is, I've given you categories of common goods and services, and you select the categories that apply to your business. And then within those categories, you select more specific products and services and where necessary, you provide additional detail. But depending on what you select, that triggers the number of the class and the class fee, and that's built into your trademark application right from the get go!" Merge Your Brain Power with Your Software! "I guess the difference between when you someone like you who's like an actual professional in the field, constructs the software as opposed to just a general developer being like, here's a bunch of forms. I guess the point I'm making is we're trying to bring together both the user friendliness of the whole thing which is what you're talking about in the classification, you're taking people through those *steps of thinking* so that they can choose the relevant categories. But then there's also the fact that it's you. A lawyer and a trademark agent. And, you know, you obviously know the subject matter…So, it's like sitting down with a lawyer and having them ask all those questions that you would be asked…you know, the way you've approached the user experience here is you've provided them with that kind of 'handhold' throughout the whole process." What in the HECK does UX Even Mean? "What does the term user experience mean? And quite simply, it's like, people behave a certain way, right? And they go online, they try to find information. They search in certain ways. That's user behavior, then you sort of like, based on studying, you make some assumptions about what they're going to do. That's called journey mapping. And user experience is when you're like, 'Cynthia, I will probably read this and click it. Let me make a pretty button here for Cynthia to click here.' And then if she clicks that button, where she's going to go is going to be a page, which actually explains why she's on that page. And that's the part I find that a lot of people sort of fall down on, and you've done a really good job of, like, you know, giving that sort of consideration. We like to give people some things to think about in terms of what constitutes, you know, good user experience. And one of the things that we were talking about was the idea of housekeeping." Housekeeping: Not Just for Houses Anymore! "The housekeeping idea!! Making sure that everything's in order, everything works. You know, how many times have you gone to something clicked a button and you can't find the page or info

New episode of The 4 am Report is ready for your listening pleasure! This week we are joined by professional Facilitator, Mara Svenne of mPath Facilitation. Disclaimer -- We broke our micro rule again and went over the 20 minute mark. BUT… We swear it's worth the listen, because this week we talk about the ongoing nightmare that keeps everyone up at night...getting sh!t done! Mara explains her role as a professional Facilitator by using 3 different analogies for each stage of a project. ☑️ She's the architect who creates the blueprint for the project. ☑️ She's then the pilot who takes people where they need to go. ☑️ And finally she's the guide, helping people tap into their potential while calming their fears and self doubt. We also discuss an agile style of working called Kanban. Another disclaimer - at c+p digital we love Kanban. We love it so much, that Will literally wrote a blog post called Will Loves Kanban . If you are looking for a better, more efficient way of doing things for you and your team, you need to listen to this episode. Mara shares some great tips on ways to get into the agile groove. (If you need a bit more convincing to listen, all we're going to say is that one of Mara's tips helps cut your email overwhelm by 50%.) About Mara: Mara Svenne is the founder of mPath Facilitation and works as a group process facilitator, scrum master and agile coach, primarily in the financial services industry. Mara is an IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator, a past board member of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), and a 2017 Gold winner of the Facilitation Impact Awards. Mara has facilitated project team start-ups and retrospectives, management strategy sessions, and vision /mission sessions for non-profit boards and start-ups. An active and Distinguished Toastmaster, Mara believes in the power of conversation to help individuals find their voice and create a shared path to success. To more information, please contact: [email protected] **** Still can't sleep? We would also love to know what's keeping you up at night! Email us your problems – your issue might be featured in our next episode! Any of these problems *speak* to you? Click here to subscribe in iTunes to hear about more things that haunt us or to keep an eye out for any of your problems. We might find a solution for you (or at least share your pain too!) We have more episodes with great tips, jokes and conversations – don't miss it! If you get a chance, leave a review on iTunes so that others can find this podcast too! Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" We'd love to hear what your favourite part of this episode is in the comments below. Thank you!

WAKE UP!! It's time for the 4 AM Report – your weekly "before the dawn" look at what keeps you awake at night when it comes to your marketing efforts. And today we have dragged a special guest out of bed to join us. Zannat Reza is founder and chief storyteller at Thrive360, and she spends her waking hours helping organizations strategize and create memorable food & health content that inspires, educates and empowers people to live their best lives! We're chatting about: How much sleep is OPTIMUM SLEEP! What the heck is Slow Motion Multitasking? The power of good food choices. Why brain-blockage occurs and how you can un-dam your mind. And how marketers are missing out on a HUGE demographic! And guess what happens when you pick up healthier habits around eating, stress and exercise…? YOU SLEEP BETTER!! And so it all comes full circle. Pour yourself a coffee (or tea, or whatever strikes your fancy in the early AM – we don't judge!), put your feet up and relax, then click here to listen to the entire inspiring podcast! Or, read on for a sampling of what this week's 4 AM Report is bringing to the breakfast table! Sleep = Productivity "Sleep is super important when it comes to our productivity. We know that we need to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night. BUT sleeping too much is just as bad as sleeping too little. So, if you're thinking great, I got 12 hours of sleep. That's almost like saying, I'm only sleeping four hours! There's actually a sweet spot - seven to eight hours. And we know that if you're getting too much or too little, it actually affects your decision-making ability." Stay on Schedule! "We want to take some time to develop what they call good sleep hygiene, and breathing and introducing some mindfulness can actually help you fall asleep. What they recommend is trying to fall asleep around the same time every night, doesn't matter if it's a weekend or weeknight. Routine helps. Now listen, obviously, life is life. Right? If you've got a special party or whatever, on the weekend, I think we can bend those rules, right. But I think generally speaking, we want to get to bed at a good time. And we know that by being mindful, being aware of what's going out, going on around what we're doing. Reading actually helps lower stress hormones." Slow the Heck Down, Why Doncha? "Try Slow Motion Multitasking, because we know that, like, multitasking at a crazy rate that does no good that's not productive at all. But slow-motion multitasking is doing one task. If you hit a blockage, stop - move on to something else, and obviously not in a frenzied sort of way. But by doing it in a slow way. It actually helps boost your creativity." Keep Moving "I was at a meeting and I suggested 'Why don't we do a walking meeting?' And then there's, there's this huge silence!! Okay, this is not really popular, but it just took one other person to say, yeah, you know what, maybe we can try that for our next one. And so, you know, I talked about cardio in terms of moving, and you do some sort of like strength training, whether it's weight or even yoga where you're using your body weight, that actually helps lower sort of age- related muscle loss. Okay, so we're, you know, once you hit 40, the age of 40, your muscles start breaking down at a faster rate than your body actually builds muscle on a daily basis. So, you know, keep up the cardio, just move your body. That's kind of the bottom line." Ok Boomer My Ass! We're All Getting Older "So, people are getting older and a much faster rate. If you look at Statistics Canada, we know that by the year 2030 one in four Canadians will be above the age of 65. From a marketing perspective, I guess we've looked at this a few times, and keep coming back to the same thing, which is the lack of inclusivity in the way in which we communicate, and whether it's, you know, a lifestyle thing, an age thing and race thing, whatever it is, it's just not really seeing that there's another way to tell the same story. How, how can we change the storytelling around this? Well, I think, you know, for marketers, it's being mindful of the kinds of images and words that are being used right, like this whole Okay, Boomer thing that drives me nuts like what does that really mean? Right? It's old and out of touch. People say that to me. No." The Decade of Healthy Aging! "The 2020s is the decade of healthy aging. And so really, my call to action is listen, as the world's population is getting older – there are opportunities no matter what you do, whether you're a marketer, whether in health, whether you're in another industry, financial industry, there's lots of opportunities to be part of that solution. There are all these challenges, but we can all play a part in fixing it!" We hope we've delivered a little food for thought with this episode – if so, get yourself over to Apple Podcasts for more 4 AM Report insights and subscribe to us – because we know you wanna! *** About Zannat For the past 2

It's that time again, folks, when the stars are still out 🌟🌟🌟 and your bed is SO WARM – The 4 AM Report is back! In this episode we're talking about what's keeping Amy Vodarek up at night. Founder of Insight Edge, she's a coach, consultant, author and educator, who works with women leaders, their teams and organizations with care, passion, and interest in action. "Once you begin the practices to enhance self-awareness, you begin to see new possibilities everywhere and, no longer feel boxed in or trapped. Life becomes more generative and expansive as opportunities for creative action become visible." In other words: Embrace who you are. Unleash your brilliance. You'll want to listen to Amy if: 🎯 You have BIG VISION but second guess yourself and your worthiness 🎯 You flit from career to career – in shorter and shorter intervals – and aren't sure what's up with that? 🎯 You still have that demon 😈 inside your head telling you you're not good enough, or you really can't achieve this or that. It's truly nuts just how much negativity we all have swirling around our brains. No matter how successful we are! The goal is to figure out how to stop that negativity – and begin to accept yourself for who you are – or where you want to be! Here's a few tidbits of our discussion, so read away! Or, if you want to, jump right in NOW – click here to listen to the entire sleepy chat! Searching For MORE "My background is nursing. And I was, you know, a critical care pediatric nurse for 11 years and then moved into some sort of advanced practice nursing roles, which I thought was what my course was - I thought I was on the trajectory I was supposed to be on. And the fact that I constantly was jumping onto committees and groups and activities to try something new *within those jobs*, was somewhat frustrating to me because I couldn't just BE, I couldn't just do my work; show up to work and do the great work I was doing - I always had this curiosity, this sense of unrest." That GODDAMN DEMON! 👹👹👹 "Women still have that demon in their head of, you know, knowing your place. Don't be too ambitious or, you were really good and set on your path doing this. Why are you now rocking the boat and doing this? I can see how even the most, you know, self-examined person would still struggle with this - it's so ingrained in us. I think some of it too is this discomfort with what we think others are thinking. Right? Are they thinking that we think we're all this or all that and that, you know, we can't stay on the path that they're on with us because we think we've got something better than them? Rather than just "No, I just feel like, this isn't my path to stay on." And I think it can really trip us up. I'll speak for myself. It has really tripped me up and being visible in the marketplace." Strive For Growth By Ear-Plugging the Demon! "Ok, so I have a roster full of clients. But if they aren't the clients that I'm designed to serve and desire to serve, I'll do great work, but it may not feel like I'm successful. So, let's segue a little into the onto the marketing side of things. Yeah. So, for 2021, I ask myself: What's your goal here? What do you What are you trying to accomplish? What do you want to do differently? What are you doing to reach that client or that audience you want to reach? Do you have a plan for, you know, continuing to grow as a thought leader in your industry? It becomes this. This almost paradox of 'I want to deliver more service. So, people need to know I exist.' But yet, the internal messaging is, 'Well, now you're being showy, showing off, and it's all about you, and you've lost your mission and purpose.' But really, that's not it. It's just self-talk. That is really some of the game that we can get caught up in." Just Get Out There – But be FUNNY About It!! 😂😂😂 "Learn to manage all these invisible barriers and stories, then humor becomes a lot more accessible. Because then it's like, I'm going to just say what I think I'm going to, you know, I've done some pretty funny things and workshops by accident and just allowed myself to, you know, enjoy the funny moment. But to use that as what I'm hearing as part of, you know, you get known a little bit for your quirky humor or the absolutely stupid things you do, just like keynote talk, you know? I say embrace it. I mean, it's so hard to stand out. Everyone's out promoting themselves and it's just, it's hard to stand out and, and to make people stop the scroll and pay attention to you. So, you know, something authentically is you and you can add that into your overall, you know, strategy for online digital communications. And that's something definitely to consider." NOW, head on over to Apple Podcasts for more from this podcast, and to subscribe to us – because we know you wanna! About Amy Amy is the Founder of Insight Edge Learning and Leadership Company. A catalyst for women entrepreneurs and leaders who are innovators and change-makers. Helping women break fr

Hello again, sleepless warriors (omigod SO TIRED)! It's time for another episode of the Four AM Report! As if being sleep deprived over one issue wasn't enough – this week we have a guest who is sleep-deprived TWICE OVER! Welcome Kim Chernecki *sleepy Kim rubs sand out of her eyes 👀👀👀*, CEO and founder of Freedom Street, Canada's leading expert on helping freelance executives, consultants and small business owners land lucrative corporate contracts. Today, we're talking about two issues that drive MOST people running a business to drink (oh wait…maybe that's just me? 😂🍷😂) – list building, and then landing that elusive corporate contract! Here's a sampling of what we talked about – but if you want the full-monty NOW – click here to listen to the entire sleepy chat! Running a Business is a GRIND, Ya'll! List building. Ugh. How many contacts do you have? Who's graced you with their email so you can market monthly to them directly? How can you BUILD that list? And how important are those numbers? "Firstly, I lose sleep over that classic marketing issue, which is trying to build my list, I have to tell you, since I've been in business, it's really been a grind, you know, and it almost feels like the struggle - and I've got a pretty good list - but trying to really take it to that next level. I've just found it being a grind. So that's the first thing that I lose sleep over." So, Where Should You Focus Your Resources? Do you spend valuable time (and hellooooo, time is money💰💰💰, amiright?) constantly trying to lure in new leads? Or do you focus on the loyal peeps you've already got in your little marketing handbasket?? "I was looking at some stats, and I found this little interesting tidbit - it costs five times more to attract a new customer than it does to get business from somebody already on your list. So, let's approach this from a bit of a different perspective. Yes, we all want to grow our list. But the end goal is more business. And I'm sure Susan agrees with me here. The first rule is let's work the clients we already have. Let's work that list that we already have. Let's work on retaining clients. repeat business building a long, loyal, lasting relationship." Small But Mighty Can Result in Big Wins! It all comes down to how you *koff* service the people on your list! "For a few years, we made six figures with 44 people. That's, that's all we had on our list. We didn't try to grow it in any way. We just made sure that those 44 people were being it! There are two levels to it, I guess. One is the service level, as the industry would probably call it, which is you do what you say you would, you deliver things which far outweigh you know, what would be like median average, like you're really outstanding, like 10% more than what anyone expects. So that's obviously the first part and the second is you keep in touch and you offer help and you offer those contacts and you hook them up with people with no questions asked. So that's how the 44 people resulted in that level of business." Then I wanted to also talk about something that causes my clients to lose sleep. And that's getting in the door, actually getting those meetings and getting in the door with corporate clients." But WAIT! I Want My Leads List to GROW! Yes, yes, we have advice for you on that too! "[Let's say] they downloaded this or they booked the call or whatever those, you know, we like to call them micro conversions, nobody's going to come in and buy 10s of thousand dollars-worth of packages based on a Facebook ad - you gotta like, show them something, bring them in and say read this next piece, then show them a larger piece of infrastructure, maybe it's a podcast, maybe it's a download, you know, something like that. And then you keep getting them further and further into the universe until they're willing to give you that email for that pitch. So it's about it's a little bit of respect, I guess for the for the process and the fact that it's all the little breadcrumbs that you're posting along the way. And that's where the content comes in is like, you know, the master class and the webinar. You're saying show up, you will learn the following three things." "I think where a really great parallel can be drawn here is the whole trusted advisor approach. So, you know, it's really about being that go to resource, adding value, being that trusted advisor to those corporate decision makers, until they have a need, like you might meet them and they won't have they won't need your services yet, but it's like you start developing that relationship with them until it's time that they can buy so I really do see some overlap there some connection." NOW, head on over to Apple Podcasts for more from this podcast, and to subscribe to us – because we know you wanna! Still can't sleep? We would also love to know what's keeping you up at night! Email us your problems – your issue might be featured in our next episode! Any of these problems *speak* to yo

Today we are kicking off season four of the 4 am Report 🥰 Today we're talking to Suzanne Tyson, who is someone who's been involved in various capacities with higher education and student funding for more than half or 30 year career, holding roles in several educational publishing companies, the loyalty industry and a scholarship matching company. We are especially excited to talk to Suzanne on two levels. One, she's raised the kind of meaty marketing problem that makes us get excited. And secondly, having a business as cool as hers. She's walked through the journey as a women owned business, raising funds, finding out what the pitfalls are. Suzanne raises her biggest Marketing Challenge which she calls 'probably the best challenge that any startup can have' Her business HigherEdPoints.com has solid proof of concept. They have raving fans. And they have people who have been customers for a number of years. However, their biggest challenge is awareness. "Marketing makes the world go round. And I wish I had a $10 million budget like a lot of consumer brands out there. Because then my life would be very easy. Everybody in Canada would know that they can use loyalty points to pay for their tuition and to repay their government student loans." But life is rarely that simple. So what do we chat about with Suzanne? Higheredpoints.com is a very simple concept. Most Canadians are loyalty program participants. And so HigherEdPoints is an option in the rewards catalogs. They are in the Aeroplan reward catalog for example. And instead of redeeming your loyalty points for a trip or for merchandise you would redeem for the HigherEdPoints reward, or education credits. They come in $250 increments. The parent or the student takes that redemption and HigherEdPoints deposits that directly into the student's account, at the school or in the loan account. So the short version of how HigherEdPoints points works, is instead of redeeming your loyalty points for trips or toasters, redeem them for an education credit and HigherEdPoints will deposit those funds directly into a student account at a school or a loan account at the government student loan institution. "the challenge for HigherEdPoints is the beneficiary is the student because they're the ones that have to pay the tuition or the recent grads, they have to repay their loans. So we can create awareness with those students, but they don't actually have the assets. So they have to go then and tell their parents. So our marketing challenge is to make students aware that this exists as an option and encourage them to tell people in their lives that they have loyalty points, but our primary target really would be the people with the points. So we have Anthony is on our website. He's one of our blog featured members. And he actually worked at TD as a as a teller and didn't know about HigherEdPoints, his aunt and uncle run a small business, they wanted to help him find his education. So they looked in the TD rewards catalog found higher ed points, they switch their corporate credit card for their business spend to a TD rewards card and ended up putting enough spend on that card to pay off $17,000 of his OSAP loans. So in that case, it was the aunt and uncle who found out and said, "Hey, Anthony, we can help you pay for your school." And they're the ones that found it. So it's a fun and sometimes frustrating Marketing Challenge, because we need to find the people who collect the points to help people with tuition or student debt." "the number one way that our members tell us they're finding out about the program is through our participating institutions. So if you go to the U of T website on how to pay your fees or to Queens to Western, George Brown, etc, you'll find us in their fee payment web pages. And so probably 40% of our members in total, over the last number of years have found out about HigherEdPoints from their school or our participating institution. We're actually also listed on the federal government's, how to repay your student loans website. But the challenge with that marketing channel is people go once, and then they figure out how they pay their tuition or repay their loans and never return to that site. So there are 1.3 million graduates repaying their government student loans right now. And if they set up automatic debit from their account, they're not going to go back to that 'how do I repay my student loans?' page. So that's one challenge. We're using some social media marketing now. And over time when our members register, they're telling us how they found out about the program. They're also telling us what relationship they have with the recipient when they transfer funds to an institution. And most of those people are not the student, but somebody related to that students. So we know that if we're going to spend money on advertising, we actually have to reach the parents, the aunts, the uncles, the grandparents." "Is there value in talking and making the

INTRO: 00:03 It's 4:00 AM. You can't sleep either. What's keeping you up? It's the 4:00 AM report, a collaborative approach to sometimes finding solutions to the things that keep marketers up at night. Where your hosts, Susan and Will. WILL: 00:21 Welcome back to the last episode of season three of the 4:00 AM report and to close out this season we thought we should talk about the medium of the moment or rather the medium that's ruled our social channels for the past several years. Video now, in recent years, video has gotten a lot more DIY. You know, we can all make videos on our phones. Those platforms like Instagram stories, you know, tik-tok, they rule right now everybody's doing it. And the homemade DIY look, it's very of the moment, you know, it's what people see. But there's a big place for the professionally made video still and that's what we're going to talk today about with our guest Genevieve Blais. After earning a fine art degree from OCAD university, Genevieve made the transition to digital marketing bringing in artistic edge to all ventures. She's worked with a variety of clients and agencies across verticals producing digital content with a deep understanding of effective advertising and key insight into placement. She cofounded her production company atomic video in 2019 she specializes in social content commercials, music videos and narrative films, and we've worked with her before too, haven't we, Susan? SUSAN: 01:28 Yep, we have suddenly worked with her team, with Genevieve and a team over the years on video and it's been a fun experience. We'll chat through some of that in a little while, but first tell us what keeps you up at night. GENEVIEVE: 01:39 Hi Susan and Will thanks for having me on today. The thing that keeps me up at night is definitely the age old dilemma of expectation vs reality. Managing client expectations in the current moment can be very difficult because you have the ubiquity of streaming services, you have the rise of DIY video production, and so it can be really difficult when a client has an expectation that doesn't necessarily meet their budget. SUSAN: 02:05 A lot of people tend to overlook the pieces that go into making professional video and really making it work. And it's easy to assume that just because someone is a pro and coming into the picture that all of the things are possible, right. So there needs to be some education around, this is something that we keep talking about. Often people expect everything but they don't have the budget. So the budget becomes one of the things that we know is certainly a concern in the space. And while we approach it by going in and asking what the options are, sometimes people just have strange requests, I'm sure. So talk to us about what some common misconceptions are that you come across in terms of expectations vs. Reality. GENEVIEVE: 02:44 It's a really important thing to educate clients and people who are looking for video production in what is realistic and what isn't. Just because you have a green screen doesn't mean that you're going to get Steven Spielberg quality CGI. One of the big problems is making things look natural actually requires a lot of money from set dressing to wardrobe to hair and makeup. These are all things that clients sometimes overlook when they're planning. For instance, maybe you want a natural makeup look, you're still gonna have to hire a makeup artist in order to execute that. It's a very specialized fields and equipment costs are incredibly high within video production. So for instance, I know iPhone 11 just released that commercial, the snowball fight that was shot in T entirely on an iPhone, but if you watch the behind the scenes, there's a team of over 20 people. There's choreography, there's drones, there's snow machines and lighting, and so just to get that look, you really require a Hollywood crew. It doesn't matter the equipment that you're using. WILL: 03:42 I think that's a great point. It really is. Those things that go into the planning, the behind the scenes and the professionals who know how to tell a story via video as well. Right? All of that. We think, Oh well I've got an iPhone 11 I'm going to do that. But the point you make I think is a good one. SUSAN: 03:56 And as well, you know, it's on the brands as well where they're trying to make it seem "I woke up like this", right? Yeah, sure. It's shot on an iPhone 11 like you said. But you know, think of all of the pieces that went behind it. And I think this is an important conversation for people to be having. If you look at an ad...that ad, if it's on the airwaves, paying big media bucks, then for sure it's not a DIY. GENEVIEVE: 04:19 Absolutely. And I think that we are discussing these issues with things like face-tune and influencers, but in terms of the video production, it's not commonly held knowledge that so much is required in order to execute something that looks natural. WILL: 04:35 Yeah. And so tell us, when you s

It's the 4AM Report! We're done saying Happy New Year, yes? NO MORE RESOLUTIONS! But wait. HA! Appropriately enough for the 4AM Report, Will has a resolution - trying to get better sleep in 2020! Here's how…. Weighted Blanket Diffuser Sleeping mask Tempur-Pedic Pillow Is it working? Well, Will's anxiety hasn't vanished yet (as he says, "BABY STEPS!!"), but it is a perfect segue to today's episode of the 4AM Report – New Year's Trend Reports for marketers. Oh man. It's SO overwhelming – alllll the things you should be using, software to buy, gear you should have as marketers – but a lot of it is geared toward enterprise-level companies with huge budgets! Budgets - and bandwidth - that the scrappier small businesses might not have! I mean, as a small business, we all want better marketing, but let's be real! Boot-Strap Your Way to Better Marketing So, ever cognizant of people's 💸 💸 💸 AND ⏰ ⏰ ⏰, let's look at five digital marketing trends for 2020, that are easily within reach for the small business owner! Customer experience/User experience: This is what's going to keep people coming back to you! Step 1, housekeeping. Make sure everything in your bag of marketing tricks is functioning properly -links, forms, technology, ensure you have clear CTAs on all your content – and make them small and bite-sized – it takes ten steps to guide a customer to actually buy – don't put ANY roadblocks in their way! Personalization is also important! Your web people can help you with this – using tagging, categorizing, etc. Or think about chatbots and personal retargeting. The big boys like Amazon, etc., are great at personalization – and it doesn't have to cost and arm and a leg to integrate personalization into your marketing. Make mobile EASY. We're all always on our phones, searching and buying, make sure your mobile sites are optimized for purchasing! Strong creative is key. Your ideas matter, whether images, branding, content, etc. Also, make sure your online experience is really well designed! Stories and Micro Content: Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook stories, TikTok, there are myriad micro platforms out there you can explore! Trust us, it's helped us increase our reach from the tens to the thousands (listen to the full podcast to find out how!) Microcontent leads to the micro-conversion idea! Putting your content into smaller pieces increases the chance potential customers will invest in the steps needed to get to a conversion. People are busy – micro content means less pressure on yourself to create and less pressure on them to commit! It also allows you to create more content/more regularly. And it reaches a younger audience, allows for a more casual and less-censored view of your brand, and WTH it can even help create a feeling of FOMO around your brand – especially when the stories or content is only online for a short time. Audio and Voice Search: Voice search today makes up 20 percent of all searches – and it's projected to go even higher - reaching 50 percent soon! Think voice activated assistants, speakers, etc. So, what does voice search have to do with your marketing? A LOT. Make sure your content is optimized for voice search by using longer, more conversational queries (also known as longtail keywords in SEO speak) – have your web guys help you with this. Also, create conversational content! Answer questions and think about what Joe Public would be googling/speaking to the speaker. Channel Disruption!!: We all know it's harder to stand out these days – so let's shake things up in 2020! Think about how you can UP your visibility online and stand out from the madding crowd! Consider each platform – examine what content is considered the norm – and then turn it on its head! Don't be afraid to have fun and start small! Visuals RULE, so use them!! DIY Video: Yay cell phones! DIY video saves you money and time. Don't try and be fancy and perfect with your video, and yes, while it's important to do live video at times, create a mixture of live and pre-recorded stories. And keep 'em short when you can (see above re: micro content). But don't forget to always use good light though, peeps! 😂 😂 😂 Look, it's only January – don't burn yourself out – if you still find this overwhelming let us help you! Click here to explore what services we can bring to your marketing table this year! *** Still can't sleep? We would also love to know what's keeping you up at night! Email us your problems – your issue might be featured in our next episode! Any of these problems *speak* to you? Click here to subscribe in iTunes to hear about more things that haunt us or to keep an eye out for any of your problems. We might find a solution for you (or at least share your pain too!) We have more episodes with great tips, jokes and conversations – don't miss it! If you get a chance, leave a review on iTunes so that others can find this podcast too! Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" We'd love to h

This week hosts Susan and Will chat with guest Andrea Henry, a business lawyer who is passionate about helping women entrepreneurs get to that 7-figure goal. What do they discuss? ✔️The barriers facing women business owners when it comes to getting funding for growth ✔️The lack of value funders put on intellectual property here in Canada ✔️How women can be better structuring their business to be more attractive to potential funders Here's an interesting stat: Only 2% of women owned businesses reach the 1 million mark in annual revenue; whereas businesses owned by men are 3.5 times more likely to do so. Andrea wants to change that. Here's an excerpt from the transcript: *** 02:41 Will: We do know that the Canadian government, the federal government launched a program last year, a hundred million dollar program funding for small businesses owned by females. It's called the Woman Entrepreneurship Fund. So to me that sounds fantastic. They realized there's a need for this. They're investing 100 million set up this fund. They have the goal of doubling the number of women owned businesses by 2025 which would add 10% to the national GDP. So this all sounds great, but Andrea, we were talking earlier and you were telling us from your experience with your clients, this program just isn't enough. 03:18 Andrea: Well, I think it's a wonderful idea and I'm thrilled that the government understands that in supporting women owned business, there are certainly just going to help the whole country. You mentioned the 10% of the national GDP. When you empower women and allow them to have access to economic activity, you do better for the whole country. But in speaking to clients who've been trying to access funding, whether it's government funding or other funding, there seems to be a disconnect between the funding that's available and the types of businesses that people want to run. And so I have a client who is over a million dollars a year in revenue, has been for several years, has very good financials, but can't get funded because the assets are all intellectual property, right? Is her brand and is her reputation. And so the funding to me seems to be a lot more, you know, traditional, right? So if you've got assets that they can hold on to, then you're going to find it easier to get funded. Or if you only need a very little bit of funding, right? If you're a micro-business, you need a couple thousand dollars to get started. What I'm concerned about are the ambitious women who want to be industry leaders who want to breach that Mark and go further. There seems to be a gap in the marketplace or that, 04:32 Susan: This is certainly something that keeps me up at night as well, Andrea. It's a perception versus reality problem. Almost like, you know, we talked briefly about how we see those little ADs for like, Oh, women entrepreneurs apply here and then you go in there and it's like $5,000 I'm like, that's one 10th of my monthly burn rate to girlfriend. You know? So there's just that sort of belief that women entrepreneurs are only in the starter stage of the business, which is not at all true. The real gap like you pointed out is in the middle, maybe those two 50 and up type entrepreneurs who are like on that serious growth path. And like you said, investing in the intellectual property, right? Like I've suddenly faced this problem as part of my journey, which is like I've invested in creating those systems and building the people and the and the sort of efficiency models which are intangible. They're worth a whole lot. But when I go in there, the bank is like, all right, little girl come back when you have a property with 1 million bucks, right? 05:30 Andrea: Yeah, that's exactly what it is. And so we're in a new age, right? We are in an age where intellectual property is the thing. It's what you can create, the systems that you can create, the new innovations that you can come up with. But yet the banking and the funding system lags behind that on is more interested it would seem and the tangible assets which as we develop and as our world changes, we're going to be less and less important. 05:58 Will: Now let's Canada versus the US for a minute. Cause I know you were telling us a story about a woman who couldn't get funding here in Canada goes to the States and she's able to set up her business and get funding there. Is there a difference you see in Canadian financial institutions versus the American money that's available? Is it that our system is just more conservative and we don't value that intellectual property as much as they do in the States? What do you think? 06:20 Andrea: I think it's definitely more conservative, which is not always a bad thing is the reason why our economy didn't go off a cliff when you know, it did that in the States. So that's a good thing. So conservative isn't necessarily, you know, bad is it, but it is true that I have had examples of, of many business owners and women led businesses where

Here's part 2 of 'Level Up Your Podcast'. A brand new episode of The 4 am Report, for your Boxing Day listening pleasure. So grab a mug of eggnog, and get some very actionable advice on: Upping podcast engagement The guest relationship Establishing ROI So, if you're looking to make some improvements on a podcast you're already doing, OR looking to start one in 2020, you'll want to listen up. Here's an excerpt from the transcript: *** 00:21 Will: Hello 4-AM'rs. It's Susan and Will here with part two of our two part series on how to level up your podcast as we get ready for 2020 and we're doing all that planning stuff you do in December. We're sharing our podcasting process with all of you. This is part of our month long deep dive into 2020 planning. We're sharing what has worked for us would have been some of our biggest successes this past year and we're hoping to inspire you a little bit for us to come in 2020 so we're not only just producing our podcasts, but we've started producing podcasts for clients as well and that's been really fun and it's now part of our business offering to small businesses. This week we're going to talk about getting the engagement and growing your listener-ship when it comes to your podcast. We'll also talk about guest relations and of course how to measure ROI for your podcast. If you missed last week's episode where we talked to the creation and production side, go back and listen. But this week it's all about engagement, the guest relations and ROI. So if you're already doing a podcast or you want to start doing a podcast, this is all great information. So listen up and level up. 01:26 Susan: So let's get right into this and talk engagement. Here's what we do once we have an episode that's been edited and it's ready to go out for distribution, we're pretty true to our theme and we lean all the way into it and our episode goes out at 4:00 AM on Thursdays. And along the way this has really become one of those like hard deadlines almost journalistic. So in order to be able to release the episodes at that time, meaning in order to put it out on social and distributed, we uploaded a few hours earlier. So it goes onto the actual platform where the episode lives, which in our cases, Libsyn. I think we mentioned that on the last episode. It goes there, it's uploaded there, and from there we put it on our website and then it also obviously reflects in other places like Apple podcasts and Spotify and many others. 02:16 Susan: So that's kind of what we do. And then we take that page from our actual website. We have a podcast page on our website, which I think is important because you want to bring people back to your turf, whenever possible. Of course people listen to episodes elsewhere, but there's no harm posting it on your website. So we do that. We post that on all channels and then we use email to promote some of it as well. Yes, email obviously still works. We definitely believe that. So we use email to launch seasons and sometimes we send out recaps and some analytics to people who are on our lists. Now we don't bombard people with every single episode because many of these people are on our list because they are signed up for other properties and a podcast is not, they signed up to receive it. I mean it's CASTLE rules. 03:01 Susan: You want to make sure that you're staying on the right side of who you are legally allowed to email. And for what when each episode goes out, we do offer people the option to sign up for the list if they do want to receive episodes. And lastly, how do we put the post together to post on social? We don't just post episodes once and done, we use our unplug and play calendar, which is essentially trying to post things in different formats and we'll get to that in a minute and giving each piece of content like full exposure. So that's coming up in a second. But if you do want that calendar for free, you can go and get it in the resources section of our website, cp.digital. So the other thing that we find is also very important in getting people to notice each episode is the actual creative or the artwork that accompanies each episode. 03:49 Susan: So we switch this up for each episode. We have a guest on every episode except for the few episodes where we're talking through some learnings or specific comments. But usually there's a guest and we put the picture of the guests into the actual artwork that goes out. And we also use images that we change up. We have a batch of images that we shoot for each season and we reflect the theme. So right now, for example, we're going slightly deeper into the whole doc thing and talking about how surreal the online space has become in some ways and leaning into a black middle like theming. And so some of that is reflected in our images. We also tend to use a whole lot of humour because humour is a big brand value for us. And some of the images that we put out with the podcast, which essentially stops the scroll, is im

We're well into December, and if you're like us, you've been in 2020 planning mode for a while now. That's why we're focusing all of our December episodes on planning. And this week, we've got the first of a two-parter, on something very near and dear to our hearts -- podcasting 🎙 Whether you are already doing a podcast and looking to make some improvements, or if you're thinking of dipping your toes into the podcast-verse for the first time, take 15 minutes and listen up. 'Cause over these next two episodes we are sharing our process -- from end to end. All of our learnings from the past 6 months! In part one, we talk about.. ✔️Putting a podcast strategy in place ✔️The importance of discipline and consistency ✔️The importance of auditing your podcast ✔️Our actual production process (a great step-by-step guide) PS: Stay tuned for part two next week when we talk about upping podcast engagement, guest relations and measuring ROI. PPS: Want help producing your podcast? We can do that. Book a call here: https://calendly.com/cpdig/marketing-simplification-call *** Still can't sleep? We would also love to know what's keeping you up at night! Email us your problems - your issue might be featured in our next episode! Any of these problems *speak* to you? Click here to subscribe in iTunes to hear about more things that haunt us or to keep an eye out for any of your problems. We might find a solution for you (or at least share your pain too!) We have more episodes with great tips, jokes and conversations - don't miss it! If you get a chance, leave a review on iTunes so that others can find this podcast too! Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" We'd love to hear what your favourite part of this episode is in the comments below. Thank you!