North Country Media Network

In this week's episode of Building Success Stories, Seth and I welcome Kate Austin into the studio. Kate is the Founder, Owner, and CEO of Advokate, LLC . Advokate empowers startups, small businesses, nonprofits, and artists with the marketing tools they need to be successful. Born and raised in Killington, Vermont, Kate resides in Glens Falls, New York, with her dog Sasha and her three kiddos, He...

A few weeks ago, I came across a very insightful episode of the Ed Mylett Show on a four-hour drive from my daughter's college. I couldn’t wait to get home, listen again, take notes, and share the episode with everyone! Mylett’s guest was Leila Hormozi, and the topic was Transform FEAR into FUEL. Mylett had recently had dinner with Hormozi and her husband, Alex, who are highly successful entrepren...

This week, I bring you a very special episode of Building Success Stories—an interview with Megh and David Howard of Erbessd Instruments , a global leader in machine health monitoring.  The company has customers in nearly every country and works with 145 distributors and partners worldwide. It has approximately 140 employees working between Glens Falls, two locations in Mexico, a European off...

We all know what it’s like to go into a shop to browse when an aggressive salesperson approaches as soon as you enter the door and offers to “assist.” It makes you want to run out of the shop. That’s a salesperson who doesn’t understand the Buyer’s Journey.  In this episode of Building Success Stories, producer Seth Cooper and I discuss the Buyer's Journey and the stages a person goes through...

If you can only focus on one aspect of marketing your business, it should be increasing Domain Authority because this brings more relevant traffic to your website while boosting brand awareness and authority. In this episode of Building Success Stories, producer Seth Cooper and I discuss Domain Authority, a metric used by digital marketers to give an idea of the value Google and other search engin...

In Episodes 26 and 27 of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss the basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), a process for maximizing the traffic to your website, social media profiles, and any online “properties” you have from organic (not paid) search engine results . In Episode 26, Part 1, we defined SEO,  discussed how it increases traffic to your website, and how to res...

Do you outsource web development, maintenance, social media management, etc.? Understanding basic SEO will help you know what you are paying for and determine whether the provider has implemented the agreed-upon services. You can also confidently develop and deliver optimized content to your website and other channels. In Episodes 26 and 27 of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss...

This episode of Building Success Stories has two parts. In Part 1, Producer Seth and I discuss how digital marketing can be used for more than marketing and selling. You invest money, time, and other resources in your digital marketing channels, so consider what you can do with those channels beyond marketing and selling. In Part 2, I discuss The Power of Partnership. If the pandemic has taught us...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss how to keep your marketing going during your busy season and maximize the benefits of the increased exposure it brings. Whenever your busy season is, it is essential to plan and prepare to use your digital marketing channels to get the most out of opportunities that arise. You also need to plan to keep your marketing and sale...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss the various contact methods you can offer on your digital marketing channels and how to determine which to use. On your digital marketing channels, you must offer convenient ways to contact you that suit your audience’s preferences but are also manageable for you. Too many contact options can confuse you and your audience, es...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss several strategies to overcome perfectionism and procrastination with your content creation. So many people are afraid to write articles, marketing emails, or social media posts because they think they are not good enough. Lack of confidence is usually due to a lack of experience—not in what they do professionally but in crea...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss the classifications and labels used for generations, age groups, etc., and how they are relevant or not to a business. You see many articles about marketing to a specific generation or age group, but are these labels relevant to your business? Listen to this episode to learn more about the generations and how you can use the...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss approximately 50 ways to be more engaging on social media. Engaging readers is important to convert them from curious to customers. The list includes mostly free and easy things you can start today to get more likes, comments, and shares and connect more fully with your followers.

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss several easy, mostly free, ways to attract more local business. Have you claimed your Google Business Listing and kept it up to date? Do you regularly post content relevant and valuable to your target audience on your social media channels? Is your customer service so outstanding that people can't help but talk about your bus...

This episode of Building Success Stories is an interview with Joan Tarantino, Executive Director of The Conkling Center in Glens Falls, NY, which offers senior-directed programs and services for community members 55+, and is preparing for its 125th-anniversary celebrations in 2024, We talk about how the center started as The Glens Falls Home. a residential facility for older women, and when anothe...

Producer Seth Cooper and I discuss the Most Asked Marketing Questions of 2023 in this episode of Building Success Stories. Earlier this year, I wrote the article Most-Asked Marketing Questions (and some really short, to-the-point answers) , but we go into more depth in this episode. The straightforward advice on what to do and what not to do will be useful for anyone who wants to improve their res...

This episode of Building Success Stories is an interview with April Weygand, Businesswoman and Author of Trail Gimp, Self Discovery and Empowerment on the Appalachian Trail. We discuss how Weygand decided to take on the Appalachian Trail, her two attempts to complete the trail, lifelong lessons learned, writing and publishing her book, and her current business, April Fresh Cleaning. Learn more abo...

This episode of Building Success Stories is an interview with Phil Casabona, Executive Director of the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council, more commonly known as LARAC. We talk about how LARAC got started and hosted its well-known annual Arts Festival 52 years ago and how he and the staff of LARAC are carrying on the great work to support arts in this area with new exhibits and offerings throu...

This episode of Building Success Stories is an interview with Dr. Kelli Borgos-Hatin, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Business Consultant, Owner of Mixa-Fusion (selling her own flavored simple syrups), and Co-Owner of Mixaritas (mobile bartending services). I first met Dr. Borgos-Hatin when she came to speak to the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce's Women in Business Group and was very impre...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Ann Donnelly interviews Ryan Holderman, Owner of The Gym, Queensbury, NY. They discuss how he started in the fitness industry and how his career developed over the years. Holderman also discusses the history of The Gym and how he motivates his clients to achieve their goals. Read Ann Donnelly's article on Ryan Holderman and The Gym in the Glens Falls Bu...

This episode of Building Success Stories is Part 2 of 2 on Building Habits. Producer Seth Cooper and I discuss building the habits to ensure you do the necessary marketing and other activities to grow your business and set yourself up for success in 2024.

This episode of Building Success Stories is Part 1 of 2 on Building Habits. Producer Seth Cooper and I discuss how to build the habits that are needed to ensure that you do the necessary marketing and other activities needed to grow your business. Bonus Content! An interview with Ashley Heald from Peak Nutrition in Glens Falls.  Find Peak Nutrition on Facebook! Read my article on Peak Nutriti...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, I interview Amanda Blanton, Marketing Director, Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, and host of the ARCC's radio show, I'm In with the ARCC. My appearance on her show gave me the idea to start this podcast. Listen to Blanton speak about how she got started in Marketing, and how she successfully promotes the Chamber and its members, even though she...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, I interviewed Christian Raeth, Owner/Chef, Spargel on Nine, the newest restaurant in Queensbury, New York, which opened on Friday, December 8, 2023. Raeth started his culinary training with an apprenticeship in his native Germany in 1984 and has worked in some of the top restaurants in Germany, Italy, France, and Switzerland. After an initial stay in th...

In this episode of Building Success Stories, we discuss how to make time for marketing and grow your business. In September 2023, I used a survey to ask business owners about their greatest needs for marketing and sales. The greatest need, the top for 50% of respondents, was finding time to work on marketing and sales. Very often, marketing activities are pushed to the bottom of the list because o...