More than a Few Words

People may tell their friends they're fine. They may tell a salesperson what they think they should say. But when they open Google, they're honest. They type in the questions they're almost afraid to ask out loud. That simple idea turned into a fascinating conversation about why so many businesses miss the mark online. Stephan Bajaio one of the pioneers in enterprise SEO, and now leads Vibe Logic....

I want to talk about upselling, and when it actually works against you. Most smart companies have a core product and a menu of add-ons. The really smart ones know not to throw every extra at a customer the minute they say yes.  You listen first. You find out what they need. Then you decide which add-ons make sense. The other day, I stopped at Hardee's and ordered a hamburger. No cheese. What follo...

Ever feel like your marketing plan is the rope in a tug-of-war match? The sales team is pulling one way. The owner is pulling another. Someone's daughter took a marketing class in college and has opinions. And the person who's actually responsible for the campaign is standing in the middle, trying not to get dragged through the mud. That's why my conversation with Beth Trejo really struck a chord...

I’ve watched a lot of entrepreneurs build amazing communities, only to discover that applause doesn’t always pay the bills. In this conversation with , we talked about the moment she realized her thriving podcast community needed more than goodwill and good vibes to become a sustainable business. Angel has always been brilliant at bringing people together. Her podcast networking platform created r...

Great Marketing Isn't About Being Clever. It's About Being Understood. One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is chasing creativity for creativity's sake. A clever campaign might win awards, but if it doesn't help customers understand why they should buy, it misses the mark. That was the heart of my conversation with Scott Flood, a veteran copywriter who has spent decades helping companies com...

Marketing Lessons Everywhere Here’s the thing about marketing—lessons are everywhere. You just have to know where to look. Sometimes it’s in the obvious places, like watching how competitors roll out a campaign. Other times it’s less obvious. Like standing on a floating dock in Santiago, staring at a mussel farm. There, I learned that mussels grow best when they have room. The farmers pull up the...

As a podcaster, you can crank out 100 episodes and still get nowhere. That’s an uncomfortable truth for many podcasters.  So how do hosts get into this situation? I sat down with Nathalie Dorémieux, who helps podcasters turn listeners into real business results, and she shared how her first podcast started as a bold experiment and stalled out just as quickly. The idea was simple. Nathalie took 100...

Ever notice how often someone asks for a brochure when what they really need is something else entirely? That’s where this conversation goes, and it’s a good one. I sat down with Bill Shander, an information designer and author who calls himself a “stakeholder whisperer.” And trust me, it’s not as mystical as it sounds. It’s actually a practical, powerful way to rethink how you show up in your mar...

After twelve hundred episodes and sixteen years of conversations, I’ve heard a lot of smart ideas about marketing and sales. But every once in a while, one sticks with me. This one goes all the way back to the beginning, to a conversation with my very first and very frequent guest, Matt Nettleton. It’s about sales, but not the pushy, fight-your-way-in kind. It’s about something much simpler and a...

I knew that Danielle Hughes and I were kindred spirits the first time I saw the name of her company More Than Words Copywriting. Clearly, we had the same attitude about words, but our bond was stronger than that. We agreed on so many things in marketing that it has been an absolute pleasure to get to know her over the years. And so I could not dive into my archives without sharing at least one of...

I love diving into my archive.  There are so many amazing conversations there, like this one with Deirdre Tshien.   We talked about the difference between creating fun content for the feed and functional content that starts conversations and drives prospects to your door.  If your social media feels like shouting into the wind, you’re not alone. So many business owners post, promote, repeat, and t...

The same tool that helps you find your best customer can also be used to find someone’s fears, anger, or bias. That’s where smart marketing turns into something a lot messier. In this conversation, from our archive, we unpack market segmentation, the good it can do, and the risks that come with it.  Recorded in 2017 many of the same concerns are still valid today.  I chatted with Lydia Thurston an...

Continuing the dive into my vault this week, I decided to share one of the most popular episodes of all time. And it is about video.  It turns out the biggest mistake we make with video isn’t bad lighting or awkward pauses. It’s thinking we have to be the star of the show. In this conversation, I sat down with Mechelle MacDonald, a writer, entrepreneur, and growth coach who helps people show up wi...

Reaching 1,200 episodes feels like the perfect excuse to look back at where it all began. Over the years, there have been conversations that made me laugh, made me think, and a few that deserved far more attention than they received the first time around. So this week, I’m opening the vault. Each day, I’ll be re-releasing one favorite episode from the archives. Some are memorable classics, others...

Welcome to More Than a Few Words, a marketing conversation.  And today… I'm celebrating a milestone. This is episode number 1200. Yes, twelve hundred conversations, monologues, ideas, and probably more than a few opinions along the way. My mother always said I was born talking, so honestly, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. But still… 1200? That feels like it deserves a moment. Because milestones ma...

You’d think donuts and beer would be an easy sell. I mean, carbs and craft brews, what’s not to love? That’s exactly what Billy Sammons thought when he planned a beer and bakery pairing event. Creative, fun, and honestly, delicious. There was just one small problem. No one came. Billy knows referral marketing inside and out, which made this flop even more memorable. Because when a great idea falls...

Are Your Headlines Putting Readers to Sleep? (Let’s Fix That.) I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the polite little headlines we keep sending out into the world—you know, the ones that tiptoe into a reader’s feed, whisper “excuse me,” and then wonder why no one pays attention. This month, I’m diving into the power of bold, spicy, “oh-no-she-didn’t” titles that make readers stop mid-scroll. Beca...

I love the What Went Wrong  conversations because they remind me that even when things look like they’re working, there’s usually a crack or two hiding under the surface. In this episode, we dig into one of those uncomfortable moments every business owner faces. Growth slows, the numbers get fuzzy, and suddenly the team you built so carefully starts to feel… expensive. I sat down with Matt Levenha...

It started the way so many good ideas do, in conversation. Jen Edds , Lisa Mitchell, CFI , and I started talking about creating something different. Not another conference. Not another room where people talk at you. We wanted a space where smart women could actually talk with each other. And then, on March 26, we did it. This conversation is a bit of a celebration, a look back at what happens when...

When I moved from Texas to Indiana one of the things I loved best was the color of the seasons. Spring brings bright pastels which morph into the rich greens of summer. Then comes fall with the bring oranges, yellows and a few shades of brown. The only exception is winter filled with dreary colorless days which seem bland bland when compared to the vibrancy of colors throughout the rest of the yea...

Sometimes the best way to explain marketing is with a good story. In this episode, I chatted with Ryan Ross, head of marketing at BrokersBloc and author of the novel Benefits with Friends. The book follows a very unlikely hero, Al Dente, a pasta manufacturer who suddenly inherits his father’s benefits brokerage. As Al tries to figure out how to grow the business, he learns some very real marketing...

This week thousands of podcasters around the world take part in Podcastathon, a global effort that shines a spotlight on nonprofit organizations doing meaningful work in their communities. For one week, hosts swap their usual topics for stories about causes they care about and invite their listeners to learn more, get involved, or lend support. This episode is my contribution to that global event,...

We all love a good story. But here is the twist. If you are the hero, you are doing it wrong. In this conversation, I chatted with John Elbing, creator of the Story Building Method and author of a new book on the topic. We dug into the difference between storytelling and story building. It is not a play on words. It is a shift in perspective that can change how your marketing connects. John believ...

I am going to be honest right from the start. This is a rant. A friendly one. But still a rant. I’m a geek at heart. I love shiny tools, clever plugins, little bits of tech that make my marketing life easier. But lately it feels like some of my favorites have decided to test me. Really test me. It started with my email marketing platform quietly turning off a third-party API I relied on. Their dec...

If smarter marketing really worked the way the tools promise, we would all be done by lunch. Instead, most days feel like standing in the cereal aisle staring at fifty boxes that all swear they are the healthiest choice. That is why I sat down with Lisa Raehsler to talk about what to skip when everyone is promising smarter marketing. Lisa is a PPC strategist with more than twenty years in the tren...