You are in for a treat in today’s episode. Danny Schreiber is the marketing director at Zapier, an app automation tool that helps professionals get more done. Zapier is a service that connects your web apps together to automate the tedious parts of your job or business. For example:
when someone registers for a GoToWebinar session of yours, trigger a new lead in Aweber or your CRM
monitor tweets about you in a Google Sheet
get email notifications, push notifications, or SMS messages if someone mentions you on Reddit or fills in a WuFoo form
replicate your blog posts across WordPress blogs or social media
auto-blog (aggregate) your favorite YouTube videos and WordPress posts on one site
And so much more. Zapier integrates almost any website together, including Twilio, Slack, Evernote, Facebook Lead Ads, Dropbox, MailChimp, Trello, HubSpot, InfusionSoft, and Instagram, just to name a handful.
Quotes:
“When we market Zapier, what we really try to do is talk about the different apps and integrations you can connect to, because that resonates with people.” – Danny Schreiber
“We want to make it really simple. We have a good percentage of the user base with complex or customized needs.” – Danny Schreiber
“If you’re a young company, it’s good to remember: don’t be afraid to ask people to pay for it.” – Danny Schreiber
Takeaways:
06:15 Marketing complex tools works best by focusing on specific app integrations rather than broad personas.
11:53 User forums are goldmines for discovering real product needs and solving specific customer problems.
16:57 Horizontal tools like Zapier can solve complex workflow challenges across multiple industries and job roles.
24:55 Growing a tech product requires listening to user feedback and continuously expanding integration options.
20:24 Small businesses can create powerful automation systems with minimal technical skills and budget.
Stacey Brown Randall from Growth by Referrals had learned three secrets from previous business failures: you need to “touch” your business every day, protect your mindset, and have conversations about how to scale. Listen in as she discusses how to identify who refers you (1-on-1 and face-to-face), find those experiences and touch points where you connect with them (hosting/attending events), automate that relationship (gifts, cards, emails), and track your results. Don’t cold call. Instead, reach out to those connectors who refer clients to you.
Quotes:
“When you ask for a referral, you do two things: you commoditize the relationship and make it about work. You’re now asking the other person to do something for you, and you’re trying to manufacture something that doesn’t exist—pain.” – Stacey Randall
“Nine times out of ten, it comes down to their mindset. Because this information—what I always tell folks—is not new, it is not a silver bullet, and it is not rocket science. It’s actually pretty simple.” – Stacey Randall
“When you’re on that roller coaster where your stress goes up as your pocketbook goes down, you start to pay attention.” – Stacey Randall
Takeaways:
05:58 Creating a systematic touch point strategy helps keep potential referral sources engaged without feeling pressured.
10:22 Business failures can be stepping stones to future success when you learn from your mistakes and maintain a positive mindset.
11:53 Consistent business development requires a strategic approach that goes beyond traditional cold calling or networking.
19:10 Speaking at local events and understanding your ideal client’s pain points can dramatically improve business growth.
23:06 Generating referrals works best when you build genuine relationships instead of directly asking for leads.
Stacy Tuschl from ShesBuildingHerEmpire.com has advice for you today about making money AND having freedom, scheduling vacations, daily rewards, batching, and having that freedom to change. She’s had huge success selling do-it-yourself online courses, group coaching, and masterminds. She explains her launch strategy with a 90-day launch plan and 5-day challenge, as well as how she uses Facebook ads for traffic to those launches.
Quotes:
“When we’re constantly growing and stretching ourselves, of course we’re going to fall into some patterns that make us a little uncomfortable, or we get stuck in a rut because we don’t know what to do next.” – Stacy Tuschl
“There are ups and downs to being an entrepreneur. It’s not something that goes away. If you’re in the newer stages and thinking, ‘Okay, yes, it gets better,’ know that it’s part of the journey.” – Stacy Tuschl
“Don’t be the smartest person in the room—get out of your comfort zone. Yes, it might feel scary, and yes, it’s not the place we naturally want to go, but we need to surround ourselves with incredible people who can push us.” – Stacy Tuschl
Takeaways:
03:18 Scheduling rewards before completing a project can boost motivation and help entrepreneurs push through challenging tasks.
09:30 Batching similar work activities into concentrated time blocks increases productivity and efficiency.
11:59 Intentionally leaving buffer time between appointments prevents burnout and allows for mental and physical breaks.
14:19 Five-day challenges are powerful marketing tools that can grow email lists, create high engagement, and convert participants into paying customers.
24:30 Preparing for a product launch requires at least 30 days of strategic planning and team coordination.
Everyone is guilty of this at one time or another, even me sometimes…
Getting too carried away and biting off more than you can chew…
Filling up the “to-do list” (yuck) with way too much “stuff”
Then, it’s a huge distraction and that big long list becomes a thing you’re scared to look at, or maybe even you feel bad when you do…
I can also relate to my mindset ten years ago when even five minutes of money-making activities per day seemed like “too much work” for me…
Send a quick email in the morning? I can’t do that every day…
People tell me to blog or post a daily video? How will I have time for anything else?
“Forget about a daily podcast…” I expected myself to post once a day for maybe 4-5 days and then quit!
Sound familiar? Of course it does… don’t pretend it doesn’t!
So what changed? This…
Insight #1: Exterminate “Not-Invented-Here” Syndrome and Used the Right Tools
Don’t invent from scratch if you can help it.
In this day and age, you don’t need to know HTML, CSS, how to edit graphics and upload files. Just use WordPress, grab whatever beautiful theme you want to use for your design (most look like you paid thousands of dollars), and you can grab whatever plugins you want to add pop-ups, social share links, and so on.
Just grab what gets it done now instead of delaying yourself months or even years for no reason…
Insight #2: Stop Switching Gears and “Chunk” Instead
Speaking of WordPress, use its scheduling feature. Scheduling is one of the few hidden “Easter eggs” hidden in WordPress and I’m constantly amazed at how few people know that this is a thing…
Here’s how it works: let’s say you create a WordPress blog and you decide that once per day, you want to post a new video reviewing the latest iPhone or Android app…
That’s a huge time commitment. Literally every day, you’re going to have to login and research that latest app. There’s no guarantee that you’ll find something good. Maybe you won’t be motivated that day. Maybe you’ll have something better to do or a huge emergency will come up and stop you…
And then… you might miss a day, two days, a week, and then think to yourself… it’s been three months since I posted a video about the latest app. It wasn’t a priority then, so why should it be a priority now?
Posting one or two videos didn’t seem to get me much traction, and maybe if I’d posted 50 to 100 videos I’d see real results, but who has that sort of patience?
Solution: Schedule several posts every time. With WordPress, you can add a new “post” (journal entry) and Publish it, or set it to go live instantly. Or, you can change the date to go live tomorrow, in a week, or two weeks.
WordPress has built-in drip content (just set the date and time of your posts into the future) without any special plugins.
Just imagine, on a Monday, grabbing five YouTube videos from various sources reviewing the latest apps (with your link at the bottom) and you’ll set those posts to go live on Tuesday morning, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Or, how about this: on April 1st, schedule two weekly posts in advance. That means that on April 1st, you just scheduled posts on your blog for April 1st and April 8th…
Then, on April 8th, you already had that day scheduled. You schedule your two videos to go live on April 15th and April 22nd…
Keep this up for 10 weeks (three to five minutes per day) and by June 3rd, you’re already scheduled ahead to mid-August. And by August, you’re scheduled ahead until the following year.
Just by posting more than what you need, the website (WordPress) will work on autopilot for you, even after you’ve put it out of your mind. Constantly switching gears and putting out fires is a MASSIVE time waster. Avoid it by chunking up your tasks and scheduling things out on autopilot for many weeks to come.
Insight #3: Imagine a Clear CONCRETE Vision of What the Future LOOKS Like
It sounds super hokey, but most self-help (Napoleon Hill type of stuff) revolves around you using your imagination to imagine a clear picture of your goals…
That way, not only will you know you’re headed in the right direction, but you’ll also get that perspective to deal with life’s small setbacks, and you’ll have the motivation (and enthusiasm) you need to complete consistent daily actions every single day.
As they say:
“Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re right!” — Henry Ford
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” — Napoleon Hill
“Successful people look for problems to resolve, whereas unsuccessful people make every attempt to avoid them.” — Grant Cardone
“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities, and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” — Harry Truman
Again, as cheesy as it sounds, it’s important that you let in a consistent flow of self-help information. That means that even if all you can manage is a 10 minute morning walk every day…
Search YouTube, iTunes and Audible for anything relating to: self-help, self-improvement, productivity, motivation, Napoleon Hill, Tony Robbins, Chet Holmes, Wayne Dyer, Les Brown and listen to just a few minutes every day
Speaking of Audible (Amazon’s audio book marketplace), install the app on your phone so that you can listen while driving or taking walks, even just a few minutes a day (just 5 minutes a day is 30 hours per year)
If you’re really stuck, search YouTube for things like “guided meditation focus” or “NLP anxiety” or even “negative self talk” or “procrastination” to solve whatever mental problem you’re working through (and we’re all working through things… if you’re not, then you should be)
Take a few minutes to write down (or speak out) your thoughts and feelings to reduce your raw uncontrollable emotions into words that you can work through (we offer the Four Daily Tasks bullet journal for this)
Just imagine if you scheduled 20, 100, or even 200 daily or weekly blog posts into the future. That not only frees up time for you to focus on more important things, but it’ll also encourage you with the progress you’ve made AND it’ll toughen you up and build that “productivity muscle” so that the effort that it used to take you to schedule a quick blog post (find a YouTube video online and schedule it)… could now be applied to:
you hiring a writer on Fiverr to crank out a pack of ten articles… schedule them
you could write up your own articles, dictate your own podcast episodes or record your own YouTube videos to post to your blog
scheduling ahead of time as far as you want
I used to think that posting to a site even THREE times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) was work. But think about it. There are “roughly” four weeks in every month. Three times per week is only 12 pieces of content — grab a couple interesting YouTube videos, news items or blog posts to report about…
Insight #4: Consistent Daily Action & Small Wins
Let me sneak in one more of those dreadful “motivational” quotes: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar
Here’s an analogy for you: let’s say you’ve been exercising and dieting diligently, and one day, you decide to eat two extra-large pepperoni pizzas in the space of 10 minutes. Will you instantly gain weight and become a huge fat slob? Of course not.
Let’s say you’ve been eating fast food five times a day and ballooned up to 300 pounds or more. If you suddenly ate a salad for one single meal and went back to fast food, it wouldn’t make much difference, would it?
Moving back to entrepreneurship and making money: what if you spent every day caught in that typical pattern of “work-TV-sleep?” And maybe once a month, you “dabbled” in internet marketing, just a little bit? No progress…
What if you woke up just one hour earlier and dedicated that one hour to: creating a product, writing sales copy, building a list, running ads, and sending emails? HUGE results added up over time…
Unfortunately, way too many internet marketers and work-at-home entrepreneurs have the wrong mindset. They think that if they just “put in the time” or “wait out their problem” then eventually… someone will see it their way… not gonna happen.
Imagine if Apple had stopped innovating with the Macintosh and there was no iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple Watch, MacBook, or iMac. Just Macintosh version 10.0 with a “faster” processor and floppy disk drive… BORING!
What if Amazon only sold books? What if you couldn’t buy almost any item online from them? What if they didn’t sell groceries? What if they never created services like S3 which power Netflix and Dropbox?
What if Google never experimented with AdWords (their main money maker) and stayed with organic search only? They would have gone the way of Yahoo!, Excite, Altavista, Dogpile, DMOZ, and the rest
Do you remember when MySpace was “the” top website people logged into? Maybe Facebook would have followed suit if they hadn’t bought Instagram, adopted “sharing” and absorbed the live streaming stuff from Periscope and SnapChat?
Now look — I think we both know that looking at Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook give you EXTREME examples of what to do and what not to do:
Banish “not-invented-here” syndrome and use what already exists. If you want to reinvent a website from scratch, you’re basically starting over at the beginning of the internet (the 1990’s, and you remember how those websites looked) — why not start at 2017 with tools like WordPress?
Chunk your tasks to avoid switching gears: instead of psyching yourself up to write a single blog post (or record a podcast, film a vlog, post to Facebook, email your list), why not use that same time to crank or two or three, or even ten? So that you have a machine that continues to produce money for you weeks from now on automatic pilot, even when you’re not thinking about it?
Use your imagination for good instead of for evil. The average person gravitates to what “could” go wrong if you took a risk and moved outside of your comfort zone. It’s easy, and it only takes a moment, to think — What if I’d created that product? Contacted some affiliates? Finished that sales letter and added a buy button? It’s hard to do in real life, but EASY to imagine “if” you’d tried it and failed… then you could say, it’s a good thing I didn’t play with that internet marketing thing. It’s a good thing I didn’t listen to any self-help stuff. What a waste “that” would have been. Be better. Instead of worrying about what COULD go wrong, ask yourself, what COULD go right?
Keep up the process daily!
That doesn’t mean you should just phone in it, wait your turn, put in the hours, or “hold out” until your idea makes money. Self-awareness and course-correction are HUGE in our line of work (being in business for yourself).
Even if you’re pressed for time with a day job, being old and dealing with health issues, dealing with family, divorce, kids… you’re not the first human being in history to deal with such things. I honestly believe that no matter what your situation, you can carve out an hour (maybe two) per day to grow your internet business.
“If you really want to do something you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” — Jim Rohn
Start with our WP Import plugin. With it, you’ll be able to schedule out a bunch of blog posts in advance: buy private label rights articles, hire a freelance writer on Fiverr, or write them yourself.
Grab any of the 28,000 articles we include as a bonus to our plugin. Or find 10-20 YouTube videos and use our bulk post feature to schedule all that content on one page:
“Constantly switching gears and putting out fires day after day is a massive time waster.” – Robert Plank
“Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, ask yourself what could go right and keep up the process daily.” – Robert Plank
“Even if you’re pressed for time with a day job, or you’re old and dealing with health issues, family, or divorced kids, you’re not the first human being in history to deal with such things.” – Robert Plank
Takeaways:
04:40 WordPress scheduling allows you to create content weeks or months in advance without daily manual work.
06:15 Self-help and motivational content can reshape your mindset and drive entrepreneurial success.
07:20 Using existing tools and platforms saves time compared to building everything from scratch.
08:10 Dedicating just one hour daily to your business can create substantial long-term results.
15:30 Small, consistent daily actions compound into significant progress over time.
Nick Zyrowski from NuVisionExcel.com created one of the earliest online stores providing health advice, supplements, and lab testing to allow people to put themselves in the driver’s seat of their own health.
Listen in as he discusses his struggles of coming in “too early” (before online health became mainstream), his strategy of getting clients one at a time, his progress of getting his offers to “catch on” and his entrepreneurial attitude of trying new things.
Quotes:
“Pain is your body saying, ‘Hey, we have an issue. Please pay attention to this.” – Nick Zyrowski
“Most people think that many of the conditions they face are irreversible and that they have to live with them forever—that they have to stay on medication for life. But for those people, there’s a lot of hope out there, because we’ve reversed many conditions all day long here.” – Nick Zyrowski
“Start your business with nothing—with the leftover money that you have—and start working on it. See what comes out of it, and then go from there.” – Nick Zyrowski
Takeaways:
00:35 Online health services can provide personalized, convenient care that traditional medical settings often fail to deliver.
02:02 Identifying the root cause of health issues through advanced testing is more effective than simply treating symptoms.
11:40 Starting a business with limited resources requires creativity, persistence, and a willingness to do everything yourself.
22:43 Proactive health management is crucial; waiting until symptoms become severe can lead to more complex and costly treatments.
28:43 Continuous innovation in health services, such as cellular detoxification, can help prevent chronic diseases.
Are you ever afraid of the unknown? Do you sometimes doubt your capabilitity, are you worried about sounding stupid, and are you struggling to break out of your shell?
Zaheen Nanji from ZaheenNanji.com wants to help you face your fear, be okay with falling down, course correct, have self-awareness, get help from a coach, make progress with baby steps, get your mindset right, and so much more.
Quotes:
“The reason we don’t like change is, first, because we’re scared of the unknown—what’s on the other side of change. And second, we’re scared of change because we doubt our own capability to handle it.” – Zaheen Nanji
“You can learn a new habit, but it takes practice and effort. If it doesn’t become part of your subconscious, it’s never going to work.” – Zaheen Nanji
“Falling down is okay. But if I stutter one day—hey, you know what? It’s not the end of the world. I can dust myself off and bounce back.” – Zaheen Nanji
Takeaways:
01:07 Change is inevitable, and the real challenge is not the change itself, but our fear of the unknown and doubting our own capabilities.
07:08 Facing your fears directly is the first step to overcoming personal limitations and building confidence.
15:37 Treat personal and professional growth like a daily habit, similar to brushing your teeth – something you do consistently without overthinking.
18:14 Always seek feedback and practice your presentations or important conversations with a trusted person before the actual event.
23:24 Start with small, repeated steps when trying to break out of your comfort zone, practicing each new skill multiple times until it becomes comfortable.
Christina Baldassarre creates successful brands. In her last year of college, she started Zebra Advertisement, a digital marketing agency, and the company grew to manage over $1 billion in advertising budget in just five years. During her journey, she became a leading brand strategist, successful entrepreneur and sought-after speaker. Zebra Advertisement has been named as one of the most entrepreneurial companies in America today by Entrepreneur Magazine.
Their clients include Microsoft, Bing, Facebook, Google, Yellow Pages, Thomson Reuters, StateFarm, and over 21,000 other businesses from over 20 countries.
Quotes:
“All branding is perception management. So if you get those specific layouts right and use them again and again with different content in the same layout, people will start recognizing your brand—and that’s really important.” – Christina Baldassarre
“People click on an ad because of the image, even if they do not understand the text.” – Christina Baldassarre
“The color red triggers something subconsciously in your brain. It appeals to the really ancient part of your brain and triggers a sense of urgency.” – Christina Baldassarre
Takeaways:
07:24 Consistent visual branding helps people recognize your brand even without seeing your logo or face.
12:30 The image in an ad makes 70% difference in click-through rate and 16% difference in sales.
17:50 Small businesses should be patient and let ad campaigns run for at least 1,000 impressions before making changes.
20:42 Different business sizes face unique marketing challenges that require tailored strategies.
23:01 Large businesses need comprehensive proposals to streamline their complex approval processes.
Jonathan Rivera comes from a blue collar background. He left the rat race to pursue real estate. He runs a successful rental business in only 4 hours per week. Today, his main focus is running The Podcast Factory (podcast network and production company) where he is surrounded by some of the world’s most respected direct response marketers.
Quotes:
“If you’re just trying, you might as well not bother—because podcasting is a long-term venture. You have to have an investor mindset. You have to put in your time.” – Jonathan Rivera
“The big mistake I see is thinking that a podcast is the business, or that a podcast is going to save a business. That is not how it’s going to work.” – Jonathan Rivera
“My goal is to make it almost brain-dead simple—like the way people envision podcasting: ‘Oh, you just hit record and it’s done.’” – Jonathan Rivera
Takeaways:
01:11 Having mentors and investing in personal growth can dramatically accelerate business success.
11:35 When starting a podcast, commit long-term and avoid the “trying” mindset.
16:55 Understanding your customer deeply is crucial for creating content that attracts more of the right people.
25:39 Building a successful business requires creating systems that run with minimal daily input.
28:10 A podcast isn’t a business by itself, but a powerful tool to boost an existing business.
After scaling a 7-figure online business, Ben Pyle and his wife Caitlyn Pyle founded The Work Anywhere Life where they help people start their first online business using an online course model. They also help people upgrade their mindsets to achieve their goals with Mindset University.
In our call today, Ben talks to us about his and Caitlyn’s failures and successes in business. Mistakes are part of entrepreneurship! Ben also shares some of his ah-ha moments when it came to finding new customers for his business.
Quotes:
“Entrepreneurship is a completely 100% experientially learned skill. You can read books, watch videos, or take courses—and those aren’t bad; you can and should do them. But to really get it, you just have to be in your business, do something, and take action.” – Ben Pyle
“Anytime you break out of your typical routine and do something new—whether it’s traveling to a new country, visiting a new state, or even starting something like a yoga class—I think it’s always really healthy for the brain.” – Ben Pyle
“Mistakes are part of entrepreneurship, so you just gotta accept it.’” – Ben Pyle
Takeaways:
07:23 Personal freedom and flexible work are often more important motivators than traditional business success.
13:19 Entrepreneurship is learned through direct experience, not just reading books or watching videos.
15:57 Identifying the right target market might differ from your initial assumptions about potential customers.
17:18 Traveling and experiencing new environments can expand creativity and make time feel like it’s moving slower.
20:17 Pre-selling a product validates your business idea and ensures customer commitment before full development.
Joe Kashurba from KashurbaWebDesign.com grew the freelance web design business that he started in high school into a digital agency with a virtual team and clients around the world. He went from building $300 websites to building $30,000 websites and managing 6-figure digital advertising budgets for some of the largest manufacturing and construction companies. Joe now advises and mentors other freelance web designers and digital agency owners on how to develop and scale their businesses.
He talks to us about his favorite traffic methods (cold emails, direct mail, and AdWords), as well as how he lands new clients by asking them about their needs and wants (for example, a member’s area or employee training site).
Quotes:
“The start of all marketing is who, what, and why. Who are you actually marketing to? What are you actually going to offer them? And then why—what are their needs, what are their problems?” – Joe Kashurba
“The only thing you need is one solid way to get leads—then you can scale up.” – Joe Kashurba
“Sometimes people try to do a million things, when just having one thing that works would be enough to set them up.’” – Joe Kashurba
Takeaways:
02:34 Target less competitive industries with high-value services for easier digital marketing success.
11:49 Focus on understanding client needs deeply rather than pushing technical website features.
17:57 Create a clear, structured project process that limits endless client revisions.
20:39 Develop a consistent lead generation system to maintain business flexibility and pricing power.
23:43 Prioritize one solid marketing strategy over spreading efforts across multiple channels.
