Archive 1: 2012-2016

195: Rock, Paper, Simple: Create a Marketing-Focused Website in Seven Easy Steps with Joshua Adams

Joshua Adams is the founder of Rock Paper Simple, a company that helps businesses create websites that focus on marketing and results. With over 14 years of experience in web design, marketing, and branding, Joshua works with business owners to make sure their websites do more than just look good—they help bring in customers. Joshua often speaks at events and colleges about web design and marketing.

Joshua Adams from Rock Paper Simple wants his agency to help you create a marketing-focused website that’s them-centric, with clear navigation, that speaks directly to visitors and makes conversions. Be sure to claim his free self audit worksheet to find out how your website measures up.

Seven steps to creating a marketing-focused website:

1. Shut up and listen (know thyself, benefits, goals)
2. Plan for results (design, words, pages)
3. Direct traffic (differentiate value of pages, decide on three most important services, call-to-action on homepage/sidebar)
4. Them-centric copy (wording that’s beneficial to them)
5. Convert (phone number, working form, less fields)
6. Simplify navigation
7. Rock the visuals

Quotes:

“People really don’t care who you are or what you know until they know that you either care about them or have value for them.” – Joshua Adams

“If you don’t plan, you’re just not going to get to that end goal. If you don’t have a destination, you’ll never get there.” – Joshua Adams

“Marketing serves as the intermediary step leading to sales. While the ultimate goal is achieving sales, marketing is driven by the intention to fulfill a specific purpose.” – Joshua Adams

Takeaways:

01:16 Focusing on marketing when building a website helps businesses get better results.

05:31 Making your website about your customers, not just your business, is important.

19:31 Setting clear goals for your website is a key first step.

25:05 Make it easy for visitors to take action, like buying or signing up.

36:35 Simple and clear navigation helps people use your website without confusion.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:54 — 35.6MB) | Embed

December 5, 2016

194: The Voice Formula: Captivate the Room and Become a More Interesting Speaker with Tracy Goodwin

Tracy Goodwin is a voice expert and the owner of Captivate the Room, where she helps people improve their speaking skills and confidence. With over 20 years of experience and two master’s degrees, Tracy has coached hundreds of clients worldwide. She hosts a podcast and offers a free video series called The Voice Formula, along with online courses and group programs.

Tracy Goodwin from Captivate the Room can help you become a better speaker by improving your voice. Tracy says that your voice’s muscle memory can be trained. You can retrain those good speaking habits that you might have previously lost over time and rediscover your real voice.

Many people have incorrectly tempered their voice, leading to that “stuck in the back of your throat” speaking style with dropped endings on sentences. Others forget to have tempering variety and still others forget to breathe when speaking.

Tracy wants you to speak with a pattern of unpredictability, to show vulnerability and be authentic. Break down your speaking strengths and weaknesses into the five elements of variety:

1. pausing
2. elongation
3. pitch
4. volume
5. speed

Quotes:

“We are all essentially born speaking in our true voice, rich with beautiful nuances, but as we grow older and accumulate experiences, we tend to hold that back.” – Tracy Goodwin

“The voice is your most powerful tool, as it breathes life into your words and distinguishes you from others.” – Tracy Goodwin

“Research reveals that every 90 seconds, the brain signals us to disengage. When our vocal delivery becomes predictable, we inadvertently give our audience the green light to lose focus.” – Tracy Goodwin

Takeaways:

02:02 Many people hold back their real voice because of past experiences or fear of judgment.

07:50 Common problems with speaking include holding your voice in your throat, not using enough variety, and forgetting to breathe.

13:03 Setting a moderate pace, pitch, and volume helps make your speaking more interesting.

22:27 Using pauses, elongation, pitch, volume, and speed adds variety and keeps listeners interested.

32:54 Tracy offers a free voice assessment if you send her a short audio or video clip.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:36 — 37.2MB) | Embed

December 2, 2016

193: Madly Chasing Peace: Use 3×3 Focused Meditation to Find Inner Peace and Wisdom with Dina Proctor

Dina Proctor is a life and business coach and the best-selling author of “Madly Chasing Peace: How I Went from Hell to Happy in Nine Minutes a Day.” She created the 3×3 meditation technique, which means meditating for three minutes, three times a day. Dina’s work focuses on helping people use short, focused meditation to improve their lives, health, and mindset.

Dina Proctor, author of Madly Chasing Peace, wants you to meditate in short bursts: just three minutes, three times a day. Dina was battling clinical depression, planning her suicide and dealing with alcohol addiction when she began to sit still and focus on her breathing for just a few minutes a day.

After eight weeks, that nagging inner voice in her head was gone and she was able to focus on every activity at hand. She found that inner peace and wisdom, and wants to show you how to do the same.

Quotes:

“Anything we want to manifest in our external world starts within. We don’t always need to know exactly what we want, because our higher guidance already knows what will truly fulfill us.” – Dina Proctor

“I truly believe that meditation, for me, isn’t an activity—it’s a state of being.” – Dina Proctor

“If you’re playing full out, it works. But if you’re half texting and half meditating, it’s not going to be effective.” – Dina Proctor

Takeaways:

00:55 Using short, focused meditation several times a day can help change your mindset and life.

02:48 Giving your mind a simple task during meditation, like counting backwards, can help quiet busy thoughts.

08:31 Building a meditation habit is like building a muscle; it gets easier with practice over time.

19:31 Even a few minutes of meditation, done regularly, can lead to big changes in how you feel and think.

26:07 If you don’t take care of your inner self, outside achievements can feel empty.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:03 — 27.5MB) | Embed

December 1, 2016

192: Create Fearlessly: Get a High Converting Website for Your Business with Stephen Christopher

Stephen Christopher is the founder of Sequest Digital Marketing, a company that helps businesses improve their online presence through services like SEO, pay-per-click advertising, and web design. He is also the host of the Business Revolution podcast, where he talks with entrepreneurs and shares advice about business growth. Stephen has experience running several businesses and is known for focusing on what his company does best, while also making sure his clients are well taken care of.

Stephen Christopher from Seequs.com wants to help you with your organic search results, pay per click advertising, and web design.

Choose the top one to three objectives for your website: that’s usually for your hot, warm, and cold leads. For example, your hottest prospects who want to buy right now could be looking for a phone number, the warm leads might fill out a contact form to request service, and the cold leads might only want to signup for a video or short report.

Don’t take anything for granted, be super persistent (failure leads to perspective). Change the “bad” things about your business.

Quotes:

“Client success is not optional. We’re committed to providing as much guidance as possible because their success—both within our work and overall—is essential to us.” –Stephen Christopher

“Never give up. There is always a way to make what you want happen. What you’re doing right now might not be the right approach, so if you fail, it’s time to shift your perspective.” – Stephen Christopher

“Sometimes you might be doing something with the potential to succeed, but it’s not aligned with who you are or who you’re truly trying to become.” – Stephen Christopher

Takeaways:

01:02 Focus on what your business does best and let go of the rest.

06:17 Make your website easy for visitors to take action, like calling or filling out a form.

12:32 Good communication and customer service are very important for keeping clients happy.

21:53 Learn from mistakes and use them to build a better business.

26:53 Set clear company values and use them to guide your decisions.

Resources: Seequs SEO agency, Business Revolution Podcast, Business Revolution Facebook Group

Case studies: Petri Plumbing and Hal Elrod

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:00 — 32.0MB) | Embed

November 30, 2016

191: Power and Bliss: Find Clarity and Focus Through Self-Care, Meditation and Consistency with Avalaura Gaither

Avalaura Gaither is an intuitive consultant, life coach, and author with a background in psychology and social work. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work from Howard University. Avalaura is the author of two books, “Power” and “Bliss,” which focus on reclaiming personal strength and living a life filled with passion and purpose. She also runs Avalaura’s Healing Center and is active as a speaker and meditation guide.

Avalaura Gaither has a background in psychology and social work. She found herself trapped in her career and became an entrepreneur by becoming a guide for others in the areas of daily self-care, meditation, and stress relief.

Quotes:

“Get your mind right, your business will be tight.” – Avalaura Gaither

“The painful stuff—that’s where the magic is. It’s where you discover your true purpose and what will set you apart from everyone else.” – Avalaura Gaither

“People bring things out of you that you can’t bring out of yourself.” – Avalaura Gaither

Takeaways:

01:37 It’s important to know yourself and your reasons before starting a business.

09:57 Doing personal work and asking yourself honest questions helps you figure out what kind of business fits you.

19:08 Reading about self-care is not enough; you have to take daily action to see real change.

20:01 Meditation can be adjusted to fit your schedule and needs, not just done one way.

25:27 Having a coach or guide can help you find the right approach for your personality, instead of just following a book.

Resources

Avalaura’s Healing Center (Website)
Bliss: A Practical Guide to Living a Life of Purpose & Pleasure (Website)
Power: Escaping the Fear from Within (Website)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:25 — 30.6MB) | Embed

November 29, 2016

190: Love Yourself Successful: Network Using Offline Events, Profit from Social Media and Jumpstart Your Business with Katrina Sawa

Katrina Sawa is a business coach known as the “Jumpstart Your Business Coach.” She is the author of the book “Love Yourself Successful” and the creator of the Jumpstart Your Biz in 90 Days system. Katrina helps entrepreneurs, especially those who are not tech-savvy, grow their businesses both online and offline by focusing on practical marketing strategies, networking, and building supportive relationships.

Katrina Sawa has a lot to say about networking, social media, landing speaking gigs, and making money doing what you love. She gets 60-65 speaking gigs per year. She says you should become a member of multiple speaker associations and private message prospects on Facebook and LinkedIn using her templates, and later move them off social media to help them and their businesses.

Quotes:

“Your website is your most important marketing tool—it should be the central hub of your business, where everything flows in and out.” – Katrina Sawa

“If you can meet people in person, it’s often faster to build relationships and move them to the next step than if they’re just an online friend or follower.” – Katrina Sawa

“If you want to delegate, it might only cost a few hundred dollars a month to offload tasks, allowing you to be more consistent.” – Katrina Sawa

Takeaways:

02:01 If people around you are not supportive, you need to either communicate better, set boundaries, or move on.

06:48 You don’t have to learn every technical skill—hire someone to help with things like websites if it’s not your strength.

13:42 Every business website should have an opt-in box, a freebie, and some kind of email marketing.

16:00 Reaching out to people on social media and moving the conversation to a phone call can lead to speaking gigs and new business.

24:32 Being consistent with your marketing and getting help from a team, even if it costs a little, is important for business growth.

Resources

Three Business-Building Gifts (Website)
Love Yourself Successful (Free Gifts)
Jumpstart Your Marketing (Katrina Sawa’s Products)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:45 — 26.3MB) | Embed

November 28, 2016

189: Live With Purpose, Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Focus on One Thing with Author, Entrepreneur, and Speaker Joe Apfelbaum

Joe Apfelbaum is the CEO and co-founder of Ajax Union, a digital marketing agency based in Brooklyn. He is a public speaker, certified Google trainer, and a published business author. Joe also hosts the CEO Mojo podcast and runs a weekly video show called GrowTime.tv. He is currently working on his book, “Average Joe to CEO.”

Joe Apfelbaum, CEO of Ajax Union, has had quite an entrepreneurial journey and wants you to live a life of purpose, on purpose. Topics covered:

how to get past the rough years, discover your reason, develop an abundance mindset
the difference between being “satisfied” (a temporary solution to hunger which is a slow painful death) and being fulfilled (self aware and successful with perspective)
how to focus on one thing: how Joe went from being spread too thin with seven side businesses, to making a lot of income in a short amount of time (less is more)

Quotes:

“Don’t just have a purpose—live with purpose. Even when you breathe, do it with intention. Take a deep breath, fill your lungs completely, and breathe with purpose.” – Joe Apfelbaum

“Success looks different for everyone. Most people don’t actually know what success means for them because they’re too busy measuring it against someone else’s.” – Joe Apfelbaum

“People will either love you or hate you, but most are just stuck in mediocrity.” – Joe Apfelbaum

Takeaways:

00:58 Being passionate about your business is important for long-term success.

03:07 If you want to make money, focus on adding real value to others.

06:39 The people you spend time with can affect your mindset and success.

12:31 It’s good to feel fulfilled, but you should always keep your hunger to grow.

15:31 You need to find a balance between working hard and enjoying the moment.

Resources

Ajax Union (Facebook)
Joe Apfelbaum’s (Blog)
CEO Mojo (Website)
Ajax Union(Website)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvpQzKaHSXI

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:20 — 33.3MB) | Embed

November 25, 2016

188: Take Inspired Action and Use Boundaries to Create More Freedom with Petra Monaco

Petra Monaco is an author, entrepreneur, and coach who helps women build confidence, take action, and create the life they want. She is known for her book about dreaming, believing, and taking action, and she also runs a blog at PetraMonaco.com where she shares advice on mindset, boundaries, and self-care. Petra has experience as a single parent and has overcome personal challenges, which she now uses to guide others through coaching and online courses.

Petra Monaco from PetraMonaco.com wants to give you more confidence and a bigger vision, so you can push yourself further. She also provides coaching for authors to deal with mindset, accountability, and excuses. She sells a course about how to start an Etsy e-commerce store selling handmade goods.

Quotes:

“Boundaries are a form of self-care, not something that’s going to constrict you or make you rigid.” – Petra Monaco

“If something is draining you, ask yourself: Is this really something I need to be doing, should be doing, or even want to be doing?” – Petra Monaco

“You can’t change a habit or adapt to a new routine in just a week. It often takes two to three weeks to fully implement.” – Petra Monaco

Takeaways:

01:11 Everyone struggles with confidence and motivation, and it’s normal to have ups and downs.

03:08 Focusing on what you can do in the next 90 days helps keep goals realistic and manageable.

07:43 Building new routines takes time and commitment, and it’s important to decide what matters most.

09:37 Setting boundaries in your schedule is a form of self-care and helps prevent burnout.

20:00 Journaling about your fears can help you understand and challenge what’s holding you back.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:17 — 23.2MB) | Embed

November 24, 2016

187: Blog Monetization and Inbound Marketing: Build a Library of Content to Gain Trust and Authority with Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of the Marketing Technology Blog and the CEO of DK New Media, an agency that helps marketing technology companies with their inbound marketing strategies. He is also the author of “Corporate Blogging for Dummies,” where he shares his expertise in the world of corporate blogging and online marketing.

Douglas Karr from The Marketing Tech Blog stops by to talk about monetizing a blog. The game has changed, and search engines now reward quality over quantity.

This means that to build trust and authority, you should spend more time on your content, republishing and update content as needed. Educate your customers early, and inform them about helpful tools or how something in your business was created. Create an editorial calendar with 12 subjects and 4 subtopics to keep your content marketing consistent.

Quotes:

“Everything we do online revolves around authority and trust. You need to establish authority first, and once you earn trust, people will be willing to do business with you.” – Douglas Karr

“If you have exceptional content, you’ll consistently attract attention, no matter the source.” – Douglas Karr

“Stop focusing solely on constant production, as it can wear you down and lead to a decline in quality.” – Douglas Karr

Takeaways:

02:31 Good blog content should be updated and improved over time instead of just making new posts all the time.

05:36 Most conversations about your blog now happen on social media, not in blog comments.

08:43 Building trust and authority with your audience is more important than just posting a lot.

14:13 Updating old blog posts with new information can help them rank higher in search results again.

26:37 It’s important to have a clear call to action on your blog so readers know what to do next.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:58 — 30.2MB) | Embed

November 23, 2016

186: Six Figure Writing and Virtual Assistant Secrets: How to Start and Scale Your Freelancing Income to Create the Lifestyle You Want with Laura Pennington

Laura Pennington is a former inner-city teacher who transitioned into a successful career as a freelance writer, virtual assistant, and project manager. She is the owner of Six Figure Writing Secrets and Your Way to VA, where she helps others build sustainable freelance businesses from home. Laura is also an author and course creator, offering resources and training for aspiring writers and virtual assistants.

Laura Pennington left her job as a 7th grade teacher to become a freelance writer and virtual assistant. She has advice about getting initial clients, scaling your business, and filling your schedule with nothing but your ideal clients.

1. evaluate your own experiences: you don’t need to have been good in the past (office skills, data entry, phone calls)
2. work samples (logos, write a white paper, write blog posts)
3. marketing plan (job boards, contracts)
4. long-term marketing (cold calls, chamber of commerce meetings, trade shows conferences)

Quotes:

“The days of working at the same company for 30 years and retiring with a pension are gone. At this point, we don’t even know if Social Security and Medicare will be there when we retire.” – Laura Pennington

“The way you build your business and the clients you choose to work with play a crucial role in shaping your lifestyle.” – Laura Pennington

“Once someone finds a good freelancer, they have no reason to look elsewhere. Not only will they continue to order from you, but they’ll also refer to their friends.” – Laura Pennington

Takeaways:

04:42 Freelancing can start as a side job and grow into a full-time career if you want it to.

07:26 Picking the right clients and saying no to bad fits helps avoid burnout and low pay.

12:35 Focusing on repeat clients and steady work makes freelancing more stable.

15:07 Choosing a specialty or niche lets you charge more and stand out from other freelancers.

28:28 Raising your rates over time is important so you don’t get stuck working for too little.

Resources

Your Way to VA (Website)
Six Figure Writing Secrets (Website)
Laura Pennington’s Courses on Teachable (Courses)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:12 — 32.2MB) | Embed

November 22, 2016

Category: Archive 1: 2012-2016

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