Marketing Guides for Small Businesses

Can't wrap your head around starting your own company podcast? You don't have to do all the heavy lifting to benefit from this powerhouse channel. Try guest podcasting. We'll cover guest podcasting in this episode and discuss: How does one go about getting booked as a guest on a podcast? What is the 'one sheet' and why it is important to guest podcasting. Why is guest podcasting such a powerful SE...

Today we’re going to talk about some, but probably not all, of the SEO scams out there so you will be able to recognize and avoid them. In this episode, we answer common questions about SEO scams such as: Misleading reporting Guest posting Domain authority link building Google SEO partners Your website isn't ranking Google listing is about to expire We rank #1 for this keyword Join in for the conv...

Lisa Staff and Deevo join us from Sprout Connectors. This is a full-service creative agency with a focus on social media management and content storytelling.  Both Lisa and Deevo are accomplished photographers and entrepreneurs who have been growing their voice through their own podcast called the Mind Body Business show that explores central topics to the human race and the planet as a whole. The...

Today we’re talking about marketing and sales. Particularly where marketing stops and sales starts...or should start. We’ll discuss why the marketing/sales hand-off is a hard thing to do in many companies. And what to do about it. On our panel today we’ve got five experienced marketing consultants all with different views and experiences on this topic and we’ll share what has worked and what hasn’...

Lane Houk of Signal Genesys dropped by our studio to talk about his company and the unique benefits users get when using the platform. Marketing agencies and company owners will be very interested to find out how ranking, brand awareness and the consistent promotion of your company's or clients' online properties. How to keep that content working for you long after it has been written and publishe...

You know, you don’t have to do this thing called New Business Development alone. Especially not as a small business owner. The secret sauce is not in going to more events and drinking a lot more coffee with people but actually developing deeper relationships with what we call Power Partners. We cover: What is a Power Partner How to become a Power Partner Mistakes to avoid Virtual Power Partners Jo...

We’re excited to be talking with Zach Anderson of MoLoMedia about: Website Lead Capture Speed of Response Text Message Marketing Learn the answers to help your own company's website presence. We asked Zach: What does text-enabling your website mean and why is it so important? Is it possible to use a web text widget to call or text someone in a company or even contact different people or department...

Nobody likes stale bread and nobody likes a stale website, not your prospects, your customers, and definitely not Google. You may be asking yourself ‘what makes a website stale, why does it matter, and how can I freshen it up’.  So let’s get fresh today and jump into this important topic. We cover: Broken Links Outdated Copyright Stamps Not Enough Information No Call to Action And more Join in and...

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing fame drops by for a lively interview about his latest book. The Ultimate Marketing Engine: 5 Steps to Ridiculously Consistent Growth is available widely in bookstores and online. The Guides interview John who continues his practical advice for business owners. It is more difficult than ever for businesses and marketing professionals to cut through the noise to c...

Important and relevant marketing trends covered in this podcast include: Mobile-first - what that means Voice search - what is it? Google Analytics - always the "go to"? Online upsells, downsells and bumps and what that means Setting your company apart from the competition Chat bots Marketing automation Local search There are a lot of topics covered, but all in a practical and sensible way. Tune i...

This episode we tackle the unfortunate situation some business owners face, and that is what to do when you felt like you've been burned by your marketing, SEO, web developer or branding agency. By "burned" we mean that they could have taken your money without delivering services, done a bait and switch or left you with a bug-infested website. Nevertheless, your company paid good money in good fai...

In the time of the internet, mobile phones and not to mention COVID, does direct mail still work? You can bet the panel has some practical ideas for direct mail strategies for all industries. Listen now!

Live Chat, Chatbots, and instant messaging are a hot topic.  What are these technologies?  How do they differ from each other?  How can they help you connect with customers and prospects?  And should you invest in them?   That’s what we’re going to explore today.  So let’s get chatting…. 

Google Core Algorithm Updates, quality content, backlinks, bad links, thin content, broken (internal) links. What does it all mean? And does it all matter? There is a lot of outdated information floating around about what helps and hurts your rankings on Google. It’s hard to keep up; Google makes changes every day. Most are minor, but some are huge and can help or hurt a website’s rankings. Join u...

Why the 101-level explanations will win you trust of your customers... Basic content. What does that mean? Firs, content is any information that your company produces to explain, educate, entertain people about the product or service your company sells.  The basic content is the introductory or 101-level information about your company’s products or services. For us on the panel, all marketing comp...

What can small businesses do to crack the hiring code? Business owners need to be marketing their business to attract more of those special all-star candidates. Every business at one time or another, even in a challenging economy, has to consider who they need to bring aboard for not only support but for growth. If that’s something on the horizon for you anytime soon, we’re going to discuss severa...

Perhaps the number one factor in business success is marketing... Most clients get their leads from referrals, but that can be risky.  All businesses need a system where they can throttle up their lead flow. We'll talk with Mike about his new system Different Is Better.  In his new marketing book, Mike Michalowicz offers a proven, no-bullsh*t method to position your business, service, or brand to...

You’ve invested time, energy, and money to create fantastic content, now what? We'll cover: What do we mean by marketing your content, and why would we do this? What are some of the best ways to market your content?  Free and Paid strategies Are there any potential challenges for marketing content that our listeners should be aware of?  And how can they overcome these challenges? These questions a...

Content gets old and outdated. Why does a blog post, article, or tip sheet that performed well a while back not drive the traffic it used to? What types of content and which pieces of content do you refresh? Tune in as we explore this topic today.

Each of the Marketing Guides shares how they started their businesses. Some always wanted to be a business owner, others fell into entrepreneurship. Join us to hear of the humble beginnings and the challenges to get each Guides' empire off the ground.

The topic we’re talking about today is ... Another 'B' Word - Branding. Today we’re talking with Branding strategists and Root + River co-founders, Emily Soccorsy and Justin Foster. They are also the co-authors of “Rooting Up: Essays on Modern Branding.” Join in for a lively discussion about branding and what it means for your business, company, products and services.

A lot of businesses have heard that blogging is important and that it can help their business in numerous ways, but not everybody understands what a blog is, why it’s important or how to go about creating a blog. Tune in to learn if blogging is the right thing to add to your company's marketing.

Having a "try" offer in your business is a good way for your potential clients to get the feel of what it is like to work with you. Try offers don't have to be free offers either. There are paid offers that give your potential client a lot of value, help you earn a good profit margin on it, and give both parties an idea if they'd be a good fit to do more business together. Listen in to learn about...

We talk a lot on this podcast about: know like trust and being seen or recognized as an authority in your industry is a big part of the trust factor. People have to know that you know what you’re talking about. That being said, it’s always important to remember that no one cares how much you know until they know you can solve whatever problem it is they have. Listen in and learn how to start on th...

We’re recording this during the Spring of 2021 when some parts of North America are experiencing great success with the re-opening of businesses while others remain in lock-down or very close to lockdown. So how is a business owner to make decisions on marketing, advertising and promoting when operating in such an uncertain environment? On the panel today we have a good mix of marketing consultant...