Engaging Marketeer

What happens when the career you worked so hard for no longer fits the life you are living? In this episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Ann Currie shares her story of leaving the legal profession after nearly 20 years when she hit burnout, and questioned everything she thought success was supposed to look like. She and Darren discuss the warning signs she ignored, the pressure of long hours and exp...

More leads will not fix a broken business. Spending money on SEO, ads or networking without a proper sales process is one of the fastest ways to burn through a marketing budget and see nothing in return. In today's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, discover why marketing should never come first, how slow or inconsistent follow ups are doing more damage than you think, and why so many businesses b...

Not every success story starts with a win. In today's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Nathan Brown talks openly about the early missteps that shaped his career. From projects that went wrong, to being made redundant, to rebuilding teams before he really knew what he was doing, this is a proper, honest conversation about learning the hard way, and why some of the moments that feel like failures...

Do you give people a second chance if they waste your time? Your time is your most valuable asset - and once it's wasted, you don't get it back. In today's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren goes deep on professional standards, boundaries and why how people handle their diary tells you everything you need to know about how they value your relationship. This isn't about being rigid or diffic...

"It’s a very painful lesson learned" In this week's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren is joined by Les Murray. Les is both an executive coach and leadership consultant who works closely with business owners, managers and founders to sharpen strategy, simplify operations and build leadership teams that truly thrive. During this conversation, Les explains why some roles are only truly...

Some stories stop you in your tracks. For The Engaging Marketeer’s special 200th episode, Darren invited BNI Global Convention host Greg Davies-Polaine to share tales that every business owner needs to hear. Greg has a way of turning real life moments into valuable lessons. He talks about resilience, consistency, the power of community and why the people around you can accelerate your progre...

A single interview question could cost your business thousands… and most employers don’t even realise they’re asking it. In this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, HR expert Joanne Moss explains why small, everyday mistakes in hiring and people management can lead to five-figure consequences. She talks about how one inappropriate question can trigger a discriminatio...

You’ll never get referrals if you can’t answer THIS one question. In today's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren breaks down the 10 biggest networking mistakes that hold business owners back. If you’ve ever walked out of an event wondering why nothing comes from it, this episode will hit home. Darren reveals what actually makes people remember you, what makes them trust you...

After a life-changing accident at just 20, Alistair Dickinson was told he was lucky to be alive - and to make the most of his second chance. From building SaaS platforms and CRM systems to creating one of the first AI record labels, Alistair has done exactly that. He has spent his career pushing boundaries in technology, creativity and business - and in this episode of The Engaging Marketeer, he j...

If you’re too embarrassed to put your name to your content… why should Google recommend it? In this week’s episode, Darren explains why faceless, AI-generated content is slowly killing credibility online - and what to do about it. If you want to be trusted by search engines and AI tools like ChatGPT, you need to show who you are. That means your name, your experience and your ex...

Every business owner has their own secret recipe - the way they do things that makes their company unique. But what happens when that recipe lives only in your head? When processes, systems and client knowledge disappear the moment you step away? In this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren speaks to Taruna Chauhan, a business owner who turned her passion for preserving her famil...

Someone had to say it - and Darren did. In the latest episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren talks about the unspoken rule in UK business - the one that stops us from calling out bad behaviour. Why do we “keep the peace” when someone does a terrible job? And how does that silence end up protecting the very people who shouldn’t be trusted? This episode digs into why that Britis...

Your brand won't collapse overnight... but it WILL erode when you stop living up to what people believe about you. The moment someone realises you’re not delivering on your brand message, the damage is done. Trust fades, credibility slips and rebuilding it can take years - IF it ever comes back. In this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren speaks with Martyn Thorp of Hera C...

“What’s the point in a web designer being there?” That’s the question Darren asks when a client says, “I love this site - just copy it for me.” If you’ve ever had a client or prospect tell you how to do your job, promise “future work” instead of payment or pitch you a 50/50 “partnership” deal… this episode will hit close to h...

Discover the secret to making buyers talk themselves into YES! This is exactly what can happen when you guide prospects to question their own assumptions and see the problem for what it really is. As David Angel shares in this episode of The Engaging Marketeer, most people shrink their challenges. Your role isn’t to exaggerate - it’s to help buyers see the true scale of the problem so...

How many customers are you losing without even realising it? On today's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren reveals how a bad website doesn’t just fail to win new business - it actively drives people away. When someone checks you out online and sees something cheap or amateur, they'll assume that’s how you do everything in your business - and can you blame them? It doesn’t...

Helping UK ex-pats build wealth through UK property investing! Steve Cowgill isn’t your typical property investor. A British ex-pat living in the Middle East since 2013, Steve built his portfolio with one clear goal: creating security and opportunities for his family. Now, he balances financial success with family priorities and speaks openly about what really matters - stability, education...

The secret to more reach on LinkedIn? Post content people actually care about! Darren's off on another rant... but believe it or not, it's not just about car park drama. It’s about what gets people talking online. It's about why you should be posting content that is actually interesting. Stuff people want to comment on. Stuff they’ll like, share and keep coming back to. When you do tha...

🚀 From military officer to property mogul! In this week's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Richie Miller shares how he went from having no property experience to owning and managing a multi-million-pound property portfolio. Starting with a single investment in Sheffield, Richie now manages everything from HMOs to a self-storage business that’s already bringing in big returns. He talks abo...

It's about to get personal 🔥 In this special takeover of The Engaging Marketeer, Peter Murphy Lewis sits Darren in the hot seat and asks the questions no one else does. From award-winning comedian to expert marketer, Darren’s, shall we say, unique mix has drawn comparisons to “Gary Vee crossed with a stand-up.” But how do you take your authentic personality - even the quirks you...

“It’s not a telling-off. It’s a criminal offence.” In this week's episode of The Engaging Marketeer, health and safety expert Shabbir Halai breaks down what really happens when a business ignores safety laws - and it's not just a fine. If a health and safety inspector decides to prosecute, it’s a criminal case. Directors can face personal liability. Supervisors can en...

It’s always ‘just a joke’ - until it’s not Darren has spent decades as a member of the Transformers community, which is often regarded as one of the most inclusive of its kind in the UK. But in this episode of The Engaging Marketeer, he reveals how one Facebook post exposed a type of casual discrimination that’s often ignored - even in spaces that pride themselves on...

Ever walked into a room and instantly felt the tension? Or felt completely at ease with someone you’ve just met? In this episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren speaks with Donna Still about the energy we give off, how our bodies respond to it and how understanding this can help us reconnect with who we are at our core. From breathwork to overcoming limiting beliefs, it’s a fascinati...

What if you could turn any wild video ad idea into reality – without hiring actors, sets or a film crew? In this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren does something completely different. He’s playing two video ads he created using Google Flow Veo 3 – AI software that lets you bring your ideas to life in ways traditional production simply can’t. From a psyc...

The Dragons might not have invested… but her hen hotel is still fully booked for the next two years! In this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, Darren sits down with Katriona Shovlin - founder of the UK’s first luxury boarding hotel for chickens and ducks. What started as an unusual idea has become a full-time operation involving schools, prisons, universities - and a wai...