Become a Media Maven

Like me, Jason Swenk was an accidental freelancer turned agency owner. In this Become a Media Maven podcast episode, Jason is going to talk about how he was getting tons of work, but felt like he was building a prison around him and he couldn’t get out. Enter the marketing agency. Luckily, he quickly learned the skill of outsourcing and made work fun while being profitable. Today, he helps agency...

I’m taking over my microphone today for part one of “Ask Me Anything”. This was just going to be one episode, but because I got so many questions, I turned it into two episodes. Some of the questions I answer has to do with how where you live can (or cannot) impact your media pitching and coverage; how many media hits do you need to start seeing traction in your business; the best way to drive tra...

I’m a little obsessed with being productive and efficient. So is my friend, Stefanie Gass from The Mompreneur Mastermind Show. She went from working in network marketing to becoming a fulltime mompreneur that helps others in network marketing. She quickly realized that what she was teaching others, how to brand themselves to build their businesses, was getting old fast. (I mean, how many more onli...

I just love Maria Dismondy’s story of working as a full-time teacher to becoming a successful children’s book author to launching her own publishing company. In this podcast episode, she talks about traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. She started as a self publisher but has since turned traditional. Today, she runs Cardinal Rule Press producing children’s picture books. If you want to get...

A business system is a group of rules that tell people how to do things and when to do them. It’s a roadmap anyone can use to run your business. You can file them in a way everyone can understand with folders for each topic, for example. According to my podcast guest, there are three must-have systems: 1. Operational to show how things gel together and how everyone knows what’s going on 2. Marketi...

Up until two years ago, I had a money mindset problem. But, I didn’t know I had a problem. Now, I can spot others with the same problem a mile away. In this podcast episode, I’m breaking down why I was so afraid to spend money on my business for two years, when and why I started spending money, and the three solutions to having a negative money mindset that is holding you back. And no, I’m not tal...

Regardless of who you are or what you do, you have a personal brand. There is no escaping that today. From working for Gary Vaynerchuk at VaynerMedia to helping business owners build their brands online, Brittany Krystle is going to walk us through creating content and building a brand on LinkedIn specifically. In this podcast episode, she is going to break down her three laws of branding: 1. Clar...

If you write good copy, you can sell almost anything. No one knows that better than Bryan Cohen, a man who has built a business writing the descriptions for the back of books. With success in self-publishing and ghostwriting, he built an audience of followers who kept saying they needed help with this - book descriptions. People can write books and novels that are hundreds of pages, but it’s hard...

After you set a goal, you come up against hurdles. What separates successful business owners from others is recognizing what’s going to stop you from achieving that goal and knowing what to do about it. In this podcast episode, there are five things Jennifer Dawn is going to go over that will have us achieving just about every goal we set. Jennifer Dawn is a successful business owner, business coa...

When we talk about branding, it’s branding for your clients, not yourself. Sianne Chong started side hustling while working full-time and planned her exit from corporate American nine months before it actually happened! She worked in marketing, starting a lifestyle blog, and that’s when lots of marketing questions started flying her way. So, she moved her focus to marketing, branding specifically....

If you’re a small business owner who needs help creating more profit in your online business, you need to start local first. Abagail and Emylee are the powerhouses behind Boss Project, formerly known as Think Creative Collective. Both of these ladies started local, then went online. In this podcast episode, they are going to talk about how they went from local photography and web design to buildin...

If you’re a business owner, you’re going to love Help A Reporter Out, or HARO. Why? You will have about 150 topics from journalists looking for expert sources for in your inbox! Full disclosure: In the past few years, it has gone downhill… a lot. Some people are using it to grab free products and others to hunt for advertising opportunities. HARO is not closely regulated, but you can still earn qu...

Charlena Smith is the founder of a guided accountability program called Optio. Optio does NOT help you find your best friend. Instead, it connects you with someone who is going to bring out the best of you in business. The purpose of an accountability partner is not to keep you comfortable but pushes you forward. Still, so many people don’t know how to find this person after they realize the impor...

Pat Flynn is back, and in this episode, he is talking about why it’s important to build superfans in your business. In his new book, Superfans, he’s talking about why your business isn’t built on subscribers, followers, or likes. It’s built on Superfans and Pat is going to teach us how to get superfans so your business thrives. This episode is for you if you’re a solopreneur or you run a Fortune 5...

Many people will write a book, but they don’t think of the marketing plan for their book. If your book is non-fiction, then you need to market your expertise. Promoting your book isn’t about your book. It’s about you and your expertise. In this podcast episode, I am talking to my friend Ashley Bernardi about putting together a book marketing plan. For the step by step plan you need to put in place...

Yes, the owners of PR agencies and publicists are telling you lies. In fact, it's so bad that it's part of the reason I started my own agency. When I worked at an agency full-time, the owner would over promise deliverables to clients and put it on the employees to make the impossible, possible. Sometimes, I lose business because I don’t tell these five lies, but I'd rather lose the...

People talk a lot about Facebook ads and Instagram ads, but promoted pins on Pinterest don’t get a lot of attention. That means there is less competition to get your content in front of your audience on Pinterest... if you know how to promote a pin on Pinterest. Monica Froese is a blogger who viewed this gap as money to make… and that’s exactly what she started doing by promoting pins on Pinterest...

Yes, it’s possible to simplify things while growing your blog at the same time. Years ago, Sarah Morgan had the right pin posted, at the right time, that sent lots of traffic to her website. Ever since then, Pinterest has been her lead traffic source - more than everything else combined. In this podcast episode, Sarah is going to share her pinning secrets and how you can automate almost everything...

We know we need to create content, but very few are doing it in a way that leads to sales. Jessica Stansberry makes money from her content every single day. With YouTube, blog posts, and digital products, Jessica has built a six-figure business while being a mom in a small town of 500 people. In this episode, Jessica is going to show you how to create content that leads to sales by creating a cont...

The biggest mistake people make after they earn media coverage is they do nothing. It’s shocking how common this is. Do not assume that everyone read the article you were mentioned in or saw the segment that featured you on TV. Even if your ideal customer or client did see it, in a few minutes, they will forget. You need to remind them. Over and over again. In this episode, I’m sharing 35 things y...

My friend Alex Jimenez has the most visited travel blog in the world. She started out working with brands via sponsored posts, but there is an easier way that doesn’t include high expectations and frustration. Today, she’s making money with her traffic, affiliate links, and even her own product line for other travel fashion girls like her! The smart thing she did from day one - focused on SEO. She...

Leadership is key - whether you’re a boss with a team or an employee in corporate America. It’s all about communication and avoiding pitfalls. Rich Cardona is a Marine who is opening up his leadership toolbox so we can take everything from good leaders and bad leaders to develop our own style. In this episode, he is also going to touch on the three big questions we must always be asking ourselves:...

Dhar Mann bootstrapped his business from just $600 and is on track to do $20 million in 2019. He went from real estate, to medical marijuana, and is now in the cosmetics industry… and he’s making all of this money without spending one dollar on advertising. Live Glam started when Dhar met a beauty influencer who was selling out of makeup seminars, so Dhar wanted to get in on it and partner with th...

I’m so annoyed with all the scams, stretched truths, and just straight up bullsh*t so many people believe about getting media exposure. I touched on this during my talk at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Austin, Texas and wanted to bring it to the podcast because there is a big difference between a journalist, a blogger, an influencer, and a publicist. Today, too many are using these titles interchangeably...

Christy Wright works with Dave Ramsey in Ramsey’s solutions, but she is most well known by female entrepreneurs because of the Business Boutique - a live event in Nashville, online course, podcast, and book. In this episode, Christy breaks down how she got her start working with Dave Ramsey and how she worked her way up in the company. (Hint: It was by saying “yes” to things she didn’t know how to...