Learn Marketing Interviews

Most of us live our lives with a solo economic dependency, meaning that we have only one main source of income. If we aren’t putting in the hours at our jobs or businesses, then no income is being generated. This main source of income is an active income; we need to be there, producing and getting results to make any money. Wouldn’t it be great to have a passive income stream, whereby we could make money without putting in the long hours?

Luckily, there are no more ways in which to generate passive income than ever before. We all have remarkable tools at our fingertips that can, we some initial setup, start generating the passive income that can make a difference in our lives. There are plenty of resources online about different ways to start a passive income stream, but perhaps one area that you may not have thought about is real estate. This seems like an area that would require a large investment of time and labour in order to produce any kind of income, but our guest on this episode of Excellence Expected is going to talk us through his experiences and how buying and selling land can be both hugely profitable and largely passive.

Mark Podolsky, of The Land Geek, has more than 15 years’ experience in buying and selling raw land in the United States. Mark believes that he now only devotes a couple of hours a week to buying and selling land and the income generated will passively generate over a number of years. In many cases, it’s easy to find out about land on which the property tax has lapsed, meaning land can be bought for much cheaper as it’s clear that the owners no longer want to hold the property. The land can then be sold on with the help of a broker or acquisition manager for cash or through financing, with payments coming in like clockwork over 8-10 years. Say for example that you bought some land for $3,000. You could sell it immediately for perhaps $12,000, or, you could sell it through owner financing over 10 years for $30,000. Every month during that time period, a chunk of largely passive income would be generated. And this is not solely an option for those based in America. Mark has worked with people from all over the world.

This model has helped Mark choose and design his own lifestyle as he now works because he chooses to, not because he has to. The certainty that his passive income exceeds his fixed monthly outgoings allows him to devote his time to projects that feels are worthy of his time, such as volunteering, coaching and education. People crave certainty and contribution, and having a passive income like this gives you the certainty you need to be able to contribute to the thing that you are passionate about.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast: Creating your first passive income stream.

About Mark:

Mark Podolsky bought his first parcels of raw land in 2001 and built such a successful passive income that he was able to leave his job only 18 months later. In the intervening 15 years, Mark has made over 5,000 land deals and now runs The Land Geek, which, through podcasts and training courses, aims to pass on the knowledge that he has acquired on the subject.

Mark’s joining us on this episode of Excellence Expected to share his story and three actionable tips that can take you closer to generating your first passive income stream. 

Actionable Tips:

* Take imperfect action. If you want to get passive income the first thing you need to take some kind of action. If you get bogged down in doing it perfectly, you’re not going to get it done. This stops so many people in their tracks. Don’t let that happen to you! Take imperfect action and the more you learn, the better you will become.
* Get educated. Today’s the best time ever to learn anything. You can use the web to search for great, free resources that will help you create passive income based...

Differentiating your business from a whole host of competitors can be tough and most of us fall back on what we think we should say when asked how our company differs from the rest. ‘We offer a professional service to the highest standards of quality.’ But your competitors say that too! ‘Our prices offer fantastic value.’ Well, unfortunately the prices of your main rivals do as well. What is the real and valuable difference between your business and any other in the same crowded marketplace?

This is exactly the issue that we are challenging on this episode of Excellence Expected and joining us to offer his expertise is Andy Hanselman. Andy believes that the most successful businesses ‘Think in 3D’ meaning that they are ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’. That is, that the difference between them and their main competitors is geniune and valuable to their customers. Thinking in 3D goes beyond the platitudes that many of us are guilty of using when describing how our businesses stand out from the crowd.

Not every business already has a difference to work with but it’s something that you can work on in a number of ways. Consider your ideal client and think about what you would need to do to attract and keep them. If you can narrow in on the customers that you find ideal, you will be able to differentiate yourself within your niche by doing everything you can to make a particular type of client happy. That will attract more clients of the same type. The best differences are those things that your competitors aren’t doing or, even better, can’t do! If you can provide these things, then you will be one step ahead of the rest.

If you still think that you and your business are just like others in your industry then remember the power of your personality. You may be selling the same products at the same prices as the business next door, but how you deal with clients is unique to you. Make sure to delight your customers with deeply memorable customer service and you could well have them as clients for life!

Listen to this episode of the number one small business podcast to hear more about Andy’s philosophy and what you can do to differentiate your business from the rest.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I differentiate my business from those of my competitors?

About Andy:

Andy Hanselman is a consultant, business coach, public speaker and author with over 20 years’ experience of helping businesses achieve more. Throughout his career, Andy has seen that it’s the businesses that ‘Think in 3D’ that succeed. These are the businesses that are ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ from their competitors.

Andy’s joining us on this episode of the number one small business podcast to discuss how you can stand out from the crowd, create remarkable experiences for your customers and build the culture you want and need for your business.

Actionable Tips:

* Choose ‘em or lose ‘em. Identify who your best customers are. How you measure best is going to be different for everyone, but think about value for money and value for time. Work together with your staff and get their feedback. Once you’ve identified your best clients, work out what’s important to them and adapt your business to suit.
* Create a dialogue with your best customers. Open up to your customers and ask them the reasons why they do business with you as opposed to your competitors. Ask them their opinion on what makes you special or even what they would like to see you do better in the future. Your customers have a wealth of information that can help you create a more 3D business, all you need to do is ask!
* Stand in your own queues. Experience what it’s like to be a customer of your business. Ring up, check the website or sit in the foyer.

Content marketing has become hugely important to small businesses but it can be difficult to create engaging content on a regular basis. Some find it difficult to write blog posts, others find it hard to create imagery and sometimes we don’t even know what to create content about. Not only that, but there are some businesses and industries that are more conducive to content creation than others. How can we get started with effective content marketing so that it has a tangible effect on our businesses?

Our guest on this episode of the number one small business podcast is Kate McQuillan. Kate has used effective content marketing to build and grow her business and she’s going to talk us through some of the strategies that can be used by any business to increase visibility and engagement.

One of the main problems we face is not knowing what to create content about. Kate’s advice, which can be applied to any kind of business, is to maintain a list of all of the questions that your customers ask. You can go through each question and write a blog post to offer answers and advice. This gives you a huge amount of targeted content as you know that your clients are actively seeking out these answers. They’ve probably Googled the question before asking you, which means plenty of other people will be doing the same thing. Use the question as the title of your blog post and others will find your helpful answers. You needn’t have a flashy infographic to get your start in content marketing, you can simply use your industry expertise to make a start. Soon you will start seeing the benefits in terms of traffic!

Another fantastic benefit of content marketing is that it can open channels of communication with prospective clients and existing customers. Engage with those who have read your blog and commented. Get into conversations and find out other areas that they would be interested in. By asking what people want, you can give them exactly that. Soon, you will have shown yourself to be an expert in your field and a small community will be forming around your content. These can both increase your engagement, visibility and, most importantly, then number of your clients!

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I create engaging content to promote my small business?

About Kate:

Kate McQuillan is the founder of Ireland’s largest pet sitting and dog walking business, Pet Sitters Ireland. Along with her husband Michael, Kate has turned her passion for animals into a very successful and scalable business. One of the main drivers of visitors to their site has been content marketing. In fact, Kate estimates that 70% of visitors arrive at her site via blog posts that she has written. Kate is now using her content marketing expertise to help others in her niche through her new business, Pawsome Media, and her podcast, Pawsome Marketing.

Actionable Tips:

* Make a list of all the questions that you’ve been asked by your customers. This lets you know the information that your clients are looking for online and the areas that they are concerned about. You can answer all of their questions with blog posts, creating a knowledge bank of great content that will draw more and more people to your business. For the most visibility, title the blog post exactly as the question has been asked.
* Create high quality images to be used in every area of your business. Anything that you put out on Twitter, Facebook or blog posts should be accompanied by nice images. Spend a little time to find something eye-catching and make sure your branding is included. This can have a fantastic effect on your levels of engagement.
* Engage! Don’t make everything that you publish be about you and your business. Make sure you are engaging with your audience and providing the content that they want.

The development of social media has made it so easy for all of us to connect and to spread the word about ourselves, our projects and our businesses. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have changed the way we do business and it seems like there’s a new platform coming along almost every week! With all the excitement and accessibility of social media, it’s easy to forget the power that more traditional media holds as a means of growing your business. Our guest on this episode of the number one small business podcast is going to talk through how you can make inroads into traditional media streams and tap into a huge audience that can help your business develop.

As soon as something new comes along, plenty of folks believe it spells the end for what went before. Remember when the first Kindle was introduced? It was supposed to be the end of the paperback but books are still around. Diversification doesn’t equal extinction, and the same is true of today’s media. Sure, lots of us like to watch TV on-demand, to cut out everything we don’t want on the radio by listening to podcasts and to cherry-pick the news stories that matter to us online rather than trawling through the newspaper. However, traditional media sources still have the largest audiences of all. Plenty of people still love sitting down to watch the evening news, listen to the radio throughout the day and read their favourite columnists in the papers. These are the comforting, reliable news sources that we’ve grown up with and people are far more likely to trust and believe in something they hear from one of these sources than any other.

That’s great, but how on earth can you get your business to be featured in the media? Well, in some respects, it’s an extension of things that you might already be doing. We’re all experts in our industries and we might use the knowledge that we have to answer questions on Twitter, make videos for YouTube or speak at industry conferences. Traditional media channels regularly speak to industry professionals for more information about relevant news stories. Making yourself known to be an expert in a particular area and then making yourself known to particular journalists could lead to an appearance on the radio, local or national TV, or in the newspaper. If things go well, you could become the ‘go-to’ professional for a particular niche.

It’s all about letting the right people know your speciality, using some techniques to present yourself and your knowledge well and being available to talk. The potential audience for a couple of minute piece about a news story in your niche is huge and has the potential to make a big impact on your business!

Joining us on this episode of Excellence Expected is Pete Walter. Pete has worked as a TV producer for both MTV and BBC News and knows just what it takes to get an appearance in the media. He now runs his own business helping professionals deal with the media and to get the most from a mutually beneficial relationship.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I gain the attention of the traditional media to help my business?

About Pete:

Pete Walter is a media coach and the founder of Deal with the Media, a platform that aims to help businesspeople of all backgrounds improve their media skills. Pete spent the earlier part of his career as a producer making programs for MTV and the BBC. In 2008, he moved to BBC News where he worked with worldwide stars and experts in almost every field imaginable.

Pete’s with us on this episode of the number one small business podcast to discuss the business opportunities that exist or those who feature in traditional media, how you can improve your chances of being invited to contribute and his tips for making your story irresistible.

Actionable Tips:

* Get active on Twitter.

We all love a good story, don’t we? Whether you enjoy watching movies or the evening news, listening to podcasts or the latest office gossip, stories are everywhere around us, even in business. The very best brands in the world tell us stories through their marketing, design and branding. Lots of small business owners think that storytelling is something that is only for the big boys, but our guest on this episode of Excellence Expected is going to explain why telling the story of your business is essential if you want to stand out from the crowd.

Perhaps the most important, and most difficult, time to tell your story is when you are pitching your business to investors. You don’t want to come across as flippant or disrespectful and it seems like it should be an occasion to stick to the numbers and the facts. But this is time when you should be storytelling! People remember stories much more easily than they remember figures. Preparing the story of how your business came about, practicing the story and delivering it confidently can ensure that you and your business make an impact on investors. Using stories allows you to humanize your business and demonstrate that you have empathy with both the investors and your customers.

There are several classic archetypes when it comes to storytelling and these models can be used in business just as easily as they can be used on the page or the screen. The following are the archetypes, an example work of fiction and a brand that has used the model in its marketing:

* Rage to Riches – Cinderella / Johnnie Walker
* Quest – Lord of the Rings / Lexus
* Rebirth – It’s a Wonderful Life / Prudential
* Adventure – The Wizard of Oz / Expedia

Which type of story best describes you and your business? Can you spot other brands that have used these different story models?

Once you work out the story you are going to tell, you need to practice delivering the story until it becomes natural and relaxed. Practice when you’re stuck in traffic or even in the shower and soon you’ll be able to tell the story with great confidence. Confidence will lead to you making a genuine, human Connection and if you can connect with the investors, the next step is Commitment.

Confidence -> Connection -> Commitment

We all tell stories every day, so why not craft one that could capture the attention of investors and help your business grow?

John Livesay joins us on this episode of the number one small business podcast to share his thoughts on the importance of storytelling in business and how you can craft the perfect pitch for your business.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I storify my entire business to solidify my pitch and gain investment?

About John:

John Livesay is a funding strategist who helps CEOs create a connection with potential investors through compelling storytelling. He also hosts The Successful Pitch podcast which profiles successful startups and reveals insights that can be of help to companies of all sizes. Prior to becoming a strategist, John had a hugely successful, twenty year media sales career with Conde Nast. Not only did he work across each of the company’s 22 brands, but he was also named Salesperson of the Year for 2012.

In his new role, John has helped many businesses craft the perfect story for their pitch and he’s with us on this episode of the number one small business podcast to share his tips with us.

Actionable Tips:

* Be prepared and don’t wing it. Stack your moments of certainty. Get the butterflies in your stomach to fly in formation and remember your superhero pose. These are great tools to help you before the pitch.
* Make sure you have a right-brain connection and are telling a story that is...

How many of your ‘friends’ on Facebook do you speak to regularly? If you’re like most people, it’s probably not a great deal. If you’re a small business owner, how much of your business comes through social media? Again, if you’re being honest, it’s probably not that much. That’s not to say that social media isn’t a great tool for publicizing your business and interacting with people, but there needs to be more to a relationship than simply clicking ‘Accept’.

Let’s flip that around the other way. How much of your custom comes from those that you have a real relationship with? It’s probably a much higher figure than comes through social media. In today’s business landscape, social media is big news. We’re all on it, our competitors are all on it and our potential clients are all on it. And it is fantastic for many reasons, but in order to forge real relationships with others we can’t rely on just connecting with each other once.

These less than real relationships don’t serve anyone in business or in life. The only meaningful relationships that we should be pursuing are those that are genuine. Our guest on this episode of the number one small business podcast is Mike Muhney, the inventor of ACT! and the CEO of VIPorbit, and he’s going to be discussing how you can form and sustain real relationships that will have a fantastic impact on your business and your life.

When Mike was working as a salesman at IBM, he was taught to check out what people had on their office walls. People will only have things on their office walls that they genuinely care about or are passionate about. This can tell you a great deal about a person, their values and interests. These are the things that you should be asking about and listening to. Plenty of people see business as transactional. I want to sell X and then get onto the next sale. If making relationships is important to you, then that’s not the way to go about things.

In this episode, Mike it going to explain why his company’s relationship statement is, “We believe in the infinite potential of closer relationships”, and he’s going to leave us with three pieces of actionable advice that will help you hone your skills so that every time you create a new relationship, it is real and meaningful for both parties.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I create relationships that translate into results?

About Mike:

Mike Muhney is the CEO of VIPorbit, an entrepreneur and an in-demand public speaker. Mike’s also one of the inventors of ACT!, the contact manager tool that is has been used by millions of people around the world. After switching to using a Mac, Mike realized that there wasn’t an equivalent product for the system and so set about creating Vipor CRM which allows users to bring their calendars, contacts and tasks all into one sleek app.

Mike has also published a book, Who’s In Your Orbit?: Beyond Facebook – Creating Relationships That Matter, and it’s this question of how to create real relationships that Mike is going to discuss with us on this episode.

Actionable Tips:

* Make sure your attitude reflects your desire to create meaningful relationships. Mike’s company not only has a mission statement, but it also has a relationship statement that illustrates his thoughts on building relationships – “People matter. We believe in the infinite potential of closer relationships.”
* Maintain your reputation. How you conduct yourself in your industry will affect how others view you. Keep an excellent reputation by taking the time to foster great working relationships with everyone that you come across. Potential clients will remember that you were professional, that you cared and that you listened to them. Some of your competitors may not have left should a good impression!
* Keep swinging!

The decision to rebrand can arrive for a number of different reasons. Perhaps your business has merged with another and you want to project a new image to reflect that. It may be the case that your branding has become dated and an update is required. Or it may even be that you are pivoting your business and changing your entire focus and, as such, need a new brand to signal your new direction.

Whatever the reason behind a rebrand, we all want to get it right as the memory of rebranding failures such as Consignia, New Coke and The Artist Formerly Known as Prince still loom large. What if my clients don’t accept the new brand? What if it drives away customers? These types of questions will naturally arise but our guest on this episode of the number one small business podcast says that we often worry more about these things than is necessary.

Last year, Kyle Wilkinson oversaw the rebranding of DMSQD to HACKSAW™ and so he has recent experience of this very topic. A lot of the doubt and uncertain that naturally comes up prior to a rebrand is due to us being too precious about the existing brand and what it means, or doesn’t mean, to our existing customers. It’s important to remember that people work with people and if you provide the same great products or services after a rebrand, your customers are going to continue working with you. A rebrand can rejuvenate your business both inside and out and even bring in more clients. Don’t be afraid to go in a new direction if you think the business needs it.

Kyle also suggests that putting something of yourself into the rebrand is the right way to go. By being emotive and honest, you can connect with clients, and those working in the business, on an emotional, human level. This is vitally important when trying to build ongoing business and colleague relationships.

You also need to be flexible and adaptive. Having too rigid an idea in mind for the rebrand doesn’t leave a lot of room to react to changes, improvise or be inspired further down the line. A rebrand is supposed to freshen things up and it can be difficult to predict what will be fresh several months down the line. Keep things unresolved, be yourself and go for it!

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I successfully rebrand my business?

About Kyle:

Kyle Wilkinson is a partner in, and the Creative Director of, HACKSAW™. The design, brand and web consultancy was previously known as DMSQD until October of 2015 when Kyle and the other partners spearheaded a dramatic and successful rebrand. As an agency, HACKSAW™ has worked with a diverse range of clients including Wired Magazine, the Art Directors Club and Immersive Rides, earning prestigious design awards in the process.

As a designer, Kyle has won coveted awards for his innovative furniture design and experimental design projects. He has also been featured as a contributing guest on the BBC and his work has been exhibited internationally.

Actionable Tips:

* Keep it unresolved. Don’t try and finalize everything from day one as you won’t allow yourself to evolve any further over time. The key to any rebrand is staying fresh in an ever-changing marketplace. Keeping things unresolved also allows you a little bit of room to react and change things if need be.
* Be emotive and honest. This creates a real bond with the audience and helps ensure longevity for the brand. People connect with emotive brands. Think of Coca-Cola and their Christmas adverts. It connects with people on an emotional level and can engender nostalgia. It takes courage to put some of yourself into your brand but the benefits can be enormous.
* Don’t be too precious. Don’t be afraid of making changes and going in a new direction. If you are worried about instances of your old branding out there,

Pivoting is something that we hear a lot about in business, especially in the startup space. Facebook began life as Facemash, Instagram grew out of Burbn and YouTube started out as a video dating site. All of these famous names started out moving in one direction and changed course for a variety of reasons. It’s all to do with inertia. A large, traditional company takes time to change course by even the slightest degree, but a small business or startup can dramatically change direction very quickly.

The idea of pivoting is attractive as it allows small business owners to change direction in terms of the products or services they provide, the market they target or their business model. But how can you go about pivoting like some of the famous examples mentioned above?

Of course, how easily you can pivot depends on a lot of different variables that are particular to your business, but there are some general tips that can be applied to any kind of small business and taking us through some of those tips on this episode of Excellence Expected is Amy Schmittauer who has recently gone through the process of pivoting her business.

Amy’s has recently changed how she does business and so she’s got some fresh, real-world tips that are going to help anyone out there who is thinking of doing the same thing. Be forewarned that Amy’s going to be talking about firing clients, which I know sounds blasphemous in the world of small business, but it was essential for her to do that to pivot her business and set off in the direction that she saw the most potential in. She also touches on perhaps the most useful aspect of pivoting which is feedback. User feedback can be constantly considered to either make your product the very best it can be or to change your product to the tastes of the largest market. You may even discover a new market that’s responsive to your product after a few changes. Listening to your customers and tweaking until you, and they, are happy, is a fantastic advantage that small businesses have over larger ones. That agility is a weapon in the small business arsenal. Don’t let it go to waste if you find yourself in the wrong market with the wrong clients.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I pivot my business?

About Amy:

Amy Schmittauer is the founder and face of Savvy Sexy Social. Her business helps empower brands and individuals to embrace their personality and share it with the world. Amy’s also a prolific vlogger and her YouTube videos have been viewed more than 10 million times. As well as all of that, she is an in demand public speaker and online marketing strategist.

Actionable Tips:

* Use the resources at your disposal. Remember what you have accomplished and take lessons from those experiences that will help you pivot. You can then research areas that you don’t any experience of and combine everything before setting your strategy.
* Get Started. It doesn’t matter if the website doesn’t look the best or the product isn’t in its final version, just get going. Client feedback will be vital in getting your product to where it needs to be.
* Tracking your successes. Small business owners really are in a vacuum so surrounding yourself with good, supportive people is important. Even more important is celebrating small wins each day. You need to be able to measure your progress and wins.



Top Quotes:

* “Pre-selling is the best way to ask your customers what they want.”
* “Video marketing has everything to do with confidence.”
* “If you are really trying, and I know you are, then you’re going to have a small win every day.”
* “Perfectionism is the undoing of many a great product, service and business.”

Amy’s Links:

There are so many ways in which you can market your business these days but one of the most important, and most overlooked, is video marketing. One of the issues that most of us have with the idea of starting a video marketing campaign is that we don’t like to appear on camera. Another is that we don’t have anything interesting to say. With us on this episode of Excellence Expected is Mary Jo Cranmore, who is going to let us know that that is nonsense!

Everyone who runs their own small business has their own opinions about the industry that they operate in and a wealth of knowledge about their chosen market. These are valuable assets that can be used in video marketing for your business. People are so used to big companies speaking in the blandest of ways that hearing someone with a real opinion, and some passion, can be like a breath of fresh air. Injecting a bit of personality and some of your own opinions into some videos about your business can help draw the attention of those searching online for terms related to your company.

It can also be a massive help to your Google rankings as the search engine’s algorithms look favourably on those businesses that regularly upload new video content. Not only that, but you will, over time, develop a following made up of people who share your passion and interest for your products or services. The more that you engage with them, the more they will act as ambassadors for your brand.

Mary also has a great tip for those who are a little reticent to get behind the camera regularly. If you don’t want to do videos too often, how about this? Compile a list of the top 20 questions that you’re asked by customers and then make a series of videos that answers each question. It’s practical information for those searching in your niche, it’s most likely evergreen content and if you stagger the release of the videos, you may see a noticeable bump in your Google rankings.

We could all talk about our business until the cows came home, so why not use that to help promote your business. What have you got to lose?

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can video marketing help my small business?

About Mary:

Mary Jo Cranmore has worked as a TV news producer for both ABC and NBC but now she is using her expertise in the visual medium to help clients such as Kraft Foods, Gillette and Verizon to get the most out of their visual marketing strategies. As well as working with big name clients, Mary has created marketing systems, video marketing programs and other strategies to help smaller businesses in the same way. Her company, Client Cycle Marketing, is helping businesses both big and small make an impact with video marketing.

Mary’s with us on this episode of your favourite small business podcast to discuss the benefits of video marketing and to give us all some actionable tips that can help us harness the power of video marketing.

Actionable Tips:

* Have a point of view or a mission. Think deeply about why you do what you do. What part of your work really drives you? Finding your mission will drive so much more than just your video strategy.
* Create a tribe. Collect an e-mail list of people who engage with your videos and regularly engage with them. Ask about their needs and desires. This will take you to places that you never thought possible.
* Deliver your tribe things they care about. Engage with them and give them what they will find valuable. People want to be involved. If you can do this, they will help spread the word about your business.



Top Quotes:

* “People watching your videos can experience you with more than one sensibility.”
* “We’re very good at ‘Once upon a time…’.”
* “Have one direct point in each video.”

Social media has changed the way many of us interact, do business and, to a degree, live our lives. Networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are fantastic for marketing yourself and your business and newer platforms like Periscope and Blab are opening up new channels to reach potential customers. It’s all well and good using social media to promote your business, but are you using it in the most effective way?

How many companies have you seen you seem to have forgotten that it’s supposed to be social? Dry product launches, spammy links and generic information are just some of the ways in which some companies choose to use their social media accounts. To create any sort of rapport with potential clients, it needs to be social. The clue’s in the name, guys! 

Lots of small businesses feel that they need to have social media accounts just because everyone else seems to have them. They pump out the same old content over and over just to be seen to be doing something. But if they’re not going to use social media to actively engage with their clientele then it can be a waste of time. Getting a conversation going with customers on social media can help build a connection between your business and prospective customers, and you can also learn a lot about them, their needs and their experiences. Companies that don’t join the conversation, don’t produce interesting content and don’t treat social media as a two-way street will be easily forgotten when it the time comes for those customers to do business. A company that listens, ask questions and provides help and advice will make a much deeper impression.

As Tim Elliot mentions in this episode, people don’t engage with products and services, they engage with people. And if you’re hiding away behind a logo on social media, many customers will be put off. Getting out there and sharing some of yourself along with your business can have a fantastic effect on how people view you and your company.

Tim’s joining us on this episode your favourite small business podcast to share his ideas on how to get the most out of social media as well as some of the things to avoid.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I put the social back into social media?

About Tim:

Tim Elliott is a digital marketing manager, social media strategist, social media coach and noted speaker on all things social media. Tim prefers to look at things more simply, and refers to himself as a marketer.

Tim has been working in the online marketing space for many years and has a wealth of expertise on using social media to help businesses to grow. He’s here with us on the number one small business podcast to help us put the social back into social media. 

Tim’s Actionable Tips:

* If you use scheduling tools for social media, remember to be ready to respond after a message has been posted. People will expect you to engage with them so you need to be ready to jump into the conversation. If you’re not there to engage with your followers, it will be a bad experience for them.
* Don’t be afraid to be yourself. People want to do business with people and learn more about the personality behind the company. Allowing people to engage with you through social media can have a great effect on your business.
* Listen more than you talk. There are so many conversations that are taking place on social media that you should be aware of. You can learn a great deal about your customers and their needs by listening to them.



Top Quotes:













Tim’s Links:

* Tim’s Site (http://www.timelliottuk.com/)
* Tim’s Twitter (

Getting customers to your website can be a difficult task. There are so many business out there vying for the attention of consumers and these days there are so many ways in which people can find solutions to their problems. But gaining traffic is only half the battle. Unless you can successfully convert those prospects, your business won’t experience optimal growth.

A conversion can be different things to different businesses in different situations. It doesn't necessarily have to be a sale. A conversion could also be engagement with a prospect or even just an exchange of content or ideas. What is the best way to go about converting visitors to your website into valued customers? With us on this episode of your favourite small business podcast is a man who has been focusing on this tricky question for the last five years.

Trajan King has worked with big tech companies and fledging startups to streamline and optimise their conversion process. There needs to be an investment of time, energy and money into conversion optimisation, but, according to Trajan, it needn’t be as expensive of labour intensive as many of us imagine.

Some simple, common-sense tweaks to your existing site could help to improve your conversion rate. We all invest so much time and energy into getting people to our sites so it would be shame to miss out on some valued customers by neglecting conversion optimization. Trajan has some great insights and tips to help us get the most out of our efforts. 

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I make my website convert and generate more income for my business?

About Trajan:

Trajan King began his career on Wall Street before making the move to Silicon Valley where he worked for some of the biggest companies, successfully built many startups and became a renowned advisor in the field of conversion optimisation.

Trajan now works with companies to improve their conversion rates and improve their profit and efficiency. Here’s here with us on this episode of the number one small business podcast to share some of his expertise and help us apply some effective conversion principles to our small businesses.

Actionable Tips:

* Think of your website like it’s an Ikea store. Give your visitors and customers a clear, obvious path. Look at other websites such as Zappos and Amazon, and see how the conversion paths are clearly laid out.
* Think of the colour scheme and navigation of your site. You need to highlight the action that you want people to take on your site with colour so don’t overdo it with colours elsewhere.
* Each page should have one call to action. Lots of visitors aren’t coming through the home page, so it’s important that each page directs visitors in the right way, regardless of where they arrive from.



Top Quotes:

* “People spend around $97 to get people to their website and only $1 toward converting them. Those numbers are skewed when you look at how much time, energy and money people are spending on generating traffic.”
* “A conversion is not always a sale.”
* “Every page of your site should have an objective. I find a lot of website where people put up content but there’s no clear objective, call to action or conversion strategy.”
* “One of the top mistakes is having too much content on your website. It can muddle the message that each page should have a distinct call to action or objective.”
* “What we learn from the paradox of choice is that if you don’t give people a lot of choice then they’re more likely to go where you want them to go.”

Trajan’s Links:

The idea of creating a community around your business is something that a lot of us are hesitant about. It may be because we think that it doesn’t really apply to our business, or that it will take a lot of work. However, with the advent of social media, it doesn’t need to be such an arduous task and as Google is the first port of call for most people who are searching for a solution to their problems, it can be a benefit to almost any business. The networking opportunities created by a thriving community can open up a new world.

If you create community of people who are passionate about your products of services then this can really give your business a boost in a number of ways. Firstly, it can help develop a network of ambassadors who will promote your business organically. People are more likely to trust information if it comes from a real customer as opposed to a PR department. If customers receive fantastic service, they’ll want to tell others about it. This has always been the case, but it’s even more important these days thanks to social media. Maintain a great relationship with your community and it will promote your business for you. This promotion can give you fantastic opportunities to network with other people in your industry and respected entrepreneurs in niches different to your own.

Secondly, it will help you climb up the Google rankings. A community of people talking about you and your business creates a lot of hits for the search algorithm so that when a potential customer is searching in your niche or industry, your page is more likely to feature near the top. It will also make networking a whole lot easier as you will be easier to find.

Lastly, creating a community allows you to inject some personality into your business. If you provide no way for your customers to interact with you, your business could come across as bland. How many ‘About Us’ pages have you seen that just seem like the same, generic stuff? With a community, you can engage with your client base, offer content that will be of value and show the personality behind the business. You’re passionate about your business and industry, and others are equally passionate. People network with people so it’s important to get yourself out there. It’s time to harness that passion you have to create some tangible benefits for your business.

With us on this episode of your favourite small business podcast is inventor, entrepreneur and author, Stephen Key, who has some first class advice for those looking to grow and maintain a community of passionate ambassadors.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I cultivate loyal fans who will grow my network for me? 

About Stephen:

Stephen Key is an inventor, entrepreneur, intellectual property strategist, speaker and author. He has spent the last 30 years coming up with innovative ideas that he has taken to major companies to generate licensing opportunities. He is a regular contributor to both Entrepreneur and Inc. and his website, inventRight, is a treasure trove of fantastic resources.

Stephen’s best-selling book, One Simple Idea: Turn your Dreams into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do the Work, has helped thousands of entrepreneurs around the world build a following and connect with their customers to push their businesses forward.

Actionable Tips:

* Create a YouTube channel. Practice in front of the camera and try to learn to love the camera. You can do this anytime and anywhere. You can become comfortable with yourself and start to critique yourself and improve before putting yourself out there.
* Share your enthusiasm for other people on social media. Make it known that you appreciate other people and people will come back to you. Flattery will get you everywhere!

Creating a successful business from something that you genuinely have a passion for is the goal of most small business oweners. We all want to make money through sharing our expertise of a particular area in which we’re experts. Not all of us get to live that life though, as plans, and passions, change over time. Someone who has taken their passion and built a hugely successful business from it is Steve Lubetkin.

Steve has taken his early passion for radio and has since worked hard at building his business by providing professional podcast production services to a range of high-profile clients across America. In the past, Steve was interested in being in front of the mic, but he now focuses on the production side of things and his knowledge has helped major corporations produce professional content that has benefited their staff and customers.

Lots of us know and love podcasting and some of us even have our own shows, but how many of us have considered marketing our expertise to clients? Sure, we might think it’s not too difficult to record content, edit and distribute it, but for lots of organizations, it can be. They also may not have the right equipment and some may not have even considered what podcasting could do for their business. Many of them may be missing a trick and that’s a problem that those in the podcasting world can provide a solution to.

Company training sessions, seminars, conferences and product descriptions can all be packaged as podcasts. As Steve mentions in the episode, a business conference is only of benefit to those who attend, so why not record it and make it available online? Companies could then reach more people with less work and expense and nothing helps Google rankings like regular publication of audio and video content.

There is a potentially a lot of business out there for someone who has the right experience, equipment and networking skills. Steve’s going to shine a light on how to take this passion and make it into a business.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast Episode:

How can I market my podcasting expertise to my clients?

About Steve:

Steve Lubetkin is the managing partner of Lubetkin Media Companies. Steve started off on college radio before moving on to commercial stations. He then went on to work in public relations for major corporations in the United States, but moved back to world of the spoken world as podcasts started to take off. He has been able to take his passion and turn it into a wonderfully successful business by providing podcasting and consultation services to some of the biggest players in the corporate space.

Steve’s a pioneer who saw early on just how podcasts could be used by large companies and other organizations as an important tool to get ideas and concepts out to as many people as possible. How has Steve taken something that many of us do as a hobby and used it to grow a successful business? He’s here with us on this episode of your favourite small business podcast to talk through his journey.

Steve’s Actionable Tips:

* Know your equipment, your software and setup and plan for the unexpected. Don’t depend on recording your podcast on a computer. We believe in having dedicated equipment and knowing how to operate it. Always have a backup.
* Leave your ego at the door and produce what clients want. If you are doing this a business, you need to do what they want. This is a shift in mind-set for hobbyist podcasters.
* Demonstrate professionalism when it comes to client content. It’s helpful to have a script or bullet points for the things you want to talk about. There’s also nothing wrong with editing content after the program has been recorded.



Top Quotes:

* “It’s important for business people to understand that they can’t...

We all want to work with the best clients that we possibly can. It’s easy in business to peek over the garden fence and look at who your competitors are working with. If they’ve made deals with some big names in your industry and you haven’t, it can feel a little deflating and a number of questions will probably come up. What have they done differently? How did they gain access to this client? Where am I going wrong?

In order to work with larger organizations, small businesses and startups need to offer something unique that the bigger company perhaps doesn’t have the expertise, personnel or time to do themselves. Large organisations can be very traditional in terms of their planning and decision making. Add in the many layers of bureaucracy that need to be navigated in a big corporation and the result is that many processes take a long time to be completed. Startups and small businesses on the other hand are very agile, they can complete projects or change directions much more quickly. This difference in timescales can pose a challenge when dealing with larger organisations but it also creates an opportunity for small businesses.

With us on this episode of the number one small business podcast is Jannick Malling. Jannick is the CEO and founder of Tradable, a comprehensive all-in-one platform that integrates trading tools and functionality, taking the hassle out of trading. Jannick has spent a lot of time dealing with both large financial organizations and much smaller tech startups to get Tradable to where it is today. He’s going to be sharing his expertise and tips on how to gain access to those big clients and how to work alongside them.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I gain access and contracts to work with the world’s largest organizations?

About Jannick:

Jannick Malling was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark. He first started working in banking at 18 and over the course of his short career he has sought to bring the worlds of finance and tech closer together. In 2012 Jannick founded Tradable, an innovative trading platform that integrates all of the best trading tools in one convenient platform. Tradable allows users to handle sophisticated trades without the hassle. Jannick and his team work closely with software developers, banks and brokerage houses around the world.

Actionable Tips:

* Do something new. You can’t get the attention of large organizations by offering something that they think they can handle internally. You need to position your product in such a way that they will never have even considered doing themselves.
* Introduce unique features. You need to offer features and services that large organizations are not in a position to do themselves.
* Move fast and deliver quickly. Startups are more nimble than larger organizations so play to your strengths.



Top Quotes:

* “One of the issues is a time gap. For a startup, twelve months is a lifetime, for a large company, it’s only four quarterly reports.”
* “Steve Jobs didn’t see himself stealing customers from Microsoft, but he saw himself increasing the size of the market. It’s not always a zero sum game.”
* “It’s great to have confidence, especially if they can argue why they are so confident, but there’s also such a thing as being overly confident.”
* “Defining your initial market is one of the most difficult things to do. There’s no silver bullet, it’s just a lot of trial and error.”
* “You need to be very good at focusing on things, coordinating things and getting them delivered. As a startup working on your own product, you can use trial and error twenty times over and make adjustments. You have a nimbleness, but you don’t necessarily have that when you enter into a large partnership.”

Making first contact with a prospective new client can be a great feeling, especially if you feel that you’ve quickly built rapport and your product or service will be of real help to the client’s business. Realistically, though, how many times are we ever going to make a sale after speaking to a client just once? Therefore, the follow up with the client is just as important as making contact.

For small business owners, this can prove somewhat of a challenge. We want to keep in contact with prospects, but we don’t want to feel as if we are pestering them. All of the rapport you built up on your first call could be swept away if they feel hounded in any way. On the other hand, a burgeoning business relationship could fade away if you leave it too long before you contact them for a follow up. How we relate and serve clients can make or break our businesses, so there are mental barriers when it comes to things like following up. If we want to build and maintain fantastic client relationships, what’s the best way to keep in touch with them?

On this episode of the number one small business podcast, we’re joined by Amanda Holmes. Amanda is currently the CEO of Chet Holmes International and her business is helping companies grow faster, better and smarter. She’s going to be sharing her thoughts on this tricky issue and some actionable tips that should take the anxiety out of following up with prospective clients.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I successfully follow up with prospective clients?

About Amanda:

Amanda Holmes originally followed her passion and studied music at USC, but joined her father’s company after he sadly passed away. After a while she stepped into the role of CEO and is now driving Chet Holmes International to further success. Amanda is now an authority on sales, marketing and growth. She’s here with us on this episode of your favourite small business podcast to share some of her experiences of following up with prospective clients and some actionable tips that can be implemented in any type of business.

Actionable Tips:

* The perfect window for following up is within 1-2 hours of your conversation.
* The four elements of an effective follow up are:
* Make sure you start your correspondence with something personal.
* Compliment the client on an aspect of their business.
* Mention to hot buttons that they are currently facing.
* Close on a personal note.
* Focus on the client, their needs, desires and hot buttons.



Top Quotes:

* “The one with the most passion wins.”
* “The ultimate salesperson is one who perseveres with passion.”
* “Focus on one product, vertical or niche, then you can expand out from there. Focus on one first. Companies start to grow and see progress because the mind of the entrepreneur is focused and their attention is not scattered around too many different ideas.”
* “You don’t have customers, you have clients. Clients are under the care, guidance and protection of an expert.”
* “E-mail marketing is the second highest ROI marketing method after referrals. Find your voice, find a way to be authentic and it will resonate with people way more than being ‘salesy’.”
* “The number one marketing mistake that entrepreneurs make is to focus on themselves. Don’t focus on you, focus on them, their needs and desires.”
* “You should leave nothing up to chance. Every one of your salespeople should know exactly how to follow up. The same is true of staff working in customer service.”

Amanda’s Links:

* Chet Holmes International (http://www.chetholmes.com/)
* Amanda’s Twitter (https://twitter.

Building a following or community online is a pretty tough ask these days as the competition for the attention of users is fierce. Everyone seems to be offering more and more in terms of content and value to try and keep people on their sites long enough for a community to develop. As a result, many of us have become cynical towards sites that offer a great deal and don’t seem to ask for anything in return.

Our guest on this episode of the number one small business podcast has faced an extreme version of this issue with his site as he’s giving away free money! If alarm bells are going off and you’re thinking of e-mails you’ve received from deposed princes in far off countries, don’t worry!

Chris Holbrook has created his own spin on the lottery format with Free Postcode Lottery. His users simply enter their postcodes and prizes are awarded every day through a number of different draws. A dedicated community of users has grown up around the site and Chris now has an army of brand ambassadors who help spread the message and bring new users to the site. As the business grows through advertising revenue, so too do the prizes that users are able to win.

How was Chris able to overcome some of the cynicism that greeted him in the early days of his business? And how was he able to create an environment that was suited to growing a powerful following? Chris is going to talk us through these points on more on this episode of your favourite small business podcast.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I build a loyal and trusting following in today’s noisy world?

About Chris:

Chris Holbrook has worked as a freelance web developer for such high profile clients as Nokia, BT and the BBC. It was while working as a developer that he struck upon the idea for his site, Free Postcode Lottery. The site is a lottery but users needn’t buy a ticket, they simply enter their postcode. Prizes are awarded every day through a variety of different draws. Through advertising revenue, Chris is able to grow his business at the same time as sharing success with his users.

Actionable Tips:

* Be visible, transparent and authentic. If people can see the person behind the business, they’re less likely to be cynical about it.
* Cultivate your user base. Allow your users to become part of the website and part of the movement. Always exploit opportunities to delight your users or customers.
* Persevere and be patient. It’s very difficult to be heard online and it’s tempting to give up if things aren’t going well. Don’t become disheartened.



Top Quotes:

* “The very first mistake I made was choosing April 1st to launch the site!”
* “You do get lots of cynicism but at the same time I also get lots of people who go the extra mile and constantly surprise me.”
* “Public negativity is an inevitability. I’ve been lucky so far in that there hasn’t been a bad review or article or any negativity from anyone who matters. There has been negativity from trolls though.”
* “If I can make a living from the website in a way that means that there are no losers, why would I change what I’m doing to make money? What really excites me is that the model benefits everyone and it’s scalable so the mutual benefit grows.”
* “Having a community like mine is like having an army!”

Chris’ Links:

* Free Postcode Lottery (http://freepostcodelottery.com/)
* Chris’ LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/pub/chris-holbrook/11/34/911)
* Chris’ E-Mail (chris@chrisholbrook.com)

Key Timestamps:

* 01:04 Challenged Issue

Most small business owners know that they need to have an online presence in order to compete and stay relevant. Are we doing enough though? Are we getting the most out of the massive opportunities that come with doing business online? Are we engaging in digital commerce or ecommerce? And what’s the difference?

We’re joined on this episode of the number one small business podcast by Chaitra Dutt, who is going to help us answer these questions and more. Chaitra knows a great deal about this area and currently serves as a Chief Marketing Officer of Meylah, an innovative digital commerce platform for small and medium sized businesses.

With Chaitra, we’ll lay out the differences between ecommerce and digital commerce and why your business should be getting digital commerce ready. Chaitra also has some great actionable tips that will help you assess your business’ readiness and help your prepare for a more engaging customer experience beyond the simply transactional.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

Are you digital commerce ready?

About Chaitra:

Chaitra Dutt is the CMO of Meylah, a digital commerce platform for small businesses. She has previously helped to create Microsoft’s service culture and served as Director of Licensing at Oracle.

Chaitra has a proven track record of enabling global transformations, readying business for digital commerce and delivering tangible results for businesses around the world.

Actionable Tips:

* Take a Digital Ready Assessment. Businesses that are digitally ready are 11% more profitable. The assessment has been put together by real leaders in this area. After taking the assessment you can see where you need to spend your money to improve. Get to know where your business is right now, so you can take steps in the right direction.
* Pledge to Entrepreneurs Unite. Small businesses are the segment of the economy that can provide jobs for future generations.
* Join the free Meylah boot camp taster. You will learn what it will take for what it will take your business to support digital commerce.



Top Quotes:

* “The difference between digital commerce and e-commerce is the difference between engagement versus just transactions. Digital commerce is a solution to attract a customer who can engage with you beyond simply transactions.”
* “There are a lot of fragmented solutions and small businesses are getting overwhelmed. Digital commerce allows you to handle all aspects of commerce from one platform.”
* “The first reason why you need ready to do digital commerce is discovery. Consumers are using their mobile phones to search and if you’re not found after a relevant search then you’ve lost an opportunity.”
* “Can I convert the consumer from discovery to engagement to transaction?”
* “Engagement looks different for every business.”
* “Engagement can be as simple as writing a blog post, as simple as creating a webinar or as simple as providing templates and tools to save your customers’ time.”

Chaitra’s Links:

* Meylah (https://meylah.com/)
* Chaitra’s LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaitrav)

Key Timestamps:

* 00:30 Challenged Issue
* 00:48 Chaitra’s Introduction
* 03:38 Digital Commerce
* 05:19 Common Mistakes
* 07:38 Challenges of Digital Commerce
* 11:38 How Can I Begin?
* 15:20 Engagement
* 19:10 Getting Started
* 22:57 Actionable Tips
* 28:20 Chaitra’s Links

Don’t forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you WILL excel!

As small business owners, we all know that gaining a customer’s trust is very important. It’s common sense and it’s covered in all of the business books that we like to read. But, it can be easy to neglect when we’re chasing those sales and trying to grow our business. How can we not only build trust, but maintain it as well?

With us on this episode of your favourite small business podcast is Hani Mourra, the creator of Simple Video Press and Simple Podcast Press, WordPress plugins that have made content management easier for thousands of entrepreneurs around the world. Hani’s approach is one that all small business owners could learn from as he treats every customer and potential customer as a friend. His customer relationships start well before a transaction takes place and continue long after.

It sounds like a great way to do business, but surely this approach would take up a lot of time? Well, according to Hani, it doesn’t need to. A few minutes here or there, pointing your customers in the right direction can build trust and create invaluable good will for your business. Customers who have received your help and understanding in times of need can often become brand ambassadors for both you and your product. This ambassadorship could have a powerful influence on your business’ growth.

Let’s dig in to this together and see how you can forge customer relationships built on trust that will help your business prosper.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can we build trust with our potential customers?

About Hani:

Hani Mourra is a video marketing guru and the software designer behind Simple Video Press and Simple Podcast Press. Hani’s plugins have helped thousands of entrepreneurs and hobbyists around the world take some of the headaches out of managing their content on their sites.

Hani has built a customer base built on trust by always treating customers as friends and building relationships that continue long after a transaction has been made. His customers have become his brand ambassadors and helped his business grow.

Actionable Tips:

* Be approachable. Always let people know that they can reach out to you if they need something. It doesn’t cost too much time and it builds fantastic good will.
* Produce valuable content. Content that will help people and give real value is important before any sales are made and to continue relationships after transactions have taken place. Find out what your customers problems are and create content that will be helpful to them.
* Help as many as people as you can without asking for anything in return. You don’t have to spend hours and hours, you can sometimes point someone in the right direction in a few minutes. They will remember and appreciate your help.



Top Quotes:

* “I was approachable and accessible. Whatever they needed, whatever they wanted. If they wanted me to login to their site and help, I was very accessible. This was very important in building trust. Always be approachable and people love that one on one time.”
* “By building trust, you end up with brand ambassadors, people who will come out and fight your corner.”
* “When you help someone solve problems, they become ambassadors. They appreciate your time and they talk about you and the product.”
* “When customers know you are there for them, whether they are buying something or not, it makes a world of difference.”
* “The small things make a difference. All the customer’s experiences, especially the first, should be pleasant and easy-going. A simple example would be how they feel when you greet them as they walk in the door.”
* “Always empathise with the customer or the person you’re working with. Their ultimate goal is to be using your product...

It seems that everywhere we look, there are people who are developing successful businesses and making money online. Blogging, podcasting, publishing – there seems to be so many different options, but there also seems to be a saturation. How can we create and grow a successful online business in a very crowded marketplace?

Our guest or this episode of Excellence Expected is Anita Campbell who has a wealth of experience in this area from her time as CEO of Small Business Trends. Anita is going to share some fantastic insights with us as well as some actionable tips that could get you started on the road to online business success.

We all have our passions, interests and experiences, so we each have our own unique voice. Therefore, each of us has an opportunity to create a profitable business in online publishing. Listen to this episode to find out how you could make your mark with your own digital publishing business.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can we build and grow an online business?

About Anita:

Anita is the founder, publisher and CEO of the hugely popular small business website, Small Business Trends. She was initially trained as an attorney and moved into consultancy before finally ending up as one of the most influential publishing figures in the small business space.

Anita built her online presence from scratch and she’s here with us on your favourite small business podcast to share her experiences and tips to help you get a start online.

Actionable Tips:

* Stick with it. It takes times to build up traffic so you should take a look at the metrics after 12 months or 24 months. This is not an overnight thing.
* Publish, Publish, Publish. You have to build up a body of work and put yourself out there consistently. Inconsistent or infrequent content creation isn’t good for your business. The more you can publish, the better. However, quality must be at the forefront of your mind. There are also huge search engine benefits.
* Figure out something to sell early on. You need to have some revenue sources until you can get your traffic to a point where you can attract advertisers or sponsors. You could write an e-book, produce a piece of software or work as a freelancer.



Top Quotes:

* “I realized the potential of publishing. Gradually the blog ate the business.”
* “There’s still plenty of potential for people to create a content oriented site and have it grow into a large site. You need to think about a narrow niche.”
* “If you can find an area or interest that’s not already well served, then there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity.”
* “When it comes to an aspiring entrepreneur, there’s plenty of opportunity to spot something that’s not being done or not being done well and bring your own particular flavour to it.”
* “You have to have something that you can use to make money with. These things can take a long time, especially if it’s supported by advertising. At first, you need to find money elsewhere to buy you the time to get to the point where you can earn real money through advertising or sponsorship.”
* “Sending reports to myself motivated me. The slightest bit of progress could give me the motivation to keep going. Measure things and really look at reports.”

Anita’s Links:

* Small Business Trends (http://smallbiztrends.com/)
* Anita’s Twitter (https://twitter.com/smallbiztrends)

Key Timestamps:

* 00:41 Challenged Issue
* 01:12 Anita’s Introduction
* 04:08 Why Digital?
* 07:42 The Opportunity of Online Publishing
* 11:45 Persistence

Noise is something that all small business owners must contend with. It’s never been easier to connect with potential customers, but the noise from competitors, social media and other distractions can be deafening. Customers are now attuned to just switch off. Even if a client or prospective customer does hear what you have to say, what sets you apart from all of the other people working in your industry or niche?

Making yourself heard above the din is one thing, but having a unique proposition is quite another. How can we begin to differentiate ourselves from the pack and help our small businesses thrive? Our guest for this episode of your favourite small business podcast is Matthew Pollard. Matthew has conquered this tricky problem himself, five times over, and now he has made it his mission to help small business owners rise above the noise by finding and utilizing their differences and unique features.

He will be speaking about the importance of differentiation, how we can start going about it and some of the possible hurdles that we may face along the way. As well offering his expertise, he is also going to offer some exclusive content just for listeners of Excellence Expected. This is a fascinating episode that offers some excellent, practical knowledge that can be applied to any business, so make sure you don’t miss out!

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can we differentiate ourselves and stand out from the crowd?

About Matthew:

Matthew Pollard has built a reputation as the ‘rapid growth guy’. He has helped countless business worldwide achieve rapid growth by applying effective principles to their marketing strategies and ensuring that their underlying foundations are ready to handle an upsurge in growth.

He’s also behind five multi-million dollar success stories in industries as diverse as construction, education and telecommunications. Not only that, but he’s now also an in-demand speaker, writer, business coach and podcast host. Matthew’s here on the number one small business podcast to share his expertise and detailed roadmap that can be applied to any business.

Actionable Tips:

Matthew’s Five Step Sequence

* Step 1 – You need to work out who you customers are. Starting by writing down two lists. The first should be a list of the customers that you make the most money from. The second should be a list of the clients to whom you give the most value.


* Step 2 – With both lists written, start looking at the names and you’ll soon find there are similarities and patterns will begin to emerge. Group these similarities into groups and give these new groups their own names. These are market segments.


* Step 3 – Circle in red all the segments that you make the most money from. Circle in blue all the customers you give the most value to. What you’ll find is that there are a few segments that have been circled in both blue and red. You’ve now just found your target niche.


* Step 4 – Look more closely at the market segments that have been circled in both blue and red. Write down the specific things that you do for this target group. How do you help them, above and beyond offering products or services? How do you give them added value? Why is it that they stick with you?


* Step 5 – Write down what the higher purpose or true benefit is from the perspective of the customer. How can you summarise this in one short, succinct sentence that encapsulates everything that you provide for the customer? That sentence will become a popular tool to attracting new business and maintaining existing relationships.



Top Quotes:

* “I help businesses build the solid foundations underneath the marketing.

Each one of us, whether we’re small business owners or not, has had our fair share of tough times. Perhaps we’ve been through a painful divorce, or seen one of our business ventures fail. These challenging experiences and potentially painful memories can have a negative effect on our future endeavours. But, that doesn’t necessary have to be the case. We can use these experiences to help both ourselves and many other people who have been through, or are going through, similar situations.

With us for this episode of the number one small business podcast is Stacy Curtis, who has found that sharing our stories can make us heal and be able to handle difficult times better in the future. She now works with others to take the nuggets of wisdom buried deep down in memories of challenging times, extract them and present them to a worldwide audience. The things that we learn during the dark days needn’t drag us down for the rest of our lives and if we learn to think about and articulate them, they can be beneficial to us and many others. It’s all about how we view these experiences. And one of the best ways to create enough distance to really see them is to get them down on paper. By taking a step back and giving ourselves a new perspective on difficult times, we can start to extract the lessons that we, and others, can learn.

Only by looking at past troubles or mistakes in the right way can we start to make changes to ourselves and our businesses. Stacy is going to take us through some techniques that have worked for her and some that she espouses on her podcast and her training site.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast

How do we look inwards, draw on our wisdom and create something memorable?

About Stacy

Stacy Curtis is a writer, podcaster, teacher and entrepreneur. She is the mind behind the successful Write of your Life podcast that encourages people around the world to find their life themes and transform their knowledge and life experiences into wisdom that can be used by others to improve their lives and businesses.

Stacy joins us for this episode of your favourite small business podcast to share her insights into how writing about your life can have tangible benefits, not only for your wellbeing but also for your business.

Actionable Tips

* Discover your life theme. Take the time to go through the exercise. Once you know you can work to enhance it or change it. You have to be brave to do that, but the benefits could change your life.
* Think about which aspects of your story you’d like to change for the future. Most of us want to change something. Discovering your life theme will help you identify which aspects you want to change.
* Start taking notice of what’s happening around you and write a little bit about it each week. You need to start taking notice and making the time to write about it.



Top Quotes

* “Studies have shown that writing about your life and reflecting on your life can boost your immune system.”
* “Human beings have an amazing capacity to pull the wool over their own eyes.”
* “Writing helps you take knowledge and turn it into wisdom.”
* “What makes a good story is the details.”
* “What is the one piece of wisdom that you want people to take away? Find that and then you can add details that are specific to the medium you are using.”
* “Writing about or reflecting on your life can be the most effective fifteen minutes of your day. It gets all the junk out of your head and eventually you’ll get to some of the good stuff, the lessons you have learned. These are the lessons that you can then write about and craft into a compelling story that you can use in your business.”
* “We all go through life feeling that we’re so busy, but while you’re doing that,

These days, it feels as if every minute of the day some form of advertising or marketing is battling for our attention. Television, radio, mobile, print and online advertising has reached such a level that it can be difficult to focus on any one product, service or company that can offer us real value.

As consumers, the white noise of modern life can make it difficult to focus but as small business owners we need to be able to cut through all of the distraction and make our voices heard by the people that could most benefit from speaking to us. Trying to compete with everyone else is extremely difficult. By targeting our messages more precisely, we can avoid a lot of the competition and speak directly to the most relevant customers and prospects.

Differentiation, savvy marketing and offering added value can make a whole world of difference. Learning more about your clients and the challenges that they face can also be greatly beneficial as you can be more prepared to meet their needs as they arise.

Take the example of a small accountancy firm. If the firm sets out to work with whichever clients it can get, it will be going up against many others firms offering the same services. It will be difficult for any of them to stand out. If the firm were to narrow down their niche, they could be more targeted. So, if they promote themselves as accountants in the I.T. industry, they will have less competition and more focus. This could be narrowed down further to hosting providers, let’s say. The more targeted they become, the less competition they have to face and the more they can learn about their clients.

In this episode of your favourite small business podcast, we’re speaking to PR guru Tim Prizeman. Tim has extensive experience of making small businesses stand out. With the attention of our clients at a premium, his insights can help our businesses achieve more.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast

How can we cut through the noise attract the right attention to our businesses?

About Tim

Tim Prizeman has over 20 years’ experience as a PR consultant working on behalf of clients in the I.T., financial services and professional sectors both at home and internationally. He is also the author of The Thought Leadership Manual – How to grab your clients’ attention with powerful ideas as well as being a renowned public speaker.

Tim is an expert in making businesses stand out from their competitors and helping them grab the attention of potential clients. With the distracting noise of modern life, it’s never been a more difficult time to grab your potential clients’ attention, so Tim’s going to share his expertise to help us do just that.

Actionable Tips

* Understand the challenges of your clients. If you understand these problems, you can more easily provide solutions and relevant benefits.
* Set aside time for brainstorming. Get together with your staff or colleagues and listen to each other’s ideas and challenges. Exchange thoughts and help each other see issues from a range of different perspectives.
* Have a repeatable or routine feature. It could be a client dinner that you hold on a regular basis. It could be an initiative or campaign that you can repeat to keep its momentum going. Consistency is so important.

Top Quotes

* “Thought leadership means that you have ideas worth following and ideas worth paying attention to.”
* “We do live in a noisy world and you do have to cut through it. Part of the solution is identifying who is it you want to speak to and part of the problem is that the definition of who you want to speak to is too broad.”
* “If you are in a niche market, you aren’t competing against everybody and you can have a targeted message that’s memorable and relevant.”

Brand and branding seem to be used interchangeably in business and society in general. Even if some of us know that there is a difference, that difference can seem a little vague. When we hear either word, most of us will quickly start to think about the visual assets of a business, logos and marketing literature. However, while the idea of brand includes those elements, it also encompasses a great deal more.

Brand can be seen as a substitute for the word ‘reputation’. When we think of a company’s reputation, what do we think of? We think of the customer experience, the service, the products and anything else involved in our experiences of the company.

Brand is an overarching strategy that takes into account the big picture and the small details. If a company dedicates the time, focus and investment into making sure that every area of their business adheres to their brand strategy, it can do wonders for them. Conversely, if a company is unwilling to put in the effort or simply ignorant of how they’re perceived, it can really damage their business. While a sizeable investment is necessary for some businesses, many small businesses could make adjustments to their brand and strategies at a much lower cost. Brand is important as it is how your small business is perceived by customers and potential clients.

In this episode of the number one small business podcast, we’re joined by Giles Redmayne, a renowned expert and industry leader when it comes to this topic. Giles will be sharing with us the differences between brand and branding, how we can apply brand principles to our own small businesses and some of his experiences from his 20 years in the industry.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast

What’s the difference between brand and branding?

About Giles

Giles Redmayne is a founding partner and the business director of brand and design consultancy, Purpose. He’s been in the industry for more than 20 years and worked with and consulted major brands including Orange, Virgin Atlantic, Epson and Apple.

Giles is here with us on this episode of the number one small business podcast to discuss his area of expertise and how small business owners can optimize their brand to attract new customers and retain existing ones.

Actionable Tips

* Find an expert to speak to. How will you know that they’re an expert? If the conversation quickly turns to visual assets and logos, then there is something wrong. Brand strategy fundamentally starts with your business, the challenges you face and your goals.
* Talk and engage. Have a non-committal meeting with an agency or run a workshop with them. Talk through your challenges and what you hope to achieve. You don’t have to commit to anything long term, but commissioning consultancy on a modular basis can create a lot of value.
* You need to be prepared to engage your whole business toward building a strong brand. Be realistic about the level of commitment required to build a brand in terms of time, investment and focus. So many projects fall short because people don’t take into consideration the full scope of the undertaking.

Top Quotes

* “Brand is a strategic plan that influences an entire organization. Branding is the application of that within visual assets and communications.”
* “When you flip the word ‘brand’ for ‘reputation’ it resonates in every boardroom up and down the country. The word ‘brand’ has perhaps become too associated with supermarket shelves or consumer goods.”
* “The first inclination is to think that I couldn’t possible afford to do that. But many of the key brand principles are common sense. It’s about finding out what’s at the core of your business that can differentiate you from the competition.”
* “One of the easiest rationales for investing in...

Not only has social media changed the way we live and see the world, but it’s also become a powerful tool for business. There are now more ways to connect with potential clients than ever before but we have all seen examples of social media being used in ways which have negatively impacted businesses. Perhaps a company’s social media isn’t targeted or well thought out. Perhaps their content is just too bland to be memorable.

How, as small business owners, can we get the most out of social media? What can we do to make a positive, lasting impression that will bring tangible benefits to our businesses? In this episode of the number one small business podcast, we’ll be speaking with Ramona Rice who knows more than a thing or two about this exciting topic.

Like all promotional activities, there needs to be a strategy behind a company’s social media output. This can give the impression that we will need to devote a lot of time to it. However, planning out your social media strategy doesn’t need to take up too much of our time and targeted output can have a huge impact. A little forethought and the help of some automated platforms can give us more time to concentrate on the more traditional areas of our businesses.

Most of us didn’t become small business owners to simply sell any old product. The products and services that we provide are things that we are knowledgeable and passionate about. It’s important when using social media to use that knowledge and passion when connecting with potential clients. Don’t be afraid to put some personality into your social media campaigns. It’s easier for customers to make a connection with a company that reveals the personalities of the people behind it.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast

How can we use social media effectively to improve our businesses?

About Ramona

Ramona Rice is not only a great friend of the show, but also a social media strategist, real estate marketer, blogger and podcaster. She manages social media strategy for one of the largest independent real estate companies in the United States. She has her own real estate marketing site and hosts the Sports Gal Pal podcast.



Top Quotes

* “You have talented people who are passionate about things outside of what they do. If you encourage them, it leads to better camaraderie and companionship.”
* “We started small, took baby steps and focussed on one platform at a time and very quickly we started seeing results.”
* “For our site, social media is behind only organic and direct traffic. That’s a real testament to the content we are creating.”
* “We want to provide education and value to our prospective clients. When the time comes when they want to buy a home, they already trust us.”
* “When you have a content marketing plan, it means that every single post, tweet, blog and video has a purpose behind it. It makes things much more effective and it’s easier to measure results.”
* “If you want to do this, the biggest thing you can do is have some data to show your boss. Find out if your competitors are doing something similar. The minute that they find your competitors are doing something, your boss will want to do it.”
* “You can’t be afraid to put some personality into your business. You have to be willing to let go of some potential customers to make sure you get the right customers.”
* “Automated services will save you so much time and they are all very cheap!”

Actionable Tips

* Every post needs to have a goal attached to it. It needs to be based on something that you hope to achieve. Even if it is just letting customers know that you are out there, keep a goal in mind. Defined goals make the process easier to plan for and the results are easier to measure.

These days, just having a website for your small business is not enough. Your site needs to be visible and it needs to generate leads that are going to help your business to grow. How can we drive traffic to our sites and also generate profitable leads?

Quick fixes, keyword hacks and creating all manner of backlinks are not the way to give your business the visibility it needs to succeed. More than ever before, content is king. So how can you produce valuable content that will not only help us rise up the search rankings, but also convert visitors into customers?

For long-lasting, organic results, we need to remember that nothing happens overnight and any SEO company who promises instant results should be avoided. Quality blog posts, great videos and valuable, actionable content will set your business on the right path to the first page of the search results in your niche.

Give your visitors an irresistible offer in exchange for an e-mail address and you’ll soon have a captive and relevant audience with whom you can engage in targeted e-mail marketing.

Our guest in this episode of your favourite small business podcast is Lindsey Anderson, a web strategist who has spent the last ten years helping small business owners get the most out of their web sites. Her company, Web Impakt, has helped hundreds of clients navigate the ever-changing waters of online business.

She is going to share her expertise with us and provide a guide to getting the most out of your online presence.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast Episode: How can we drive traffic to our sites and generate profitable leads?

About Lindsey:

Lindsey Anderson is an expert in the field of online traffic and leads. For over ten years, she’s been at the helm of Web Impakt, a company that specializes in web design, SEO, social media marketing and PPC management and also provides expert consultation to small businesses.

Her site, Traffic and Leads, aims to provide small businesses with complete traffic and lead generation solutions. Lindsey has a wealth of experience in helping businesses achieve tangible results from their websites.

Actionable Tips:

* Select a social media channel and start posting, especially with video. Don’t be shy, just start posting and let people know that you’re out there, you have a personality and you want to do business with them. 


* Make sure your website has a lead capture form so you can get that all-important e-mail address. Just start today and your list will grow and grow.


* Start generating content. Write long articles, short articles or create some video content. You don’t need to work with an SEO company. Write about your industry, small business or anything else you think your customers will be interested in and soon you will start coming up in the search results in your niche. Be patient and keep writing!

Top Quotes:

* “Content is king. Google is now so smart at knowing when people are trying to trick the system.”
* “Boring, generic websites are just sitting there passively. Add a blog or add an offer and your site will see the benefits.”
* “Make sure you have an irresistible offer on your website to capture that precious e-mail address.”
* “E-mail marketing helps us keep in indirect contact with our potential clients. When they are ready to do business, yours will be the first name that will come to mind.”
* “Any information that we can get from visitors should be considered a win. Even if they don’t make a purchase instantly, you can slowly start marketing your products or services to them.”
* “With an e-mail address and the permission to e-mail your visitors, you’re no longer at the whim of Google or Facebook algorithm changes.

Starting an online business can seem daunting. There sometimes seems to be too many different ways in which to go about it. The wealth of information that we have at our fingertips can also begin to feel overwhelming. We start researching an idea and come across something different in the process. Should I start a blog? A small business podcast? An e-commerce store? It’s easy to suffer from paralysis by analysis.

What then is the best way to build a brand, become a figure of authority in a particular niche and make some money during the process?

Our guest for this episode is someone who knows about all of these things and more. An online business veteran with over twenty years’ experience, Zac Johnson is a pioneer in this space and his blog has helped thousands of entrepreneurs get started with their own online businesses.

Zac is going to offer his insights and some actionable tips that could help you take the first steps to becoming your own brand, a leading figure in your field and to make some money at the same time.
Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast Episode:
How can you build a trusted brand, become an authority within your niche and make money during the process?

About Zac:

Zac Johnson has been making money online through a variety of ventures for over 20 years. He’s a widely respected expert on blogging and affiliate marketing and his articles have helped thousands of entrepreneurs take the plunge and start making money on the web. His blog covers all aspects of online entrepreneurship from building a presence on social networks to leveraging your brand and knowledge to become an authority figure within your niche.

He’s also published a book, Blogging Tips: Confessions of a Six Figure Blogger which aims to further spread useful, actionable and proven ideas on how to generate income in the digital space without a huge amount of initial investment.

Zac’s Actionable Tips:

* Take action, register a domain name and set up hosting. The best way to get started is to get something live today.
* Choose a niche in which you can become the authority. If you’re passionate about sports, start a sports training blog. If you own a local pawn shop, write content that reflects your experience and knowledge. Try to become the authority in this space.
* Turn the blog into a business. This can be done by monetization through affiliate marketing or you can create your own products, or offer consultancy services based on your expertise and experiences.



Top Quotes:

* “In 2007, I launched my own blog to really branch away from affiliate marketing so I could build my own brand, product and following and teach others how to do the same.”
* “You can really do anything now through the WordPress platform because of the functionality, the plugins and the themes that are out there.”
* “To get set up, live and running, it really only takes a few minutes of your time and there’s no programming or previous experience needed.”
* “The best way to take action and get things started is just to learn as you go.”
* “You’re online whether you like it or not. Take control of what is out there.”
* “You can’t let what is currently out there change your decision on whether you’re going to do this or not. You can’t accept things as they are, you need to get out there and change the game. That’s the whole entrepreneur mind-set.”
* “Search your passion and find something that’s profitable.”
* “Keep your content niche focussed and make sure it ties in to whatever your business is.”
* “You need to treat it like a business and take your time to build links, created content and become an authority.”
* “Most people are focusing on content and not content...

Business is entirely driven by sales. At the end of the day, if you are not selling something, you are not making money.

However, not everyone is a natural-born sales person. You may lack confidence, have self-esteem issues, or be afraid that you will be turned down. But you have to learn to sell without fear!

Successful sales people have the following qualities:

* Able to sell yourself and your idea/products
* Articulate: Be able to communicate what you want to achieve without feeling like you are trying to sell something to someone.
* Confident and comfortable in meetings
* Passionate about your products.
* Stand out from the crowd

Also, there are techniques outstanding sales people utilize when conducting business:

* Share your story. This will help to generate excitement and purpose.
* Prepare: Determine what you want; know what you are going to stay; etc.
* Build relationships: How can you help each other?
* Follow Up: Ask about the next steps. Put the ball in the client’s court and make them feel like they are making the decisions. Also, send an email to express thanks for their time.
* Apologise or Walk Away: If necessary, apologize if something is your fault. It is OK. You are human, you make mistakes. Also, know when to walk away from a deal, and don’t be afraid to say ‘No’ sometimes.

Now you are prepared to go out there and sell! Good luck!

About Ben:

Ben runs the National Enterprise Challenge, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at improving enterprise and employability skills of young people.
Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast Episode:
In this small business podcast, we challenge the issue of how to sell without fear.

Ben’s Actionable Tips:

* Empathy and Preparation: Research the company/customers. Determine what is in it for them – have an agenda and goal in mind to identify how that can work.
* Haggle, and then haggle some more. Push back or walk away if necessary and know what you are worth.
* Reflection: The deal does not always need to be done immediately. Take some thinking time if necessary. 



Top Quotes:

* “It’s all about sales. You’ve still got to be a commercial enterprise in the way you think.”
* “If you are passionate about what you’ve actually got or what you are selling…”
* “I think everyone has a bit of self-doubt now and again.”
* “Don’t do that again, you idiot. That’s not how you do things.”
* “You can’t just walk in to a sales meeting and assume that you are going to nail it every time.”
* “At the end of the day, there are so many people who sell to the script.”
* “What can I do to get this closed today? What can I do to follow up? When should I follow up?”
* “What’s the worst that can happen if you apologise?”
* “People are just people.”
* “If you can get that passion, you’ll look like you know what you are doing.”
* “It’s all about being professional and delivering on your promises.”

Guest Links:

* National Enterprise Challenge (http://www.nationalenterprisechallenge.co.uk/)
* LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/ben-dyer/7/9b7/a22)

Resources:

* Jordan Belfort (http://jordanbelfort.com/)
* Judy Robinett (https://www.excellence-expected.com/episode57/)
* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.

How many people have visited your website? What pages do they visit? How often do they visit? What did they buy? Whether you are a big or small business – the data you collect about your website visitors is vital.

In a world of big data, the power for you as a small business could well lie in small data!

There are several ways and tools you can use to collect data, including Google analytics. These tools help businesses determine the most effective and efficient way to utilize their websites. They can be used to track, analyse, and understand site visitors – their existing or potential customers.

The more in-depth data you collect, the more you can communicate and engage with customers. For example, CANDDi integrates a real-time cookie that tracks every single thing for each visitor - every time they visit until they opt-in to identify themselves. That way, sales staff will know what to reach out to them about and will be able to create long-term relationships.

Most web tracking is anonymous. You don’t know who to reach out to in order to build relationships, but CANDDi helps with that. It can group together customers based on trends and their interests. This provides data that empowers sales people.

But what do you do with the website data you gather to tweak your marketing efforts and build relationships with your customers?

* Put time into creating the right content for specific people.
* Reach out to customers to identify why they go where on the website.
* Gather qualitative data: Why, how, and who?
* Know and care about your clients.
* Be mindful of privacy laws. Don’t abuse data.
* Ask customers what they want and need.

But effectively using the data you collect, your customers turn into clients. A customer is a transactional person. They come to mak a purchase. However, a client is coming to your website for wisdom and experience. They are coming to you because of your knowledge.

So, use data to take your business to the next level. Use it to help your bottom line!

About Tim:

Tim is the co-founder of CANDDi (Campaign and Digital Intelligence Limited), which is a tech startup that helps companies build relationships with website visitors.

Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of turning data into meaningful client relationships.

Tim’s Actionable Tips:

* Track absolutely everything! If you are not capturing the data, you can’t do anything with it.
* Qualitative not Quantitative: Ask why, who and how; and listen to results.
* It’s not all about the first date! Awareness, interest, and other factors help you to engage with customers/clients.



Top Quotes:

* “What’s the key things that’s going to get Bob excited?”
* “Your website is your best marketing person. Your worst sales person.”
* “Your website knows everything about your business.”
* “You can’t sell to a page view. People buy from people. People sell to people. People engage with people.”
* “Clients come to us because they want that little bit extra. They want the experience. They want the knowledge.”
* “When you imagine big data…they talk about it, but they don’t really do anything with it.”
* “Small data is far more exciting than big data.”
* “When people visit a website, we think we are showing them everything they want to see.”
* “Conversationalism - starting to ask people: What do you want from our business? What can we give you?”
* “You’ve got to use this kind of data the right way.”
* “Here’s a pint of Guinness. Take the world off your shoulders.”
* “The thing with relationships: They’re two ways.”

Marketing messages barrage us every day of our lives via email, billboards, commercials, etc. Unfortunately, small businesses seeking to market their own business dip into those avenues without really knowing what they are doing! Don't pretend, we've all been there.

Don’t just throw cash at things and hope it sticks. Marketing is an investment, not a cost. You will get a return on your investment if you do marketing the right way for the right people.

What is the purpose of your marketing? Figure out who you want to market to and what the outcomes should be. Marketing is to demonstrate to your target market that you understand their current problems and you have ideas to help them. Solve problems for the right people!

The right people are those customers who make you the most profit and tend to spend well and often. Get to know them and treat them as friends and someone they will listen to. That is how you build relationships and partnerships. It is all about human-to-human marketing.

Businesses often feel the lure of the big number and use marketing to attract large numbers of the wrong people instead of focusing on a smaller number of the right people. Don’t market to the wrong people because that makes for a bad foundation for your company.

Instead of focusing on day-to-day tasks and basic “busyness,” focus on your business and the right people for your business.

About Jay:
2 x Global Entrepreneur 'Big Impact to Business' Award winner, Author and Business Success Coach, Jay Allen helps savvy business owners break free of mediocrity by embedding significant sustainable growth strategies to businesses across the UK.
Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of focusing down on your marketing and the right type of people for your business.

Jay’s Actionable Tips:

* Know who is your who. Find your top Grade A customers and learn everything you can about them.
* Learn how to listen and not just hear. Listen to conversations and learn about what your top customers are saying.
* Understand that marketing is about selling change. Understand your customers’ problems and offer solutions.



Top Quotes:

* “Done well, it (marketing) is an investment.”
* “It’s about building relationships with the right people.”
* “Success is consistency.
* “People assume that their prospects and potential customers care.”
* “No one loves your business as much as you do.”
* “It’s always best to remember as to who got you to where you are now.”
* “The only thing that is unique about all of us or any of us is our DNA.”
* “Cause it’s not about you. It is all about them (customers).” 

Guest Links:

* Email (jay@jayallen.uk)
* My True North (www.mytruenorth.uk) 

Resources:

* The Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/)
* The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com)
* 5 Twitter Sins Destroying Your Twitter Credibility (https://www.excellence-expected.com)

Key Timestamps:

* 0:40 Challenged issue
* 1:31 Introduction of guest
* 1:50 Marketing your business
* 2:53 Guest’s background
* 4:10 Different types of work
* 4:33 Landscape of marketing
* 7:30 Being busy
* 9:12 Scenario
* 10:45 People don’t know you and your business
* 12:25 Target audience and grading
* 17:38 Equal efforts and partnerships
* 19:32 ROI
* 20:18 Objectives and strategies

What is content marketing? How can your business take advantage of it? How can you learn more about it? More importantly, what can it do for your audience, influence and profitability?

People are becoming more and more passionate and excited about content!

Content marketing is a business’s ability to communicate a message to an audience without selling. The business creates a message - something that adds value for their audience. Then, the business will build trust and relationships, and the audience may buy something from the business.

Content Marketing = Audience = Sales

People are not in the buying mode most of the time, so how can a business communicate with someone when they are not in the buying mode?

There are so many channels available. Create a blog, podcast, or video to get marketing messages out there. You need a place where people can get to know and trust you. This is how you build a loyal fan base and audience!

Searches are no longer the only online way people find out about your business. Instead, it is now all about your audience sharing information about your business. Your audience can influence others, and that is very powerful.

If you can create a solid and loyal audience, you can really build something special!

About Chris:
Chris is the founder of Learning Everyday Ltd., which assists small businesses with content marketing and business development. He is also the founder of the Content Marketing Academy, Scotland’s first and only annual content marketing conference. So, this chap knows how to build an audience!

Challenged Issue:
In this podcast, we challenge the issue of building a loyal audience.

Chris’s Actionable Tips:

* Create Content: Use podcast, blog or other platform to get your message out to build your audience.
* Give your audience a place to go. Facebook groups are one option.
* Engagement: Understand what your role is with your audience.

 Top Quotes:

* “I have been massively interested in personal development through my whole career.”
* “I started to sort of go down this journey of finding my passion.”
* “It always comes back to helping people to get better at getting their message out there and communicating with their customers and their audience.”
* “Content marketing really does put the fun and excitement back into business and back into marketing.”
* “It is trying to get them to buy into this culture of content.
* “It (content marketing) kind of flips marketing on its head.”
* “How does a small business owner build that audience?”
* “People won’t care if you are just there trying to sell to them.”
* “The most successful businesses we know of today … they just know more about their customers.”
* “People are influenced by what their friends share.”
* “It isn’t about having 10,000 fans. It’s not about the numbers. It’s about the loyalty and the trust within that audience is the most important part.”

Guest Links:

* Twitter (https://twitter.com/chrismarr101)
* Instagram (https://instagram.com/chrismarr101)

Resources:

* Colin Gray (http://www.thepodcasthost.com)
* Jack Black (http://pro-motivate.com/speaker/jack-black/)
* Crush It! By Gary Vaynerchuk (http://pro-motivate.com/speaker/jack-black/)
* Google Trends (http://www.google.com/trends/)
* Jay Baer - Youtility (

The word "brand" is changing, in this world of people-to-people marketing, do you have the confidence to be you?

Danielle Watson developed The Purse Process, which identifies four purse process personality personas such as Dumpster Debbie and Vanishing Veronica based on the items found in a handbag or briefcase - awesome, right? These personas identify the cycles and patterns people exhibit. As a result, this information helps others identify and build their brand.

Branding is a “signature” that weaves throughout everything you do - how you speak, how you dress, the colours you choose, how you present yourself, etc.

Find the confidence to be who you know you are. If you don’t know who you are, take the necessary journey to find out. Be yourself or you won’t find your true voice, which turns into your brand.

Ask people what’s interesting, memorable or even annoying about you. Be vulnerable and put yourself out there. Also, communicate with people as human beings, not as clients. Be mindful of how they respond to what you say.

Make things about your brand pop! You don’t even have to come up with something completely new. If it comes down to copying someone else or doing nothing at all, then copy someone else until you find your own voice.

Also, you can use something that you are not proud of in order to find your voice and niche. Look for things that you are ashamed of and find the right way to use them. They may be your Golden Ticket to an amazing life!

About Danielle:

Danielle is the creator of The Purse Process. It started as a fun experiment to identify her perfect client by looking through their handbag. The process uses three basic principles of archeology to look through a mountain of data and extract information relevant to what it going on in a woman’s (client’s) life.

Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of how to stand out in a crowd - how to create a brand that perfectly represents you.

Danielle’s Actionable Tips:

* Look at the whole of your life experience. Use that to create something brand new that the world has never seen before.
* Build your brand around what excites you and lights you up.
* Craft your gig to support indulging in things you love and would do anyways. Crafting a brand is work. But if you craft it around things you enjoy, you will be working from inspiration rather than motivation! 

Top Quotes:

* “How will you identify your ideal client?”
* “I see relationships and connections between things that other people don’t see.”
* “I knew who I was. I knew that I didn’t fit in.”
* “This is who I am and not only am I OK with it, but I love it!”
* “I think we get overwhelmed by this idea that we have to reinvent the wheel, when really, we don’t.”
* “You are exactly the way I expected you to be. And that is a powerful brand.”
* “There is no one in the entire universe who can do what you do in the exact way that you do it.”
* “People spend too much time worrying about creating a niche, and not enough time expressing who they are.”
* “We don’t really see how amazing we actually are and how unique we are.”
* “When someone speaks truth to you, you recognize it. You feel it in your gut.”
* “I said what I thought people wanted to hear. And then I realized that didn’t feel very good.”
* “You can create the same level of success by just following your own pattern – your own inner instincts – your own expression of who you are.”
* “The minute you stop copying somebody else, is the minute things take off.”
* “Just get moving in the direction of putting something out there, and you will find your way.”
* “The most successful people love what they do every day.

Some people struggle with copywriting. If you get the copy wrong on your Web site, social media profile, online brochures, and other items – it can be detrimental.

How do you write great copy? How do you maximise impact in a small amount of space and time?

Before taking pen to paper, take the time to position yourself uniquely and identify how that resonates with your customers. What’s essential about your business? What are you selling? What are you doing? Who are you selling it to? Why do they care?

Attention spans are low. So you need to quickly show why your business is important enough for customers’ time. If you communicate quickly and effectively, then they will be willing to give you more time. Also, write from the personality of your brand. Who is your customer? That will determine the tone of your copy – formal or conversational.

Make sure your copy does not focus too much on you and your business. People want to know you understand their problems and offer them solutions.

After listening to this podcast, you will be well on your way to writing great copy for your business!

About Liston:

Liston is a copywriter and digital strategist. In addition, he is a persuasion scientist, sales nerd, environmentalist, and hip-hop artist.

He runs his own business called, Good Funnel. The business focuses on three areas of a funnel that comes to a Web site: getting traffic, page conversion, and closing sales.

Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of how to write great copy even if you have no idea where to start.

Liston’s Actionable Tips:

* Don’t be too cute. Instead, be simple and direct. Make sure people understand what you are trying to communicate.
* Ask why when you gain or lose business. Record the answers, and you will see trends. That will help you to improve your copy.
* Add a healthy layer of social proof or data to increase your credibility. That becomes a shortcut for people to make decisions. Also, it lets people know you have a stamp of approval from others. 

Top Quotes:

* “There’s a real economy of expression in hip hop.”
* “People become too focused on tactics.”
* “Your readers, hate to break it to you, they don’t care that much about you. What they care about is solving their own problems.”
* “Let people know you can solve their problems.”
* “You start to understand what’s clicking and what’s not.”
* “Think about ways in which you can develop your own social proof, and make sure you weave that right into the core of your message.”

Guest Links:

* Good Funnel (http://goodfunnel.co/)
* Copywriting Checklist (http://goodfunnel.co/copywriting-checklist)
* Email (liston@goodfunnel.com)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/law4) 

Resources:

* Robert Cialdini (http://www.influenceatwork.com)
* NWA (http://www.nwaworld.com/)
* Netflix (netflix.com)
* Kindle (https://kindle.amazon.com/)
* Chris Ducker (chrisducker.com)
* MailChimp (http://mailchimp.com/)
* Basecamp (https://basecamp.com/)
* iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/al/podcast/excellence-expected-small/id924421463)
* Stitcher (http://www.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tends to get a bad rap. Some say SEO is too technical, sensational, complicated, and frustrating. Many businesses dismiss SEO as an unpredictable waste of money.

However, search is still responsible for most of the business done online. Don’t be on the sidelines when most business is generated through online searches!

Break SEO down to where it is actionable, and you can get results based on the size of your business. Making small adjustments to your marketing can make search results for your business even better.

The best search strategy is to offer the best answers to customers’ problems. Serve customers’ interests and needs through Web pages, social media posts, and other outlets. Create content to satisfy your customers’ curiosity. This will make your business sustainable.

Have you tried SEO? The best informational tools to steer you in the right direction are Moz, SEMrush, Google, and Google Adwords.

Your business needs to have a profitable search engine presence. So stay focused and don’t lose your patience!

About Jeremy:

Jeremy is the co-founder of Juicy Results, the Internet marketing agency for the “Fortune Five Million.”

Also, he is author of The Bootstrapper’s Guide to SEO.

Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of developing a long-term SEO strategy.

Jeremy’s Actionable Tips:

* Keywords: What keywords does your business want to rank for in search results? No just descriptive keywords, but also expand your mindset to problems your products and services solve for customers.
* Use each keyword as the driving force for the content on your Web site and that you generate over time. Develop more than one answer or one piece of content to address each keyword.
* Put content out in all kinds of formats - videos, social media, and other sources – to reach as many people as possible.

Top Quotes:

* “Search is still how we discover new products and services online.”
* “It is sometimes seen as a silver bullet.”
* “SEO can be a lot of fun.”
* “You’re better off blazing your own trail based on your own positioning.”
* “Slow and steady wins the race with SEO.”
* “You really need to understand what your customers are searching for, which is just good for business in general.”
* “Serve your readers’ curiosity.”
* “You have to be patient for patient for results, but inpatient for the activities that lead to results.”

Guest Links:

* Juicy Results (http://www.juicyresults.com/)
* The Bootstrapper’s Guide to SEO (http://www.juicyresults.com/books/bootstrappers-guide-to-seo/#.VTVex5PD7Qo)
* Keyword Brainstorming Worksheet (http://www.juicyresults.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/KeywordBrainstormWorksheet-JuicyResults.docx)
* Jeremy Pound Twitter (https://twitter.com/jeremypound)

Resources:

* Excellence Expected Episode 41 (https://www.excellence-expected.com/episode41/)
* Google (google.com)
* Amazon (amazon.com)
* Google AdWords (https://www.google.com/adwords/)
* Semrush (http://www.semrush.com)
* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact...

PPC. SEO. What do those stand for? If you don’t know, then you need to familiarise yourself with digital marketing for your business!

PPC means pay-per-click, and SEO is search engine optimization. PPC is a way for businesses to pay for putting them at the top of search results as “Ads.” While SEO is free and centres on where your business appears in search engine page rankings.

Digital marketing is a rapidly changing landscape. However, its purpose does not change: How do you get the right message to the right person at the right time using the most cost-effective medium?

Developing digital marketing for your business can be overwhelming. So, get help from experts and specialists. Kurve is a great option! It is a digital marketing agency that creates engaging content to help clients succeed.

About Oren:

Oren was one of the first “SEO guys” in the United Kingdom. He founded Kurve and specializes in digital marketing in large enterprise and has worked with numerous start-up companies. He spends a lot of time talking to like-minded specialists and reading content to become a knowledge worker. He tests things for clients in certain markets to get the best results possible.

Challenged Issue:

In this episode, we challenge the issue of digital marketing. Digital marketing gives us the opportunity to work with industry standard metrics to create our own metrics to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Oren’s Actionable Tips:

* Measure, measure, measure! Are you measuring traffic, likes, leads…? Be very clear on what you are defining for channels and set milestones. You can’t improve on what you’re not measuring.
* Conflicting Content: Many businesses do not know how to do social marketing the “right” way. They push their products rather than offering engaging and high-quality content. They need to partner with experts/specialists who know what they are doing. Take time to find the best help!
* Marketing Misconceptions: There are three different types of marketing: Traditional, digital, and growth-hacking. You need to understand what kind of marketing type and content works best for your business.

Top Quotes:

* “There is a huge community internationally for search marketing.”
* “Knowledge is power.”
* “Some of the things I do haven’t changed for the past 10 years.”
* “Some people say SEO is dead.”
* “When I started SEO, there weren’t many SEO guys around. Now, everyone is an SEO expert.”
* “Just because someone says they are an expert, doesn’t mean that they are.”

Guest Links:

* Kurve (http://www.kurve.co.uk/)
* Twitter ( twitter.com/Orengreen)
* LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/orengreen) 

Resources:

* Pat Flynn (http://patflynn.com/)
* John Lee Dumas (http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/)
* Touch Local (http://www.touchlocal.com/)
* Wink Bingo (http://www.winkbingo.com/)
* Wonga (https://www.wonga.com/)
* BBC (http://www.bbc.com/)
* Tiger Aspect Productions (http://www.tigeraspect.co.uk/)
* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
* Facebook (facebook.com)
* Twitter (twitter.com)
* Google AdWords (adwords.google.com)
* Dropbox (

For start-ups and entrepreneurs, social media = marketing. Have a social media marketing goal and work hard to achieve it. That should be your strategy!

Guy Kawasaki provides some practical tips on how to utilize social media:

* You do not need to hire consultants and experts to do it.
* Add videos and graphics to your social media.
* Use the social media sites that your potential and existing customers use. If your audience is not on Twitter, then don’t tweet!

The smaller the business, the more important social media is - it is your avenue to differentiate yourself, build a brand, and dominate a niche.

Many businesses are afraid of social media because they don’t have anything to say. However, it is about what your potential and existing customers/followers want to hear, not about what you have to say!

You’re providing a valuable service via social media. Customers/followers get information they want – whether it is content you create or content you share from other places. If your business does create original content, make sure it is written by subject matter experts – not unqualified people. Just because Janice the admin assistant or Ian the intern has a Facebook page, it does not mean they should be writing your businesses’ social media posts!

About Guy:

Guy has a diverse background. According to Guy, he "worked for Apple Inc. – a few times, Google, started some companies, became a speaker/writer, and is now chief evangelist for Canva".

Canva is an online graphic design service that allows anyone to make awesome graphics. And Guy knows how to use social media for his business!

He co-wrote the book, The Art of Social Media, which is an essential guide to get the most bang for your time, effort, and money.

Challenged Issue:

Implement social media marketing as a core part of your business!

Guy’s Actionable Tips:

* Every posting should have a graphic or video.
* If you shoot video, upload it natively to Facebook.
* On Twitter, include a graphic and up to four pictures.

Top Quotes:

* “Canva is kind of life changing if you’ve been struggling with graphics.”
* “Basically, if I am breathing, I am on social media.”
* “You really have to learn by doing.”
* “There is no loser in this!”
* “Most CEOs suck at social media.”
* “If you feel you are at a particular level, to be honest, you are probably wrong.”

Guest Links:

* Guy Kawasaki (guykawasaki.com)
* Canva (canva.com)
* The Art of Social Media (http://guykawasaki.com/books/the-art-of-social-media/)
* The Art of the Start (http://guykawasaki.com/books/the-art-of-the-start/)

Resources:

* Facebook (facebook.com)
* Twitter (twitter.com)
* Pinterest (pinterest.com)
* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
* Nike (nike.com)
* General Motors (gm.com)
* Proctor & Gamble (http://www.pg.com/ )
* Google Plus (www.plus.google.com)
* Instagram (instagram.com)
* Richard Branson (http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson)

Welcome to the renaissance of podcasting! Well, it is not actually a renaissance - which is how many people see it. In reality, podcasting has continued to grow year after year. It just seemed like last year, the world finally noticed and paid attention to podcasting!

Podcasting is a great way to consume very accessible and value-added content. People can listen to podcasts when they are driving their car, mowing the lawn, exercising – anywhere, anytime. Podcasting is great way for businesses to build relationships with customers!

The barrier of entry into podcasting has been lowered to make it possible for anyone to host podcasts. You don’t have to be a technical whiz and have the most expensive equipment. All you need is a good microphone and a Web site; and then work on your presentation skills.

Podcasting reveals your knowledge and skills. Then listeners begin to know, like, and trust you because you are communicating with your own unique voice.

Daniel J. Lewis is a veteran podcaster who wants to help others enter the fun and exciting world of podcasting!

About Daniel:

Daniel has been a part of the podcasting industry for years! In 2007, he launched his first podcast series – The Ramen Noodle. Then he got focused and serious about his efforts. In 2010, he launched The Audacity to Podcast series.

He helps people launch and improve their own podcasts to share their passion and to find success. He focuses on products and services for podcasters to help them do what they do!

Challenged Issue:

We are challenging our podcast listeners to integrate podcasts into their marketing mix to gain powerful business positioning!

Daniel’s Actionable Tips:

* Plan in order to succeed! Make a list of at least 20 topics you want to address in your podcasts, so you have a roadmap to follow.
* Don’t forget to do something! Start and don’t stop. Once you take that first step, you already have momentum. It’s scary, but you won’t regret it.
* Repeat consistently. Don’t do too much or try to make each podcast perfect. Just be consistent over time. For example, do a podcast once per week, not just whenever you feel like it.

Top Quotes:

* “I’m always excited to talk about podcasting!”
* “I have something to say in this space.”
* “I was blown away by the great reception and by the feedback I was receiving from people.”
* “This was the missing piece. To go from full-time employment to self-employment for my own needs because I provided services that podcasters would appreciate.”
* “Any business, any individual can really embrace this (podcasting).”
* “It’s making the content more accessible. It’s also making the content more personable.”
* “Learn how to be a great presenter!”
* “Focus, first and foremost, on releasing great content because that’s what will hook people in.”

Guest Links:

* The Audacity to Podcast (http://theaudacitytopodcast.com/)
* The Ramen Noodle Podcast (http://cleancomedypodcast.com/)
* Twitter (@theRamenNoodle)

Resources:

* Colin Gray (https://www.excellence-expected.com/episode31/)
* John Lee Dumas (https://www.excellence-expected.com/episode27/)
* Mike Russell (https://www.excellence-expected.com/episode32/)
* Julie Broad (https://www.excellence-expected.com/episode30/)
* Apple Inc. (apple.

Do you use Google? Bet your customers and clients do! As a business owner or entrepreneur, you should utilise Google to your benefit!

Google is known for changing its ranking processes and algorithms regularly. You need to make sure to change and adapt, as well. However, despite the ever-changing world, you can use search marketing and inbound marketing to establish long-term strategies and build a sustainable business.

Inbound and search marketing includes: search engine optimization (SEO) terms, social media marketing, emails, newsletters, and blogs. The content and information you provide must be special, unique, and high quality to resonate emotionally with customers. Initially, you will struggle with these marketing efforts. But your audience will eventually grow bigger and bigger!

Google is a powerful tool for customers to find you and your business. But it is definitely not perfect! Rand Fishkin believes that about 30-40 percent of Google searches give you excellent results. But 60-70 percent of the search queries generate weird and unexpected results that are not well thought out and do not create a positive user experience.

Google is trying to do it all! And this has generated feelings of anger, fear, and distrust of Google among some business owners. You can be penalized for bad links and other items.

Make sure your business Web site has positive link building, value-added content, and user engagement. These are all signals Google uses to rank sites. You want your business to rank high in searches, right?!

About Rand:

Rand of Moz.com is an inbound marketing expert and an authority on search marketing. He is considered the Wizard of Moz!

Challenged Issue:

We are challenging you – our podcast listeners – to think about the future of search marketing. What’s next? What do you need to do to prepare for the future?

Rand’s Actionable Tips:

* Keyword Research: Figure out the terms and phrases your audience is using to find you and the information you provide.
* Outreach: Rather than trying to contact the top influencers in your space/industry, take the focus off of them. Instead, reach out to other influencers in your space/industry. They are much more responsive and likely to help you!
* Mobile Searches: Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. On April 21, Google is changing its rank algorithm to include mobile search friendliness.

Top Quotes:

* “If you get things right, your strategy ,,, and if you think about the processes that you use and align them towards the future, you can actually build something that can last for many years without a whole lot of modification.”
* “It’s also not something where every morning, you need to wake up in a panic.”
* “They (Google) give you all of this data right in the search results, so you never have to actually click on anyone’s site.”
* “(Many of) the changes that they have been making the last few years…have really, I think, threatened their credibility more broadly.”
* “That is nightmarish. Any of this Kafka-es in terms of the process.”
* “That is enough to put a business under.”
* “I have seen hundreds, maybe even thousands, of businesses go under - Web sites go under - from Google penalties.”

Guest Links:

* Rand Fishkin Blog (moz.com/rand)
* Twitter (@randfish)

Resources:

* Google (google.com)
* Bing (bing.com)
* Facebook (facebook.com)
* Twitter (twitter.com)
* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

To build relationships with your customers, it’s important for businesses to create video content. Share videos regularly and make the customer experience more engaging and helpful. Customers want to see information rather than read it!

There are several ways businesses can use videos to interact with customers. Videos can introduce new products, the company’s team, and what services are offered. Videos can also resolve customers’ problems and provide answers to frequently asked questions.

But what if you know nothing about making videos? Where do you start? It is easy to get overwhelmed! Ravinol Chambers’ Video Know How helps businesses learn how to easily create videos – even when on a budget. Ravinol fills in the knowledge gap and demystifies the whole video process to make it as simple as possible.

He also helps businesses avoid the most common video mistakes:

* Trying to get everything into just one video
* Lack of clarity
* Bad sound
* No call to action
* No distribution plan
* Not having or knowing your budget

Now, it’s time to get started on those videos! So make sure to take advantage of Ravinol’s special offer for you – our Excellence Expected podcast listeners!

About Ravinol:

Ravinol is a video expert/producer, strategy consultant, and speaker. He is passionate about the power of stories to inspire positive social impact. He enables businesses to demonstrate - through videos - the difference they can make through the work they do.

He made his first film in East Africa in 1995 to raise awareness and funds. That’s when he first saw the power of video and visual storytelling to achieve something.

Then, he went on to receive a master’s degree in business. He focused on venture philanthropy, which is how business people can use their expertise to try and help philanthropic giving/social investment and enterprise.

Combining business minds with social change is Ravinol’s motivation and inspiration. So he created a company - Be Inspired Films - for organizations wanting to make a difference.

Challenged Issue:

We are challenging our podcast listeners to integrate video marketing into their business - even when on a fixed budget!

Ravinol’s Actionable Tips:

* Make sure to plan well! Don’t touch your camera until you have everything in order. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!
* Stay focused. Always keep the video’s objective in mind.
* Practice regularly and have fun! That’s how you will really learn and become more creative.

Top Quotes:

* “Video is so important. It’s taking over isn’t it?!”
* “Times have changed, massively.”
* “People are just blown away…it’s (teaching people to make videos) quite powerful.”
* “It’s (making videos) not as hard as you think.”
* “Everywhere they (customers) go, they’re seeing video content.”
* “It’s actually accessible. It’s not that challenging. You can learn this, and you can implement this on a set budget.”
* “Sit down and plan it, before you do it.”
* “The thing that I think is massively powerful is putting a personality and a face with a business.”
* “It sounds like video has a place in business and that it’s here to stay.”

Guest Links:

* Ravinol Chambers Email (ravinol@beinspiredfilms.com)
* Be Inspired Films (http://www.beinspiredfilms.co.uk/)
* Video Know How (http://www.videoknowhow.co.uk/)

Resources:

* Deutsche Bank (https://www.db.com/index_e.htm)

Where do you go to look for a job? Where do recruiters and employers look for potential employees? LinkedIn! 

In business, so much starts with your LinkedIn profile. Everyone checks you out and makes decisions about you before ever contacting you directly. So you need to make sure your profile looks professional. Also, make sure to build a strong network of co-workers and connections.

Many people use LinkedIn, but not effectively. They are on LinkedIn, but don’t do anything with it. They know there is potential, but don’t know how to move forward.

Mark Williams offers guidance on how to use LinkedIn to its fullest potential! Not doing anything on LinkedIn is a big mistake.

Use LinkedIn to let people know why they should hire you or work with you. What can you offer them? Why they should hire you instead of someone else? LinkedIn is a place where you have access to specific people – especially in business.

You are successful in business because of your products and services but also because of Impressions and how you relate to others. It’s about reaching people. It’s all about PEOPLE!

Utilise LinkedIn just as much as you login to Facebook or Twitter. LinkedIn not only provides access to jobs and people, but it offers valuable job-related content. 

About Mark:

Mark spent about 20 years in the recruitment industry. Then he set up LinkedIn training consultation in 2008. Now he trains thousands of LinkedIn users and has become known as "Mr. LinkedIn" in the industry!.

Challenged Issue: 

Is LinkedIn an effective business development and social selling tool? How can we leverage LinkedIn much more effectively?
Free LinkedIn Profile Review
Provide a link to your LinkedIn profile in the comments, and Mark will give you some honest, practical feedback. He will select one profile for an extensive review. This is your chance to gain valuable feedback to help you win a new job or new clients!!

Mark’s Actionable Tips:

* Get your profile up to speed! Be proud of it. Have others look at it to give you feedback. Make sure you have a compelling headline and a professional picture.
* Perform a 9-step search on LinkedIn to find second- and third-tier customers and save the search. Win some new business and clients!
* Ask for an introduction for a second-tier connection. Establish new connections using your network. 

Top Quotes:

* “LinkedIn is something that a lot of people do use, but actually … not that many people use it effectively.”
* “We need to diversify; we need to widen our … revenue stream.”
* “What could they do to bring people back on a regular basis?”
* “Everybody knows that if you want to check someone out in business, you go to their LinkedIn profile.”
* “It gives you great access to be able to build a strong network.”
* “Your ability to succeed in business is very, very strongly influenced by the quality of your network.”

Guest Links:

* LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mrlinkedin)
* 9 Simple Steps (winbusinessin.com/9steps)
* Winbusinessin (winbusinessin.com)

Resources:

* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
* Facebook ( facebook.com)
* Reid Hoffman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman)
* Twitter (twitter.com)
* Google (google.com)
* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and...

Use Twitter to gain new business leads and customers. Twitter is a game changer for businesses. It allows you to talk with your customers, not at your customers.

Twitter has one distinct advantage. It has the Four R’s: real time, real people, real stuff, right now.

Any and every business should be on Twitter. It allows you to humanize you and your brand. You can listen to what people say, ask for feedback, ask for new ideas—find out what is important to customers.

On Twitter, share both business and personal information. Share your interests and hobbies. Stop selling all the time, and start being a normal person!

Build relationships and create advocates—people who get to know, like, and trust you. Then they will refer and recommend you to others.

It takes energy, effort, and time to build a presence on Twitter. But you will reap rewards!

About Mark:

Mark started out as a salesperson. He realized that rather than just trying to sell products, if he offered value such as training and guidance, then he generated more sales.

He eventually became a mortgage broker. Then in 2008, he discovered Twitter. Now, he is a Twitter expert and professional speaker who travels around the world to talk about how every business should be on Twitter.

Mark’s Actionable Tips: 6 Bs of Twitter to generate real business

* Be committed: include photo, bio, URL and then start Tweeting!
* Be consistent: Tweet a little bit every day (2-5 Tweets a day).
* Be interesting: Tweet interesting things and add in a question at the end. Encourage conversation!
* Be interested: express interest in other people and your customers. See what interests them.
* Be authentic: do not turn into a presence without being present; be yourself.
* Be social: have fun!

Top Quotes:

* “I couldn’t understand why anybody would want to know I was having a latte or an almond croissant.”
* “Twitter is my foray.”
* “Yes, it’s fun. Yes, it’s social … but there’s also a very serious business angle to this.”
* “It’s not just about following Lady Gaga.”
* “Twitter to me is one of the greatest lead generation tools ever invented.”
* “When people start to become interested is when you engage with them, when you listen to them, when you ask them questions. And Twitter is the greatest for that.”
* “You can’t be everywhere.”
* “Wherever you decide to go, is going to take effort.”
* “Think a bit out of the box.”

Guest Links:

* markshaw.biz
* https://twitter.com/markshaw
* https://www.facebook.com/iammarkshaw 

Resources:

* Twitter (twitter.com)
* Facebook (facebook.com)
* Chris Evans (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3YP9wSzVrSPhq7mkN5CZkKn/chris-evans)
* Google (google.com)
* Pinterest (pinterest.com)
* Twitter Search Engine (https://twitter.com/search-home)
* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.excellence-expected.com/cwh/) 

Key Timestamps:

* 00:27 Introduction of topic
* 01:09 Guest introduction
* 01:25 Guest’s background
* 03:16 Twitter experience
* 04:07 Adding value

Personally, do you “like” businesses on Facebook? Do you write about your job or coworkers on Twitter? As an entrepreneur or business owner, do you have employees who post negative comments about your company on social media sites? Or do you have employees who are given access to the company’s social media sites and could actually abuse such power without your knowledge? 

Go ahead, search on Google, and you will find numerous examples of how people have lost their jobs, how businesses have been hacked, and other nightmares all stemming from social media.

How can you define who actually owns your business’ social media? You need to be concerned with not only the public, but employees as well. Peter Wright is here to save the day!

About Peter:

Peter Wright is a specialist digital lawyer from Digital Law UK.

He was once a solicitor who advised the United Kingdom government on data protection and information issues. He realized then, the importance of data protection when it comes to social media for businesses.

He also discovered that there are not many companies that offer practical advice on how to navigate through the difficult and confusing legislation in place for online businesses.

So he started the only law firm in England/Wales to focus solely on digital law (data protection, social media laws, and privacy security). The law firm strives to make sure businesses are safe from a cyber perspective.

Peter’s Actionable Tips: How businesses can understand and implement social media ownership.

* Create and implement a social media policy: identify who will manage the social media accounts; what should they be saying on the social media sites; what timeframe should they do postings; and so on. How, when, and where do you want the social media accounts updated?
* Include social media policy in the company handbook and employment contracts. You can have that element of control if it is clear in such documentation!
* Make sure policies are addressed in high-quality company training. The training needs to be good in order for employees to remember and follow such policies.

Top Quotes:

* “That will never happen to me!”
* “The Web is becoming more ingrained into everything we do.”
* “Make sure you’ve got a clear social media policy in place.”
* “Everyone’s on it (social media), but as a small business, how do you create a culture of respect for the corporate social media?”
* “Do the employees understand, properly, the implications of this (social media postings).”
* “Businesses are engaging on social media in a variety of different ways.”

Guest Links:

* Digital Law UK (http://www.digitallawuk.com/)
* Twitter (https://twitter.com/DigitalLawUK)
* Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DigitalLawUK)
* Blog (http://www.digitallawuk.com/blog/)

Resources:

* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
* Twitter (twitter.com)
* Facebook (facebook.com)
* HMV (http://www.hmv.com/)
* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.excellence-expected.com/cwh/)
* Google (google.com)
* Burger King (burgerking.com)
* Snapchat (https://www.snapchat.com/)

Mike Russell is the content man! He has generated so, so much information to help you and many others get started in audio / visual content marketing that no matter where you look online, you WILL end up at a piece of Mike’s amazing content.

Content marketing is a low-risk and low-cost effort that allows you to promote and market your ideas. The content helps raise awareness of you and your brand.

There are different types of content you can produce, including blogs, videos, and audio (podcasts). You can create how-to videos for YouTube, write tutorials on all kinds of topics, use email lists for long-form posts … there are so many opportunities!

What are you good at? What do you like to do? Do you like to make videos? Write stories? Pick something you are good at and enjoy.

For the most part, the only cost is the cost of your time. You can use basic equipment that you may already have such as headphones and Internet service. If you are going to spend money, spend it on a good microphone. Video content is a little more expensive, though.
About Mike Russell:
Mike started out his career as a radio host and also became interested in the production side of the radio industry. This inspired him to start his own business. Now he has two businesses: UK Podcasters Limited and Music Radio Creative Limited.

Mike is also the founder of New Media Europe, the biggest new media conference in the European region.

Image courtesy of UK Podcasters
What Mike Will Help You Overcome: 
The limiting belief that audio / visual content marketing is restricted to those with high budgets and expensive equipment.
Mike’s Actionable Tips:

* Pick whatever medium you are best at: writing, recording, video, etc. Then repurpose that content for other mediums.
* Be professional: have good logos, audio, videos, etc.
* Have an email list: use list to utilize content, have people answer surveys, etc.

Top Quotes:

* “I’ve been in internet radio since before the word podcasting existed.”
* “If you’ve got a great idea, you can put it out there.”
* “If you’ve got something that is good, you will get a great audience.”
* “I’ve seen huge benefits from it.”
* “With every style of content you are doing, you’re reaching a new audience.”
* “Everyone wants to learn online.”
* “This content really is valuable for marketing.”
* “Cost is not really a barrier to podcasting.”
* “Everyone is good at something.”

Guest Links:

* UK Podcasters (http://ukpodcasters.com/)
* Music Radio Creative (http://www.musicradiocreative.com/)
* New Media Europe Conference 2015 (http://newmediaeurope.com/2015/)

Resources:

* Colin Gray (http://www.thepodcasthost.com/blog/author/colinmcgray-2/)
* YouTube (youtube.com)
* Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/)
* Facebook (facebook.com)
* The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/)
* The Next Web (http://thenextweb.com/)
* TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/)
* Two Shots to the Head (http://www.twoshotstothehead.com/podcasts/)
* com (http://www.lynda.com/)
* Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/)

Most people know about Pay-Per-Click advertising, but don’t know how to really make it work for them. Most people struggle with how to make the most out of PPC advertising and make the biggest return from what you invest.

PPC advertising changes almost daily, so you need to stay up-to-date with all of the changes that happen. Always work toward improving your efforts.

PPC means advertisers are paying for each click they get on their advertisements. Website visitors do a search, and the top results are typically PPC advertisements. Advertisers are paying on certain keywords that will be matched with search queries to make their ads appear to drive traffic to their Web site and generate leads. They need to structure their account in a way that their keywords match with their advertisements.

As a paid advertiser, you have more control than the organic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) model to attract potential customers. Sadly, many PPC advertisers think they are going to get results immediately, but it does take time to achieve results due to competition.

Factors to consider with PPC advertising:

* Quality scores: These scores are based on the relevancy of your keywords to your site, your site performance, and the quality of your content. Make sure your site is the best it can be!
* Metrics: Your site’s metrics are important. They effect where you are going to be placed in search results.

* Most important metrics to focus on:

* Conversions
* Cost per conversion
* Impression share
* Quality score


* Sites: There are several online sites to utilize PPC advertising:
* Google
* Bing
* Facebook
* Twitter



Conversions are very important. Conversions include fill-out forms, ebook downloads, and direct purchases. Make sure to have conversion tracking set up.

What leads to underperforming PPC advertising campaigns? Not getting conversions. If you are not getting conversions, then you are not getting any value out of your account. Also, if you are not getting awareness/impressions, then you do not have a profitable campaign.

What results in a successful PPC advertising campaign? Visibility and conversions.

About Margot:

Margot da Cunha is a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising expert for WordStream.

She started off at Indeed.com, the job search engine. Then she joined WordStream as a customer service representative and became certified in Google AdWords. She helps customers get the most out of their budgets using AdWords.

PPC is a field that is always changing, and there is always something new to learn. Margot definitely has to keep up with all of the changes and new features.

It is important to hire people like Margot to have successful advertising campaigns. Entrepreneurs need to develop a partnership with someone who knows how PPC works and can dedicate time to PPC efforts. It’s just a matter of finding the right help, says Margot.

To find a quality partner, you need to identify: What do you want? Do you want some control or fully outsource help? What do you expect? What are your goals? Research options and companies that offer PPC services. Make sure they are on track and doing what you want them to do.

Margot’s Actionable Tips:

* Set up your Google AdWords account effectively and properly:

* Ad groups do not exceed 30 keywords.
* Target right location and languages
* Evenly distribute budget between campaigns


* Review search query data
* Monitor metrics for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Top Quotes:

* “I got to really dive in and learn all about PPC.

Our guest needs no introduction … drum roll please … John Lee Dumas is in the house and prepared to ignite!

That's right, John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire joins me today to share how to build your own true fan base, something that is vital to the success of any business.

What is the difference between a follower and a true fan? True fans are evangelists who do the leg work for you to grow your audience. They share and spread your message. They are critical and vital to your success.

Now stop listening to Miley Cyrus, and listen to John instead—a successful entrepreneur who knows the importance of building a community—not a wrecking ball!
About John Lee Dumas:
John Lee Dumas created the first ever 7-day-a-week podcast. Then he went on to create the world’s #1 online community for anyone wanting to create podcast shows.

His fan base is lovingly known as Fire Nation. Many of his fans have been listening to his podcasts since the beginning when John was kind of awful at hosting them. He was clueless and trying to do something, and that resonated with people. He improved over time and generated an amazingly loyal following.

Fire Nation represents an intimate connection he was able to form with a group of individuals that he interacts with on a consistent basis.

His audience tells him how to monetize. Listeners share their pain points and obstacles with him. His audience is the tipping point to bringing monetization. His audience tells him what they want in solutions and products.

Oh what a relief it is … when John provides valuable content to his audience. You, too, need to provide products, solutions, and content that benefits both you and your audience. Your audience is starving for something—starving enough to pay for products; if they are worthwhile and valuable.

However, John has not always been successful. He is authentic and transparent. He is willing to share income reports that detail his successes and failures. Don’t spend energy, effort, and money doing stuff that he has proven doesn’t work. He is here to help you!
What John Lee Dumas Will Help You Overcome:
John is here to share with you the power of creating those TRUE fans and will deliver value upon value along with his 3 super-powerful tips for creating your own loyal following.
John Lee Dumas' Actionable Tips: Provide free, valuable, and consistent content to an audience.

* Free: Podcast, blog, video show or other platform that is free for people to consume.
* Valuable: Set up platform to provide valuable content such as having experts as guests.
* Consistence: Be dedicated to being consistent as to how often you provide that free, valuable content.

John Lee Dumas' Top Quotes:

* “A true fan is going to be somebody that is at work, and they’re saying to their colleagues, ‘You know, I was driving into work today, and I was inspired by this. And I really want to share this with you and really encourage you to go ahead and listen.”
* “A lot of Fire Nation feels like they’ve grown with me.”
* “It took me a while to get here but I brought my audience with me.”
* “We don’t have it all figured out right now, but we’re gonna get there. And let’s get there together.”
* “What is that thing that they are so hungry for?”
* “Create something that is everything.”
* “I’m so lucky that this bombed.”
* “We share all of our wins, all of our successes.”
* “Try not to become a person of success, but rather become a person of value.” - Albert Einstein
* “People never actually fail, they just quit.”

Guest Links:

* Entrepreneur on Fire (http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/)

Greg Taylor is a web developer with a difference. Rather than marketing himself purely through ‘traditional’ channels, he has opened his mind and his business to a high quality content marketing approach with the goal of positioning himself as an authority in his field.

This personal branding exercise that Greg continually undertakes is a hugely successful campaign strategy for Greg and his business, Marketing Press, and with personal branding becoming more and more prevalent in the business world it’s a subject that many entrepreneurs like you are beginning to really embrace.

In this episode of Excellence Expected, Greg shares his methods and strategies for creating a cohesive personal brand that actually works.

Greg shares insights into:

* Building a personal brand, his experiences with

* content creation
* blogging
* speaking
* video marketing


* The importance of finding the time to invest in content marketing & positioning yourself as an expert
* Overcoming the fear of negative feedback
* The impact content creation, speaking etc has had on his business
* How much fun it is!
* How this is different to other forms of marketing and why many people are only now beginning to take it seriously

Greg, as ever, closes the show with his 3 actionable tips and takeaways to kick start you into taking action right now.

Links mentioned in the episode:

* Marketing Press
* Greg Taylor on Twitter
* Greg Taylor’s personal website

Don’t forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you WILL excel!

Podcasting is EXPLODING but as a business owner, it's sometimes difficult to decide whether or not to invest in a new content platform and integrate it into your marketing mix.

This week, the superb and amazingly personable Pam Forrester from the Magic for Less shares how becoming a podcast host has helped her business grow and reach new levels of success thanks to allowing Pam's personal brand to grow.

Pam shares

* Insights into the world of podcasting
* How a business can integrate it as a viable, high quality content platform that allows a business to speak directly to its market at a time that's convenient to prospects
* Exactly how she has used it to EXPLODE her personal brand (people recognise her in the street, guys...)
* How to get started podcasting, even if you're a little tentative
* the top 3 key tips that will allow you to excel as a podcaster.

Episode Links:

* The Magic for Less
* Be Our Guest podcast
* Pam Forrester on Twitter
* Two Shots to the Head

It's a fun episode with real, actionable takeaways, shout up in the comments with your feedback and don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

This weeks episode is all about finding the confidence to go ahead and start your own podcast.

Following setting up Excellence Expected many business owners, entrepreneurs and friends have asked me for tips, guidance and advice on the right podcasting equipment for a new podcast.

Based on the research I've undertaken myself in setting up Excellence Expected technically, along with the experience of setting up the show on a personal level I found that the biggest issue is making sense of the wide array of equipment on the market which leads to progress paralysis and never really getting started.

In this episode I share my own equipment choices but more importantly, the reasons why I chose each piece of equipment.

I also share my top 3 pieces of advice for anyone looking at investing in their own podcasting setup.

By the end of the show you will have the confidence and the know how to decide upon the best equipment for your needs and you will overcome that progress paralysis that stymies us all at times.
Links to Equipment Mentioned in this Episode:
Microphones

* Blue Snowball Condenser Microphone
* Blue Yeti Condenser Microphone
* Rode Procaster Dynamic Microphone (the microphone used at Excellence Expected)
* Heil PR40 Dynamic Microphone
* Rode Podcaster Dynamic Microphone

Mixing Desk

* Behringer Xenyx 1204 USB Mixing Desk for Podcasting

Headphones

* Sony MDR 7506 Closed Headphones

Accessories

* Van Damme XLR cables
* Triton Fethead

Software

* ECAMM Call Recorder for Skype
* Adobe Audition
* Apple Garageband
* Audacity

What equipment do you use? Let me know in the comments and let's learn, share & grow, together.

The more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Seeking to empower ourselves is what drives us, right?

We all want to be better on our chosen path and that journey of continual self improvement often leads us to events intended to open our minds to methods, mid sets and techniques that we otherwise may not have found.

I had the pleasure of attending and delivering a digital masterclass at the 2014 “Connected Business” conference held in the North of England at The Civic, Barnsley.

Featuring a keynote from Rory Cellan-Jones of the BBC, the event was fantastic as not only a networking opportunity, but as a means of furthering knowledge in very specific areas - I’d like to share my takeaways with you.

My actionable takeaways from the event came from:

* Greg Williams, Executive Editor of Wired
* Linda Cheung, founder of Cube Social
* Simon Biltcliffe, CEO of Webmart

And you can find more about the event over on the Enterprising Barnsley website:

* The Connected Business Conference

The episode is short, sweet and POWERFUL - grab a coffee and your headphones, you’ll like this.

No matter what you do, the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Google is vital to your business. You know that of course, but do you know how to maximise its impact and integrate its effects in to your wider marketing strategy?

This week I chat to Tom Parling, founder of Ocere, a specialist online marketing business based near London.

Tom has made a career out of conquering Google and ensuring that the tactics he uses for his own businesses, as well as his clients’, remain cutting edge and most importantly: effective.

With actionable takeaways that you can implement into your search engine strategy today, this episode is a must listen for you as a business owner.

Links mentioned in this episode:

* Search Metrics Ranking Factors
* MajesticSEO.com
* Google Webmaster Tools
* Ocere
* Tom Parling on Twitter

Have you been affected by anything Tom mentioned during the episode? Sound off in the comments!

Don't forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Facebook arguably holds the biggest collection of personal data on the planet.

As a business owner, marketer or sales team, are you REALLY leveraging that power to your advantage?

Are you mystified by Facebook’s role in the marketing mix, or concerned that only ‘kids’ use it?

Andrew Medlam is a Facebook marketing expert who this week, shares his insights into generating real, tangible return on investment from the world’s biggest social media network.

The stark truth is: no matter your business, your audience and importantly, your customers are on Facebook whether you are or not.

This is an unmissable episode for anyone who is serious about generating more revenue, starting today!
Links mentioned in this show:

* Andrew Medlam's OnlineAccelerator.com

Ready to tap into the power of Facebook? Let me know how you get on guys, we’re all here to share, learn and grow together - let’s start right now!

As ever, the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Welcome to Excellence Expected.

Episode 1 is my opportunity to thank you for picking up the show and beginning this journey with me.

During the episode I talk about how I bounced back from a business catastrophe to become founder of a rapidly growing design & digital agency, whilst also discussing how that rapid growth and the challenges it brought, caused me to burn out only two years ago.

I take this opportunity to talk about what you can expect from each episode of Excellence Expected and the value that you, as a business owner or entrepreneur, can draw from the podcast.

I also introduce my free eBook "The Essential 14 Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact", which is my blueprint and work-through template that will show you how to create more time every single day, become instantly more effective in your business and create the time to enjoy the things that matter to you.

Excellence Expected is a podcast for business owners, by business owners, with each and every episode adding value to your busy business life.

Let's learn, share and grow together; don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.