“If I could just figure out the right way to market.”  I hear this all the time from my clients, and maybe you've thought it yourself.  Because I get it.  There are so many marketers out there who are promising you that they have the proven formula or that there is some secret to success in marketing that only they have.  And if you pay them, they will tell you all the secrets, and you'll never have to stress about marketing again.  But what happens?  You buy the course or the...

What if I told you that 95% of marketing advice out there wasn't for people like you?  If you're following this advice or beating yourself up for not following it, you're wasting time, energy, and resources doing more marketing that doesn't lead to results.  You're unintentionally making your marketing suck more, not less. So how do you know if you're following the right guidance?  Buckle up, because this episode will shift how you think about marketing.  In this episode, you'll hear: How...

Sometimes when it comes to marketing, we are our own worst enemies.  We are kicking off a brand new series about how we unintentionally make marketing suck more for our businesses.  And sometimes we don't even realize we are doing these things, but there are these tiny ways that we sabotage our business, our sanity with the choices we make when it comes to marketing. Let's jump right in with the first big sabotage I see all the time.  In this episode, you will hear: How solo business...

This week, I'm sharing our most recent episode of Duped, discussing how Dr. Robert Cialidini's book "Influence" has been weaponized in online business.  *******Do you know what book is one of the most used—and abused—in online business? Many celebrity entrepreneurs and top marketers cite it as influential…which makes sense given its title.   It’s Robert Cialdini’s Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. While we have referenced this book many times on the pod, we have never actually done a...

One of the things that pisses me off about online business is how people play fast and loose with words.  A lot of the time, they use words in a way where they don't mean what they think they mean.  And this past year, I've noticed a lot of people talking about messaging and how they help you with your messaging.  But when I look at their programs, because, believe it or not, I take a lot of courses on messaging and marketing to keep my own skills sharp, I often find the program isn't...

“Figuring out how to explain what you do in ways that resonate with other people and connects them to what they're feeling right now is tricky.” Have you ever been talking to someone explaining what you do and they're staring at you like you're speaking a language they've never even heard before and don't even know how to begin to comprehend.  Please know you're not alone.  So many brilliant business owners struggle to connect with their clients, not because they lack knowledge, but...

“If I decide to use social media, then maybe I'm posting all the time and checking for likes and comments in my off hours. What you choose from marketing can affect your life. And for me, it has been really important to figure out a way to do it that works for me and lets me keep on living the life I want to be living and not feeling too stressed out by my work or feeling the need to get in there and do things at all hours of the day.” Everyone who markets marketing programs is always so damn...

Let's face it. Experts are made to feel shame about their expertise.  We too often hear things like: >>don't be an expert, be an explorer >>don't be smart, be curious >>don't be an expert, be a human And these things are said by the very people who claim to get experts known and hired for their work.  And it is time, my friend, that we stop shitting on experts because here's the truth.  The very thing you are told to deny about yourself, about your experience is what...

“I've been thinking all that time I'm spending over here on social, and I'm not spending really any quality time with the people that voluntarily chose to be in my world by opting into my thing.” Riddle me this, Batman. Why do we spend so much time on marketing that leads nowhere vs. focusing on marketing that works to get clients?  It's probably because everybody on the interwebs is screaming at you to do more marketing and do it on social media, when for so many people, that is just a...

Marketing feels like a time suck of doom.  There's all this doubt.  >>>Is it really working?  >>>Am I getting it right? Whatever right means.  And then despite spending so much time on your marketing, you're just not seeing the results you want to see.  And then there's the beating yourself up of feeling like you're never doing enough despite your best efforts.  And what I want for you is to stop the doubt, the worry, the beating yourself up. I don't want you to feel...

“I went down a whole path that was completely not right for my business, and it was very frustrating, and I wasted a lot of time doing a lot of stuff that wasn't really helpful.” You know what really sucks about marketing?  When you're told to market in a certain way that works for every business. And only after you've done all that work, invested all that money, you find out that ish was never gonna work for your business.  Over the years, I've worked with so many B2B consultants who've...

“And then it kinda dawned on me last year, I don't need a lead magnet or an opt in. I think you talked about how every time you create something, even if it's free, you still have to “sell it”. I'm just selling my newsletter. It was like a weight lifted.” Think fast. How many lead magnets have you created for your business?  For this iteration of my business, I have created at least 6 different lead magnets. Rarely have I created one that I was really satisfied with. I've spent so much...

“I want to make sure that if someone happens to find me when I'm not posting content, that they have a way to hear about me, learn about me - without me having to pump out content to the feed.” Nothing makes me want to dive head-first into a vat of lava like the thought of making a 7-second video to post on Reels or TikTok. And if you feel that way too, please know that you are not alone. And today, I'm talking to Jessica Lackey, who, like me, hates short form content, so she decided not to...

This week on the podcast, we're doing something a little bit different. A pod takeover. I invited my friend, Michelle Warner to take over my podcast feed.  Her podcast Sequence Over Strategy is the only business podcast that I religiously listen to. Michelle and I are incredibly aligned with how we approach business (and she's also the opening speaker for the Make Marketing Suck Less virtual event). Aligning Marketing and Growth Do you struggle to decide your marketing strategy? Do you...

A special invite to the Make Marketing Suck Less Virtual Event! Social media feels like a 20-lb weight choking all the joy out of my business. All the "shoulds." All the rules. All the head trash around having the "perfect" hook." Maybe you feel it, too? Here's the deal: you don't have to RELY on social media for audience growth. You've got a ton of options. Finding what works for you is freeing. I'm hosting a virtual event, Make Marketing Suck Less to help you do just that. I'm gathering 10...

“I know that there's this unicorn idea that you can preschedule things months in advance, and preschedule all of your content, and, like, sit down for 8 hours in one day, and record 17.6 reels. But that is a lie unto me, and it never worked for me. And so for me, it had to be. It sucked even worse if I tried to batch content.” Marketing is relentless.  It is something that is never done and dusted.  Yet, it's a core pillar of what you need to do to have a sustainable business. So when...

“I know that I'm extraordinary at what I do. And because I have messaging, because I have my packages, because I have my pricing, I can keep moving forward in confidence in one area of my life”. There comes a time when the shit hits the fan in your life and you just can't keep showing up the way you like.  The first thing that always goes is marketing. Let's face it. Most of us don't have the option of just stopping marketing altogether. We can't put our businesses on hold because we need...

“I used to always think - I have all these great ideas and I make these products, like, you know, digital-based products. And if only I had the money that I could actually hire a team and build the thing out and then actually pay money for advertising, I just know it would hit.” If you just build the right funnel, have the right welcome sequence, and the right lead magnet, you can put money into ads and people will come out and wanna work with you.  And this seems like the absolutely best...

“It was such a detour to go the whole social media, build a course, webinars, free webinars, pitch, cart closed route.  The whole thing was such a detour for me. It seriously tanked my business.” So many business owners have gone down this path only to realize, “Hey. This isn't for me!”  With all the hype around “stop trading dollars for hours” and make money while you sleep, there was something she was NOT being told.  Choosing to create a course meant that Elise Enriquez, productivity...

Anytime you decide to work on your marketing message, it's going to require you to dig deep and do some thought work around your business, who you want to serve and what you want to be known for.  If you're like most people, by the time you find this podcast, you've already tried another messaging framework. (I’m looking at you, StoryBrand.)  So before you start digging deep into the 3 Word Rebellion, how do you know if it's right for your business?  Well, there are 3 telltale signs, and...

Your client has a lot of options when it comes to solving their problem.  There's so much competition and competition for their time, energy, and financial resources.  >>>How do you make sure that your business is the one they choose?  >>>How do you show you're different from the web celebs with charismatic marketing?  You do it by differentiating your business.  So what is differentiation and why is it critical for your business? That's exactly what we're gonna talk...

“How does having a 3 Word Rebellion make marketing suck less?”  That's a question I got from a listener and it's a super smart question.  To truly make marketing suck less: you have to know that the work you put in will actually pay offthat it will make marketing easier and more effective to bring in your right-fit clients.Today, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my own business and showing you how my 3 Word Rebellion makes marketing take half the time while being twice as effective for...

“Hey! Look at me!” “Hey! Buy my program…Read my blog…Listen to my podcast!” “Smash that subscribe button!”  “Hey, I've got the only foolproof way to solve your problem!” Let's face it. It's noisy out in the marketplace. On social media, it seems like everyone is hawking their wares, talking about how much money they make and how they can teach you to do it too.  It's enough to make you want to give up on marketing. I get it. And you can't because there are people out there right now...

Do you ever find yourself reading an Instagram post or listening to a podcast, and you're absolutely horrified by the advice being given?  You shake your head and you think, “That's not how any of this works!”  I know I've been there, and the reason is because experts can spot BS a mile away. I believe that's one of the reasons why marketing is so hard for you.  The pseudo experts out there who are promising the quick fix, big rewards for little effort, and the easy to follow blueprints...