Skip to main content

Marketing & Business Articles

Leave behind the blueprints and “10 easy steps to 6 figures” and join us for REAL business and marketing conversations designed for real results. No fluff, and no follow-the-leader stuff.

Join us as we challenge the status quo of business and marketing.

Marriage And Business: A Love Letter

Marriage And Business: A Love Letter

By Podcast, Readings, True Stories

Today is Word Carnival day, that once-monthly event where a bunch of business bloggers get together to write on a theme. This month’s topic: the secret to my success.

Rather than talk about tools or tricks or mindsets or practices, I decided to have a little fun and turn this into a love letter because there really is only one thing I can’t live without: my business partner, husband and love of my life. I hope you know someone like this, too, because you really can’t succeed alone.

Read More
Bad Chief, Bad Tribe. How To Get More Shares On Triberr.

Bad Chief, Bad Tribe. How To Get More Shares On Triberr.

By Marketing Insights & Strategy, Podcast, Readings

How can my content be shared more on Triberr?

I get asked that question every day several times a day. The short answer is “write good content that people will want to share.” But of course nothing is ever as easy as that. So I want to present some ideas on how you can get your content viewed by more people using Triberr as a tool.

If you are a blogger, podcaster or YouTuber who produces great content and you’re struggling to find an audience, give Triberr a shot – it’s easy, it’s free and these tips will help you make the most of it.

Read More
Why The Starbucks "Race Together" Campaign Failed To Fail

Why The Starbucks “Race Together” Campaign Failed To Fail

By In The News, Podcast, Readings

Have you read the hoopla surrounding the Starbucks “Race Together” campaign? To read the stories, one might think this was the most evil blight to hit humanity.

Was it poorly planned? Was it badly executed? Did it completely miss its audience and prove that there is just another tone-deaf CEO trying to reach the cool kids?

Or are we perhaps too scared of the subject to give it credit, to dare see a bright light in the madness?

And why does this matter to your small business, anyway?

That’s what I tackle today – issues from race to raving lunatics, from social media to customer relationships. Here’s my perspective and why I think the alleged “failure” of the campaign wasn’t a failure at all. Agree or disagree, there is something for all of us to learn.

Read More
Don’t Believe The Hype! Social Marketing “Truths” That Aren’t

Don’t Believe The Hype! Social Marketing “Truths” That Aren’t

By Podcast, Readings, Social Marketing

If marketing your business “these days”, especially in an Internet world, seems overwhelming or confusing… if you’re not sure where to start or if you’ve started but aren’t sure where to go… if you’ve spent money or time (or both) for little results…

It might be time to realign your thinking about marketing altogether. Here are a few things you may have been conditioned to believe about social marketing – some misconceptions and misperceptions that will do nothing but stand in the way of engaging in productive, lead-generating marketing.

Read More
Sorry! But You Need To Stop Apologizing For Your Marketing

Sorry, But You Need To Stop Apologizing For Your Marketing

By Marketing Insights & Strategy, Podcast, Readings

Are you one of those people who starts sentences with the word “sorry?” As in, “Sorry, but I just think coffee is better than tea.” I’ve been noticing that more and more lately. Not just in every day colloquial conversation, but in the way that businesses of various sizes manage their marketing.

The word sorry should never be used to start any marketing message or else you run the risk of diminishing the authority of your brand. Here’s why.

Read More
When Is Marketing Not Marketing?

When Is Marketing Not Marketing?

By Marketing Insights & Strategy, Podcast, Readings

When it comes to marketing there are a lot of ways to do it. And it’s wonderful to have so many opportunities but at the same time it can be so overwhelming that we end up with decision paralysis.

Marketing fundamentals may be the same: provide a good product or service that people need then get them to want it so they’ll buy it. But the mechanics of making that happen – the strategies and tactics that you’ll ultimately employ – will vary greatly.

Here are just a few things to consider about whether a marketing idea is good – for you.

Read More
The Two Toughest Social Media Marketing Questions You Have To Answer

The Two Toughest Social Media Marketing Questions You Have To Answer

By Podcast, Readings, Social Marketing

Should I have a Facebook page? Is my audience on Twitter? Do I have time to invest in social marketing? Why am I doing this?

Those are all great questions but they’re not the questions I’m talking about today. The questions I’m talking about today are even tougher than that and have a lot more to do with your business approach and philosophy than with the mechanics of marketing. They may keep you up at night for a little while but if you can get to the bottom of them you’ll have more fun and do better business.

Read More
The Confounding Practice Of Content Curation

The Confounding Practice Of Content Curation

By Podcast, Readings, Social Marketing

Today I’m going to tell you why content curation as a social marketing strategy is silly, fruitless and something you should stop doing immediately. And if you just read that sentence and immediately thought, “But….” then this is for you.

Arguments… debunked.

Challenges… debunked.

“Buts”… debunked!

Join me in the land of lead generation and practical marketing tactics. Here’s why there’s no home for curation there.

Read More
It's Time To Consider Your Business Super Fan Bubble

It’s Time To Consider Your Business Super Fan Bubble

By Marketing Insights & Strategy, Podcast, Readings

The super fan bubble is a collection of dedicated and loyal fans. Fans that will not only consume your content but take action on your behalf. They’ll buy your products, listen to your shows, share your tweets. The super fan bubble is great, but it can also be a plateau that slows growth.

The goal of any business endeavor is to continue to grow your audience or customers. So you need to cultivate relationships with the people in your super fan bubble while creating strategies to help you grow the bubble to include more super fans.

This is my perspective on getting out of your super fan bubble by collaborating with the competition.

Read More
Use This Visual Identity Guide To Make A Splash On Your Website And Social Media

Use This Visual Identity Guide To Make A Splash On Your Website And Social Media

By Branding & Design, Podcast, Readings

Branding consistency is important. But businesses can get so caught up in their day to day operations that they fail to present a unified visual identity or worse, they don’t portray a strong message about the product or service they’re selling.

Today I want to talk to you about a small business that made this error. What business did that?

Mine.

Yup.

We did that. Or rather failed to do that.

I’d like to share our branding journey with you along with some strategies you can use to make your own visual identity the strongest it can be.

Read More
Social Media Marketing Myths That Are Costing You Money

Social Media Marketing Myths That Are Costing You Money

By Podcast, Readings, Social Marketing

There are two ways that marketing costs you money. One is in the actual costs that you pay out – to vendors and agencies, for tools and subscriptions to support your marketing. And the second is by spending time – or paying other people to spend their time – doing things called “social media marketing” that aren’t contributing in any way to your bottom line.

That thing you’re calling “social media marketing” may just be another line item in the expense column and if you’re ok with that, if you’re using social media just for fun and diversion, then you can skip this article. But if you actually want to make money marketing instead of just spend money doing it, read on.

Read More
Is Your Business Analytics Yours? Probably Not. Here's Why That's A Bad Thing.

Is Your Business Analytics Yours? Probably Not. Here’s Why That’s A Bad Thing.

By Podcast, Readings, Search Marketing

Recently we welcomed a new client and asked their old developer to give us administrative access to our client’s Google analytics. But we discovered that the developer had set up analytics incorrectly. The result?

Well, in this case it’s goodbye to years of data. Here’s what you need to know about setting up – and owning – your Google analytics so you don’t get caught in the same trap.

Read More