If you’re looking to add rocket fuel to your Instagram strategy by effectively deploying a strategic Instagram Advertising campaign then you my friend are in the right place!

Because as an advertising agency owner who’s created countless 5, 6, and 7-figure generating Instagram advertising campaigns for my clients I can confidently tell you that the tips I’m about to share with you can rapidly and dramatically improve your business.

Getting started with affiliate marketing isn't complicated and in this episode, Adam explains just how easy and beneficial it can be to your business, regardless of industry or market.

Episode Discussions:

• What affiliate marketing is and why it’s important
• How big of an industry is it?
• The appeal of affiliate marketing
• The use of affiliate marketing in your business
• How to get involved

(1:29)

The draw of affiliate marketing:

• Involves someone other than you creating something and paying you a commission to sell to someone else
• Passive income generated without the need to create any additional products or services or offers
• Income can be generated around the clock

(2:11)

Who’s involved?

1. The Producer

• Initially ends up creating the product or service you're going to be selling.
• Has done much of the work

2. The Marketer (you)

• Markets and sells product to end consumer
• The producer pays you a commission.
• The more you sell, the more you make
• Runs with very little additional time, energy or effort.

3. The Consumer - The last person involved in the transaction and who ends up ultimately buying what you're selling.

 
(4:15) 

Affiliate marketing is mainstream.

• Businesses pay others to do their marketing for them and split the profits with them
• Useful monetization strategy for your business
• Accessible to anyone
• Affiliate marketing industry is massive and anticipated to grow to over $6.8 billion over the next 5 years

(5:12)

How to get involved in affiliate marketing

• Where many internet marketers got their start
• Many companies have an application process to screen and qualify some of their affiliates
• Portray yourself as a professional
  • Have website, active social media channels, headshots, testimonials, email lists, track record of affiliate success (if possible)
• Small affiliate partners exist who let you try selling their product
  • Enables experience and testing out of industry

(6:33)

• Purchase their product
  • Apply it and get results, inform business you'd like to share their product with the world
  • Demonstrates familiarity and understanding of product to help promote and sell effectively and ethically.

(7:14)

Takeaway: Affiliate marketing is selling someone else's stuff for a commission.

To find an affiliate offer, use a search engine: Type in your industry or market and the word "affiliate".

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Whether you’re currently running Instagram ads right now or you’re just getting some information and trying to decide whether Instagram ads are the right choice for your business this episode will help.

Because in it I’m going to be sharing some of the top Instagram advertising tips and strategies.

Things that I’ve learned after years of owning an Instagram advertising agency and creating countless 5, 6, and 7-figure generating Instagram Ad campaigns.

If you’re looking to generate more leads for your B2B business then stick with me because in this episode I’m going to be breaking down 7 of my top B2B lead gen marketing strategies for you to fill your pipeline with an endless supply of ready to buy leads.

Because more leads means more opportunities.

And more opportunities means more sales.

Which means more revenue, which means a bigger, better, and stronger business.

In this episode I’m talking all about features vs benefits and I’m going to save you a ton of time, money, and energy, by breaking down one of the biggest reasons customers don’t buy from you so you can avoid this trap, and never make this mistake again.

You see...

One of the biggest sales killers in all of marketing comes down to failing to do 1 simple thing.

And that simple thing is, failing to clearly communicate why your customer or prospect should care about what you’re selling. That’s it.

Because if they don’t care, they’re definitely not going to buy.

And this is where so many businesses go so wrong, spending too much time on features and not enough on benefits.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and I don’t want to totally trash features here because they are important, but like everything, there’s a time and a place for them.

So with all that said, first let me uncover the key differences between a feature and a benefit.

If you've ever wondered which social media giant (Facebook or Instagram) is going to be best for your business you're not alone.

After all, with a combined reach of well over 2 billion people both Facebook and Instagram are two massive social media powerhouses just waiting to be strategically deployed in marketing your business.

And that's why in this episode I'm breaking down once and for all, Facebook VS Instagram... which one is truly the better option for marketing your business.

Let's dive in!

Entrepreneur says: “When life hands you lemons, open a lemonade stand.” That’s what Hilary Jastram did after a rare neurological disorder forced her out of a job. Today, you’ll find her running two thriving businesses: one, a marketing agency and the other, the global resource for chronically ill and disabled entrepreneurs — both sprouting from her ability to recognize a need and fulfill it.

Hilary is clearly an expert on capitalizing, leveraging, and upleveling and in this episode, she explains how to spot and take advantage of trends, use Facebook Messenger to close more deals, and grow your business with the right connections.

Episode Discussions:

• Overcoming self-doubt to make business connections
• Tips on client interaction for creatives
• Self-publishing and the demand for freelance book editing
• Best practices: Sales and closing deals using Facebook Messenger
• The importance of testing your business idea
• Handling frantic and/or disappearing prospects and clients
• Respecting your time, setting boundaries, and being OK with saying no
• Responding with tact: what to say when prospects want free help
• Skyrocketing your business with likeability and trustworthiness
• Practicing authenticity in life and business
• Clients with a scarcity mindset and what to do about it
• How to speak your voice the right way
• The flaws in free 45-minute strategy calls
• Polarizing your audience to close sales

3:44

Hilary’s story

• Forced out of a job due to a rare neurological disorder. 
• Now runs two growing businesses:
  • For-profit – J. Hill Marketing & Creative Services- copywriting, book editing,
  • Non-profit - Sick Biz - The global resource for chronically ill and disabled entrepreneurs.
• Editor for Modern Marketing Podcast’s all-star guest Ryan Stewman

7:22 

Overcoming self-doubt to make connections

"Take a minute, calm down, but always reach out. There's no way in the world my business would be where it is today if I had not done that."

8:35 

Skyrocketing your business with likeability and trustworthiness.

8:52 

Enabling opportunity and closing deals:

Put the value for your prospect first.

Be honored to be part of their journey.

Focus on helping your prospect with their message and mission.

11:00 

Practicing authenticity in your life carries over into your business.

13:50 

Recognizing and capitalizing on trends

Hilary noticed the increase in self-published books and used the topic of book editing to become an Entrepreneur contributor.

"Books have become the new business card."

17:44 

Systematize your trend

Look at what's trending in the marketplace

Throw your opinion in the ring

Back up any assertion you make to reinforce authority and credibility

20:30 

Polarizing your audience

Identifies your brand ambassadors and makes it easier to close sales.

21:10 

Sales and Closing on Facebook Messenger

• Be prepared
• Block out 3 hours to create your digital portfolio (references, resources, recent samples) and have it on hand to show clients.
• Shortcut niceties and present the solution efficiently.
• Have your figures ready - Close more deals quickly by immediately quoting figures.
• Demonstrate your authenticity and expertise to your clients.

"When [prospects disappear], that's a reflection of where your client is on their journey and not you."

26:00 

“Facebook messenger is like business casual email.” 

28:35 

Being respectful of YOUR time

• Free 45-minute strategy calls: potentially unproductive and devaluing.
• Be OK with saying no: answer questions out of courtesy but establish personal boundaries. When they’re crossed, explain your rates and send your scheduling link to book a discussion.
• Gage whether they're ready to move forward and if they're operating from a scarcity mindset.

30:05 

Preach to the converted

• Don't make it your mission to transform a scarcity mindset. That’s internal work for your client to do.
• Present your value. When or if they're ready, they'll come to you.
• If they don’t, keep on movin’.

Mentioned in this episode:

JHillmark.com

SickBiz.com

Interview with Ryan Stewman

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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A creative approach. An innovative approach. Maybe even an approach that’s a little strange and a little different.

One that shakes things up a bit and makes people stop, look, think, and ask “what’s this about?”

And that's what this episode is about. 

So, let me show you how it's done!

***PS - Whenever you’re ready, here are the 3 best ways I can help you…

1) The One-Page Marketing Cheatsheet: https://adamerhart.com/cheatsheet

2) Premium Marketing Newsletter: http://joinmarketinginsiders.com/

3) 1-on-1 Marketing Coaching and Consulting: https://adamerhart.com/work-with-me/

People don’t like doing business with businesses, they like doing business with people, so having a rock solid personal brand is incredibly important.

With that said, let´s dive in!

In this episode, I’m going to share with you 15 of the most useful digital marketing tools to use in your business when you have no team. Whether you’re just getting started, you’re a solo entrepreneur who’s doing it all on your own, or a solo marketer who everybody is counting on one thing is certain. Marketing can often feel like a complicated and overwhelming process, and hiring people can be expensive and time-consuming. Fortunately, there are tools available that you can use to create better marketing campaigns, faster than ever before. So I’m gonna walk you through 15 of my favorites now that you can get started with today, and that work with pretty much any budget.

***PS - Whenever you’re ready, here are the 3 best ways I can help you…

1) The One-Page Marketing Cheatsheet: https://adamerhart.com/cheatsheet

2) Digital Marketing Academy: https://adamerhart.com/academy

3) 1-on-1 Marketing Coaching and Consulting: https://adamerhart.com/work-with-me/

In this episode I’m going to be sharing with you the secrets and strategies behind the worlds most successful entrepreneurs that are responsible for their fame, their fortune, and what looks their seemingly mystical ability to never lose, so that you can copy their attitudes and actions and give yourself and your business the greatest possible chance of success.

So why is it that some entrepreneurs just always seem to win?

Let´s dive in! 

Alright, let’s talk Instagram. Still one of the most popular and profitable social media networks available to you today.

I love the platform, and it’s a key part of nearly every single one of my clients strategies whether organic, just through their content, or paid, using Instagram's incredibly powerful advertising options.

I sound like a spokesman for Instagram, but it really is that good.

That said, like all things, what you get out has a lot to do with what you put in, which is why I’m going to share the 3 laws you must abide by if you want your Instagram marketing strategy to succeed.

Let's get to it!

At a recently attended business growth seminar in Victoria, British Columbia,

Adam took notice of a topic that was repeatedly brought up:

How complicated online marketing strategy seemed to be.

It doesn't need to be complicated. The roots, strategies and underlying concepts of marketing are simple and have been used for decades.

In this episode:

• Facts on customer and client media engagement
• Ways to create an effective online marketing strategy
• The type of content that reaps the maximum reward possible

 [04:30] Facts

In North America, over half of internet activity is performed from a mobile device.

Action: Your website and online content needs to be mobile responsive.

The average Facebook user spends upwards of 40 minutes each day on the platform.

Action: Leverage the power of Facebook ads

YouTube reaches more 18-49-year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.

Action: Not having a YouTube channel or not putting out regular content is a missed opportunity.

97% of all consumers are searching for local biz online

Action: Have an effective online marketing strategy.

[05:37] 3 ways to create an effective online marketing strategy

1. Focus on making digital marketing a key component for your business

• allocate a sufficient number of hours each day or week
• dedicate a part of your budget toward digital marketing

2. Focus on the channels your customers are most active on.

• Your average customer's age gives you an idea of which platforms will provide results.
• Search Google by typing in customer's age, demographics, etc. to find out where you can find your customers online.

[08:28] 3. Start creating.

• Share other's content: (blogs, articles, things that are relevant to your customers and business). Associative benefits as a thought leader and provide value to your customers.
• Create your own content: reaps the maximum reward possible.
• Include video content: talk direct to your phone, use screen captures, animated videos, VSL's, or hire a professional videographer

[14:39] Next episode: Retargeting (remarketing) and how you can leverage it in your business and more specifically: How to leverage Facebook's retargeting!   

After 17 years in the business world, and having had corporate, sales, and professional careers, and starting a number of different businesses along the way – some successful and some soul crushing failures, well, I’ve found time and time again it’s not the skills I was born with that lead me to my success, but rather a series of skills I learned along the way.

Some by accident and pure luck, but others by studying, modeling, and learning from the great leaders of business who came before me.

And that’s why in this video I want to share 7 of the most important business skills you must have if you want to succeed in today’s wild and wonderful world of business.

Let’s get to it.

There’s no crystal ball that will reveal how your new idea, service or product will be received by the masses. That doesn’t mean you have to launch blindly though.

Behold the power of rapid offer testing. If done right, the results will be as failproof as you could hope for, giving you the confidence you need to further your investment.

In this episode, Adam discusses the steps to rapid offer testing and how it can save you incredible amounts of time, energy, and resources.

Episode Discussions:

The best tools to use with rapid offer testing

How to create a “super ad “

Tips on measuring Rapid Offer Testing success

The cost associated with Rapid Offer Testing (hint: it’s not a lot!)

3:00

What is Rapid Offer Testing

Enables you to put out a quick ad and gauge marketplace response.

2 best tools to use this with:

-Facebook Ads

-Google Adwords

3:23

How it Works

• Create a simple ad with what you're proposing to create or sell.
• Clearly articulate what you're trying to do and send it out to see what happens.
• Come up with a competing ad: tweak offer or refine it for a better result.
• Observe whether or not it will resonate better with who you're trying to reach.
• Compare the results of one against the other.

Goal: create a few different ads and offers to ultimately create a "super ad."

4:51

ROUGH guidelines to measure success:

Facebook Ads:

$1/CPC (cost per click) = relatively decent offer

CTR (Click-thru rate)(the percentage of people who are clicking the ad):

Anything over 1%= decent

The higher the CTR and the lower the CPC, the better.

7:00

A Rapid Offer Testing run through from start to finish:

1. Have an idea or offer you want to test but uncertain of how it will be received
2. Create a simple ad
3. Include your offer and call to action (CTA)
4. Check your CPC and CTR
5. Split test: create another ad for comparison and change either headline or CTA. Make only minor tweaks and adjustments.
6. Determine if you want to create additional ad to test against that.

08:34

To take it a step further…

Involve additional market research tools as highlighted in episode #3 and through surveys.

Takeaway message: It doesn't make sense to launch blind.

 Always have a basic idea whether your product or service is going to resonate or sell.

Those who best understand their customers wants, needs, and desires are the most likely to win.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode #3 - Free Customer Market Research
• Episode #2 - The Customer Avatar

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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We’ve all spent a few minutes taking an online quiz. Maybe you wanted to assess your strengths as a business owner or couldn’t bear not knowing what piece of IKEA furniture you are. Entertaining or informative, people love quizzes. They’re interactive, personalized, and can reveal something about themselves — usually for the price of an email address. If you’re thinking quizzes sound like lead generating gold, you’re spot on.

Josh Haynam is cofounder of Interact Quiz Builder, a platform for creating interactive quizzes that grow businesses. To date, he’s helped 40,000 companies generate a combined total of 7 million leads using quizzes. In this episode, Josh answers important questions about utilizing quizzes in marketing and sets you up with a quiz structure you can use to connect with your audience and generate targeted leads for your business.

Episode Discussions:

• Josh’s biggest takeaway after working with 40K companies
• How to scale using quizzes
• The two main reasons quizzes work so well in marketing
• How consumer sophistication is forcing authentic marketing
• Josh's experience helping a global brand market to their 11-million-person email list
• Quizzes are a boring industry’s perfect marketing weapon
• How and why smaller brands are gaining the upper hand in the market
• The sales tip to increase close rates you’ve never heard of
• The perfect amount of quiz questions to ask
• How to formulate, segment, and promote a quiz that gets results
• How to use quizzes to get leads from Facebook for cheap
• Which type of quiz is most effective and how to customize the template to fit your business
• What part of the funnel to use a quiz
• Why quizzes are here to stay

Josh’s story:

• A serial entrepreneur
• Started 1st company at 15 and three more since
• Current company is a platform for creating quizzes
• Has helped 40,000 companies generate a combined total of 7 million leads using quizzes

4:50

Why quizzes work so well

They tell your audience something about themselves and let your audience express themselves. It's different from most marketing.

5:35

"People like to talk about themselves and people like to learn about themselves and applying that to marketing has been a monumental shift."

6:41

People are more aware than ever that much of what's on the internet can't be trusted. Now they trust brands less than consumers.

7:30

Adding an interactive piece to marketing is a way to bring yourself to an individual level, make a one on one connection, and be memorable.

10:48

One way to get people talking is by asking them questions about themselves. The same concept applies to quizzes.

11:46

A Time Magazine study found 40% of the words we say in our lives are about ourselves. We also experience a dopamine release.

12:39

"Nothing has come close to being as effective a sales tool as asking those questions and letting prospects speak. A quiz is a great way to do that. You ask a question, you let them answer."

13:07

Sales win tip:

Close rate is significantly higher when a prospect talks more than 50% of the time. They become more invested the more they talk.

15:11

Josh's experience helping a global brand effectively market to their 11-million-person email list.

16:34

How to structure a quiz with segmentation

• Start with the concept of the quiz
• Begin with your buyer personas (4-6)
• Title your quiz

Formulate your questions to get results

• Create 7 questions
• Filter people depending on how they answer
• Write a call to action for the email capture form at the end
• Connect it to your autoresponder or email list (integrates with most)
• Segment according to quiz results and assign appropriate sequence
• Connect it to quiz system
• Subscribers are sent to given sequence

20:10

Promote your quiz:

1. Use software to create a website pop-up
2. Use software to create announcement bar that goes along the top of your website
3. Share it on social media directly or set up as a Facebook Ad

20:46

Do quizzes play nice with Facebook Ads?

Integrating quizzes with Facebook Ads can save you money on targeting.

Broaden out your audience and use the quiz to filter traffic and capture targeted leads.

22:32

Specific quiz titles that are delivering good results

'Which _____ are you?' or 'What type of _____ are you?'

Titles that promise to reveal something about that person are extremely effective.

23:46

"It's crazy to me because we created this platform but at the same time, it still works on us."

25:19

Where does a quiz fit into a funnel?

Top of funnel works best, especially in social media

Use further down to segment

26:31

Stats: Cost per lead comparison and conversion rates

Facebook Ads: Typically drops CPL by 50%

Opt-in rate: 50% conversion

Effective conversion rate is potentially higher

28:20

Josh's marketing prediction:

Quizzes will dive even further into the personalization aspect of marketing

More emphasis on making every person's experience with your brand completely unique.

"We want quizzes to be an incredibly easy entry point into that world of personalization."

Mentioned in this episode:

TryInteract.com

Twitter @JHaynam

LinkedIn

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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I want to share with you 7 of my top tips into what’s working right now, including an advanced tip right at the end that almost nobody is using, so make sure to stick around for that.

Let´s get to it!

To ask a question about this weeks episode please visit modernmarketingpodcast.com and click the button. 

Design is something you want to invest in because the rewards are significant.

Why is it so important to get it right?

Because no business can afford the consequences of bad design!

Episode discussions:

• 5 reasons why great marketing needs great design
• The consequences of using bad or inconsistent design
• Why to apply a minimalist concept
• When ugly designs get a green light
• How much better a business can do with better design

[02:33] 5 main reasons why great marketing needs great design

1. First impressions You only have a short period of time to make an initial connection with the customer, especially because people are subjected to thousands of advertising messages every day.

• People will form impressions and judge based on looks.

2. Lasting feelings When done right good design makes people feel better about you and about your company.

Bad design: in a best-case scenario, people forget it and it doesn’t have an impact

In a worst-case scenario: people automatically associate bad design with a bad company

[05:15]

3. Recognition

• enables you to get better results for less money
• even small local businesses can reap rewards of consistently good design across their marketing channels
• adds up to form lasting brand impressions

If you use bad design or inconsistent design, you're wasting money.

• Make sure your branding and design is aligned across all marketing channels

(website, social media platforms, printed)

• Show your logo, brand colors, similar font, sizes, and imagery

[06:53]

4. Easy to use, navigate, and understand

• Good design helps people move from point A to point B seamlessly, easily, and without pain or distraction
• Apply a minimalist concept
• Key to figuring out is what point B looks like. What action are you trying to get your customer to take?
• Try to get them there as quickly and easily as possible
• Do this with clean and easy to use design

[08:24]

5. Encourages social sharing.

• Create design worth sharing and interacting with

Being intentional about ugly designs.

• Can be a time and place where ugly designs do really well
• Test aesthetically pleasing designs before reverting to ugly designs
• Be strategic about testing and split testing in order to decide if the ugly design will perform better.
• Make sure it's tracked, analyzed, and intentional

Everybody has different tastes and preferences.

Be aware of your target market and what they find appealing.

Their opinions are what really matters.

[11:50] If you've been surviving with OK design, there's infinite potential for your business to do even better to connect with your customers, grow your revenue, and build brand awareness using really good and well-thought out design. 

Whether you’re brand new to Instagram ads or a seasoned advertising veteran you’re going to want to pay careful attention to this episode because in it I’m going to be breaking down 5 newbie Instagram advertising mistakes that can absolutely destroy any chance of success you may have with Instagram Ads.

So what exactly is retargeting (also known as remarketing)?

Well if you've got a small business, are an entrepreneur, or a marketer of any kinda than retargeting/remarketing is one of the most powerful tools available to you.

Why?

Well for starters it's an incredibly cost-effective way to increase trust, built authority, and provide more value. But it gets even better... and this is what this video is all about.

Whether we're talking about Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Google, retargeting/remarketing is a great way to grow your business in the most cost-effective way possible and build more trust through frequency and continuing to show up again, and again, and again in front of your ideal target market and perfect customer. Omnipresence fot the win!

Let's dive in!

Too much? Not enough? Just right? Some would favor having a few molars pulled over having to think about what price to put on the tags of their service or product.

Pricing is a topic worthy of controversial chatter and has the tendency to spark some serious debate.

Adam breaks down pricing strategies, practices his Latin, and explains why you should put the brakes on pricing too low.  

Episode discussion:

• 3 different strategies to pricing
• The benefits of value-based pricing
• Adam’s Latin: Ceteris Paribus
• Why focusing on undercutting competition is a race to the bottom
• The world’s worst competitive advantage
• What kind of story your pricing is telling your customers

[02:07] 3 Different Ways to Price Products/Services

1. Cost-based: prices based on how much it costs
2. Competition-based: prices based on competition

[02:55] The major problem with competition-based pricing

[03:37]

3. Value-based: assigns a number to the value you're providing

-Effectively articulate the value your service is providing

-Focus on the benefits and end results and not just the features of the product

04:56 Ceteris Paribus: When everything else is equal...

the defining consumer buying decision will be price.

-The solution is to not let everything else be equal

[06:05] Never let price be your businesses primary competitive advantage!

-Destroys your margins

-Destroys ability to properly service your customers

"When you start to destroy your prices, you automatically end up having to sell more just to get to where you were before"

[07:26] What your pricing strategy is conveying to your customers

• Higher pricing sends a message of higher quality
• If you’re not charging enough, you won't be able to reinvest back into the business or give customers the level of service you want to deliver.
• Higher prices tend to attract higher quality customers

Those who are focused and appreciate the value you're providing.

[09:50] Takeaway: Focus on providing value, find some point of marketing differentiation, don't focus on competing on price.

Mentioned in this episode:

-Modern Marketing episode #4 –Marketing Differentiation

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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When it comes to generating more sales for your business, there’s no shortage of strategies and tactics to try. However, be wise when choosing, as some have the power to not only waste your valuable resources, but damage your business in the process. So, how do you choose the best option, especially if cold calling or slashing prices aren’t your thing?

In this episode, Adam shares three tips to increase sales without discounting or damaging your brand, business or reputation in the industry, while keeping long-term revenue in mind.

Episode Discussions:

• Adam's objections with cold calling and slashing prices
• Countdown timers on your website: good or bad strategy?
• How frequent sales can damage your long-term sales
• Ways to get creative when planning promotional events
• How to get the most out of using scarcity and exclusivity
• What to do when your competitors are running discounts
• The psychology behind reciprocity and why it works to increase sales
• A must-have powerful tool to keep in your marketing toolbox
• How and when to implement a rewards campaign into your strategy
• Why you should track, measure, and monitor your rewards campaign and what to look for

1:59

• Cold calling: loss of power balance, gives off a "needy" impression, interrupts someone's day.
• Slashing prices/frequent sales: devalues your offer, destroys profit margins, trains your customers to wait for the next sale rather than purchase immediately.

4:20

#1. Events

• Takes advantage of the psychological principle of scarcity
• Create an event around your product, service or business
• Allows you to ethically and honestly put a real deadline on your promotion.
• If using a countdown timer on your website, use a real timer like Deadline Funnel.
• Gives you creative liberty to promote, advertise, and spread the word.
• Pair event with something relevant and meaningful to your business or industry.

6:14

#2. Upgrades

• Takes advantage of the psychological principle of exclusivity.
• Provide an additional product, service or benefit worth 20% more rather than offering a 20% discount.
• Can be tied in with an event to help include the scarcity factor.
• Gives feeling of exclusivity if upgrade is limited to a select few, those who purchase a select product or at a select time.
• Consider upgrading if competitors are running discounts.

7:25

#3. Rewards

• Takes advantage of the psychological principle of reciprocity.
• Says "thank you" and promotes new sales
• Can be offered with no requirement or stated expectation of purchase
• Instills an element of reciprocity in the receiver to feel out of balance until favor is returned.
• Use with frequent or loyal customers
  • Or test strategy on new cold traffic
• Track, measure, monitor - Ensure campaign is ROI positive over 30, 60, 90 days

8:51

Takeaway point:

“Long-term brand value shouldn't be jeopardized just to make a few short-term sales. Especially when you have so many better options available.”

Mentioned in this Episode:

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion- Robert Cialdini

Deadline Funnel

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Modern Marketing on Stitcher

Modern Marketing on Pocket Casts  

There’s no time to waste so let’s dive right in and uncover one of the biggest myths around YouTube today, and one of the biggest reasons that keeps people from starting what could be really profitable YouTube channel.

After all, if the believed barrier, or perceived level of success on YouTube is 100,000 or a million or 5 or 10 million subscribers it can feel kind of overwhelming, like why would I even start when the odds of success are so low.

So let’s bust that myth now.

When I think of Disney, the first thing that comes to mind is fun, excitement, family-friendly entertainment, and maybe a little bit of magic.

But the one thing that never occurs to me is just how close Disney was to complete and utter destruction and failure and how they were able to save themselves thanks to a clever, but incredibly unlikely marketing and branding campaign. And that’s what this episode is about.

So, let me show you how they did it.

***PS - Whenever you’re ready, here are the 3 best ways I can help you…

1) The One-Page Marketing Cheatsheet: https://adamerhart.com/cheatsheet

2) Premium Marketing Newsletter: http://joinmarketinginsiders.com/

2) 1-on-1 Marketing Coaching and Consulting: https://adamerhart.com/work-with-me/

After so many years of reading text on a computer screen and dealing with faceless corporations, consumers are thirsty for a more humanized content experience. The skyrocketing popularity of Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube make it evident that video is the answer and here to stay.

In this episode, Adam shares actionable tips and hacks on how to implement video content marketing into your marketing strategy to drastically grow your business and connect with customers like nothing else out there.

Check out Adam’s YouTube Channel to see how he makes video content work for his business!

Episode Discussions:

• Stats and facts about consumer video consumption
• How to create content your customers will value
• Tips and hacks on how to gain the greatest customer insight for your content
• Why video content marketing is the next logical step for your business
• How to get a clear understanding of your ideal target market
• The “Marketing Wasteland” concept and how its pitfalls
• Quick tips on how to optimize your content for search engines
• Adam's free 60-second video ad template to help you easily create YouTube, Facebook or Instagram video ads

Three key pieces of video content marketing:

2:48

1. Video

• YouTube now reaches more 18-29-year-olds than any cable network.
• In 2015, Facebook 8 billion video views daily (has only grown since)
• Snapchat is   the size of Facebook – generates 7 billion daily views
• Video is the main source of content being consumed on the internet.
• By 2019 – it’s estimated 80% of all internet traffic will be video

4:06

2. Content

"The key to creating valuable content (video, blog, podcast) has everything to do with answering your customer's questions, solving their problems and adding value to their lives."

• Always begin with customers in mind when creating content.
• Investigate what questions are revolving around your industry.
• Easy places to start:
  • Google Keyword Planner
  • io
  • com
• Get on the phone and talk to your customers.
  • Easy and uncovers the greatest insight for your content.
  • "Nobody knows your customer's problems better than your customers."
• Search your email outbox for recurring questions.
  • Note them as customer pain points.
• A few minutes of prep will 10x your reach, impact and results.

"There's nothing more painful or useless than spending a ton of time creating a whole bunch of content that nobody cares about and nobody even wants to know."

7:02

3. Marketing

• A consistent and strategic video content plan will, without a doubt, work.
• Content marketing is still one of the most infallible marketing strategies available today.
• Works across businesses, markets and industries.
• Target marketing accelerates bigger and better results in less time.
• A clear understanding of your ideal target market:
  • Ensures use of the right tools for the job.
  • Gives your video content the highest probability of success.

8:22

"The Marketing Wasteland" concept:

Misidentifying where your customers and clients are active.

• Advertising in wrong mediums (newspaper, radio, magazines, billboards - older traditional marketing methods).
• Spend time to drill down how your customers are consuming their information to increase the success of your content.

8:55

 Other factors worth considering:

• Optimize content for search engines.
  • Use relevant keywords in title, tags, descriptions.
• Don't limit yourself to just one platform.
  • Upload video to YouTube, directly to Facebook, embed it on your website.
• Invest in promoting well-received videos to increase your reach faster and easier.

9:54

Creating video ads

• All the benefits of video content marketing.
• Add a direct call to action (CTA) - Encourage customers/viewers to take some sort of action.

10:21

• Click here to download Adam's free 60-second video ad template or visit AdamErhart.com/opt-60-second-video-ad-template
  • Plug and play script to quickly and easily create YouTube, Facebook or Instagram video ads.
• 60-seconds is short, attainable, enables you to post across all the different platforms.
• Video ads start with as little as $5.

11:17

Incorporate all 3 pieces (video, content and marketing) to create an effective strategy.  

Mentioned in this episode:

• Download Adam's free video ad template!
• Google Keyword Planner
• io
• com
• com/AdamErhartVideo or search for Adam Erhart or Modern Marketing

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Modern Marketing on Stitcher

Modern Marketing on Pocket Casts  

People can’t do business with you if they don’t know you exist which is why a large part of your focus should be on increasing brand awareness. Being consistent with your brand is absolutely essential to the success of your overall branding strategy.

In this episode, Adam discusses how to properly use differentiation, consistency, and authenticity to increase brand awareness and set you up for rapid business growth.    

Episode Discussions:

• A common mistake made by new businesses when trying to be unique
• The consequences of not presenting a consistent brand message
• A better understanding of authenticity discrepancy
• Why it’s so important to keep consistent branding across all properties
• How authenticity discrepancy leads to irreversible damage
• The effects of running an inconsistent advertising campaign
• How to use consistency to dramatically increase brand awareness

Why consistency is a good thing in business.

2:04

Consistent differentiation.

• Need to be consistent in your business but not necessarily in your industry.
• Don't be like everyone else. Be consistent in being yourself.
• Differentiation is a key marketing concept that focuses on making sure you're unique within the marketplace.

"A mistake that many new businesses and startups make is focusing on being unique or different at the expense of everything else."

• Be unique in a way that matters to your target market.
• Be consistently unique or consistently different across all customer touch points.
  • Brand, image, logo, colors, message, tone, style, etc.
• You're harming your brand when you present anything other than a consistent brand message.

3:12

Authenticity Discrepancy

Not being true to yourself, brand, and business.

• The opposite of consistency is a version of authenticity discrepancy.
• When the customer experiences a discrepancy between their expectation and what they actually receive, the damage may be irreversible.
• Ensure anywhere your customer experiences your brand, including your advertising and marketing, consistently delivers the same message.
• Positive effects will be compounded.
  • Customer expectations will be confirmed every time they do business with you.

4:15

A common newbie mistake.

Running an inconsistent advertising campaign.

• Rather than strategically planning out an effective ad campaign, they use a series of different ads with inconsistent images and messages.
• Rather than building on previous recognition, each ad has to reintroduce the business all over again.
  • Costly
  • Does little to build a recognizable brand.

4:48

How to 10x your brand awareness.

• Branding consistency doesn't provide linear returns.
• Provides exponential returns (compounded over time to deliver better returns)
• Every message and image builds and reinforces your brand so it gets strong with every interaction the customer has.
• Keep consistent branding across all properties
  • Websites, social media channels, emails (message, tone and signature), voicemail message, business cards, advertisements.

5:42

• Consistency builds trust, likeability, massive recognition and brand awareness.
• When all 3 are combined, it's the perfect recipe for rapid business growth.

5:56

Recap:

• When you want to 10x your brand awareness on being consistently different and unique:
• Pay attention to authenticity discrepancy.
• Ensure you're staying true to yourself.
• Be different than everyone else but the same as yourself.

“You've gotta be different so you stand out from the crowd but you have to stay consistent in whichever way you choose to be different."

• Carries your business a long way — Every future marketing message will build on itself to provide exponential returns and massive brand awareness.

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Modern Marketing on Stitcher

Modern Marketing on Pocket Casts  

This episode about service-based marketing is action-packed and very specific. Adam will cover 5 tips that can be applied across different markets, and to different customers and clients. Learn what's worked for Adam in the past, what doesn't work, and what will give you the maximum output and best end results.

[02:05] 

1. Prioritize Marketing

Give marketing the utmost respect. Be sure to communicate value and benefits, as you are not selling a tangible thing.

[03:47] 

2. Highlight the End State

Clearly articulate the benefits that your clients will experience after they've done business with your company. Remember: your customer has a problem and you can help to solve it.

[06:08] 

3.Bridge the Gap

Paint a picture of the journey between they're problem to your solution. Simple sells.

[09:19] 

4. Go Where They Are

Find out where your market spends time. Remember the Three Ms: Market, message and media.

[10:39] 

5. Overdeliver

Exceed their expectations. Customer retention is more profitable than acquisition 

[11:52] 

Recap

Mentioned in this episode:

Modernmarketingpodcast.com

In this episode I’m going to show you the top 5 digital marketing chrome extensions you need to be using right now if you want to make better marketing faster, grow your business, and have fun doing it. And narrowing this list down to the top 5 was no easy task. Because did you know there are over 137,345 different Chrome extensions available for installation from the Chrome Web Store? And even though most people don’t spend years researching chrome extensions cause that’d be weird... They still waste a ton of time by not getting their hands on the best extensions, or worse, using the wrong extensions which are only making things harder and more complicated.

***PS - Whenever you’re ready, here are the 3 best ways I can help you…

1) The One-Page Marketing Cheatsheet: https://adamerhart.com/cheatsheet

2) Digital Marketing Academy: https://adamerhart.com/academy

3) 1-on-1 Marketing Coaching and Consulting: https://adamerhart.com/work-with-me/

One of the key things that separates digital marketing from traditional marketing is access to fast and efficient metrics that allow you to create high converting and effective marketing campaigns.

Digital marketing allows you to react and adjust on-the-fly which means better results, less money and less stress.

Episode discussions:

• The importance of metrics and analytics to your business
• Specific metric tools to use and when
• How the “curse of knowledge” can affect your bounce rate
• “CTR” and “LCV” explained!

[01:10]

5 tips on measuring your digital marketing analytics

1. Monitor your website visitors/traffic

• Easiest place to start
• Locate the sources that are sending you the most traffic and which pages are getting the most action.
• Helps maximize what's already working for you.

Tools:

• Google Analytics (Reference Episode #3 on free customer market research tools)
• SumoMe Heat Maps: find out how people are engaging with your content on your website and adjust accordingly

[06:19]  

2. Bounce rate. The number of people who visit your site and quickly leave or "bounce off".

• The longer visitors linger on your website, the greater your opportunity to convert them.
• Low bounce rates help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings.
• If you have high bounce rates, look at your website objectively through the eyes of your prospective customer.
• Avoid the "curse of knowledge".

[08:00]

3. Number of Email Subscribers. Look for a steady increase of subscribers over time.

Everyone can benefit from using an email marketing strategy.

Key: Exchange something of value for visitor email addresses

Respect their email: nurture the lead, provide more value, and educate them on services and offers.

4. Click-Through Rate (CTR) Refers to how many people took action and clicked on your post or ad.

• Valuable metric to watch when creating an ad for social or search engine platforms.
• High CTR: Your ad is relevant enough for someone to want to click to learn more.

[10:00]

5. Lifetime Customer Value (LCV) How much a customer is worth to your business over their lifetime.

• Determines how much you're able to spend to acquire a new customer.
• Experiment with different marketing options in order to find one that enables you to acquire customers below cost.
• The most important metric of all in any marketing strategy.

[12:15] [Show recap]  

Social media is more competitive today than ever before which is why if you don’t follow the 5 tips I’m about to share with you, you might as well pack it in and give up now because you’re just going to be wasting your time, energy, and money.

With billions and billions of people on it every single day and more people joining every second it’s easy to see why so many businesses get frustrated, swear it off, and give up on it completely before ever seeing success.

I don’t want that for you. Which is why in this episode I’m going to be sharing 5 tips to help you dominate your social media. Tips that I’ve learned first hand after thousands of campaigns run for clients from hundreds of different businesses, markets, and industries.

The biggest problem with marketing today is that it’s overwhelming. So many different strategies, tactics, and tools to try – with everybody screaming that their way is the best way, if not the only way to get results. That’s why in this episode I’m going to help you cut through the clutter and focus on 10 key marketing basics and fundamental principles you must know to succeed with marketing today.

It’s no secret that marketing can be a pretty intense and tricky subject, but like most things in business there are the tactical, shiny object, tricks and hacks that come and go, and then there are the foundational marketing principles that stand the test of time and ultimately hold the keys to success.

That’s why in this episode I’m going to reveal 10 fundamental marketing basics you must know, learn, and live to love if you want to create profitable and effective marketing campaigns.

Content marketing is a strategy that produces serious results time and time again.

The backbone of this strategy is the commitment to consistently publish quality content.

There other aspects of successful content marketing that aren’t so obvious.

The information shared in this episode should save you time and prevent a lot of frustration.  

Episode discussions:

• Content and content marketing defined
• The benefits of content marketing and why they far outweigh the costs
• What they didn’t tell me about content marketing
• The two parts of an effective content marketing strategy
• How much time should be spent on creation and distribution
• The main goal of content
• How consistent content stands you out from your competitors

[02:28] What are the benefits of content marketing?

• Improved brand perception, brand awareness, thought leadership, improved search engine ranking, decreased marketing costs, higher website authority, decreased lead-to-customer time, happier and better informed customers, fewer customer service issues.

• There are two parts to a really effective content marketing strategy…

[03:27] Step #1: Content Creation

Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing:

"The strategy of creating and distributing valuable and relevant information to a specific target market with the end goal of driving profitable customer action."

• What is content? The delivery tool for your message which should focus on providing as much value as possible.

Be cognizant of what form of media your customers like to consume and match your brand and content.

[06:22] Step #2: Content Distribution

"If you build it, they will come does not apply here. If you build it, you've gotta go out there and show everybody what you've got to offer."

Distribute content through email list, social media platforms, paid advertising, SEO, direct mail, radio, TV, etc.

“You need to spend 20% of your time creating content and 80% of your time distributing that content."

 Derek Halpern from Social Triggers

• The vast majority of your effort should be on promoting the content and making sure it gets in front of your customer avatar.

(Familiarize yourself with customer avatars by listening to episode #2)

[08:35] Creation is only step 1, distribution is step 2 which is as, if not more important than content creation.

How much content do you need to be producing?

It depends on your market, industry and what you're trying to accomplish.

• Focus on quality over quantity
• Identify where your customers are spending their time online
• Longer and less frequent content over shorter and more frequent content (with a few exceptions)

Takeaway point: People, social media, and search engines tend to prefer longer form content.

Watch metrics, analytics and how people are engaging with your content.

[09:58] The main goal is to provide as much value as possible.

Your readers, customers, and clients expect you to be consistent.

Consistent content stands you out from your competitors 

[11:09] Show summary:

• What they didn't tell me about content marketing:

Distribution was as or more important than the content creation  

• Spend 20% of your time creating valuable content and 80% ensuring you're distributing it correctly.

In this episode I’m going to pull back the curtains and show you exactly how the Instagram algorithm works so you can stop wasting time, money, and energy on bad advice and ineffective strategies and start using these proven principles to grow your brand and business with Instagram.

If you're curious about how we help agency owners grow, get clients, and build 6 and 7-figure agencies you can learn more by clicking the link below. There’s no email opt-in, no webinar, and no nonsense. Check it out here: https://join.agencyaccelerator.io/vsl-page?el=podcast

This episode is about the Tamagotchi, a handheld digital pet that pretty much every kid growing up in the 90’s is familiar with.

What’s really interesting though is how this tiny little toy created a franchise that was able to generate nearly 6.2 billion dollars in sales, and become one of the most successful products of all time.

So in this episode, I’m going to show you the secrets behind how Tamagotchi was able to capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of a generation and the business, marketing, and psychological principles behind their genius strategy and design.

So, let me show you how it's done!

***PS - Whenever you’re ready, here are the 3 best ways I can help you…

1) The One-Page Marketing Cheatsheet: https://adamerhart.com/cheatsheet

2) Premium Marketing Newsletter: http://joinmarketinginsiders.com/

3) 1-on-1 Marketing Coaching and Consulting: https://adamerhart.com/work-with-me/

Marketing is the single most important element to your businesses success which is why on this episode I’m going to be sharing 5 of my most important marketing tips for small business owners so you can get more leads, customers, and sales.

Because if you’ve got a small business then this is one of the most important things you can learn. Because the statistics ain't pretty.

With somewhere around 80-90% of small businesses failing at some point, the odds aren’t in your favor.

So how can you fight back? And turn the tables, and make things move in your favor? You can watch this video, because in it I’m going to be sharing 5 incredibly important small business marketing tips that I’ve used to help my clients and students create thousands of profitable campaigns and generate millions and millions of dollars for their businesses.

It’s official. We’ve closed the door on 2017 and laid down the welcome mat for 2018. The new year bears gifts of fresh possibilities and newfound drive. But let’s face it, after the holiday haze, we could all use a little grease to get the business wheels turning. Why — that sounds like a job for a Best Of episode…

We’ve panned over 60 episodes for marketing gold to bring you the most memorable highlights and takeaways from the Modern Marketing podcast. From useful tips, tools, and business growth strategies to entertaining, inspirational, and peculiar guests, this medley of memorable moments will get you up to speed on things you forgot, barely remember, and didn’t know at all.

Adam Erhart and his team at Podcast Zen extend our deepest thanks for your continued love and support. We literally couldn’t do this without you. Wishing you the best in 2018 and beyond!

1:27 

Interview with Dave Rogenmoser of the Entrepreneur Alliance | #016

“If you're yourself and authentic, it works so much better. When I started being more authentic, the right people were really attracted to that. As a marketer, be yourself, take some risks. Be passionate about what you're passionate about and the right people will come to you.”.

Listen to learn more about:

Facebook Ads and marketing, marketing books, launching a business in 5 days, conversion funnels, using stories effectively, mindset, membership sites, authenticity

Click here for the full episode and show notes

2:55 

Interview with Fitness Business Mentor AJ Rivera | #020

"I remember how impactful mentors in my life have been. It changed my whole life. I'm not here right now if it's not for them."

Listen to learn more about:

Mentors, marketing for fitness professionals, authenticity, simple email autoresponders, selling ethically, high ticket offers, word-of-mouth marketing

Click here for the full episode and show notes

3:46 

Interview with Webinar Conversion Expert Joel Erway | #022

Joel quit an engineering job to pursue an online business and developed an online course that taught people how to ace job interviews. Then went broke after realizing he was attracting an audience who didn't have money. But then he found webinars.

Listen to learn more about:

Webinars, noteworthy origin stories, handling audience objections, targeting the right market

Click here for full episode and show notes

6:32 

Interview with Live Streaming Pro Luria Petrucci | #024

Luria put Adam on the spot and forced him to commit to his first live stream. Did he follow through? Did it pay off?

Listen to learn more about:

Effective live stream strategy, overcoming your fear of video and live streaming, Facebook Live, video setup and equipment

Click here for full episode and show notes

8:50 
How to Write a Bestselling Book with Bestselling Author Corey Gladwell | #030

Growing up, Corey endured a life of negativity, scarcity, and chaos — ultimately creating a ripple effect of other problems. This episode was truly inspirational as he unpacked his path from welfare to bestseller success and all the struggles in between.

"Knowing what to do or having someone to follow is definitely a much easier process."

Listen to learn more about:

The benefits of having a mentor, persevering through struggles, overcoming challenges, writing a bestselling book, mindset, personal growth

Click here for full episode and show notes

10:37

Interview with Online Marketer Austin Distel on Authenticity, Connection, and Transparency | #032

“We just thought [using bots] is not on brand and while it might be a little more efficient...I think people respect it more when it's somebody real."

Listen to learn more about: 

Internal and Bot marketing, authenticity and transparency in business

Click here for full episode and show notes

12:01

Interview with the Creator of the Millionaire Mindcast Podcast, Matt Aitchison | #038

Adam and Matty A talk about the importance of authenticity in your marketing, how it helps build rapport and trust, and why it’s crucial to the survival of your business — now more than ever.

Listen to learn more about:

Attracting the right people to your business, authenticity, personal and professional growth, creating an elevator pitch, glass door companies, brand and message alignment

Click here for full episode and show notes

14:48

Interview with Paul Kortman on YouTube Video Ads | #046

“The next time you’re in Starbucks, pull up a webpage from your website and say ‘Listen I’ll buy your drink, I just wanna ask you a few questions about this webpage.” Ask them to review your content and they’ll give you good, honest feedback.

Listen to learn more about:

Video marketing strategy, YouTube and Facebook Ads tips, alternatives to traditional video ads, SEO strategy, small business lead generation, increasing conversion rates

Click here for full episode and show notes

16:23

Interview with Ryan Stewman “The Hardcore Closer” on Sales, Marketing, Funnels, and Confidence | #047

Being blindsided by a few career hits didn’t stop Ryan from seeing opportunity. He’s built multiple six and seven figure businesses and has helped countless entrepreneurs do the same.  In this highlight, Ryan talks about being haunted by his rocky past, how he made the most of a tanking market, and why you shouldn’t talk about it…be about it!

Listen to learn more about:

Taking action, authenticity, content creation, sales funnels, lead generation, talking price with confidence, content creation and syndication, Evernote tips, from struggle to success, getting published on big name websites

Click here for full episode and show notes

19:48

Interview with Mark Podolsky, The Land Geek, on Marketing, Real Estate, and Strategy | #051

In this clip, Mark shares a bizarre yet effective marketing strategy to target “toilet sitters” and explains why the phone is the secret to making money online.

Listen to learn more about:

Facebook Ads, transforming haters into advocates, closing with the phone, customer avatar, handling negative Facebook comments, email marketing, lead magnets, “techy, geeky” marketing tips and resources

Click here for full episode and show notes

21:57

Success, Head Trash, and Mentors w/ Noah St. John | #056

Noah St. John started his business in a college dorm room with $800 and a book on how to do HTML. Now he transforms people’s lives by helping them overcome the mental obstacles keeping them from achieving their business goals.

In this highlight, he reveals the dangers involved with consuming too much information and why not having a mentor was one his biggest mistakes to date.

Listen to learn more about:

The money/passion myth, help for info-junkies, starting a business when you’re broke, identifying and overcoming mental blocks, how to choose a mentor, business simplification and streamlining

Click here for full episode and show notes

25:15

H2H Marketing, Facebook Ads, and the Human Marketing Funnel w/ Bryan Kramer | #057

Bryan explains the value of human interaction in digital marketing and how and where to implement it in your strategies to wow your customers and gain a massive competitive edge.

“In a world of automation, being human is your competitive advantage.”

“In one of my bots that I have running, I have ‘talk to human’ so that you can talk to me anytime.”

Listen to learn more about:

H2H business movement in marketing and social, bots and Facebook Ads, the human marketing funnel, what to humanize and what to automate, Facebook Messenger strategy

Click here for full episode and show notes

27:18

Trey Lewellen on Commitment, Focus, and Goals | #058

Trey built a thriving business just to watch it go downhill as a result of losing focus on core aspects of his operation. With a shift in mindset and system implementations, he reversed the damage and soared his business to the next level.

In this clip, Trey unveils a morsel of amusing information about himself and then passively requests we leave it out of the episode. But Adam and the Podcast Zen team opted to have a little fun instead.

Listen to learn more about:

Creating and marketing good offers, overcoming option overload, systems to create business goals, keeping in-house teams focused, doubling revenue goals, leadership, building a massive online following

Click here for full episode and show notes

29:52

Interview w/ International Bestselling Author and Founder of Epic Author Publishing Trevor Crane (Part 2) | #060

Trevor goes down as one of Modern Marketing podcasts most entertaining guests in this value packed 2-part series. He’s yet another bold expert who challenged Adam to make a public declaration (see episode 24). It happens to be step one of writing a bestselling book.

In this highlight, you’ll hear Trevor present the challenge, Adam’s comical reaction, and what good — if any — came from his declaration.

Listen to learn more about:

Writing a bestselling book, leveraging books for business growth, converting readers into customers, the Call-Your-Mom strategy, marshmallow passion, mentors, book marketing and publishing

Click here for full episode and show notes

30:58

Selling and Scaling with Integrity and Strategy W/ Sean Piket | #061

Another recurring theme throughout the podcast is the significance of humanizing your brand or business.  Sean Piket unpacks the topic nicely in this episode as well as strategic networking, having a servant-leadership attitude and the still very effective marketing tool known as the phone.

“A lot of the new internet marketers come on and want to make all this money through affiliate marketing and never talk to people…they don’t realize the big money involves a conversation.”

Listen to learn more about:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator, social selling, getting more referrals, sales operation, employee onboarding, lead generation, avoiding high turnover rates, scaling, tailored messaging, business mindset

Click here for full episode and show notes

Rapid Scaling, Growth Mindset, and the Fall of Gurus w/ Chris Evans | #062

We anticipated the value Chris Evans of Traffic and Funnels would offer our listeners — and he delivered gold by the boatloads. He gives insight into correcting your belief system in order to transform seemingly unrealistic business goals into reality.

In this clip, Chris speaks on adapting the right mindset by practicing where you want to be and surrounding yourself with the right people. If anything, jot down a few notes on his impeccable and in-depth marketing predictions.

Or you can enjoy the ones we’ve written for you…

Click here for full episode and show notes

Listen to learn more about:

The challenges of rapid growth, the end of Era Guru, getting past mental roadblocks, dangers of undercharging, sophistication levels of the market (Eugene Schwartz concept) and its drastic impact on marketing

From our team to yours, thank you!

You’re invited to dogear this episode and share it with just one person who could benefit from the information.

Audio Engineer - Oleksandr Hedz

Content Manager & Graphics -Deya Aliaga

Organizational Coordinator - Tess Syrowik

Writer - Jonnie Williams 

If you don’t properly identify your target market then none of your marketing will work. Period. Not your ads, not your content, not your website, not your social media, nothing. It will all fail miserably. And I don’t want that for you.

So in this episode I’m going to be breaking down exactly how to identify your target market and give you a few examples of what that might look like for your business.

Let’s talk social media, specifically, how to create a social media marketing plan so you can get more leads, clients, customers, and sales without having to waste all day on a million different platforms.

Because when it comes to social media marketing there are 2 major issues I see most entrepreneurs and business owners making

1) Not having a clearly defined plan, strategy, or system which leads them to doing too many different things on too many different platforms

2) Getting stuck on the social media hamster wheel constantly needing to grind out more and more content to feed the beast, aka, the social media algorithms

So let’s fix both of those right now.

In this episode, Brian Bergford and Adam create a dialogue that draws comparisons between peak performance and modern marketing. Whether you’re interested in peak performance athletes, or the marketing lessons we can glean from them, or both, you’re going to find a lot of value in this content.

Episode Discussions:

• Brain’s interests growing up and how they lead him to where he is today
• The psychology behind performers as well as customers
• How to get results in training and in marketing
• Knowing when you’re on the right track with your processes
• What happens if you want to quit
• How to select the right story for you and your business
• Success habits of peak performers
• “Emotional Alchemy”

02:26

Brian’s Story

• Background in psychology, particularly animal psychology
• Brian was inspired by people who were at the top of their craft
• Enjoyed working with dogs as well as people
• Ended up in behavioral training for dogs (which was really coaching people in how to train their dogs)
• Later on, he got back into the performance arena

04:28

Comparing performance to marketing psychologically

The animal brain is much like the brain of the consumer in that, as consumers, we use our instinct/emotions before we back it up with logic.

Both involve connecting with people to find what works for them.

07:21 
Consistency = Results

• Must be careful of measuring things too soon
• You can't expect instant results in marketing or in training

09:21 
Taking the longview

You always have some faith in the process.

Remember that it's dangerous to be result-oriented.

It may take longer than you had hoped, but you'll get there if you're consistent

10:41 
How do you know you've got the right process?

1. 
   Intuition 

• Not necessarily instinctual, but some things feel right, and some don't

11:38 
2. Check in with people who are experts

• Ask them, what is realistic at this point? What time span should we be looking at?

12:45 
3. Recognise that there are cycles

• Check in on your results every once in awhile, and remember that there will be ups and downs

13:07 
Make the switch from outcome goals to process goals

Focus on the things you can do every day and the outcome will follow naturally.

Mismanaged expectations can create discouragement.

If you can put in the work, you're going to be able to sustain your performance.

Love the process.

15:35 

Fulfillment matters more than anything.

16:38 

If you're looking for that perfect process, make sure you believe in who you choose as your mentors.

A good rule of thumb is the 90-day trial.

18:04 
What if you want to quit?

Audit the last few weeks--have you taken enough time for yourself?

You need to follow your self-process in order to be successful in your other processes.

19:32 
Identity

What kind of person are you? 

Allow yourself time to recharge, and have self-awareness in what you are capable of.

21:35 
Select a story that empowers you to fuel your engine

No matter which business you’re in, it is a psychological game.

22:08 

Good copywriting resonates with customers emotionally

If you can get your point across well, you can make this connection.

It’s an opportunity to for you to show and your customers to see that they're not alone.

24:18 

"The root of every problem comes from a lack of communication"

24:42 

Success Habits of Peak Performers

How do these people thrive on a day-to-day basis?

• Genetics play a part
• They always play their cards well
• They’re clear on what they want
• Generally something they have a fear of ends up being something they love
• Do whatever it takes

26:32 

Emotional Alchemy:

"Take whatever comes at you and turn it into...fuel for the engine"

You must be willing to put in the consistent work.

Mentioned in this episode:

The CEO Athlete Facebook page

Contact Brian: info@bergfordperformance.com

Ever punched in “1…6…0…0…0…0…0” on a keypad when charging a customer’s credit card or preparing a client’s invoice — and NOT have to press the backspace? Maybe. How about for one item? You hear about these 4 and 5-figure courses, programs, and products and think, ‘good for them but there’s no way that could ever be me.’ Really though, it’s more attainable than you think.

Alex Hormozi is a high-ticket sales master. As CEO of Gym Launch, he helps gym owners market and exponentially grow their business with his $16K-$93K programs. Full disclosure: this episode is .01% gym talk — the rest focuses on making big money with big value; suitable for the entrepreneur or small business owner with high-dollar aspirations. Or if you really like marketing quotes.

Episode Discussions:

• How Alex is able to sell a $90K+ item
• Mitigating sticker shock/price objections using communities
• Why you should invest in a $1K lead magnet
• Succeeding with the done-with-you model (coaching + mentoring)
• Mastermind fee models
• Exceptional customer service: the ultimate win-win
• Transitioning to a high-ticket item
• Growing a business with referrals
• How to botch your done-for-you ventures
• 5 core functions of a business
• Work for free? Absolutely!
• How much value should you provide with your free content?
• Value discrepancy and “risk discounts”
• How niching down benefits service providers
• How to turn your digital course into a high-ticket item
• “Selling a high-ticket program” in 60 seconds

2:46

Alex’s Story

Owned 6 brick-and-mortar gyms by age 26

Got into marketing after searching for ways to generate leads

Sold all 6 gyms a year ago

Transitioned into serving gym owners

4:01

Alex’s Price stats

Lowest ticket item: $16k (about to bump to $30K)

Highest ticket item: $93K

5:12

Went from 10% referrals to 70%.

"This has grown both from us having superior sales and marketing strategies but also from exceptional customer service and fulfillment."

6:31

How Alex is able to sell a $90K+ item

The $16K program averages an additional $200K in revenue for the client.

50% close rate on $16K to $90K program upsell

7:54

"If you're standing on a bed of broken promises then it's really hard to sell people."

9:23

Transitioning to a high-ticket item

1. Work for free. Do what it takes to get amazing results for your customers so you can believe in what you're selling.
2. Have overwhelming social proof.
3. Offer outstanding customer service. Go above and beyond.

15:56

5 core functions of a business:

1. Lead generation
2. Lead nurture
3. Sales
4. Fulfillment
5. Retention/Ascension

16:35

High-ticket funnels, Communities, Sticker shock

Alex gets prospects involved in a community where they connect with other gym owners who've successfully used his program

23:12

"Specializing is important because if you're a generalist, it's really hard to be great."

24:25

Investing in a ‘$1K ‘lead magnet

People judge you by the quality of your lead magnet.

Spend time and money, get it formatted, make sure it looks good and showcases the best aspects of your brand.

25:20

“Selling a high-ticket program” in 60 seconds

Create more value for a customer by looking at the 5 core functions through their lens.

How can you support them through each phase?

Train your team to execute based on a troubleshooting process

26:08

Turn your digital course into a high-ticket item.

27:15

From ‘done-for-you’ to ‘done-with-you’ services

Start with undercharging

"Continue to increase your prices as you feel the conviction that you're able to do so."

Pride yourself on having exceptional customer service. Tell people and you'll force yourself to live up to it.

29:20

Most people mess up the done for you model by being overly concerned with their positioning.

31:19

Succeeding with the done-with-you model (coaching + mentoring)

• Sell continuity by selling an associated identity
• Prioritize spending and budgeting according to the new identity you want to fulfill
• "During an intensive, your goal should be to have success as soon as possible — have a win as fast as possible so your clients can get momentum."
• Overdeliver on communication
• Ask for testimonials and referrals because that's what grows the business.
• Ask for feedback and use it to improve.

38:46

"Sell to people who already have businesses because it's a lot easier to make that person successful."

39:29

Mastermind Fee models

• Charge for mastermind halfway through program, paid in full and up front
• Presell and deposit
• Monthly fee with upgrades/premium services
• IOU

42:46

How much value should you provide with your free content?

"A voracious appetite for improvement, overdelivering, and amazing execution differentiates the winners from those scraping by."

45:12

Value discrepancy

"If you're not making the money you wanna make it's because you're not that good...If you're amazing then that first customer will send you a second customer."

47:36

Encouragement for the newbies:

"You suck when you start, you'll suck a little less, and one day you suck so little you'll be good."

Connect with Alex:

Idonthatemoney.com  (must-read CTA buttons)

FunnelHackingLive

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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No one is responding to your email marketing campaign. 

Nothing you do is leading to more sales.

Your content strategy isn't providing any return on investment. 

Whatever the marketing fail, there's almost always a clear and evident solution.

Episode discussions:

• Who’s most likely to fall victim to an ineffective marketing strategy
• The most important question to ask when it comes to all of your marketing
• When it would be wise to get an outside opinion about your strategy 
• Why your marketing might be failing and what to do about it

(02:20) 

Go back to the basics.

-Strategy is always the foundation and most important fundamental element in running a successful marketing campaign.

(02:57) The importance of strategy: questions to ask yourself

1. Where are your customers?

-Most marketing failures stem from misalignment

-Identify your ideal customer and ensure what you're offering resonates with your customers 

(04:15) 

2. Why are you doing what you're doing? Why are you using the strategy you're using right now? 

-Was it based on solid facts about your business, message, and customers?

-Generational businesses are more likely to fall victim to ineffective marketing strategies

(05:35)

 Stop – Drop - and Focus 

STOP

1. Did you give it enough time?

2. Did you give it enough attention and resources?

-There is a point you need to reach for something to be effective. Commit to your marketing in order to get it to work.  

(07:55) 

DROP

3. Are some of your campaigns clearly performing better than others?

-Drop the losers and scale the winners. Reallocate more budget toward the winners.

4. Get rid of anything that isn’t working and that you can’t justify or remember the strategy behind why you’re using it.

(09:36)

The most important question you should ask when it comes to all of your marketing is "why?"

-Marketing needs to be accountable if you want to grow your business. 

-Listen to episode 9 for more of an in-depth look at analytics and measuring your business! 

09:53 

FOCUS

5. Double down on the 1 or 2 strategies that are most aligned with your business

-Work on maximizing those strategies before moving on.

-Get a second/outside opinion. We're often blinded when we're in the trenches of our own business. 

Listen to a high-level overview of how to better communicate your message in Episode # 6 "Secrets to an Effective Online Marketing Strategy". 

11:43 Show recap 

If you're curious about how we help agency owners grow, get clients, and build 6 and 7-figure agencies you can learn more by clicking the link below. There’s no email opt-in, no webinar, and no nonsense. Check it out here: https://join.agencyaccelerator.io/vsl-page?el=podcast

So how do you choose the best name for your YouTube channel?

In this video I’m going to be sharing some of the best tools, ideas, and strategies as well as 3 huge mistakes you absolutely need to avoid so you can come up with the best name possible for your YouTube channel.

Let’s get to it!

Live streaming is projected to be one of the top marketing tools available in 2017 so it’s only appropriate to interview Luria Petrucci. Her company, Live Streaming Pros, helps brands and businesses start, grow, and monetize their own live streaming shows.

This episode covers everything you need to know about live streaming including how you can get started as early as today to start seeing results in your business.

Episode Discussions:

• What is live streaming?
• The 4 levels of live streaming and their costs
• 3 parts to an effective live streaming strategy
• Why you should do it and how to do it effectively
• Why Facebook Live is a powerful tool for local businesses
• The different live video platforms
• The #1 thing that will stop people from watching your videos
• Luria’s live stream challenge for Adam

2:37 

How Luria got into live streaming 

Curiosity about Video iPod and how it worked from a technical standpoint 

Was able to turn it into a business

After 10 years of building a community with video and live streaming, 

 she started focusing on live streaming due to accessibility and ease-of-use. 

4:43 

Addressing common fears about live streaming.

"The thought of going out there and not having structure scares me a little bit."-Adam 

-Most people like to be well-prepared for video

-Most people fear starting it and having nobody show up (interacting with a blank audience) 

Why they're not important to worry about:

+Benefits of live streaming 

-Build the know, like, and trust factor with your audience. 

-Works for both online businesses and local businesses

-When you do it right, you can increase your bottom line

-Think of it as a marketing tool and an engagement effort 

"No other marketing can you build your current customer base and trust, create loyalty, and get people so involved and engaged with you."-Luria

7:09

Luria uses a run of show spreadsheet to prepare for streams.

Zero viewers can happen at first but you can repurpose the content: 

• Run ads to it 
• Post it on your blog
• Post it as a podcast

08:53 

Works well for local business

-Tap into the power of Facebook Live

-People love to be proud of the city they live in

You're delivering value and getting engagement at the same time and it's a beautiful combination that really works." -Luria

11:10 

Luria's 3-part live video strategy:

1. Consistency: Builds trust - allows your viewers to put it on their calendar  
2. Randomness: Going live randomly brings in the human element
3. Repurposing:  Repurpose the content

14:01 

What is live streaming?

At it's basic level, the ability to go live and have a real-time video conversation with whoever wants to watch. 

Various platforms:

• Facebook
• Periscope
• YouTube Live (mobile capability coming soon)
• Instagram

17:33 

Cost, how and where to get started live streaming: 

4 levels of live streaming to help determine what to start with:

1. Going live from your phone 
2. Add gear to your phone: wide angle lens, microphone, kits
3. Going live from your desktop computer: webcam or external camera   
4. Going live from a dedicated machine: Professional TV quality stream 

"People are using whatever level, you just have to make sure you have the right strategies behind it and that you're offering tremendous value, being human, connecting, and have a call-to-action in your video". - Luria

24:46 

Calls to Action

"Live video provides a beautiful way to do a call to action without feeling like you're selling or pitching anything because what it is at its core is a conversation."

-Provide value and focus on giving and helping people succeed 

-Use CTA as a natural opportunity to further help them

28:06 

Luria challenges Adam

Will Adam launch his first live stream in January?

To be continued…

Mentioned in this episode

• Live Streaming Pros Website
• To determine where you fit in as a live streamer,

take the Live Streaming Pros quiz

• Live Streaming Pros Facebook Page (Live every weekday at 10am PST)
• Modern Marketing all-star guest AJ Rivera

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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What if there was a way to predict your success before it happened so you could plan for it, stack the odds in your favor, and make sure you’re on the right track?

Well there is, which is why in this video I’m sharing 10 signs you are going to be successful that I’ve learned after over 15 years of working with multi-millionaire and billionaire entrepreneurs.

After working with countless millionaires, multi-millionaires, and billionaires over the last 15 years I’ve found that there are a few key differences between the moderately successful, and the super successful mega yacht, business jet, multi billionaire successful.

Now you may have no desire to buy a mega yacht or eat cavier and champagne for breakfast, because, well that’s kinda gross, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn and apply the exact same habits, attitudes, and behaviours in order to help you achieve your unique goals faster and more efficiently than you ever thought possible.

If you find these attributes in yourself great. If not, no worries, that’s why we’re talking about them now so you can begin to incorporate them into your life.

If you’re here now then the odds are good that you know the power a properly search engine optimized, or SEO optimized website can have on your business.

You’ve also probably heard that SEO is hard, complicated, and somewhat of which is why in this video I’m going to be breaking down the 6-Steps you need to follow as well as #1 SEO tool I use inside the agency to help you quickly rank #1 on Google even if you’re a beginner.

If you are you new to SEO and want to rank #1 on google this upcoming year then this video has my proven and effective 6-Step SEO Strategy that will boost your rankings!

“Free” sounds good to everyone but everything has a cost, especially when it comes to traffic.

In this episode, learn the different benefits and costs of paid and free traffic,

and how to get the most out of both to boost your business.  

Episode Discussion

• The myth of so-called "free traffic"
• How to get the most out of your paid traffic marketing
• Why "free traffic" isn't really free
• An overlooked aspect of paid traffic and why to budget for it
• An SEO refresher course
• One of the most valuable free traffic marketing strategies
• How long it can take to see results from SEO
• Tips for a successful social media strategy
• Paid vs. Free…which one’s for you?

01:42

What is traffic?

• Generally accepted marketing term for "people"
  • More specifically, eyeballs, attention.
• Ideally, driving your target market to an offer, message, sales page.
• Step 1 of the marketing funnel.

2:49

2 different kinds of traffic

1. Paid Traffic
2. Free Traffic

Pay either way using money or time (energy and resources).

03:27

Paid Traffic

Options:

Facebook Ads

Google Adwords

LinkedIn

Twitter Ads

Banner ads

If it has the word "Ads" after it, it's a form of paid traffic.

• Pay-per-click (PPC):
  • Have top position everywhere you want (news feeds, search engine).
  • Have to be willing to outspend everyone.

• Learning curve associated with paid traffic:
  • Expensive when first learning –
    • allocate a percentage of your marketing budget.

• Figure out what's working, what's not.
  • Ways to optimize and continue getting a better investment

• Retargeting or remarketing
  • Enables you to capitalize on the traffic you already have.

05:06

"Free Traffic"

 "I know we're on a podcast so you can't see what I'm doing but I've got the air quotes going because there really is no such thing as free traffic."

• Everything will take investment (time, energy, and resources) to create.

• One of the most popular types of free traffic:
  • Content marketing (blogs, podcasts, video, infographics)

• Social media:
  • A viable strategy to use with free traffic.
    • Ensure your market is active on that social media channel
    • Make sure you message is consistent across all channels
    • Respect the social channel (not overly promotional)

7:07

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

• Optimizing your website so it appears higher in search engine results when someone is searching for a service you offer
• It can take serious time and investment (for content creation) in order to claim a top spot
  • May take a couple of months up to a year for more competitive terms.

8:21

Paid Traffic vs. Free Traffic

If you have more money than time, focus on paid traffic.

If you have more time than money, focus on free traffic.

Include both eventually to create a steady and consistent flow of traffic to your business.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode #12 - How to create a marketing funnel
• Episode #7 - The Power of Retargeting and Remarketing
• Episode #23 - SEO Tips and Tricks for 2017

 Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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The Modern Marketing podcast is big on equipping you with the best tactics and strategies you need to market and grow your business. But the toolkit wouldn’t be complete without addressing the very instrument that makes strategy effective — your mindset.

Before you shy away, understand this episode’s guest is a far cry from the woo-woo type. However, he’s learned a thing or two about the role your mental game plays in achieving success. 

Chris Evans is the co-founder of Traffic and Funnels and along with business partner Taylor, has grown their agency and consulting business from zero to over five million in revenue in under 23 months. With results like that, you might think about giving this mindset thing a shot. Get ready for a behind the scenes look at what it takes to overcome the mental challenges that stand between you and the business of your dreams.

Episode discussions:

• Dealing with the challenges of scaling a business fast
• Why ‘guru’ launches and sales are plummeting
• The biggest roadblock preventing you from success
• Getting over the fear of cutting out products and services from your business
• When family and close friends tear you down
• Choosing appropriate role models
• Why one thrives and one doesn't get off the ground using the same strategy
• Recalibrating your mindset with the Morning Formula
• How Chris exploded from $30K to $100K in one month
• How to narrow down your offers an increase your income
• Why you’re not charging enough and how it affects your reputation
• How to make better decisions using less emotion
• Position yourself to be well equipped for the direction of marketing
• The major mistake people make when scaling a business
• Arrogance, remaining humble, and not getting too big for your britches
• Comparison is an effective tool
• How you convince yourself you're capable of achieving big goals after a lifetime of not achieving that goal
• Sophistication levels of the market according to Eugene Schwartz and how it impacts the future of marketing

2:36

Chris’s Story:

• Used to write copy and build infrastructures for successful launches
• Taylor wrote copy and built funnels for well-known people
• Teamed up 2 years ago and launched Traffic and Funnels with nothing but experience as experts ($0)
• Grew to a $5 million-dollar business
• Faced new challenges scaling that quickly

5:31

"The biggest thing that's going to stop you from getting to $100K a month is you."

8:07

"Strategies and tactics, to me, are garbage if you don't have the right mental game."

8:31

Morning Formula

A design where every day you have a picture of what it is you want to accomplish.

The brain can't tell the difference between something you're imagining versus something you experience.

So, practice where you want to be.

9:26

Step #1: Correct your belief system

Shift from thinking goals are too unrealistic to believing your goals are possible to achieve.

10:24

How do you actually convince yourself that you're capable of achieving big goals after a lifetime of not having achieved that goal yet?

10:48

Step #2: Surround yourself with the right people

• Exchange your relationships
• Optimize your environment for success with like-minded, high achievers
• Possibilities become tangible

15:04

Step #3: Offer less and specialize

Hone your focus on one kind of client and one result

Focus your marketing and messaging

Dial in and scale your offer

"Every time my business [experienced] a significant jump, it's always been when I've cut something out. It's never been when I've added a new service."

20:49

Your prices reflect how much you value yourself

Most people are grossly undercharging.

Odds are, you're doing a much better job than you think you are and your clients already appreciate you. There's a huge margin that you're leaving on the table.

"Some people come to us and they're working way too many hours for very few dollars and they're burnt out, frustrated, pissed off, hate their clients, and a lot of times they're just not charging enough."

21:49

Step #4: Have the right people on your team

Audit what you're doing and what your time is spent on every day.

Look at what you can delegate to somebody else.

Hire the right people for the right time of business.

Keep your head on straight and make sure your clients are getting results.

 “People think they're saving money [doing everything themselves] but actually they're losing and leaving a lot of money on the table.”

24:35

The major mistake people make when scaling their business is not understanding their numbers.

26:09

Remove the emotion-based decision making and make better-educated decisions.

27:52

Having a learner's mindset

Never make the mistake of thinking you have everything figured out.

Reach out to others when you can’t see through the fog.

There is always something else you can learn, grow, and improve on.

28:11

Gaining perspective with comparison

• Entrepreneurs at any level tend to magnify the negative things in their business.
• Realign your perspective by reading about people who have bigger problems than you.
• When things are bad, someone always has it worse. When things are good, there's always that next level you can take it to. It's a balancing act.

29:43

Chris’s marketing forecast:

Authenticity FTW:

• The market is losing trust in so-called ‘experts’ and starving for authenticity.
• The more authentic, real, honest and truthful you are, the more competitive you’ll be

Increasing sophistication levels of the market (Eugene Schwartz concept)

• Branding connects with direct response
• Successful people will spend a lot of their time, capital, and equity building brands of trustworthiness
• More emphasis on content development as a means to provide value and earn loyalty

"Direct response you can write a killer headline, grab someone by the throat, and get them to buy. It’s not the case anymore.”

How Chris and Taylor are keeping up:

A YouTube show giving people a behind the scenes look at the good, bad, ugly, beautiful, hilarious, and not hilarious aspects of their business.

Mentioned in this episode:

Traffic and Funnels Website

Smartest Guys in Marketing Facebook Group

Psychocybernetics - By Maxwell Maltz

The Magic of Thinking Big - By David J Schwartz

Breakthrough Advertising – By Eugene M. Schwartz

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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With more options available now more than ever, it's difficult to decide which marketing tools are going to provide the most benefit for your business in 2017. No need to play eeny, meeny, miny, moe because Adam has you covered with the top 6 digital marketing elements to include moving into 2017.

Implementing these marketing tools will help you grow your business, connect with your customers, get more leads and sales, and grow your revenue and profits.

Episode Discussions:

• 3 important elements your business website should have
• Why social media channels are not replacements for a business website
• One of the least expensive yet most effective marketing methods to date
• Crucial tips that maximize results using Facebook Ads
• The pros and pros of podcasting
• Keys to getting the biggest return on email marketing campaigns
• Common fears of podcasting addressed and debunked
• Why including podcasting in your marketing for 2017 is a genius move

0:50

"The only constant is change"- Heraclitus

Change is inevitable.

When it comes to marketing your business, you have two choices:

1)     Adapt

2)     Or suffer the consequences of being irrelevant

Irrelevant businesses don’t get calls, clicks, or sales

1.     Web Design

Your website is your business hub and center of your online universe

-An asset you own 

-Controlled and brandable

In 2017, your website should be:

• Clean - and focused on your message
• Responsive - needs to look good on a variety of different screen sizes (mobile phones, tablets)
• Beautifully designed - make sure you're sending the right message to your prospects

“If it's none of the above, you don't have an asset, you have a liability.”

A website is worth investing in: 

• At some point, customer will go online and see what they can learn about you, your business, and services.
• Test different sales messages, calls to action, and capture valuable info from your customers.  

“Many naive business owners mistakenly use social media in place of a website.”

5:09 

2.     Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

-97% of all searches for local businesses begin online

“If your business isn't appearing for relevant search terms associated with what you do or sell, you're losing money to your competitors. “

5:51

3.     Social Media

-Humanizes brands and businesses in a way that nothing else can.

-Offers transparency and authenticity

-Key: choose platforms and channels your customers are using and interact with them there 

-Useless to be on any social media network that your target market doesn't use 

*crickets chirping*

-Focus on producing quality content, sharing others content, and engaging with your community. 

6:46 

4.     Facebook Ads

-Most effective form of advertising available today for 95% of businesses (cost and results)

Key to maximizing results: 

1. Appreciate that Facebook is a social platform
2. Focus on strategy more than tactics

7:48 

5. Email Marketing

• Email inbox offers access to one of your customers most intimate places 
• People check their email multiple times a day - creating multiple opportunities to get your message in front of them
• One of the least expensive forms of marketing available

Keys to getting biggest return on email marketing campaigns: 

1. Focus on strategy
2. Focus on delivering value

9:28 

6.     Podcasting

Provides adopters with benefits that far outweigh its costs.

Podcasting popularity is growing

• Grew 23% last year alone. Currently around 57 million in the US alone and growing
• Incredibly easy to consume: through iPhone and Android apps, direct listening on a tablet or desktop
• Many people prefer audio over reading or video 
• Convenient content: can listen at the gym, commute to work, etc.

Podcasting gives something no other media does:

longer access and attention to your customers. 

• Average person scrolls through social media feed in seconds
• Read blog posts or watch videos for a couple of minutes

"The average podcast listener consumes around 4 hours and 10 minutes per week, every week. "

• Listens to 5 different podcasts each week
• Podcast creators enjoy a direct channel right to their customer's brains 
• Like having your customer’s attention for 30+ min 
• One of the fastest and most effective ways to build a deeper connection and higher level of trust.

A relatively untapped and underserved market

• Gain a competitive advantage by getting in before everyone else 
• Blogging and video are competitive and crowded markets
• For every 1 podcast, there are 100,000 blogs and 10,000 YouTube videos.

It's easy to do

Common fears of podcasting:

• creating your own show
• techy parts (editing, uploading, publishing)
• not knowing where to start
• fear associated with video (being on camera)
• blogging (not being a good writer)

With the right help, it's one of the easiest forms of content creation available. 

"If you can talk about your business, you can podcast. "

Podcast Production Services:

 PodcastZen

(used for the Modern Marketing Podcast)

 Handle every “techy” step for you:

• editing
• uploading
• amazing blog quality show notes
• eye-catching custom graphics

All you do is talk and they take care of the rest.

13:04 

List Recap: 

1. Web Design
2. SEO
3. Social Media
4. Facebook Ads
5. Email Marketing
6. Podcasting

This podcast is brought to you by:

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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“If you don’t understand this one simple thing about advertising your business you’re going to lose a lot of money very quickly.”

5-Step Content Promotion Strategy | #043

"Content without promotion is not a whole lot better than having no content at all."

It’s true. Content marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies available today. So, you put fort the time, effort, and energy into creating the valuable content that will make your marketing strategy a success. How do you ensure it gets put to good use in the most optimal and profitable ways possible?

In this episode, Adam recaps the 3 key pieces to content marketing success and discusses a 5-step promotion strategy that ensures your content ends up in front of the right people, in the right places, at the right times.

Episode Discussions:

• How to gain initial speed and momentum with your content
• 3 Key pieces to content marketing success
• How to optimize your content to give it the highest probability of success
• Ways to make your content easy to find and consume
• How to find the most relevant social media channels to promote your content
• How the quality of your content impacts your paid traffic efforts
• Ways to repurpose your content for maximum audience engagement

3:04

3 key pieces to content marketing success

1. Be consistent
2. Be strategic
3. Be promoting

5-Step Content Promotion Strategy:

3:45

1.   Identify your target market

• This ensures your content won't fall on deaf ears and/or go to waste.
  • Happens when businesses misidentify their markets and disrespect trends in consumer media consumption.

Need help? Listen to episode #2 on how to create your perfect customer avatar!

4:32

2.   Optimize your content

• Gives your content the highest probability of success
• As simple as making your content easy to find and consume
  • Use relevant and searched for keywords in your title, tags, and descriptions.
  • Use short sentences.
  • Keep it casual and conversational
• For video content: use captions or subtitles

Key Takeaway: Make it easy to find and consume.

5:16

3.   Share content on relevant social media channels

• Odds are good your content will benefit from at least 1 social media channel.
• Match your ideal target market with regular statistics on which demographics are using which social media platforms.
• Start with some combo of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram if you're unsure.

6:16

4.   Amplify content with paid traffic

"The beauty of paid traffic is that it takes whatever you have and makes it more of that."

• If you have a great piece of content that's getting positive results, adding paid promotion will help it reach more people.
• If you have poor content, it's likely to result in silence, diminished exposure, and cost you more.
• Paid traffic platforms reward quality content with greater reach and punish the weak with higher costs.
• Solution:
  • Ensure you're creating the highest quality content possible
  • Once published, monitor, measure, and analyze what content does well and what doesn't.
  • Boost only the good content.

7:16

5.   Recycle, reuse, and repurpose your content

• Your content can be modified for alternative forms of distribution.
• Example: A blog post...
  • Can be read aloud and turned into a podcast or…
  • Broken down into talking points and turned into a video, power point, or keynote presentation.
• Syndicating your content across other media channels presents more opportunities to connect with your customers where and how they want to be connected with.

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Episode #02 – The Customer Avatar

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Corey Gladwell is a 2 time best-selling author, a speaker and coach, and founder of Author Alliance, a company that helps people write, publish, and launch a best selling book. His is a true rags-to-riches story...

One that tells the tale of a struggling child on welfare that became a supremely successful author and entrepreneur.  

In this episode, he shares how he was able to package his experience and knowledge and create a thriving empire. In addition, he reveals the strategies you can apply in your business to reach more people and make a bigger impact on the world.  

Episode Discussions:

• How writing a best-seller can benefit your business
• The holistic approach to marketing
• How to deliver content without spending every day writing
• What to outsource when writing a book
• Promotion strategies to turn your book into a best-seller  
• Why you should forget about structure and just write

3:22  

In the beginning...

• Grew up poor which motivated him toward entrepreneurship.  
• Owned a nightclub, restaurant, different brick-and-mortar businesses at age 23 but lost them and had nothing by age 25.  
• Had spiritual experience that shifted perspective.
• Has spent the last 5 years writing books and coaching people in their business and personal lives.  

4:31  

Mistakes and lessons

• Was dissatisfied with the struggle and negativity experienced as a child  
• "To me, it always equated to not having enough and that amount of scarcity caused a ripple effect for other problems."-CG
• Made it his mission as a child to become successful and worked every day.
• At 23, businesses failed as a result of no mentor or guidance and lacked knowledge of how to systemize or hire.  

6:32  

The road to success

• Experienced state of enlightenment through meditation.  
• Has meditated for 1500 hours  
• Almost done with 3rd book  
• Speaks at Masterminds  

"I see business and spirituality kind of connected so it's a lot easier for me to do marketing and branding and be a chief marketing officer because I see a lot of solutions of problems that people can't get around."-CG

8:02  

"Were you always a gifted writer? What's been the impact on your business?"

• Had never written before
• First book took 4 years to write
• Figured out a process of being able to deliver content without having to spend every day writing
• Created Author Alliance to teach other entrepreneurs how to be best-selling authors.
• • Creates authority and credibility in your market and become the go-to person to talk to

"Becoming a best-selling author is something powerful to add to the resume"-AE

10:16  

How do you write? How do you take the material and package it so it resonates with the audience?

• Write a book that you would want to read.

"The person they want to be is the person they've always needed."-CG

• Records and then transcribes. Makes it easier to get the content out and then edit.
• Makes daily videos for YouTube, Facebook and Twitter  
• Once a week, reviews different books he's writing  
• Takes pieces of content collected and pieces them together  

"Create as much content as you can and you'll find that you create a book out of that."-CG

13:15  

• Hire an editor and find someone to organize it for you (outsource)  
• Repurpose into other pieces of content  
• Launch it  

14:54  

How do you turn it into a best-seller?

Promotion strategies

• Free resources: Use family, friends, Facebook groups, Google Hangouts, forums. Make sure you reach out first to help them and use reciprocity.  
• Make sure you have a good product that offers value

"I think the biggest hurdle here is a lot of people don't consider themselves good writers."-AE

16:56  

• Before you start investing in branding your business, ask your friends and family for the first 3 words that come to mind when they think of you.  
• Who you think you are may be different from how the world receives you as first.  
• Build brand around that.  

Mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Corey:
• • authoralliance.co
  • coreygladwell.com

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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If you want to learn how to get truly get better results from your digital marketing then it’s not about the latest funnel, or advertising hack, or social media network. But the psychology behind them that’s what really matters.

If you're curious about how we help agency owners grow, get clients, and build 6 and 7-figure agencies you can learn more by clicking the link below. There’s no email opt-in, no webinar, and no nonsense. Check it out here: https://join.agencyaccelerator.io/vsl-page?el=podcast

👇🏼 ...whenever you’re ready here are the 3 best ways that I can help you:

 ✅ [PROGRAM] Our signature “Agency Accelerator” program: https://join.agencyaccelerator.io/vsl-page?el=podcast

✅ [NEWSLETTER] Subscribe to the Modern Marketing Newsletter: https://adamerhart.com/newsletter

✅ [SOFTWARE] Free 30-Day Free Trial + free strategy session with HighLevel: https://aerh.co/highlevel

If you’ve ever wanted to know what marketing is? How it works? And how it applies to you and your business then stick with me, because in this episode I’m going to be breaking down exactly what marketing is, how it works, and why it’s such an important, if not THE most important element of business success.

Let’s get to it.

The 3 Key Ingredients to Creating Sales on Demand

Many types of marketing funnels exist but have the same underlying premise which is taking someone who has no idea who you are and turning them into a customer.

With so many different funnels available, it’s difficult knowing where to begin…

until this episode of the Modern Marketing podcast.

Episode discussions:

• Dealing with "cold audiences"
• The Modern Marketing Funnel
• Tips on website conversion rate optimization
• Ascending traffic up the value chain
• How the Squint Test can save you from losing customers
• Recommended Email autoresponders

[1:33] Customers get labeled by their temperature

-A prospect that doesn't know you exist is a "cold lead"

-Once they know about you, they become a "warm lead"

-When money is exchanged for your product/service: "hot lead"

There are many different marketing funnels available:

AIDA Model:

-Awareness

-Interest

-Desire

-Action

Purchase Funnel Model:

-Awareness

-Opinion

-Consideration

-Preference

-Purchase

Modern Marketing Funnel:

-Traffic

-Conversion

-Ascension

[02:33] The Modern Marketing Funnel: 3 Key Ingredients

1. Traffic:

 Get them to your content

Methods: SEO, Facebook ads, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising

[04:26]

2. Conversion: get them to take action

Increase number of leads and customers with basic website conversion rate optimization:

+Easy to use and navigate:

[06:04]- does your website pass the “Squint Test”?

             -clear calls to action

             -above the fold

             -designed or optimized for mobile viewing

+Landing pages

+Lead magnet: valuable content in exchange for contact details

[09:14]

3. Ascension: turn warm leads into "hot leads"

+Use retargeting (take a refresher course on retargeting in episode 7 )

+Stay top-of-mind with customers

+Email auto-responder sequences: Email is one of the most cost-effective and highest converting tools available

[11:48]

Options for Email Autoresponders

-Mailchimp

-Aweber

-Drip (MM recommended)

[12:43] Show recap

Mentioned in this episode:

Mailchimp

Aweber

Drip

Which aspect of the funnel would you like to learn more about?

Email me: Adam@AdamErhart.com and I’ll be sure to discuss that topic in a future episode!

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Tags: #modernmarketingpodcast #modernmarketingfunnel #websiteconversionrateoptimization #howtocreateamarketingfunnel

Because by looking at, studying, modeling, and then most importantly taking action and incorporating some of their best strategies into your business, you give yourself what could almost be considered a kind of unfair competitive advantage.

***PS - Whenever you’re ready, here are the 2 best ways I can help you…

1) The One-Page Marketing Cheatsheet: https://adamerhart.com/cheatsheet

2) 1-on-1 Marketing Coaching and Consulting: https://adamerhart.com/work-with-me/

Whether your business is in startup mode, reputable and well-established, or somewhere in between, traffic, conversion, and retention are essential elements to making it sustainable and profitable.

In this episode, Adam walks you through the simple 3-step TCR advantage marketing strategy that gets you more traffic, more conversions, and better retention to generate more customers, sales, and revenue for your business.

Episode Discussions:

• How to identify which segment of TCR you need to focus on
• One of the most valuable tools any business can have to convert traffic into leads
• The key premise behind an effective lead magnet
• Landing pages: What they are and why they’re the best way to deliver lead magnets
• Why retargeting ads are so effective and profitable
• Adam’s top 2 traffic source recommendations
• Reasons why email marketing remains to be well-worth the investment
• How content marketing boosts the effectiveness of Facebook Ads
• 3 important things to remember when creating lead magnets
• Ways to nurture your leads
• The biggest mistakes to avoid when focusing on customer retention

2:04

Identify which area of your business needs attention

Laser-focus efforts on where the greatest opportunities are and what will provide the biggest impact

• Focus on traffic (step 1) if…

You need more people to know about your business, visit your website or store, or call you.

• Focus on conversion (step 2) if...

You have enough traffic and visitors but aren't turning them into paying customers.

• Focus on retention (step 3) if...

You have traffic and customers but want to maximize revenue by increasing their lifetime value and selling them more of your products and services.

3:19

Step #1. Traffic

• Niche down and focus on your ideal target market.
  • Ensure they're able to find you, learn about your business, and do business with your company.
  • Find how to leverage it, how to get the best results, and the amount you're able to pay for it and still break even or return positive ROI
• Top 2 traffic source recommendations:
  • Facebook Ads - short-term win
  • content marketing - boosts effectiveness of Facebook ads, provides more sustainable and long-term approach.

"When you combine these tools together, you create an unstoppable force destined for marketing domination."

4:57

Step #2. Conversion

• Offer something of value in exchange for prospect's contact information.
• Key premise behind an effective lead magnet:
  • Drill down the needs of your customers
    • Find out what information they're looking for
    • their problems and how you can help
  • Keep it simple, easy to digest, and positions you as an authority in your market
  • Use a landing page to deliver magnet in exchange for their contact details.

6:53

• Nurture leads via:
  • email nurture sequence
  • retargeting ads
  • sales call
  • webinar

7:13

Step #3. Retention

• Continued service and offering of new things for customers to buy.
• Use a combo approach of email marketing and retargeting ads.
  • Retargeting ads
    • ensures you stay top-of-mind
    • allows you to advertise to a smaller area of the market
  • Email marketing
    • Provides remarkable return (some ROI numbers: 3800% and 4500%)
  • Biggest mistakes: not providing a call to action (CTA) or opportunity to learn about your other products and services.

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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The importance of building trust in your business is hardly a new concept but it’s just as relevant as it’s ever been. There’s not a more powerful tool to be had in business and life. Businesses that are trustworthy will get more customers, happier customers, sell more, sell easier, and build a valuable reputation that will provide long-term benefits.

It takes time and effort but there are simple and effective ways to start establishing trust with your clients and customers.  In this episode, Adam discusses trust building tips and practices to implement into your business marketing strategy. 

Episode Discussions:

• Why providing value is a key component to your business
• How to establish trust with your idiosyncrasies, quirks, and flaws
• The mental game to play before a sales proposition
• Why trust is more important than a sale
• Ways to provide value to customers that get them to trust you

3:28

The strategy of preeminence

• The most powerful advice on building trust in marketing came from Jay Abraham:
• Become your customer's most trusted advisor or fiduciary (a legal obligation to always act in your client’s best interest).
• If they're trying to buy the wrong product or service from you or a competitor, you owe it to them to tell them.

"I always try to imagine ‘would I let my mom make this decision? Would I let her go and do this without me weighing in’ or ‘what would my advice be to my mom."

If often comes at the expense of the sale but will establish yourself as a trusted advisor in the long-term.

4:46

Mindset before the sale

Before the conversation, tell yourself "I don't need to make this sale. What is my advice going to be?"

When you take the money out of the equation, it makes it easier to do the right thing.

If that fails, consider how you would feel if a family member was in that situation.

5:30

Authenticity

• Stay true to yourself, your business, and always act in your brand's best interest.
• If you're able to show your idiosyncrasies, flaws, who you are, and what you stand for, it will make your marketing easier.
  • Try live streaming

7:01

Positive association

• Build trust and credibility for your business by leveraging other trustworthy causes
  • small charities or small charitable donations
  • volunteer work
  • collect testimonials
  • referrals from previous clients

8:10

Provide value

• Give before you get
• Give with no intention of getting back at all

"When you make providing value a cornerstone of your businesses marketing, you really can't help but be seen as a giver and people trust givers in the same way they distrust takers."

• Ways to give:
  • information
  • time
  • advice
  • samples
  • resources
  • guidance
  • support
  • entertainment
  • whatever best fits your capabilities and matches your customers

Everything you give will come back in equal or greater amount to your business.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode #24 - Interview with Live Streaming Pro Luria Petrucci

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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If your business is only using traditional marketing then you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to stand out and get more leads, customers, and sales.

That’s why in this episode I’m going to be breaking down exactly what is guerrilla marketing, and how it works so your business can finally get the attention it deserves.

Lets dive in!

The terms sales and marketing often get thrown together and are often used interchangeably.

But they’re actually 2 very different business functions with very different strategies, objectives, and criteria.

But while sales and marketing are very different things, they’re also both very important, so in this episode I’m going to cover the differences between sales and marketing and ultimately decide which one is more important to your business.

Let's dive in!

It’s no secret that the world of digital marketing changes fast – which is why in this episode I’m going to be breaking down 5 of the most important digital marketing skills you need to master for 2020 and beyond if you want to stay on top of your game.

Marketing cookies were created with the best of intentions when they first came onto the scene.

They were a way to remember your previous selections. And have you ever been to a site and had to change what country you were in, or what language you wanted, or what page you wanted to default load to?

Well, those were brought to you by your wonderful little friend, the cookie.

Basically the website would acknowledge your visit and selection – write a bit of code and save it to your computer – and then read it next time you came back to make sure things were just as you left them.

But cookies can do so much more than that… but more on that in just a minute…

Lets dive in!

In this episode I’m going to be breaking down the 4 essential pieces you must have if you want to be successful marketing your company.

Because the biggest problem with marketing today is that it’s overwhelming. So much to do. So many new strategies to try. So many new tools and tactics to unleash.

But at the end of the day it’s actually a whole lot more simple than you may have been sold.

You see... There are 4 key pillars, fundamentals, or essential pieces of the puzzle you must have in place if you want to be successful marketing your business today.

And that's what this video is all about.

Austin Distel is the Chief Marketing Officer for Entrepreneur Alliance, an online company that connects business minded entrepreneurs and business owners. Sure, EA is an online organization but this episode provides valuable takeaways that traditional businesses can apply as well. Authenticity and transparency are fundamental aspects to succeeding in any business. 

Episode Discussions:

• Reasons to get more invested with memberships
• The importance of authenticity and transparency in business marketing
• Pros and cons of Bot Marketing
• The perks of connecting with other entrepreneurs
• The simple action EA took that increased their conversion rate by 10%
• Why you shouldn’t ignore spontaneous instinct with your biz marketing ideas
• What’s next for Entrepreneur Alliance

3:05

About Austin

• Originally from Atlanta
• Moved to Annapolis, MD with other digital marketing entrepreneurs
• Founding member of the Entrepreneur Alliance
• Has been a digital marketer for 3 years
• Went to University of GA and graduated with a degree in online marketing

6:15

Membership model

• Figure out what works best for your audience and how they learn.

• Why get more invested with memberships:
  • Community, camaraderie, support and interaction.
  • The process is more rewarding with friendships that are formed.

"I've been on this kick lately of it's not about the destination, it's about the journey, and you've gotta enjoy the process."-Austin

• If you can find a way to connect with other entrepreneurs, you're going to have a happier existence.

11:03

The process of growing Entrepreneur Alliance

• All marketing is twofold: internal and external.
  • Internal: your current customers and how you get them to have an affinity for your brand, products, and company that they naturally talk about it.
    • People end up being your best marketing tool.
  • External: video ads, PPC, SEO, etc.

Getting a system in place for your internal marketing is key.

 13:18

Bot marketing: an automated response that interacts using pre-programmed information. Could be used to collect an email.

• Pro: You're going to get an immediate response
• Con: not authentic and transparency is smoke and mirrors

“While it might be a bit more efficient,

people respect it more when it's somebody real.

It's not just about how to automate, but how you still bring the human atmosphere to it. “-Austin

15:47

• EA increased conversion rate from 22% to 32% after adding testimonials to landing page.

Takeaway: It's important to invest into your people.

18:17

Outlook for Austin and Entrepreneur Alliance:

Focusing on EA Local: Mastermind events at people's homes every week, monthly cocktail hours, brainstorming sessions, seminars, workshops.

21:19

Always go with spontaneous instinct

"I would say that 80% of our best campaigns were thrown up in a blink of an eye. We said 'hey, try it, see if that works."

Check out EA’S Facebook post about their giveaway contest benefitting Women Entrepreneurs in India!

Don't be afraid to try something, especially with the tools we have available today.

24:33

Be on the lookout for EA'S split test run this month (February 2017).

"Entrepreneurship doesn't have to be so serious" running against “serious, lifestyle coolness.”

"If you really want to be successful, you've gotta have the metrics at hand…

Know your numbers every part of the day.”-Austin

Contact Austin:

• Facebook
• Official
• Instagram: AustinDistel
• Twitter: @AustinMDistel

Mentioned in this episode:

• Entrepreneur Alliance
• ManyChat
• Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Dave Rogenmoser’s interview on the Modern Marketing podcast

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Overwhelm —one of the most common objections to content marketing. That said, it’s also one of the most powerful tools you can use in your business to experience growth like never before. If information and option overload has kept you from pursuing content marketing, it’s time to clear things up so you can start reaping the rewards.

In this episode, Adam welcomes Lyndsay Phillips, CEO of Smooth Sailing Business Growth where she helps entrepreneurs attract and acquire more customers faster with powerful content marketing. Together, they’ll share both content marketing fundamentals and specifics, along with actionable steps the overwhelmed entrepreneur or business owner can take to get started with content marketing today.

Episode Discussions:

• Where to get started with content marketing
• Attracting ideal clients and serving them more effectively
• Producing content: How much, how long, how often
• Avoiding the marketing bandwagon
• Determining which social media platforms are right for you
• When to switch social media channels
• Why to consider hiring a copywriter
• Topics, examples, and ideas to kickstart your content creation
• How to find your customer pain points
• Staying top-of-mind with email marketing
• Connecting and reaching out to your audience
• Facing your video anxiety and Facebook Live fears
• Polished vs. not-so-polished videos - which gets more engagement
• Content marketing tasks: what to outsource and what to DIY
• Resources and inspiration for good content topics and headlines
• Finding support when you feel stuck

3:38

"Unless you find a way to harness the passion and show [prospects] a workable simple strategy, you'll firehose them with information and they'll be left not taking any action at all."

4:43

Where to get started with content marketing

Create a customer avatar: Think about who you do and don’t want to attract.

Decide from there where to focus your time and energy.

6:06

"Content marketing is a great way to not only attract your ideal [client] but also to kind of reject those you really don't want to work with."

6:14

Niche down

Don't be afraid to weed out those that aren't your ideal client.

You’ll find better clients that fit your needs, work well with you, and allow you to help them more effectively.

6:41

Decide which platform is right for you

Perform competitor analysis - what's working for leaders in your industry?

Find the commonalities between your best clients.

Survey prospects and clients - where they hang out and get resources and information.

Know what medium your audience likes to receive information

 9:17

“You can't jump on every trend new trend...You have to really think ‘is it smart for my business? Does it make sense?’”

9:41

Switching social media platforms

If you're not seeing return, you're either doing it incorrectly or your market isn't there. That's when it's time to switch course.

11:11

Take your personality into consideration

"It took me a long time to do a video and a podcast show, I'm not gonna lie — I was totally chicken. But sometimes you just gotta suck it up and do it anyways."

11:36

What to write about

Your clients and prospects 3 biggest pain points

What questions do you get from clients and prospects?

Consider what motivated them to approach you

Uncover their blocks and how you can help them with your solution

Reverse engineer from your offer

14:38

Hiring copywriters

Copywriters can help get you started and provide insight

Find freelancers on sites like Upwork or post on Craigslist

"There are so many great copywriters out there that just know how to spin that stuff. So, they are the whiz's for sure."

15:14

Ideas and examples for content

People like numbers and knowing what to expect in an article.

• Top 3 Reasons Why...
• How to Increase Your Monthly Revenue By 15%
• 5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to…
• The Fruit You Shouldn't Eat If You Wanna Lose 10 lbs

16:30

Inspiration for good content topics and headlines

• Magazine covers, emails, social media
• com - shows what content is doing well across various social platforms.

17:34

Content: Quantity, length, and frequency

Factors: Time and budget

• Publish fresh content on your website for SEO every week
• Post on social media a few times a day
• Keep going as long as you're getting engagement
• Make adjustments when losing engagement
• Be consistent

20:34

Content marketing tasks to DIY and tasks to outsource

• Outsource: Hire a writer and spend a few minutes adding your own voice to the content.

Hire a content marketing company or agency to help you strategize, set up blog posts, SEO, create graphics, schedule social media posts, etc.

• DIY: Connect with your audience on a human level, build relationships, include a personal element where your audience will get to know you better and trust you.

23:51

Have fun with livestreaming

Use it to build your brand and connect with your followers.

Be authentically you

"If you can be natural and authentic and true to yourself and to your brand, that's what’s gonna come across and help connect you with your followers."

25:38

Overcoming video anxiety

Start somewhere. Your videos will improve naturally over time.

27:02

Lindsay’s last-minute takeaway

Get support and reach out to resources if you feel stuck.

Find a VA or content marketing firm that will create a strategy for you and get you started.

Mentioned in this episode:

Lindsay’s website - Smoothsailinggrowth.com - Click the ‘Start Here’ page

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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The reason that nobody is responding or even reading your cold emails right now is simply because your email screams “marketer” your introduction reads like a formal passage from a textbook instead of like an actual email that they would get from a friend.

And you’re missing a few other secret ingredients that I’m going to be sharing with you here in this episode.

So, let me show you how it's done.

***PS - Whenever you’re ready, here are the 3 best ways I can help you…

1) The One-Page Marketing Cheatsheet: https://adamerhart.com/cheatsheet

2) Premium Marketing Newsletter: http://joinmarketinginsiders.com/

3) 1-on-1 Marketing Coaching and Consulting: https://adamerhart.com/work-with-me/

If you're curious about how we help agency owners grow, get clients, and build 6 and 7-figure agencies you can learn more by clicking the link below. There’s no email opt-in, no webinar, and no nonsense. Check it out here: https://join.agencyaccelerator.io/vsl-page?el=podcast

What is this “Modern marketing”?

How can you achieve success with your market?

There are ways to ensure your marketing plan, campaign, ad, or message has the highest likelihood of success possible.

Adam discusses shifts in modern marketing and advertising trends and breaks down the top 5 underlying principles to help you get the absolute most out of your marketing.

• [01:26] Modern marketing defined.

• [02:44] 5 key points to evaluate any marketing tactic or strategy

1. [02:53] Strategy first. One of the biggest marketing problems discussed and what can be done to avoid it. 

2. [04:13] Respect the market. The way customers and clients are consuming information is dramatically different from a few short years ago. How the increase of digital media consumption should affect your marketing budget. 

3. [06:18] Talk how they Talk. Understanding what resonates with your target market is crucial to creating effective and converting marketing material.

Developing a customer avatar is the basis for all future marketing strategies. The better you can understand your customer, the better your marketing is going to be. The best way to develop a customer avatar.

4. [09:07]  Study the Classics. Read up on foundational marketing principles and tactics.

Book suggestions:

• "Purple Cow" & "All Marketers Are Liars" - Seth Godin
• "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" - Al Ries & Jack Trout
• "Positioning" - Al Ries
• "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" - Robert Cialdini
• " 80/20 Sales & Marketing" - Perry Marshall
• "Confessions of an Advertising Man" & "Ogilvy on Advertising" - David Ogilvy

5. [11:38] Test & re-test. Which marketing messages are going to do the best for your business? Quick and Effective ways to test your marketing material.

With more than 97% of people beginning their search for a local business online, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) continues to be one of the most effective forms of marketing available today for local businesses.

Because it registers as one of the more complex and technical marketing tactics, it often leads to the confusion and dismissal of the opportunity entirely.

Don’t let your eyes glaze over just yet.

This episode breaks down valuable and easy-to-implement SEO tactics so you can start benefiting from a business boost that only high search engine rankings can deliver. 

Episode Discussions:

• How to optimize for the user experience
• Keyword placement
• Latent Symantec Indexing
• Importance of making shareable content
• How to build links

01:52 

Adam’s experience with SEO

-Over the last 5 years, SEO has been the primary driver of traffic and business for Adam's digital marketing agency, Siren Consulting Firm

-Roughly 60% of all revenue and business gained was from an online search

-Adam’s marketing consulting business, AdamErhart.com, uses referrals, content marketing, and paid traffic. 

-They're different business models which mean different traffic sources.

02:54 

Insight into search engines - Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo

-All have algorhythms: the math behind how they calculate the rankings

"Search engines tell no lies. The evidence for who's ranking well is clearly put there right on the 1st page".

-Through studies and case studies, we're able to deduce what type of strategies and tactics we need to apply 

 3:49 

Start applying these tactics today to immediately get an SEO boost in your business.

+Optimize for the user experience: no keyword stuffing, no unnatural looking linking.

- Ensure there's sufficient content on your website

-Make sure it's clean, organized, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly!

-over half of all web browsing is done from something other than a desktop computer

5:00 

Using Keywords

One way search engines decide what websites are going to appear for certain search terms

-Type, number, and placement on your website

-Ensure adequate coverage of terms (proper keyword density)

-Don't overdo it (keyword stuffing)

Key places for keywords: 

1. The URL 
2. The titles (H1's need the primary keyword)
3. Body copy (rich and helpful content)
4. Page descriptions 
5. Images

8:13 

The balance: using the right keywords for your business and respecting the user experience by not keyword stuffing. 

+Latent Symantec Indexing (LSI)

 LSI is a mathematical method used to determine the relationship between terms and concepts in content.- Search Engine Journal

"Basically, LSI is fancy talk for synonyms or similar words”. -Adam

+Use similar terms that are relevant.

-Example: Ranking for a keyword like "car" - use “auto, vehicle, truck,    transportation, driver”

+Keep it natural and conversational

-Adds to search engine crawl and user experience. 

9:14 

Make it shareable.

+Step outside of your website. 

-Search engines get proof through quality and number of links that point back to your website. 

-Long-term strategy to acquire high-quality links is through an SEO-focused content marketing strategy

9:46 

Basics of an SEO Content Marketing Strategy

-Create good content

-Put it on your website

-Build links to it

Methods and suggestions to ensure you're creating shareable or linkable content: 

+Create different types of content on your website

-video: future of internet content

-infographics: visual and fun-to-share format 

-images: have at least 1 high-quality image every page

Cliché yet totally appropriate takeaway:

Quality is far more important than quantity. 

11:37 

How to start getting links

+Manual outreach: Link to someone else and let them know you did it

+Paid traffic: advertising using paid traffic

-Facebook ads-- cost-effective, allow detailed targeting, and use retargeting pixel. (Listen to episode #7 on retargeting and remarketing!)

+Social media: videos and infographics work well.

"If you're going to be spending any considerable amount of time on social media, make sure you're using a platform that your customers actually use." 

+SEO: Consistently creating high-quality and shareable content

-use the right keywords in the right places

-keep end user in mind

+Go for more specific topics 

-Less competitive

-Use long-tail keywords

Example: Rather than ranking for "SEO", try "SEO tips and tricks". 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Modern Marketing Podcast episode #7- “The Power of Retargeting and Remarketing”

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Over half of marketing professionals cite video as the form of content with the highest return on investment (ROI). With a stat like that, one can’t help but scratch their head at business owners and entrepreneurs reluctant to include video in their marketing strategies.

Episode #39 discussed keys to an effective video content marketing strategy, gave tips on how to create a video ad, and provided a free video ad template.

In this episode, Adam discusses essential elements to include in your video marketing — from content creation to syndication — and how to effectively use video marketing to grow your business.

Taken action or advice from the podcast that earned great results? Email Adam your Modern Marketing success story: adam@adamerhart.com

Episode Discussions:

• How to get more mileage out of your video so you can be sure you’re not wasting your initial investment
• How the customer journey should shape your video’s content and which type of video will maximize your efforts
• One of the fastest ways to tank your video’s effectiveness and results
• Tips and tools for different comfort levels, including the camera shy
• Screen recording and presentation software recommendations
• Different video styles and formats that require no face-to-camera interaction
• How and why to strategically invest in video marketing
• Ways to leverage your video content
• Why every video should include a call to action
• Where to get more video tips and score a free video ad template

3:37 

#1. Style

(Format and style of the video itself)

There’s a form/style of video for every comfort level.

• Tips and tools for the camera shy:
  • Create a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, get screen recording software, talk over the slides or hire voice actor or willing employee.
  • Screen recording software - Camtasia, Screenflow
  • Presentation software - PowerPoint, Keynote
• Other options that require no face-to-camera interaction:
  • Professionally recorded videos using staff
  • Hire professional actors if budget allows
  • Animated videos
  • Talk over plain text

5:18

#2. Invest

• Invest in video marketing strategically
• Track your numbers
• Treat it as a valuable marketing asset

"Time and budget dedicated to strategic video content is statistically money very well-spent."

6:08

#3. The customer journey

• Content should be based on your audience and where they are on the customer journey.
• Think about where the customer is in relation to the buying cycle and your business. If they’re…
  • New to you and your business - Create an educational video
  • Aware of the problem, sorting out options - Create an explainer video
  • In final buying stage, ready to do business - Create a demo or testimonial video

7:40

#4. Share

• Leverage or syndicate video across a number of different channels.
  • YouTube, Facebook (upload video file natively), embed on your website

"The greater the distribution, the more people you'll reach and more potential customers you stand to attract."

8:10

#5. Call to action (CTA)

• Every video should have a goal
• Always include a relevant call to action
• Leaving viewers with an action to take gets you more bang for your buck.
• Neglecting a CTA is one of the fastest ways to tank your video's effectiveness and results.

9:02

• 52% of marketing professionals cite video as the form of content with the highest return on investment.

Looking for more video tips and tools? Check out:

• Episode #39: 3 Keys to an Effective Video Content Marketing Strategy
• Adam’s free video ad template

Mentioned in this episode:

• Screenflow
• Camtasia

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Ever wondered why so many other businesses seem to get great results using practically any marketing tool or tip? It’s because failing or succeeding has little to do with gadgets and everything to do with a well-planned digital marketing strategy.

In this episode, Adam explains why it’s so important to have a strategy, the reasons why marketing fails to deliver results for many small business owners and entrepreneurs, and how to create the perfect digital marketing strategy to set your business up for success.

Episode Discussions:

• Jay Abraham and the Strategy of Preeminence
• Why so many marketing tools don’t result in good ROI (Return on Investment)
• Secrets to making your online marketing strategy effective
• Why marketing without a strategy is a gamble
• Where entrepreneurs and business owners struggle the most in their marketing
• The mindset that attracts more customers, revenue, and market share
• Tools and tips to clearly identify your target market (for free)
• How to connect with your ideal customer and make them feel valued
• Accomplish these two things before choosing your media option
• The key to getting better results from your marketing for less time, effort, and money

3:54

Mindset - How you approach your marketing and business

• Your goal is to aim to be the best in your market in at least one area.
• Become your customers most trusted advisor and go-to source for information.
  • Results in more customers, revenue, and market share
• Aim to make your marketing valuable in and of itself.
  • Those who don’t buy should still walk away with value from your marketing and a good feeling about you and your company.

4:55

Clearly identify your target market and ideal customer

• Paint a clear picture of your ideal target market.
  • Listen to episode #2 for tips on creating your customer avatar.
• Better understanding your market makes them feel understood.
  • Include detailed demographics, geographic details, and psychographic variables.
  • Listen to episode #3 for tips on free customer market research.

 “The reality is, the better you describe exactly who you're trying to serve, the more effective all of your future marketing efforts will be."

5:58

Message

• Make your ideal customer feel heard, valued, and cared for.
• Marketing is less about you and more about how to connect with your customers.
• Uncover and solve their pressing pains and problems.
• Demonstrate how your business is best positioned to solve their problems.

6:32

Choose the right media option

• Shouldn't be done until after you've identified your market and clarified your message.
• Choose the 1-3 tools that will have the greatest impact.
  • Will provide the greatest ROI and effectiveness.
• Listen to episode #6 for secrets to an effective online marketing strategy
• Focus on the channels your customers are most active on.
  • Provides better results for less time, effort, and money

7:56

Episode takeaways & wrap-up

Taken action or advice from the podcast that earned great results? Email Adam your Modern Marketing success story: adam@adamerhart.com

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode #2 - The Customer Avatar
• Episode #3 – Free Customer Market Research
• Episode #6 – Secrets to an Effective Online Marketing Strategy

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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If you've got a small business then marketing is one of the single most important (if not THE single most important) things you need for business success.

Which is why in this episode I'm breaking down 5 of my best social media marketing tips to help your small business generate more leads, customers, and sales.

Let´s dive in!

Some people love flexing their sales muscle. Others — not so much. If you’re a business owner who’s “never been good at selling” or hyperventilates at the thought of pitching, that can present a real challenge. Chances are, your products or services don’t have legs and if they do, they won’t walk themselves anywhere profitable. Luckily, there’s a way to market your offers that does all the selling for you.

Landon Porter, the head gorilla at the Sales Gorilla, specializes in teaching people how to get clients and customers without being salesy. In this ‘awesomesauce’ episode, he unpacks what you need to get your market showing up wallet-in-hand just by leveraging your authentic personality.

Episode Discussions:

• Why people fear asking for a sale
• How sales got its bad reputation
• Presell tactics that get people to show up, ready to buy
• What’s self-awareness got to do with attracting ideal clients?
• Leveraging your personality traits to polarize your marketplace
• Identifying strengths and outsourcing weaknesses
• What your audience really wants out of your content
• When you should start building your audience
• Putting your message in front of your marketplace
• Using positive indifference to your benefit
• Why some find it hard to polarize their market
• The foundation of building an ideal audience
• The ‘make you memorable’ method you’ve never heard of
• How to identify important personality traits to align with ideal clients
• The real reason behind Facebook Live’s massive success
• Steps Adam uses to maximize client results
• Attracting and building trust with your market using content

3:21

The Lowdown on Landon

Colorado Native and certified chef

Spent 10 years in B2B Sales, 5 years in Real Estate

Ended up in sales and had a midlife crisis

Discovered self-awareness

Created parenting course with wife and bought Facebook Ads course

Built relationships and started helping people solve business problems

Now coaches people on how to get clients without being salesy

5:57

We are in the relationship economy

Sales tactic of psychological persuasion manipulation:

1. Isn’t easy to learn
2. Has been taken too far to one extreme by people who aren't able to do it well.

Sales and selling have gotten a bad rep. Most people who are naturally good at sales don't want to do it or are afraid to ask.

6:54

Give yourself permission to be yourself.

Be exactly who you are and own it. You'll naturally polarize all the people who don't relate to you without having to try.

7:29

The sales block.

9:30

Positive indifference: The ability to not change how you are based on what others think of you.

10:25

Leverage your personality in your business

• Play to your strengths and outsource weaknesses.
• Play up your natural traits and personality 10-20% to really get the attention. Sales takeaway: Most people try to be something they're not and it's hard to keep that up with clients. Your authentic self isn’t hard to maintain around clients.

13:08

Identify your strengths and outsource weaknesses

• Deciding what to outsource:
• Tasks you procrastinate or find busy work to keep yourself from doing
• If you're not good at getting up in the morning and taking care of that thing
• What you have to force yourself to push through to get finished

Leverage your personality traits to polarize your marketplace

Self-awareness is the foundation

• Understand your real desires > know what you will and won't tolerate > establish your values
• Don't compromise
• Naturally, you'll attract some and repel others.

15:59

The people who naturally gravitate toward you come pre-prepared to buy. No need to sell them.

True polarization is leveraging really who you actually are.

"It doesn't matter what you're actually really like. There are people that naturally want to connect with that."

17:36

Understand your personality to match with your perfect client

• Define surface level irritations: Things that disgruntle you. Pet peeves?
  • Opposites are your surface level wants, desires, and interests.
• Lower base want/need/desire: Something that could offend you to the point of stopped conversation.
• Core value: Something so offensive, you would leave your home and go try and find them.

19:00

Why some find it difficult to polarize their market:

"You genuinely have to be OK with the fact that there are going to be people that are vocally loud that you're wrong, and they don't like you."

20:39

 "If you can find that audience that loves you and resonates with you...it kind of makes it easier. It makes it all irrelevant and you're like 'cool I'm not for you'."

22:55

When you stop trying to impress people, you're able to impact people.

24:07

Get people to show up, ready to buy with know, like, and trust:

• Expose yourself enough for people to know whether or not they relate to you.
• They need to see you up to 12 different times before they feel like they know you.
• If they feel like they know you and seem to relate, they begin to like
• Now you're building trust.

27:34

Attraction and exposure tips

• Inform and entertain
• Expose people to you
• Pay to play
• Leverage platforms for the way they're designed
• Provide content that helps build know, like, and trust factors and segments people who want it, can afford it, and trust enough to buy.
• Put your content in front of people

31:00

Attracting people with content:

• People want to know how you finesse what you do to get the result.
• If your perfect client was sitting next to you at the bar, what would you discuss with them?
• What are the questions your market asks you?

32:33

You have to start somewhere. Create content today and start dipping your toes into the water of pay-to-play media.

33:54

Building trust with content

• Your personality is the differentiator and determining factor provided you know your topic and the wants and needs of your market.
• Relatability builds trust.
• Help them get the result they're looking for and they're likely to come back.

37:14

Get your message in front of your marketplace.

“You can have the best message all day long. If you don't ever put it out in front of people, guess what? No sales!"

38:57

The foundation of building your audience:

• Stand out from the crowd: Build your own personal language — that's easy metaphorically and analogy-wise — to explain what it is you do
• People pick up on nuanced, personalized characteristics.

“Know your topic, market, and be your weird a** self. That's the key to it. And then step up on the soapbox and put your message out there.”

Mentioned in this episode:

Getting Clients Without Being Salesy

Scott Wolford Facebook Group

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Simple observation and clear evidence tell a story of a slow and steady evolution that marketing has undergone over the last decade.

Generally, businesses that have incorporated these evolved concepts into their marketing strategy have found them to be profitable…

yet there are still many who haven’t fully embraced these changes.

In this episode, Adam goes over quick and simple strategies to help you leverage the new way of marketing in your business and start seeing results as early as later today.

Episode Discussions:

• The outdated and ineffective approaches to marketing
• Why and how business flaws can benefit you
• The key to being a winner in a crowded marketplace
• The needs your free content should be fulfilling
• The advantages of paid advertising
• The worst marketing mistake in a consumer-powered world
• Just how much free content you should be providing

 [02:35] How Marketing has Changed

+Attention spans are shorter than ever (below a goldfish!)

+Consumers have more choice available than ever before - a result of a global economy.

+Massive shift in consumer media consumption: traditional to online and digital

• Up over 100% over the last few years

+More cynical attitude toward big business

• Increasing preference for "humanized" brands and companies over faceless corporations.

Power is shifting away from business and into consumer hands.

[07:02] With the consumer holding more power,

forgetting about customer acquisition path is the worst marketing mistake…

+If you neglect the relationship you're trying to build with your customers and focus on your end goal, you won't win long-term. Be a customer-centric business.

[07:34] "Businesses win not when they're understood by their consumers, but when their customers feel understood by them." - Nicholas Kusmich

Those who focus on simplicity, providing value, and helping your customers always win.

[08:42] 4 Step System - The Super Simple Know, Like, and Trust Funnel

1. Create valuable free content and put it on your website:

+Educates, informs, or entertains

2. Send targeted traffic to the content using paid advertising

+Measurable, trackable, scalable

3. Use retargeting to keep track of customers who engaged with your free content
4. Send a follow-up message to those who viewed your first piece of content

• The higher the price of your product, the more free and valuable content you want to send prior to making a sales offer.

+This establishes you as an authority and value provider in your field

+Leverages trigger of reciprocity

[12:56] Recap     

Mentioned in this episode:

Nicholas Kusmich - website

Episode #7 – The Power of Retargeting and Remarketing

Episode #2 – Free Customer Market Research (Relevance: customer avatar)  

Facebeook Ads

Google Adwords

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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If you’ve been in business for any length, you know what damage the wrong customers or clients can do to your business — beyond the revenue. They drain you of your time and deprive the passion and energy you have for your craft. But as the business owner or entrepreneur, it’s up to you to make sure you’re attracting the right market. Especially in the early stages of business.

For the last 20 years, Joe Cotellese has worked in pre-investment startups all the way through to large corporations and founded Sharey – an advertising platform for e-book publishers. In this episode, Joe walks us through the importance of dialing in your customer avatar and making sure you're crystal clear on who you're trying to attract so you don't attract the wrong people to your business.

Episode Discussions:

• The impact and importance of mentors
• Costs associated with servicing the wrong customer
• How many avatars to have if you're just getting started
• How anti marketing could save your business
• Personas for brand new business owners and entrepreneurs
• The slippery slope of compromise
• How Star Wars influenced the Ninja Aptitude Test
• Implementing the Ninja Aptitude test to attract your target market
• How to attract ideal customers using anti-marketing and anti-personas
• Blue Ocean Strategy and market differentiation
• How refining your persona will help you move into other markets
• The importance of a focused business strategy

2:47

The scoop on Joe:

Started career playtesting video games

Taught himself how to write software

Found sweet spot in early startups

Ventured out and started his own company

5:02

Mentors

The 3 groups of people to have in your life:

1. Further ahead than you to learn from
2. At your level you to commiserate with and share struggles
3. Below your level to reach down and lend a hand to help pull them up

“There's a lot to be said for having really great mentors…and about paying it forward and finding people you can help along in their career.”

7:00

Ninja Aptitude Test origin story

Two key takeaways from Joe’s experience:

1. Know who your customers are
2. Focus on the right things

13:08

“Have you ever been in a situation where you've had clients and you're like ‘alright this person's great but I don't know about this person?’ How do you handle that?”

14:07

There's an operational cost associated with servicing the wrong customer.

15:51

Personas for brand new business owners and entrepreneurs

Carve out a fuzzy persona but don't let it stop you from taking clients.

Get experience working with a wide variety of people so you can hone in on the great and the troublesome.

Refine and tailor your customer avatar and personas as you evolve.

Constantly upgrade the top 20% of your clients.

Dial in who’s bringing you the best business and find commonalities between them.

17:03

A smart lean business model

• Map out a few paths
• Quickly start interacting with people to hone in on whether the market you're servicing is the right one for your product or service.

19:36

Refining your persona will help you move into other markets

• Mapping out the goals and challenges of your persona may lead to discovering additional markets that are focusing on the same challenges.
• By knowing your markets pain, needs, and desires, you'll be the one best positioned to solve it.

21:05

The Anti-persona

What are the customer types that can negatively impact your business?

If you focus your attention on the wrong thing, it might devalue your brand.

21:49

The ‘Slippery Slope of Compromise’

Moves your product or service away from your core audience

Results in a wide range of customers and not all of them are good for your business.

22:44

Attract your ideal client with anti-marketing

• Form a mental image of your anti-persona; fears, concerns, behavior, negative objections
• Work backwards from there to screen them out.
• Repel unwanted clients and customers w/ a questionnaire, a candid conversation, an outline of terms and conditions, price points, rules, operations

23:59

Examples of anti-personas and anti-marketing

Courtesy of Hollister and a local movie theater

26:00

“As you get clear about your avatar and ideal customer, the anti-marketing and anti-persona are gonna get baked into it naturally and organically. You won't need to announce it. It will become evident.”

27:00

Blue Ocean Strategy

Focusing on a market and differentiating yourself on certain criteria

“If you can't clearly articulate your business strategy then you need to talk to other people in your organization and nail that down.”

29:20

Importance of a focused business strategy

Sears is a great example of a business that was stuck in the middle and didn't know what they wanted to be.

“Find the point you can compete on and you can be the strongest on and make sure it's a point customers care about. There's no point trying to be 3rd, 4th, 5th best or falling in the middle of the pack. “

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sharey
• Twitter @JoeCotellese
• Blue Ocean Strategy

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With video making up over half of all internet traffic, it’s increasingly difficult for business owners to overlook it as a marketing opportunity goldmine. The belief that it’s complicated, time-consuming, and expensive is simply old-fashioned. Just a few short minutes with a camera or smartphone and you have a powerful tool that can drastically transform your business.

In this episode, Adam breaks down video content marketing to better understand it's importance and how you can strategically use it to benefit your business [includes free downloadable template].

Episode Discussions:

• Stats and projections that verify the impact of video consumption
• The crucial keys to creating valuable content
• How to 10X your video content marketing results
• The importance of appropriately targeting your market
• Ways to optimize your video for user experience
• How to give customers more opportunity to find and consume your content
• What type of videos are worth paying to promote and why
• The difference between marketing and advertising
• How to quickly and easily create your own video ad for free
• Simple instructions on how to download and use the “60 Second Video Ad Template”

3:58

1.   Video

• Makes up over half of all internet traffic.
• By 2019, estimated to rise to 80%.
• Facebook generates over 8 billion video views daily.
• Snapchat is 1/15 the size of Facebook and generates 7 billion daily views.
• One of your customer's most preferred forms of content to consume.

4:57

2.   Content

• The key to creating valuable content is to
  1. Answer customer questions
  2. Solve their problems
  3. Add value to their lives
• When you begin creating content, have your customers in mind.
  1. Research what questions or problems they have.
  2. Create your content.
• Listen to episode 42, "The Power of Content Marketing for Small Business" for more content marketing tips!

"A few minutes of preparation ahead of time will literally 10X your reach, your impact, and results."

5:59

3.   Marketing

• Makes for bigger and better results in a lot less time.
• Should be appropriately targeted:
  • Have a clear understanding of ideal target market and who you're trying to reach.
  • Ensures you're using the correct tools and gives highest probability of success.
• Optimize for user’s experience:
  • Readable - include captions and subtitles
  • Search engines - use relevant keywords in title, tags, and descriptions
• Give customers more opportunity to find and consume your content on their preferred channel/platform:
  • Upload video to YouTube, Facebook, and embed it on your website.
• Invest in promoting successful and well-received videos.
  • Will reach more potential customers and clients faster.

8:00

Video Advertising

• Advertising and marketing are not the same:
  • Marketing: bigger, overall picture
  • Advertising: specific subset of marketing
• "The 60 Second Video Ad Template" - Use this free download to quickly and easily create YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram video ads for your business!
  • Simple plug and play script
  • Add your own keywords
  • Shoot video on your smart phone or use a videographer
  • Keep it at 60 seconds to use on Instagram and other video channels with time limitations

Email Adam with your “60 Second Video Ad Template” success stories! Adam@AdamErhart.com

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Freebie download - “The 60 Second Video Ad Template"

Or go to AdamErhart.com/VideoAdTemplate

• MMP episode #42 - "The Power of Content Marketing for Small Business”

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Whether you want to become a public speaker for your career, or you want to use it to boost your current career--even if you don't plan on doing any public speaking, this podcast covers many applicable tips that will help you in any professional endeavor you want to pursue.

[02:31]

1. Choose Your Main Topic

Be sure it’s not too broad, but not too specific.

[04:24]

2. Do a Comprehensive Brand Audit on Yourself

Look at all your media and ask the question: would you hire yourself? Your online profile is your image and will determine whether someone hires you or not.

[05:40]

3. Create Content Around Your Core Subject

No matter what kind of content you’re putting out; podcasts, videos, blog posts…Make sure you’re creating lots of quality content.

[06:26]

4. Video Content

It’s the closest thing to actually speaking in front of an audience. This way, your personality, articulation, and how you engage can be seen.

[07:20]

5. Speak as Much as Possible

Build up a portfolio and get content out there before you get paid for it. It will be worth it in the long run and it’s great experience.

[08:27]

“Anyone can become a speaker, but not everyone can become a paid speaker.” – Brian Tracy

Mentioned in this episode:

Modernmarketingpodcast.com

Noah St. John is a self-proclaimed self-help nerd who’s transformed lives and businesses by helping people get rid of the head trash that kept them from achieving their business goals. As a result, Noah’s clients added over half a billion dollars in sales just over the last few years.

In this episode, Noah shares life-changing tips from his new book, Get Rid of Your Head Trash About Money: How to Avoid the 3 Big Money Mistakes Even Smart People Make, and gives insight into overcoming mental obstacles that keep entrepreneurs from making money and living the life they’re capable of living.

Episode Discussions:

• Three simple elements that make a business work
• Money/Passion myth: Why following your passion won’t always lead to success
• 3 major mistakes that are holding you back from making more money
• The dangers of being an info-junkie and how to recover
• The biggest lie in the industry according to Noah
• An easy way to learn and start a business when you're broke
• The 5 main systems of support to install for greater success
• Identifying the excuses you make that are keeping you stuck
• The red flags of a self-fulfilling prophecy
• Introspection: Is your ladder of success leaning against the right wall?
• Why you don't want someone who’s ‘a natural’ as a mentor
• The most valuable thing Adams ever done that grew his business
• What qualities to look for in a mentor and what to avoid
• If you could have any superpower…choose simplification

2:51

Noah’s Story:

-Started Successclinic.com in 1997 in a college dorm room with $800 and a book on how to do HTML.

-Now has students in over 120 countries

-Published 14 books in 12 different languages

-Only author in history that's been published by Hay House, HarperCollins, Mindvalley, Nightingale-Conant, Chicken Soup for the Soul Publisher

7:34

The worst advice in this industry is do what you love and the money will follow. That is the biggest lie out there."-NSJ

9:07

Three elements that make a business work:

Passion, skill, and market demand.

Understand who you are but find a way to package and position it that adds value to other human beings and that the market is willing to pay you for.

9:55

Noah’s seen people spend tens of thousands of dollars going to gurus and experts but still remained stuck.

12:24

3 big mistakes that are holding you back from making more money:

1. Not getting rid of your head trash about money.

Head trash is that guy saying "I can't do it because..."

Identify what your head trash is and notice how it's affecting you.

2. Not Having a Mentor – Someone who can show you how to get where you want to go.

Find someone who is where you want to be and can show you how to get there.

Look for someone system driven, not personality driven.

There are levels of mentorship. Start slow and simple.

To connect with your mentor, send a tweet, post on their Facebook wall, send them an email.

"[Self-marketers] are naturals. That means they're unconsciously competent at allowing themselves to succeed. That means they can't really break down what they did and we can't replicate it."-NSJ

3. Gathering too much information without giving yourself permission to succeed.

Gathering information is addictive and it feels like you're being productive.

Consuming info doesn't actually add any value.

Overwhelm is an excuse. It means you don't have the right systems in place. This is something you can control.

If you're drowning in information without implementation, you're going nowhere and it doesn't make you money.

Take in less information and do more implementation.

"We don't live in the information age, we live in the information overload age."-NSJ

21:25

 "I would spend hours a day studying, reading books, taking notes and my business was flat. And finally, it was almost a breaking point...I know more than I need to know and I'm doing nothing with it. And I stopped and things just took off."-AE

22:01

Install the 5 main systems of support:

1. People - Who are you listening to in your life? Wean yourself off the surrounding naysayers and get better people, like a mentor.
2. Activities - What are you doing with the days of your life? Are you consuming or producing?
3. Environment - Clean the clutter from your inner game and outer game. Your inner game: Beliefs, values, decisions.
4. Introspection - Are you taking time every day to make sure your ladder of success is leaning against the right wall? Many are climbing the ladder of success that they don't want anymore.
5. Simplify - Simplify your life, streamline your business. It's a superpower.

"It's not just about how much money we make but how much of our lives we own."-NSJ

29:15

What is the best piece of advice you've been given in regards to marketing and growing your business?

"Give yourself permission to succeed."

Mentioned in this episode:

• http://sendmeabooknoah.com/ – For a free copy of Noah’s book, Get Rid of Your Head Trash About Money: How To Avoid the 3 Big Money Mistakes Even Smart People Make
• Order the hardcopy version
• http://noahstjohn.com/ - Book a Power Hour with Noah

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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What is it that the best marketers in the world all have in common?

Well after years of working with millionaires, multi-millionaires, and billionaires, I've found there are 7 habits they all seem to have in common that have enabled them to achieve amazingly successful lives and businesses.

And that's what this video is all about.

When someone is seen as an expert, they’re trusted, respected, and valued. They get the red-carpet treatment. As a business owner, you’re likely equipped with abundant knowledge about your industry, so why not leverage it to gain authority?

In this episode, Adam shares the secrets and strategies necessary to not only get you to expert level but be perceived as an expert too…because it doesn’t matter how great you are if nobody knows it!

Episode Discussions:

• How to change your opinion or stance on a topic and maintain your expertise
• The benefits of becoming an expert in your field
• The real challenge to becoming an expert
• Why putting in time and work isn’t enough to ensure success
• Avoid doing this to prevent diminishing your authority and expertise
• How to build your brand and ensure connection with customers and clients
• Key steps to humanize your brand and showcase your expertise
• The best strategy to use when building your expertise and authority

Some of the benefits of becoming an expert:

• You’re able to charge more, work with better customers and clients, and set your own rules.
• The top 20% of businesses tend to get 80% of all customers, clients, and revenue.
• Common customer objections (price, lack of time or trust) disappear when you're seen as an authority in your field.

Tips to becoming an expert:

• Choose the area you want to master and dedicate a significant amount of time to studying, practicing, and implementing your topic.
• Read books, talk to other experts, find mentors, hire coaches, practice, and put your studies in action.

2:41

To become proficient, it’s necessary to put in the time and work.

However, they're not enough to ensure success, profitability, and recognition as an expert.

3:06

• Focus on perception. Perception = reality.
• Once you've established knowledge and skill, create authority implying signals.
  • Without them, your expertise will be ignored.
• Being overly promotional will diminish your authority and expertise.

5 ways to be perceived by your customers, clients, leads, and prospects as a genuine and authentic expert and authority in your field:

4:11

1.   Produce, post, and publish.

• Content marketing is the best strategy when building expertise and authority.
• Adopt a content marketing strategy around consistent creation and distribution of valuable content.
• To get better results from your content marketing, listen to MM episode #8 "What They Didn't Tell Me About Content Marketing"

• People view you as a valuable, trustworthy, and knowledgeable resource aka expert when you:
• educate your market
• create original content
• share your ideas and opinions with your audience
• focus on providing value

5:16

2.   Precision promotion.

• Focus only on your ideal customers or prospects and reach them where they are.
• When you get clear on who they are:
  • You're able to refine and clarify your message. Your audience feels like you're speaking directly to them.
  • Allows you to cut your marketing efforts in half. You abandon platforms and channels that aren't frequented by your market.
• Need help finding your perfect target market? Listen to MM episode #2 "The Customer Avatar"

6:21

3.   Share and care.

"Experts and authorities naturally have opinions, and therefore, so should you."

• Have a position or stance on your topic and support it.
• Share your opinion while caring and listening to what others have to say.
• If your opinion changes, don't be afraid to say so.
  • Be honest and upfront.
• Make sure your opinions are based on solid facts and stats as much as possible.

7:09

4.   Engage and interact.

• A promotional strategy helps build your brand and ensure connection with customers and clients.
• Your level of engagement and interaction can directly be tied to an increase of perceived expertise, authority, and revenue.
• Answering questions, solving problems, and talking to people are key steps to humanizing your business and showcasing your expertise.
• Added benefit: Uncover exactly what your audience wants to know and their problems.
• Positions you to better answer their questions and solve their problems for them.

07:52

5.   Continuing education.

• Commit to ongoing education.
• Make it fun and enjoyable
• A few options:
• hardcopy books
• audiobooks
• seminars
• conferences
• masterminds
• podcasts
• webinars
• coaching and consulting
• online courses and training

"When it comes to acquiring new knowledge, ideas, and insights — if you want to be and stay an expert — you always need to be fueling the fire."

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Modern Marketing Episode #2 - "The Customer Avatar"
• Modern Marketing Episode #8 - "What They Didn't Tell Me About Content Marketing"

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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If you knew what your customers wanted before they asked for it, you’d have a collection of highly sought after products and services. 

In order to gain some insight into what it is they want, you’d need to know things like where to market, what offers to make and what keywords to use.

It all may sound a little intimidating but the #Modern Marketing Podcast exists to equip you with helpful tools to take your business marketing to the next level. 

This episode reveals #5 free online market research tools to uncover key insights into the minds of your customers.

[01:38] Why do market research?

It's getting harder and harder to know what customers want

In many industries, the sales aspect of business has been half phased out by social media, google, amazon and a variety of local review sites.

“Market research forms the foundation for all future marketing successes. “

[04:34] Free market research!

Billion-dollar data collection agencies provide free information.

[05:13] #Top 5 market research resources to use for new clients or projects

1. Google Trends. Valuable when determining current market trends.

Tracks keywords and provides suggestions for terms rising in search volume.

Shows you what the market is asking and searching for.

Allows you to align your business accordingly.

2. Google Keyword Planner: Reveals specific keywords that are being used within the Google search engine. Adwords account is required but sign-up is free.

Type in a keyword, get back the number of searches for that keyword and suggested keywords.

3. [08:21] Facebook insights. Facebook collects data on 1.8 billion users.

Post a variety of content to your business page.

Observe which posts get the most engagement and determine what type of content your audience is most interested in.

Create similar content around products, services and offers.

4. [09:21] Twitter Insights. Use to view what content and headlines engage and invoke your audience the most.

This information is indicative of how good an offer is and identifies what messages resonate with them.

Twitter Audiences allow you to hone in on the types of things your customers are interested in.

5. [10:57] Google Alerts: Monitors what's happening with customers in real time. Enter the keyword you want to track into the search bar and google will notify you when the keyword appears online.

Track your business name, your industry, your name, your competitors name, etc. and use it to engage and interact in real time.

Makes a valuable reputation management tool.

“Combine all 5 tools to create a compelling picture of customers wants, needs, and behaviors.”

Kyle Gray helps entrepreneurs create powerful storylines for their businesses that drive growth, sales, and engagement. In this episode, he explains how to leverage his Harvest method to build your network, boost authority, and grow your business.

Episode Discussions:

• The technique Kyle used to get featured on Seth Godin’s podcast
• Music, storytelling, and the content marketing connection
• How Kyle used collaboration to grow a startup to 7 figures
• A 4-step process to create connection through collaboration
• Personalizing your outreach to potential collaborators
• Resources for new content creators
• The poster child tactic
• How to make others look like a rockstar in your articles
  

3:24 

Music, storytelling, and the content marketing connection

5:29 

Kyle's content marketing origin story

8:49 

How Kyle used collaboration to grow a startup to 7 figures

9:08 

The Harvest Method

A 4-step process to create connection through content creation collaboration.

10:07 

Step 1: Plow the Field

10:25 

Step 2:  Fertilize the soil

10:36 

Step 3: Plant the seed

10:57 

Step 4:

Harvest and feast

11:35 

Resources if you're just getting started with content.

13:06 

How to reach out to potential collaborators

14:38 

The poster child tactic

15:32 

Personalized outreach

17:53 

Improve your chances for the "yes"

19:32 

How Kyle got Seth Godin to comment on one of his blogs, respond to an email and feature him on his new podcast using the Harvest method.

22:23 

How to make others look like a rockstar in your articles and boost your posts.

24:36 

“Without building relationships, your content and your business aren't gonna go far. That's what's at the bottom of this."

Mentioned in this episode:

TheStoryEngine.co

The Story Engine - by Kyle Gray

ModernMarketingacademy.com

There are many situations where getting things done quickly can equal productivity and efficiency.  Marketing, however, isn’t one of them.

Although the prospect of achieving fast results can be tempting, shortcuts don’t usually come without a price.

In this episode, Adam explains potential penalties of placing your marketing strategy on that glass turntable and pressing “start”.

Episode Discussions:

• 3 costly dangers of microwave marketing
• Shiny Object Syndrome – look away!
• How much time to give your marketing strategy
• Avoid “Killing the Goose”
• The origin of the microwave marketing moniker
• So, long-term or short-term marketing?

[1:53] What is microwave marketing?

-Short-term nearsighted strategy to market a business.

-Doesn’t take into consideration the way consumers like to engage with businesses

[2:24] The Dangers of Microwave Marketing

1. Switching from one thing to another too often and too quickly.

-Make strategic decisions that are based on customers, biz and plans for future.

-Stick with them and give them time to get traction

[3:38]

2. Expecting immediate results

-The origin of the “microwave marketing” moniker

-It takes time for content to build up and become searchable

[5:36]

3. Comes at the expense of long-term results

-No brand awareness or name recognition in industry

-Not seen as authority  

[6:47] Solution: Find balance between long and short term marketing.

Takeaway:

“Find a mix of microwave marketing and ‘slow cooker’ marketing.

Focus on providing more and more value to your customers.

If you keep that at the core of your marketing, can’t go too wrong.”  

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Email is a fundamental tool we use every day but does it have its place in marketing? Should you bother with email marketing? Is it really worth investing the time, money, and resources? After all, many say “email is dead.”

In this episode, Adam shares the facts and stats proving just how effective email marketing can be and breaks down everything you need to know to make it work for your business.

Episode Discussions:

• What is email marketing?
• The myths of email marketing
• Why email marketing is important and why it works
• Facts and stats on ROI
• The only 3-part introductory email sequence you need
• Adam’s recommendations: email service provider and training course
• Why email can be more advantageous than social media

2:01

"Email is dead" vs. "Email is the most effective form of marketing available"

Who’s right?

“Email is an integral part of our society, culture, the way we do business, the way we interact with friends and family.

It ain't going anywhere anytime soon."

2:59

Fact #1: Email works

-Cited as being 40x more effective at acquiring customers than Facebook or Twitter.

03:23 

What makes email so effective?

• We all use email - personally and professionally
• Allows the development of a relationship - by telling longer stories including videos and getting your customers to take action by using some form of embedded links or CTA.

Pro tip: Use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to drive traffic to your

email list so you can follow up and continue to build the relationship

there.

social + email = powerhouse combo

• Email is everywhere - 92% of online adults use email

“We tend to trust, to an extent, the quality of the information we receive there above other places which perhaps is the biggest reason that email marketing works so well."

• Customers prefer receiving promotional materials via email over social media= it is ok to sell with email.

-Make certain you're doing it tastefully, respectfully, and

keeping it relevant.

05:55

Fact #2: Email allows you to be seen and heard.

• A message is 5x more likely to be seen in email than through Facebook.
• Social media feeds are chaotic.

"It's basically like a high school talent show with everybody trying to get attention and be heard above the noise."

• You have a limited time to grab prospects attention in regards to social media.
• Email makes way for video content, shared links, stories, etc.

06:53

Fact #3: Email makes you money

• Has ROI (Return on Investment) of 3800%. Some stats show as high as 4300%.

"That is a whole lot of return on your marketing investment. Especially when compared to that super incredible deal that your uncle Lonnie offered you a few years back to invest in his llama farm."

07:40

 How do you use email marketing?

• Need email service provider - allows you to add subscribers and send emails.

Forget about Mailchimp (limited features) and Aweber (a dinosaur)

Adam's Recommendation:

Drip: a better level of service with a lot of options. If you're just getting started, they have 100% free plan to test it out.

• Need training on how to write amazing revenue generating emails and use them in your business.

Adam’s Recommendation:

 Autoresponder Madness

Relatively fast course

Very valuable content

Fun

It works

"Drip + Autoresponder Madness = secret cocktail of email marketing goodness"

9:30

• Need emails

One of the biggest obstacles: "What am I gonna write about?"

"You don't need to be a modern-day Hemmingway to write effective emails for your customers."

• Authenticity and transparency are more important than good spelling and grammar.
• Add value where you can
• Be you and be real
• Just want to write

3 Part Introductory Email Sequence:

#1. Solves your customer’s biggest problem or answers the #1 question you get in your business

#2. A follow-up: where you introduce yourself, your business, and story

#3. Introduce another problem, explained in more detail, and describe how your product/service solves that issue. 

Takeaway: Emails provide more leads, a better relationship with current and potential customers, and incredible ROI.

Mentioned in this episode:

Drip

Autoresponder Madness

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Normally on the podcast, we cover many different approaches to help create paid traffic or run successful campaigns. However, what often gets in the way of this is what occurs before you even get to that step; and it happens in our own minds. It’s the limiting beliefs and blockages that stop you from creating the content that you know will help the people that read it and help your business. That’s why we’re very excited to have Erin Pheil on the podcast, as Erin has been instrumental in helping me to identify my strengths and weaknesses, which has allowed me to become the most productive version of myself.

Episode Discussions:

• What to do about being overwhelmed
• Big tip on how to start the process of correction
• How to overcome challenges and keep making progress
• The importance of mindset
• Adam’s secret for best performing copy
• “Head Trash”
• A better optimal state
• Look at it and evaluate it
• Habits of high performers
• Unwrapping an interpretation
• The Four Agreements: Don’t take things personally
• “The Possibilities Game”

[03:27]

Erin’s Story

• Holds a BA in psychology and an MA in social media
• Co-founder of Mindfix Group, a rapid mind transformation program designed specifically for high achievers and entrepreneurs
• Mindfix provides relief and the permanent fix that people are always searching for but can’t always find in books and courses

[05:04]

Overwhelmed in marketing

What should someone do if they don’t know where to start?

• Find out what the root problem is

Overwhelm could be stemming from many different reasons

[06:12]

Example: Two Clients

Both are overwhelmed, but the feeling comes from different problems

• No one can just give a step-by-step guide to help universally (which is why self-help books don’t always help

[08:40]

Insight to what’s happening

Once you notice you’re falling into a pattern, PAUSE

Ask yourself: “What are the thoughts that are showing up right now?”

Pay attention to the, and write them down

Read them out and recognize the pattern

[10:52]

Example: Perfectionist

Client tried this and realized that she thought everything she did had to be perfect

No one can ever do everything perfectly, so she froze

[12:09]

Mindset is unbelievably important

If you can come into your marketing from a position of power and positivity, that’s where the sales are made

It changes the way you write and the way you present yourself

It also makes it easier to connect with people on an emotional level

[13:15]

Adam’s secret for his best performing ad copy

Avoid being in a bad place mentally

[14:03]

“Head Trash”

The more that’s in your head (especially thoughts of failure) the harder it is to become calm and confident

Clear out the trash

[15:19]

What’s the next step after you’ve written down your thoughts?

• There’s no solid solution, but calling attention to it helps
• Sometimes just writing it down helps your mind to click and stop
• Working with someone one-on-one is a better way

[17:04]

Better optimal state

“It decreases that charge—the emotion that’s coming from believing everything that’s on that piece of paper”

Viewing through a third person lens helps you to put perspective on your thoughts

Once you call attention to it and can separate yourself from it, your confidence goes up

[17:51]

Once your confidence goes up, your marketing and business results will go up

[18:17]

Look at it and evaluate it

1. Look at what you’ve just written out
2. Ask yourself if it’s true (try to be positive, usually it isn’t!)
3. When the head trash gets cleared out, there’s nothing to write down anymore

       [19:25]

What are some habits that you’ve seen among the high performers that they’ve instilled in their lives?

One process works really well that they engage in regularly…

• Throughout the day we apply our own interpretations to the events that happen
• These interpretations fuse together in our minds and we see them as reality
• We can feel negatively about this “reality”
• High performers make it a habit to unwrap their interpretation from the event
• They see these events as neutral, and separate themselves from them
• Possibilities as to why an event happened become limitless when you don’t involve yourself

[23:19]

The Four Agreements

• Don’t take it personally – what people say to you is a reflection of what they’re going through, it’s not necessarily to do with you
• The paradigm shift of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is another example

[24:47]

“The Possibilities Game”

If you’re triggered by someone cutting you off while driving, the ONLY reason you’re feeling upset is because you’re interpreting it in a certain way

• Come up with four other possibilities for why the person would do that
• You can make up stories like “maybe they need to get to the hospital”
• By telling another story, it breaks up the rigidity of what that “reality” is

[26:09]

Jumping to conclusions in marketing

Automatically thinking your content isn’t good enough because no one is watching it

In reality, it’s a long game; it might just be the wrong time

Negative comments on Facebook ads

Don’t take it personally

[28:42]

When you see those comments (or none at all) be empathetic

The more we can empathize with our target market, the better we’ll be at marketing

By putting ourselves in their shoes we can create high converting campaigns and messages that resonate

Mentioned in this episode:

Mind Fix Group

Erin Pheil (personal website)

Facebook page

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruez

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Mark Podolsky started in the early 2000's, learning a way to market land online and finding buyers. Since then, he’s managed to build a profitable and lucrative business through his Brand, The Land Geek. Although he specializes in real estate investing, this episode isn’t just for those interested in the real estate industry.

In this value-packed episode, Mark discusses the strategies he used when he first got started and how they've evolved with the times to make his business more successful and lucrative than ever. He provides actionable tips and takeaways to apply to your business no matter what market or industry you're in.

Episode Discussions:

• The most valuable marketing asset Mark has
• The only channel to immediately connect with your target market
• Why email marketing is more of a valuable marketing tool than ever
• The benefits of having an email list and lead magnets
• Why you should always have a plan B to Facebook and other marketing channels
• Important marketing foundational concepts and fundamentals
• How to peach to the converted
• Not being in the convincing business
• The importance of knowing your customer avatar
• How to handle negative comments on your Facebook ads or posts and the beauty of hugging your haters
• The insiders secret weapon to making money online

4:13

Mark's intro:

• Professional land investor
• Has done over 5,200 land flips since 2001
• Got into land investing working as an investment banker and was miserable
• Got the “Monday and Friday blues”
• Firm hires someone taxing deed auctions, buying up raw land for pennies on the dollar, flipping online and making 300% returns on investments
• Mark buys 10 half acre parcels at an average of $300
• Sold them online for average price of $1200
• Next auction made $90K

"Now...I work 2 hours a week. Take that Tim Ferris."

7:19

• Mark's main marketing channel back in the early 2000's was Ebay.

9:22

The best buyers are the neighbors:

• Sends out neighbor letters build up buyers list online if neighbors pass
• Prices to receive money out of the down payment and finance the rest
• Automates payments through software

10:53

Takeaways:

1. Mark knows his customer avatar
2. Goes to the people that already understand the value of his product

11:48 

"If you're not offending by noon, you're not working hard enough."

-Dan Kennedy

12:11

• Transitioned to Craigslist after Ebay
• Is able to post 124 ads with a touch of a button using software
• Uses Facebook because it's cost effective and it works

"The costs of marketing are so low and you can target so well on Facebook."

13:51

• Listing where most of your results are coming from could cut 80% of your marketing
• Allows you to focus in on what's working.
• Makes life easier, gets you better results, saves you money, enables you to connect with customers.

14:41

• Mark uses scheduling software like MeetEdgar.com or Coschedule.com to auto post ads on Facebook.
• Posts ads around 2 or 3am to target the "toilet sitters."
• Acquisition manager is on Facebook messenger, responding in 10 seconds or less.

16:00

"The secret of making money online is the phone."

17:54

• Talk to people and ask them the right questions so you know your target customer.
• If you don't know who your avatar is, you don't know what keeps them up at 2am, you can't target them properly.

18:47

Mark's favorite customer calls are the "haters."

• They cut to the chase.
• Don't care about your feelings or how hard you've been working.
• They tell you what you're really doing wrong.
• Once you cut through the initial sting, take their criticism as a gift.
• Tweak accordingly and the haters become your greatest advocates.

19:31

1. The haters are the type of people that want to be heard.
2. They have opinions that other people have but come out and say it to your face.

19:54

Dealing with haters:

• One of Mark's favorite books is Hug You Haters – by Jay Baer
• Negative feedback is an opportunity to not answer the hater, but to answer the market.
• How to reply: "Thank you for your comment. I'd like to educate you on why this is not a scam."
  • Been in biz for ________ years.
  • Flash your rating and customer satisfaction badge
  • Link to testimonials
• Provide proof to challenge comment.
• Thank again for comment.

"Now we're making that person look like a lunatic."

21:29

How to handle negative Facebook comments:

• Make sure their gripe is legitimate
• Provide proof to negate their concern
• Address it twice and then stop!
• Use it as a marketing opportunity to overcome objects and lower your cost-per-click

23:51

Why the two best marketing channels are your neighbors and your email list.

24:19

“Would you say that everyone should probably have an email list in their business? “YES”

24:53

Mark's process developing a lead magnet:

• Asks: “what are the common things people are asking me?”
• Marketed concerns as "Here's How to Avoid the Three Fatal Land Buying Mistakes I See Investors Make Every Day."
• Psychology states we're more risk averse than gain.
• Always under-promise and over-deliver on everything

25:54

Every business should have an email list and a lead magnet.

• If you don't have a lead magnet, look through emails and questions
• Find what short-term immediate problem you can solve for potential customers.
• Convert to PDF and use as an exchange tool for customer info.

26:34

Where is The Land Geek today?

• Teaching people who have solo-economic dependency how to get out of it with the ultimate side hustle.
• How to avoid mistakes and move the needles in their lives with the goal being that their passive income exceeds their fixed expenses within 18 months of working the business.

27:28

What The Land Geek is about:

• Solving every single pain point that Mark has gone through in the business with software and virtual assistance.
• Backend software geekpay.io that automates collecting money.

29:12

Mark's Secret marketing fantastic "techy, geeky" tips:

       •  Lumen5.com takes blog posts and creates a video
       •  Showbox.com
       •  TakeQuickVideos.com

Connect with Mark:

Thelandgeek.com - Mention the Modern Marketing podcast and get the $97 Passive Income Launch Kit for free!

Mentioned in this Episode:

Lumen5.com

Hug You Haters- Jay Baer

Geekpay.io

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

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In a world full of digital everything, the days of checking your mailbox have most likely dwindled from daily to weekly. More commonly known as “snail mail”, direct mail is often dismissed as an antiquated method to reach potential customers — a real marketing ghost town. The result? A gap that Ian Walsh profitably filled with good ol’ fashion tangible mailers.

Ian built all three of his successful real estate companies the same way. In this episode, he shares the hybrid direct mail and digital marketing strategy he used to build a multimillion dollar name for his company, Hard Money Bankers. And tells us why it pays to zig when others zag.

Episode Discussions:

• The successful marketing methods Ian used for all three of his companies
• Exploring Backyard Marketing
• Why consistency plays a crucial role in business and in life
• The dos and don’ts of adding business cards to your email list
• Why videos are an effective way to build relationships with your audience
• An in-depth look at why this is the Golden Age for Facebook Ads for small business owners
• The benefits of video marketing and getting over your fear of the camera
• Ian’s social media cornerstones and strategies (what does and doesn’t work for his business)
• Valuable tips on how to get results from direct mail
• The Gmail trick Ian uses in his mailers and why it’s genius
• Include these two important calls to action in your mailers
• Embracing Facebook Ads as a staple in your business
• The importance of establishing and following a routine to achieve success

2:44

Ian’s Story:

• A full time real estate investor since 2009 (when everyone was running away)
• Entered the industry by building WeSellHomes2Fix
• Built a property management company (sold in 2015)
• Partnered with Hard Money Bankers in Philadelphia
• Underwrites loans in Eastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey

4:16

Hard Money Bankers is an asset-driven private lending operation that deploys $30MM-$40MM/year.

5:48

Ian used variations of the same marketing model for all three companies. Mainly Backyard Marketing (getting in touch with the local market).

6:13

Ian’s Marketing Strategy:

• Identifies the client by performing a basic public records search
• Measures the easiest and most cost-effective method to get in touch with them on a mass scale
• Sends mailers
• Maintains a large Social media presence

"Social media is a huge portion of the future of all marketing and will continue to grow over the next 20 years."- Ian

8:04

Keys to Effectively Using Mailers:

• Include your name, cell phone number, and email on a postcard
• Be consistent
• Timing meets problem at the right moment
• Spread your budget out over a three-month campaign (minimum)

"Just because they don't call you that second doesn't mean they don't hold on to it, so consistency is huge."-IW

12:23

Mailers are effective because they reintroduce the human aspect of your brand (authenticity).

12:43

"There's no magic. You just have to adapt with your marketing. You have to know who your competition is and know what you're up against."-IW

12:55

Mailer Calls to Action:

• A phone call
• Gmail email address (to keep it casual)

15:10

Ian’s Offline/Online Social Media Strategy:

• Networking: Sends opt-in newsletter emails to addresses listed on business cards from networking events
• Video: Consistently releases new videos (five days a week) containing valuable content appealing to his market. Is interviewed by others in the same marketplace in order to reach different audiences.

“If you do one video, it's the same as doing one mailer. It does not do anything."-IW

21:10

"Nobody starts a business because it's the easy thing to do. You've already taken some huge risks and huge gambles. Getting in front of a camera and making a quick video is nothing compared to the things you've already done in your business.” - AE

21:29

Cornerstones of Hard Money’s Social Media Strategy:

1. Facebook
2. LinkedIn

22:41

Facebook Ads

"You either embrace technology or fight it — but if you fight it, you've got about a 5-year window until you become obsolete."-IW

"If you have a couple extra bucks go ahead and find the right person or company to engage with to optimize your social marketing like Facebook Ads."-IW

25:23

The Future of Ian’s Marketing

• Putting on offline high-end networking events
• Webcasts
• Continue to enhance social media presence

26:12

Ian’s Advice for Business Growth:

Establish a routine that starts with your morning. Stick to it. Do it every day. If you start to succeed, your mind will gear up to put that routine in place.

"Consistency and persistence in your personal life from the second you wake up to the second you go to bed."-IW

Connect with Ian:

• Facebook
• com
• com
• Email: Ian@hardmoneybankers.com

Adam’s recommended books on routine:

• The Miracle Morning
• The 80/20 Principle

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Could not having a marketing funnel be holding back the success of your business?

Also known as the Elevation Marketing Process, an effective sales funnel helps generate leads, convert leads into customers and turn customers into brand evangelists.

By going through this simple exercise, your business has nothing to do but improve.

Adam explains the true power behind funnels and what makes them effective.

Episode discussions:

• How to apply a simple funnel to your business
• How to pinpoint the weakness in your funnel
• A detailed look into the Modern Marketing Funnel (infographic)
• The steps taken to turn customers into brand evangelists

(1:15)

What is a marketing funnel?

-Interchangeable with “sales funnel”, “conversion”, or just “funnel”

-A system that allows you to track the customer journey from having no idea who you are through to becoming a lifelong and loyal customer.

-Uncovers any areas that may be causing issues with the customer journey

(2:35)

A funnel provides a graphical representation of something otherwise hard to visualize

Follow customers and better identify:

-Where they’re interacting

- How you can improve engagements with customers

(3:12)

Create your own marketing funnel

Modern Marketing Funnel:

1. Traffic: Identify where your leads are coming from
2. Conversion: Get them to take action (micro-commitment)
3. Ascension: Nurture the leads by providing helpful and valuable information
4. Elevation: Follow-up with recent buyers. Solidify your business as one that cares.

(6:42)

The power of the funnel

Identify where the problems are and where the opportunity is to improve and optimize your funnel.

1. Traffic: Not getting enough leads
2. Conversion: Not interested in what you’re doing
3. Ascension: Customers who are interested but not buying
4. Elevation: Customers who buy but don’t tell anyone

“There’s no hiding a flawed strategy or justifying a bad campaign.

It just is what it is and that is the power of the funnel”

(8:39)

Takeaway:

If you don’t have a marketing funnel yet, now is the time to draw it out. Get steps out on paper so you can find areas that could be optimized to greatly improve your business.

If you do have a funnel, use the elevation marketing process.

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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Let’s talk trends.

Learning and adapting to developing trends can mean the difference between being Blockbuster or Netflix. With that, I’ll admit, it can be overwhelming trying to decide where to devote time and attention to.

So the key to making it work for you is to keep it simple and decide which trends are worth focusing your marketing efforts on and which ones you can ignore, for now.

Two of my favorite marketing objectives but also two completely different campaigns, with one being the clear winner in B2B marketing campaigns and the other being the best choice for B2C marketing campaigns.

 So which one is right? 

I’ll give you my exact thoughts at the end, but first, let’s dive into each of these 2 marketing objectives a little more.

When deciding whether or not to do business with you, potential customers rely on others to provide cues. This social proof has the power to either inspire customers to bring their business to you or send them running into the arms of your competitors. It’s time to start making social proof a key part of your business’s marketing.

In this episode, Adam discusses 5 easy ways to start building up your social proof that get you more business and better customers.

Episode Discussions:

• How to experience better conversions and more sales using social proof
• Ways to build social proof if you don’t have much yet
• Resources to start building social proof in your business
• Important things to consider when highlighting social proof
• Why using low social proof is worse than having none at all

3:11

Always focus on positive social proof, not negative.

• One of the most important tips when highlighting social proof to use in your business.
• Draw attention to people that took an action or got a result opposed to something they didn't do or missed out on.
• Experience better conversions and more sales.

"I know this sounds incredibly simple but the effects are really profound and the research shows you always want to be offering positive social proof."

4:00

Always use pictures or video whenever possible.

“When it comes to using testimonials in your business, a picture really is worth 1,000 words. In fact, it's probably worth a whole lot more."

• Some companies use made-up testimonials or people are leery that they're fake or don't relate as well to seeing words on a page.
• Be sure to include a picture or video of your happy customer whenever possible.
• Humanizes the testimonial and adds an element of trust that words alone can't.
• There are different comfort levels when supplying testimonials. Be polite and respectful but get as much quality information as possible, ideally a video.

5:08

Keep it Relevant

• Use testimonials from customers that best match whatever you're trying to attract.
• Use similar case studies and examples to product or service you're trying to promote.

"You always wanna keep it relevant or don't use it at all."

5:47

Low social proof is a bad idea and is worse than no social proof at all.

• Don't prominently display low numbers until you've accumulated moderate social proof.
• Low social proof shows not enough people have bought in.

6:58

Start collecting easy sources of social proof.

• Ask previous customers or clients for a testimonial in any way, shape or form.
• Look through other certifications, awards, or associations that you can display on your website's homepage or "About" page.
• Choose the one, maybe 2, social media channels your customers are most active on.

When you combine all of these, you'll quickly build a power collection of social proof. 

Help Adam beef up the social proof for this podcast by heading over to iTunes and leaving a quick and honest rating and review for the show!

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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You probably already know that starting and growing your influence and authority on YouTube is one of the most powerful things you can do for your brand or business.

Which is why in this episode I’m going to be showing you how to start a successful YouTube channel so you can grow your business, build your brand, and have a whole lot of fun doing it.

Alright let’s talk YouTube, specifically how to start a successful YouTube channel. One that will get you views, subscribers, and ultimately revenue.

Because while things like more views and subscribers look cool and may make you feel great, you can’t build a business on likes alone. You need revenue.

And that comes from doing YouTube the right way and setting yourself up for success right from the beginning.

But what do you do if you’re brand new and don’t know where to start?

Well that’s what I’m here to help you do, by sharing the tips and strategies I wish I knew when I was first getting started on YouTube.

So let’s dive in!

Running a small business is no easy feat so we commend those who do. Your day-to-day dealings demand most of your time and energy, leaving you without much to invest in your long-term goals. Even though you’re aware of how imperative marketing is to the ultimate success of your business, it still finds its way to the backburner.

The solution is to concentrate your efforts on the most effective strategy that provides the greatest return.

In this episode, Adam discusses the power of a content marketing strategy and how it can be used to deliver more quality leads and customers for your small business. Listen to find out how to get started using a content marketing strategy and begin as early as now.

Episode Discussions:

• The remarkable success of content marketing
• The best place to distribute your content
• How much content is enough?
• How building up a content database will grow your business
• Why it’s important to be consistent and committed to your content strategy
• Suggestions on how to align your content channel with your comfort level
• How to provide valuable content that ensures the success of your strategy

Steps to start using a content marketing strategy:

3:24

Find your channel.

• Focus on one channel and master it.
• When finding the best content channel, look at your market and find what best aligns with their consumption habits.

Key: Start small and build from there.

4:13

• Align your market's preference with the channel you feel most comfortable on.
  • Prefer writing over speaking - use a text based blog
  • Prefer speaking over writing - start a podcast
  • Prefer video over typing - use a video-based channel
    • easy to repurpose and syndicate content across other channels
  • Be consistent and committed to your content marketing strategy.

4:58

Find your voice.

• Identify your business's unique selling proposition (USP)
  • What makes you better of different from the competition?
• Focus on providing value: make sure it helps, educates, and informs.
• Be yourself.

"Together, they provide an unequaled level of authenticity and connection."

5:37

Find your frequency.

"The more time, money, and energy you dedicate to your content marketing strategy, the greater and faster your returns will be."

• Being consistent and regular with producing content:
  • builds up your audience
  • increases your perceived level of expertise and builds trust
  • creates a content database that continuously provides value

Key: Find the right level of frequency for you and your business and stick with it.

6:26

"Focusing on quality over quantity will help build a foundation of content that will make growing your business faster, easier, and more profitable than ever before."

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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If you're curious about how we help agency owners grow, get clients, and build 6 and 7-figure agencies you can learn more by clicking the link below. There’s no email opt-in, no webinar, and no nonsense. Check it out here: https://join.agencyaccelerator.io/vsl-page?el=podcast

Instagram advertising is easily one of the most effective forms of online advertising available today which is why in this episode I’m sharing some of my top Instagram Advertising Strategies to help you grow your business and generate more leads, sales, and revenue.

I’ve been running Instagram Ads for almost as long as they’ve been available and in that time have managed to dial in somevery effective and very profitable strategies for my clients.

But a lot has changed, and continues to change. Quickly. Which is why it’s important to take a combo approach of both staying up to date but also still following timeless marketing principles.

And that’s why in this episode I’m going to be sharing some of the most proven and effective Instagram marketing strategies available.

Including what I believe is probably the single most important element to Instagram advertising success, so make sure to stick around right till the end.

Let's dive in!

Paul Kortman is a self-proclaimed “odd duck” with a foot in two different worlds. His areas of focus include both SEO tactics and paid video advertisements. Odd duck? Or one well-rounded digital marketer?

In this episode, Paul discusses the SEO tactics and video ad strategies he’s found to be most effective and how to successfully apply them to your business.

Episode Discussions:

• Why Paul recommends recording different videos for Facebook and YouTube ads
• Testing different video ad lengths and which ones offer a great return
• 4 elements of a successful video ad
• Paul’s preference: Video template vs. short script
• Using actual customers vs. paid actors to deliver your message
• Alternatives to traditional video ads: video sales letters and animated videos
• How Paul does and doesn’t use retargeting
• The strategy behind split-testing videos
• Why diversity is important in your marketing
• How organic ranks and SEO aid paid traffic
• Why SEO is a long-term yet effective strategy
• Backlinks: What they are and how they affect your website’s authority
• Paul’s tips for gaining linkback credit
• Two factors to SEO mastery
• What type of content has the best chance of ranking for SEO
• How long-tail keywords will help boost your search engine rank
• How to get an unbiased 3rd party opinion of your content for the price for a coffee

1:27

Small to medium businesses will see lower costs per acquisition if they do an actual video ad.

1:44

One of Paul's clients is paying less than $2 per email address acquisition.

He found success via video ads on Facebook which allows him to directly target his audience.

2:24

Paul recommends recording different videos for Facebook and YouTube ads.

3:02

"I try to stress to all of my clients to keep it down to 15 seconds. This is an elevator pitch minus the elevator doors even closing. The moment you step foot on that elevator, you have to spit it out."-PK

4:06

Paul encourages his clients to write up a short script and use their phones to record. Usually the 5th or 6th take that works well.

6:52

Things to include in your 15 second video:

• Scarcity
• Price and time urgency
• Mention customization

7:31

• Make sure you're talking right to your target audience.
• Use anything that would work on a landing page or sales copy.
• Make sure there's value.
• Talk about your client, not yourself.
• Mention the benefits of your offer, not the features.
• One simple call to action (CTA)

11:31

Alternatives to directly delivering the message yourself in your video ad.

12:02

"You trust someone if you see their eyes."-PK

13:11

If Paul doesn't capture interest with the video enough to get click-throughs, a different video is created all together.

13:33

"We actually split-test the videos rather than try to retarget."-PK

16:43

 "PPC is short-term, quick gains. SEO is a long-term, in it for the long haul."

17:07

To master SEO:  

• Have the high-quality content that people are searching for
• Have the backlinks and authority

18:22

Focus on creating high-quality content that people are talking about, commenting on or linking to. Most likely a blog article. Then market the content.

20:31

• Depending on how competitive your industry and market is, your homepage, services page or pricing page won't affect your rank.
• Long-tail keywords are less competitive and more likely to rank in the search engines.

21:48

"All boats rise with the tide." As you get backlinks, it raises the value and authority of your entire website.

22:47

Paul’s actionable tip for small businesses to generate leads and increase conversion rates:

Business owners are so closely tied to their businesses. It’s difficult to see things objectively sometimes…

"The next time you're in Starbucks, pull up a webpage from your website and say ‘Listen I'll buy your drink, I just wanna ask you a few questions about this webpage.”

Ask them to review your content and they’ll give you good, honest feedback.

Connect with Paul:

ConnexDigitalMarketing.com

Contact Adam: Adam@AdamErhart.com

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

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