The HeyCreator Show

Lots of businesses and marketers are scrambling over the new data protection law, GDPR. But Tara Gentile is here to talk about some of the real-world benefits it can bring — not just to consumers, but to business. This week, Tara Gentile swung by to talk about the GDPR (Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation), and... Listen to episode

Tim Paige is that rarest of creatures: A really good salesperson who understands the people who aren’t (yet). This week, I was pleased to be able to interview “webinar gun for hire” Tim Paige, to talk about how “normal people” can learn to be genuinely effective at selling. Important Note: We’ve updated the date on... Listen to episode

Selling is a skill, not an innate talent. But that doesn’t mean it’s always comfortable to learn. Too many content creators have amazing audiences and a wonderful product or service — but they fall apart at the “last mile” of selling to their customers or clients. In this 19-minute episode, I talk about: Why starting... Listen to episode

Legislators, citizens, and advertisers are all concerned about the trends in privacy and permission on social platforms — but they’re concerned for different reasons. Even as Facebook tries to dodge legislation about what it does with user data, marketers have a choice. We can try to do whatever we can get away with, or we... Listen to episode

A conversation about what matters in marketing and business. I was delighted to be able to catch up with our friend and one of my favorite teachers, Seth Godin. In this 19-minute conversation, we talk about: The fundamental shift in how Seth sees marketing differently His thoughts on fake news and the “post-truth” online environment... Listen to episode

Given everyone’s crowded inboxes and fragmented attention spans — what’s the best way to reach people? Content and permission marketing have been a wonderful development. It’s great to be able to connect with audiences instead of just interrupting people. But what happens when attention spans are so fragmented that people have a hard time tracking... Listen to episode

There’s an incredibly useful tool that can actually sabotage your content … if you don’t use it correctly. Note: If you want to know more about the upcoming Creative Content Foundations class, get on over to this page and let us know how to get you by email: Creative Content Foundations interest list There’s a... Listen to episode

What’s the best way to handle overwhelm, especially when it comes with a side of procrastination? Note: If you want to know more about the upcoming Creative Content Foundations class, you can drop your details here: Creative Content Foundations interest list Lots of us (most of us?) have big, challenging projects that we want to... Listen to episode

It’s time for the latest round of “Content Marketing doesn’t work any more” stories. Can you tell these make me a little cranky? It’s official — content marketing has moved from the Gartner Hype Cycle “peak of inflated expectations” to the dreaded “trough of disappointment.” Yes, there’s an awful lot of content out there. And... Listen to episode

Tech and tactics come and go — but storytelling lasts forever. In this episode, Shane Snow and Joe Lazauskas of Contently share their favorite techniques for developing a storytelling edge. (Part 2 of a 2-part episode.) We all know that stories are powerful — but sometimes it’s hard to know how to tell stories that... Listen to episode

Tech and tactics come and go — but storytelling lasts forever. In this episode, Shane Snow and Joe Lazauskas of Contently share their favorite techniques for developing a storytelling edge. (Part 1 of a 2-part episode.) We all know that stories are powerful — but sometimes it’s hard to know how to tell stories that... Listen to episode

What do the search engines mean by a “high quality site”? While technical SEO still exists, a huge chunk of modern search engine optimization consists of “generating high-quality content.” So what does that mean? When a search engine ‘bot looks at your site, what kinds of things is it looking for? In this 23-minute episode,... Listen to episode

Here’s a simple way to make the best use of your time when you’re creating new content, improve your SEO, and create a great user experience on your website. Whether you’ve created a lot of content already, or you’re just starting out, here’s how to structure your site with strong “cornerstones” so you do an... Listen to episode

I see and hear the horror stories on Facebook, on LinkedIn, at conferences. Folks who spend months or sometimes years on a big, bold business idea … only to see it die at launch with no sales. You don’t have to risk months of time and thousands of dollars to try out your business idea... Listen to episode

The web needs talented writers. So why is it (sometimes) so hard for the best writers to get paid what they’re worth? There are so many really good writers out there who are thiiiis close to making a great living — they just need to add a couple of readily-learnable skills. In this 15-minute episode,... Listen to episode

Content sharing is the great “free ride” of 2018. You get more people looking at your stuff, and you don’t have to pay a dime for it. But you do need to set your content up for sharing success. Optimizing your content to share is a great, cost-effective way to grow your audience and expand... Listen to episode

I don’t believe in predictions. The future isn’t a mystery novel, with carefully selected clues left for us to decipher. But there’s something I do think is useful to watch. Rather than trying to make predictions, I’m a big fan of looking at significant trends — at watching what’s happening now, and looking for what’s... Listen to episode

January is the traditional month to work on goals for the new year, but there’s a lot to be said for starting in December. Today, in the middle of a month that can often be hectic and chaotic, I thought I’d talk about three things to noodle on for the upcoming work. Nothing you have... Listen to episode

Why do some of the most talented people see the least success? Sometimes they’re held back by misconceptions about marketing and sales. Some of the most talented people out there don’t get the recognition they deserve because they’re apprehensive about marketing themselves — or they’re apprehensive about marketing in general. I’ll do what I can... Listen to episode

It’s hard enough to come up with ideas — but when we do, how do we know they’re any good? How can we evaluate our ideas and make sure we’re choosing the ones that will create the best content? Shannon left us a great comment on the blog with exactly this question, so I thought... Listen to episode

Do the usual “gratitude practices” ever feel formulaic or simplistic to you? Here are some that I’ve found can go a little deeper. This week as we head toward U.S. Thanksgiving, you’ll see a lot about gratitude around the web. But sometimes gratitude practices can feel like just another obligation. And on those days when... Listen to episode

William Maynard of the Bates agency once wrote that “… most good copywriters fall into two categories. Poets. And killers. Poets see an ad as an end. Killers as a means to an end.” And David Ogilvy famously added,”If you are both killer and poet, you get rich.” We’ve talked before about the Killer and... Listen to episode

Happy Halloween week! Today we’re talking with Rebecca Tracey about entrepreneurial fear — how it holds us back and what we can do about it. I’ve been talking this month about entrepreneurial fear — on the blog, in our private content marketing community, and today on this podcast. Today, I invited Becca Tracey to talk... Listen to episode

Neuroscience tells us that making decisions for our content strategy or our websites is “cognitively expensive.” In simpler terms — it’s exhausting. Here are a few “back of the envelope” factors that can help you zero in on the right choice. The internet is an endless parade of exciting shiny things we could be doing... Listen to episode

5 painful mistakes I’ve seen writers, marketers, and business owners make … and how you can avoid them We all make mistakes — but it sucks a lot less to learn from someone else’s. In this 18-minute episode, I talk about five painful mistakes that I’ve made (some of them more than once), and how... Listen to episode