Wed, 5 August 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Dave Sanderson, who is an inspirational survivor, author, and nationally sought out speaker. When US Airways Flight 1549, or ‘The Miracle on the Hudson,’ ditched into the Hudson River in January 2009, Dave Sanderson knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be; the last passenger off the back of the plane on that fateful day. He was largely responsible for the wellbeing and safety of others. During the show, Dave and I discuss leadership and communication.
Main Questions Asked: - Who was Dave Sanderson before The Miracle on the Hudson? - Share about how you connected with Tony Robbins. - What did you like about sales? - How has your view of leadership changed since the day when you were the last person off the plane? - How did you build this new business for yourself? - What are some of your communication tips? - Talk about how you help people and your upcoming webinar.
Key Lessons Learned: - Put yourself around a peer group of people you want to be like, and it will elevate you and raise your standards. - Immediate gratification is a pipe dream. You have to put the time in to get your outcome. - The most successful people are those who started with nothing and had to grow.
Leadership - When you are in a crisis situation, you realize that the people who you didn’t think were leaders all of a sudden are those who step up. - People who step up and focus on the outcome are the ones that become leaders. - Leadership is about people taking direction and/or giving action so people can survive or thrive. - When leaders stand up, they give certainty and direction. - When leadership steps up, you have to use skills you’ve learned, employ them, and give direction. - The people with the most uncertainty will go to the people with the most certainty in any situation.
Building A New Business - First it was about the story, and then it translated into the lessons from that day. - Dave started speaking for free at churches and started working his way up. He has now spoken more than 650 times.
Communication Tips - Sensory accuracy is being able to use all the different modalities you have including auditory, kinesthetic, visual, and factory. - It is important to understand your own communication as well as how someone communicates back to you. - Everyone has a story that will impact someone else’s life. - To the right person, you are exactly what they need to hear.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned |
Wed, 29 July 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Rick Martinez, who is a veteran registered nurse, writer, and successful entrepreneur. Rick has been named by San Antonio Business Journal as one of the city’s 40 under 40. His first company was named as one of the US Small Business Administration’s top 100 companies. During the show, we discuss purpose hacking, the ‘bink’ moment, life pivots, and what Rick learned from his recent book launch.
Main Questions Asked: - How did you come to decide you wanted to help people discover their purpose in life? - Do people find their purpose in life through the work that they do? - What do you mean by the ‘bink’ moment? - How is Project Bink structured, and what does the business look like? - What is a purpose hack? - Tell us about the marketing for Project Bink, Purpose Hack, and Life Pivot. - What were some of the successes and lessons learned from your book launch?
Key Lessons Learned: Have you found your purpose in life? Do you recognize those moments that steer you towards it?
Purpose - Finding one’s purposes is often perceived as finding the meaning of life. Purpose is simply living the life of deeper meaning. - Rather than going through imposter syndrome and thinking ‘Who am I?’ instead make the choice of thinking ‘Why not me!’ and change the action to ‘I’m going to do these things.’ - Purpose isn’t a thing we have to go and find; it is something that is within and grows within us. - We shouldn’t go chasing after our purpose, but rather chase the things that mean the most to us. - Purpose doesn’t have an age limitation. There are younger people with their lives together, and older people who don’t. - You don’t have to be a monk or climb mountains to find meaning in your life. - Purpose isn’t about one thing, but about taking many things that fulfill us and make us whole.
The Bink Moment - This is essentially an “ah-ha” moment when you discover the purpose and reason for wholeness in life and the things that fulfill you. - Involves asking the question ‘What does this mean’ during critical and pivotal life moments. - Rick offers a simple systematic way for people to find their ‘bink moment’ and purpose quicker.
Purpose Hacking - Hacking is a way to do the things in your life that matter the most to you. - This is about a bigger picture and a way to create more meaning and value in your life. - People are into the ‘hacking’ lifestyle because they want to serve something bigger and greater than they are.
Marketing & the Book Launch - Rick approached his marketing efforts from a startup perspective and built a website, established a presence, and added an opt-ins, and pop-ups to capture leads to build the list. - The biggest mistake in his book launch was taking too long to get the book out, which was two years. - The book is self-published straight to Amazon and had a release that was pushed out to friends and people within the circle of influence for a free launch copy. - It’s important to decide on the goal of your book. Is it about being a bestseller or promoting the message? - The strategy was to allow people to get the book for free by using landing pages in order to promote the message. - Being a bestseller is an ego boost, but if your book is a marketing tool for your business, then it’s about getting into the hands of potential clients.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned The Power of Bink (Free book)
She Podcasts (Episode) |
Wed, 22 July 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Joan Sotkin, who is an author, coach, and business woman, and has helped thousands of people understand why they do what they do with their money and how to alter their financial behavior. Joan is the founder of Prosperity Place and author of the award-winning book Build Your Money Muscles. Her passion is helping people improve their relationship with their money and themselves. During the show, Jessica and Joan discuss business and bookkeeping, why we do what we do, money, and shame.
Main Questions Asked: - What brought you into working on money issues with people? - Should everyone learn how to do his or her own bookkeeping and manage cash flow? - What are the characteristics or personality traits that cause some people to have better relationships with money?
Key Lessons Learned: Business & Bookkeeping - It’s possible to have someone in the bookkeeping role, but you have to know what the numbers mean. - The first step is to make a decision to take care of your business. - Business isn’t something you go into where you love everything you do every minute. - Taking care of your finances isn’t about knowing numbers; it’s about data entry. - Managing cash flow isn’t what a bookkeeper does. They just keep the books. - Mental math is a useful way to turn the left part of your brain on. - Your business is an extension of you, and if you’re still in financial fear, you won’t look at your numbers if you feel shame.
Why We Do What We Do - In the beginning stages it’s important to understand why you do what you do with your money now and how you can get to a point of being more functional. - Recognize the kinesthetic experience in your body when you talk about money. - Count your money and spend less than you earn.
Money, Shame, & Feelings - If you feel shame about your finances, it is never about money. It is about relationships and how you feel about yourself and your relationship with others. - Don’t stress and worry about the past; take action for what you want to happen in the future. - When you love, accept, acknowledge, and appreciate yourself, the world will mirror that back to you. - Our need for touch determines so much of our business and financial outcomes. We weren’t meant to ‘go it alone.’ - The longing for money is the same feeling as longing for touch.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
Build Your Money Muscles (book) |
Wed, 15 July 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Robert Mallon & Bill Watkins, who are the co-founders of the Rusty Lion Academy. Bill is a WestPoint graduate, army officer, and world-class athlete. Meanwhile, over the past 25-years, Robert has worked for several nationally known corporations as a leader and manager. During the show, Robert, Bill, and Jessica discuss training and developing virtual teams, how to have productive team meetings, leadership, on-boarding, and team building.
Main Questions Asked: - Talk about training and developing virtual teams. - What are examples of the behavioral questions you asked? - Talk about ‘Slack’ and how you’re using the platform in your team. - What are your tips for having productive team meetings? - What are your recommendations on motivating teams? - Talk about the difference between training somebody and coaching and motivating them.
Key Lessons Learned:
Interviewing & Core Competencies - In any organization, the process is recruit, hire, develop, and retain. - When developing a team, go to the place where people with the expertise you are looking for hang out. - Determine what the core competencies you are looking for. - Behavioral competency questions identify skills and expertise. - Robert and Bill narrow down core competencies to 8 per role and give each a score of 1-5. At the end of the interview, calculations are made, and whoever scores the highest gets the job.
Behavioral Questions - An example of a behavioral question is, “Everybody breaks the rules sometimes. Tell me about a rule that you broke recently and the company you last worked with.” - Behavioral based interview questions are, “Tell me about a time when you ______.” - Make your interview questions open-ended and ask the interviewee to tell you a story. - It is encouraged to have two interviewers, as they will each interpret differently. - Robert and Bill developed value-based questions that unpack the interviewee’s values without them knowing. - It is critical to understand the ‘shared values’ that the company revolves around.
Slack - Slack is a tool to anchor your team in the identity of the organization. - Having multiple communication channels mean that getting clarity quickly can be problematic. - Use Slack for communication, values, vision, and what the team is doing on an ongoing basis. - Slack is an effective tool for 7-minute daily standup meetings saying what you will achieve in that day. E.g. Daily and weekly goals, how I’m contributing, issues, and share relevant revenue metrics.
Productive Team Meetings - Meetings allow team members to have input and ownership. - Plan weekly meetings but don’t make them hour-long. - Be respectful of people’s time and always end the meeting on time. - Robert & Bill use Trello and have a standard meeting with a to-be-discussed checklist. Any team member can add talking points to the list prior to the meeting.
On-Boarding Process & Motivation - Have an on-boarding checklist, information folder, and communication channel such as Slack so new team members feel important when they start working. - Map out your expectations for the team members and ensure they are trained so they can do the job. - Feedback and motivation are incorporating LBs & NTs, which are ‘liked best’ and ‘next times.’ - Business owners need to set an example and not simply engage in a one-way conversation.
Training Vs. Coaching & Motivating - After a team member has been in the company for a 90-day period, Robert and Bill ask the following questions:
1) What should we continue doing that you think is valuable? 2) What do you think we should stop doing and that you don’t think is valuable[LN1] ? 3) What should we start doing that you know is valuable? 4) Are you satisfied now that the honeymoon is over, that you said yes to us?
- The above shows the person that you value their opinion as well as you’re not assuming that everything that is going on is the way it needs to be. - Allowing someone to work out a problem on their own makes them a better leader and own the process.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Rusty Lion Academy (Free gifts)
[LN1]This should be indented to line up with the numbers, but word won’t let me. |
Wed, 8 July 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I explore the art and business of podcasting with Corey Coates, the co-founder of PodFly Productions. During the show, Corey and I have a conversation about the Podcast Producer series. We’ll discuss how and why we created the series, the topics covered, and what we came to learn about podcasting.
Key Lessons Learned:
Origin of Podcast Producers - The aim was for a chaptered approach and covering the bigger topics on podcasting. - Rather than interviewing a person on their opinion on a single topic, Corey wanted to have a topic and interview multiple people on it. - There are so many opinions and approaches to podcasting that there is no right or wrong way to podcast and use podcasting. - Corey was looking for a way to ‘soften’ the information, especially for rookies entering as new podcasters. - The long form of the series is a reminder to people of what podcasting is.
10 Hours of Podcast in 2 Months - Corey sent Jessica a one-sheet proposal of the show of what he wanted it to sound like along with a sample pilot. - The goal was to have open ended conversations about the industry as a whole, what people are doing within the space, brainstorm topics and ideas, then start arranging them in a story. - The constraint was set around the project before work started. - When parameters are decided, then a timeline can be built around that. - When you are overwhelmed by a project, it is easy to shut down, but if you have a timeline, it is much easier to trust in the system.
Establishing A Launch Date - Establish your launch date fast and stick to it. - Having a pre-determined launch date helped with the Podcast Producers workflow. - There was a chart that laid out the workflow so it was clear on when activities such as brainstorming, recording, and editing were going to happen. - A launch date is critical for being accountable to yourself, your team, and your listeners. - Knowing you have an end date is motivation for you to finish.
Passion & Power of No - The overarching theme has to be an enjoyment of the process. - If the process itself isn’t a reward, you might want to consider not launching a podcast. - It’s so easy to say yes to opportunities, but there is a lot of power in saying no. - Ask yourself what the ROI is and how making a podcast will improve your business. - Podcasts are evergreen and will continue to be discovered on a daily basis by new people. - The more interviews you do, the more you improve as an interviewer and host.
The Podcast Producers’ Ten Topics
1. Is anybody out there? - This episode is about podcasting from the perspective of the listener. - Who is actually out there listening to these shows?
2. Hobby or Business? - John Lee Dumas sparked a surge of entrepreneurs in podcasting.
3. The Podcasting Community - How open and friendly the community is in sharing information.
4. The Psychology of Podcasting - Why are we doing this in the first place? - What happens psychologically with the audience when people listen to a podcast? - Should people stop listening to experts? - If you become an expert, should you worry about the imposter syndrome?
5. Stats - Experts explain the facts about stats.
6. Isolation
7. DIY or Outsource - More people are entering the space and providing services to podcasters.
8. Podcast Networks - What goes into being in a network?
9. Monetization - The Dumas affect. - Do you understand what it means to make money in a podcast? - Knowing the expectation of advertisers. - Is it a viable source of income for you? - The CPM model.
10. Radio Migration
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned |
Wed, 1 July 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success In interview Tom Schwab who has discovered a marketing strategy that converts traffic to leads at a rate of thirty percent. During the show Jessica and Tom discuss podcast guest best practices, how being interviewed as a podcast guest leads to results in business and why landing pages and making an offers are so important.
Main Questions Asked - What made you decide to invest your time and services in getting booked as a podcast guest? - Talk about the process of getting a listener to visit your site. - When you are being interviewed as a guest on a podcast, what do you have to think about and say to actually get someone to want to go to your website? - How should a landing page be set up to easily convert people onto a list? - How long does it take before you start seeing results? - What are your thoughts on getting someone’s first name during a list opt-in? - What is the appropriate way to make an offer in a podcast?
Key Lessons Learned Content - Content is king but context is God. You are what you publish. - Content is what drives the modern marketing engine online. - On average it takes 6-9 months to get traffic traction with a blog. - All content is aimed at getting the audience to know, like, and trust you. - Ensure you get the most out of your guest interview by creating a show transcript and repurposing it as multiple sources of content.
Podcast Interviews - Podcasts are a long term strategy and compounding effect - During a podcast people get 30 minutes or more to hear you. They either love you and go to your site to learn more or they move on. - The quality and quantity of context comes from listeners turning into visitors. - Continually promoting the podcast on a consistent basis helps keep you top of mind with the host. - Maintaining a good relationship with the host is the beginning of a long-term professional relationship and improves your chances of getting booked again. - After the interview consistently share the podcast on socials and keep it in mind as a resource to share with others.
Conversion - When listeners visit your site looking for the offer you made on the podcast and average of 25-50% convert. - The system needs to involve finding the right podcast, giving a clear message, providing an offer that drives the listener to your website then having a system that converts a visitor to a lead.
Landing Pages - During your podcast interview offer listeners something that gives them value, has context and is directly tied to what you are talking about. - Direct listeners to a specific landing page and provide a specific giveaway in addition to an opt-in list. - Ensure you include the logo from the podcast you were interviewed on to show the listeners that they are in the right place. - Focus on getting ideal customers not just growing and email list.
Metrics & Results - Results depend on the metrics used such as number of listeners, website visitors, emails received, and conversions. - If you are getting heard on good quality podcasts and listeners are not coming to your site then you have to figure out where the ‘leaks’ in your system are. - The reason listeners may not visit your site is that they don’t find value in visiting. - If listeners are coming to your site but not opting-in then your landing page could be confusing. - If people come to your site and opt-in but don’t become a customer then the problem may be in your nurturing sequence. - Every day customers are voting with their dollars, time, and actions. If you are not getting the results you want then you have to figure out why. - You don’t necessarily need a lot of traffic but rather the right traffic (target clients.)
The List - If you want to funnel down and segment customers from the beginning. - Ask for feedback via open ended or optional questions e.g ‘what is your biggest frustration about the product or service?’
Making An Offer - An offer shouldn’t feel like a pitch at the end. - Reference the offer during the podcast so it doesn’t feel like a surprise. - Make sure you offer two things and explain to the listeners where the offer is and what it is.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Tom Schwab – Inbound Marketing (previous podcast) Adam Hommey (previous podcast) Decide - The Ultimate Success Trigger
tom@inboundforecommerce.com |
Wed, 24 June 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Doug Foresta, who first got into podcasting five years ago and has since interviewed eight hundred people. Doug is the producer of Creating Change, The CoachZing Show, and coaches entrepreneurs on how to podcast and be a great podcast guest. He also helps service professionals expand their reach and attract their ideal clients. During the show, we discuss how to get celebrity interviews, why podcasting isn’t all about downloads, and how to be a great interviewer.
Main Questions Asked: - How did you learn how to start interviewing people? - How did you land interviews with big guests when you were so new to podcasting? - Talk about your philosophy of ‘It’s not all about the download numbers.’ - What are your recommendations and do’s and don’ts for being a great interviewer? - Talk about your philosophy and how you approach coaching entrepreneurs. - How do you bring in the marketing and business side when working with entrepreneurs?
Key Lessons Learned: Podcasting - Podcasting is still in its infancy as a form. Radio is mass market, and podcasting is a niche. - Podcasting is about ‘tribe building’ and pushing the form. - You don’t have to have a classic broadcasting voice; you just have to be ‘you.’
Getting Celebrity Interviews - Don’t approach interviews with a ‘what can I get’ attitude but rather ‘how can I serve and help people.’ - Don’t think about ‘getting’ a guest, but think about ‘having a conversation.’ - If you give a famous person a platform to talk about something they can’t talk about anywhere else, they are more likely to accept your invitation to be on your podcast.
It’s Not All About Download Numbers - Podcasting is not just about the download numbers but about the experience you create. - An affective way to have a really good show with longevity is to serve your listeners by finding out what they like, make more of it, and turn them into raving fans. - Rather than focusing on downloads, look at how good your podcast is. Do your listeners e-mail you? Are they joining your e-mail list? Are they part of your tribe and community? - If you don’t create a good podcast, then people won’t come back to listen again anyway. - Podcasting is about the quality of relationships you build with people that can’t be measured in downloads.
Interview Tips - Take improv. classes and get skills in ‘being in the moment.’ - Don’t always worry about the next question, but dig deeper with who, what, why, when, where, and how questions. - Being a great interviewer is a great networking skill and means making the guest shine rather than yourself.
Entrepreneur Podcast Coaching - Find what you most need to say in your voice. - Discover your point of view and what is unique in your voice. - Monetizing your community is about creating raving fans, building an email list, then making offers. - The brand that starts around your podcast often becomes a new brand for your business.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 17 June 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Lee Caraher who is an entrepreneur and CEO with more than twenty years experience building great high producing intergenerational work teams that get a lot done and have fun at the same time. Lee is an acclaimed communications strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She is the founder of Double Forte and has figured out the secret to working well with millennial clients and staffers. Lee is the author of Millennials and Management: The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work. During the podcast Jessica and Lee discuss the profile of millennials, negativity surrounding the term, and the secret to working with millennials and teams.
Main Questions Asked - How do you define and what are the characteristics of millennials? - Talk about your struggle with hiring millennials. - What was the point where you figured out how to work with millennial clients and staffers? - What is the secret to working with a different generation?
Key Lessons Learned - Everyone wants his or her process to be better but no one wants to have it discounted.
Profile of Millennials - Millennials are the 15-35 year old age group also known as GenY. - The midway point for this generation was the year 2000, which is why they are called millennials. - Even though your age can be in a different generation your mindset can be that of a millennial.
Negativity of the Term Millennial - The term millennial is often seen negatively and a lot of millennials don’t even want to be known as such. - Millennials can be seen as entitled, job hoppers, expecting rewards just for showing up, and lazy. - Lee believes that millennials are conditioned by the way they grew up.
Working With Millennials - If you don’t have millennials in your business your business doesn’t have a future. - Lee went back to the basics of leadership management by reading a number of management books. - Things that work for other generations don’t work for millennials. - If you do things to help millennials get engaged and stick with you, everyone benefits. - Boomers are the ‘wait my turn’ generation but millennials have never had to wait as they’ve always had instant access. - Millennials have grown up with amazing access to information and people, the ability to make a change, expectations of access and no hierarchy. - Millennials require a lot of context and ‘just do it because I said so’ won’t work. The more you provide context the better.
Two Key Tips for Working With Millennials - 1. Bring the context of your project to the forefront of the conversation and ask for people’s input. - 2. Do a project the established way first and then improve it.
Teams & Strengths - Know what personality types are within your team and don’t be afraid to conduct MBTI and Strengths Finders tests. - Figure out the dynamics within your team so you can accommodate them. - Regardless of age, discover how people optimize their engagement and how they will work with others. - WOO is the ability to keep talking until someone comes to your side and believes in you. - Often when you are young on a team you don’t get the creditability for having strategic ability. Strategy isn’t earned it is a strength. - It takes 30-60 days to get used to new processes. - If you’re not easy to work with then you don’t have a business in the client service economy.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Millennials and Management (book) The Art of Conversation (book) |
Wed, 10 June 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Kelly Glover, who is an Aussie gal living large in Hollywood, California. She is a plus size blogger, podcaster, and virtual assistant. Kelly has recently taken her personal blog, Big Curvy Love, and launched a podcast. During the show, Jessica and Kelly discuss how to come up with a good brand name, what it takes to start a blog, the art of personal content creation, and tips for podcast interviewers and guests.
Main Questions Asked: - Talk about choosing a good blog, website, and podcasting name. - How long did it take to get an episode live on iTunes? - What’s it been like building out a blog? - Where did you find a designer to do your logo? - Is the blog something that generates revenue or a personal passion project? - What do you do with the Facebook page, and how do you use it to engage with your community? - Talk about your themed days on the blog. - Are you incorporating 50 Fat Dates into your podcast? - Do you think more podcasters and bloggers need to be doing more creative things like this to make their content more interesting? - Do you prepare questions ahead of time, or do you bring people on who you really like?
Key Lessons Learned: Branding - When choosing a brand name, select something that is niche, has keywords, and explains what the brand is. - Create a list of brand names, search the internet to see if the domains are available, and see what names competitors in your field are using. - If your brand name isn’t searchable in iTunes as the actual podcast show name, change it in Libsyn to incorporate keywords. - Choosing your brand’s logo is the gateway to your color palette and branding across all media. - Decide on the domain name, create the logo, lock in the color palette, then select a WordPress template for the website.
Blogging - Template Monster and Theme Forrest are good sources for WordPress templates that are customizable on self-hosted WordPress sites. These are usually up to around $75. - The Hex code is the color code that designers use for exact colors e.g. #000000 is black. These can be used when you design on Canva and other platforms to ensure you are matching the exact color. - Blogs can earn revenue a number of ways, such as through pay per click ads, advertising, affiliates, speaking engagements, and sponsored posts.
Personal Content Creation - People tend to get caught in boxes where they only create content around what their podcast is about and keep the business and personal life separate. - When you decide on what part of your personal life to share, you need to be able to ask yourself, “If an employer or client saw my content, would I be happy with that?” - These days there is no ‘business life’ and ‘personal life;’ it is just ‘life.’
Being Yourself & Communication - Readers and listeners want to know about the person. - If your audience trusts you and likes you, then they are more likely to do business with you if they believe in you. - Improvisation classes help develop quick thinking and decrease self-doubt.
Podcasting - Record a fake show, listen back to yourself, and transcribe your script to hear what your crutch words are. - Learning to speak slower will improve your communication. - If someone can answer ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ then that is a bad question. Also, if that is their only answer, they are bad guest. - There is an art to being a good interviewer and also to being a good guest. - Learning not to talk over others and cut people off during an interview is another great skill to learn. - Have at least three questions prepared for your interview.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 3 June 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Dr. Carri Drzyzga who is known as ‘The Functional Medicine Doc’ and the go-to expert on finding the root causes of health problems. She is a chiropractor, a naturopathic doctor, the host of the Functional Medicine Radio show, and the author of Reclaim Your Energy and Feel Normal Again.During the show, we discuss entrepreneurial fatigue, the affects of coffee, how much water you should drink, and what the best diet is.
Main Questions Asked: - Talk about marketing and what you are doing to grow your business. - What inspired and motivated you to take your marketing online and work to reach people internationally? - What are the things that entrepreneurs do that cause fatigue? - How much water do people need to be drinking? Why? How does that affect our energy levels? - Is there one kind of diet people should strive for, or does it depend on your body?
Key Lessons Learned: - The medical profession doesn’t take fatigue that seriously. - Dr. Carri has noticed that over the past decade, people are really looking for answers and getting much more involved in natural medicine. - Within the traditional medical systems there are a lot of limitations, and people are discovering online health summits where people can learn and get answers quickly. - Your number one business asset is your health.
Marketing Online - Get your story on paper and include it in your business. - Being an author means you have a huge amount of creditability. - There are only so many people you can help in your local community. So by taking your business and brand online, you’re able to reach a global market instantly. - When your brand exists online, you never really know how far reaching your words will go. - When you provide value, you attract more business. - The top 1% is the top 1% because they are willing to do work that others aren’t.
Entrepreneurial Fatigue - This is the brain-based fatigue that business owners and entrepreneurs suffer. - Entrepreneurs end up at the point of fatigue through stress, working long hours, and not getting enough sleep, water, or eating properly. - When you feel as though your brain is starting to slow down or your thoughts are getting fuzzy, that is when you should drink a large glass of water. - Coffee is a short-term energy boost that in the long run drains the body of cortisol, which is the body’s main stress hormone. - If you are draining cortisol, you will be less able to deal with stress.
How Much Water Should We Drink? - To figure out how much water you should drink on a daily basis calculate your body weight in pounds and halve it. That is the amount of ounces of water you should drink every day. - A typical glass of water is 8oz., and most people need around 10 glasses of water per day.
Paleo Diet - A broad-based generic diet such as the paleo diet, aka the caveman diet, is the best. - This is high in healthy fats and protein, low in carbs, and has lots of fiber. - On the paleo diet, you aren’t eating grains, dairy, or legumes. - This diet has removed the foods that are known to be the most allergenic, inflammatory, and bad for our health. - People who often don’t do well on the paleo diet have a difficult time metabolizing the sulfur.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned The Functional Medicine Radio Show Reclaim Your Energy and Feel Normal Again! (book)
|
Wed, 27 May 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Rachel Olsen, who is the founder of Best Mom Products, a media strategist for mom entrepreneurs and number one bestselling author of Shark Tank Mompreneurs. Rachel is also the co-founder of Getapplr.com, a social network to discover your friends’ favorite apps and share yours too. During the show, Jessica and Rachel discuss branding, messaging, mompreneurs, and what it takes to get on Shark Tank.
Main Questions Asked: - How did you get started in entrepreneurship, and how did you become an expert in your field? - How do you help mom entrepreneurs do their own PR, and what do you teach them? - Tell us what your book is all about and where we can grab a copy.
Key Lessons Learned: Messaging - Messaging is made up of branding, marketing, and public relations. - Your message will change depending on the audience you talk to. - An investor talk will be different to speaking with the media.
The Problem with Messaging in Social Media Age - A lot of entrepreneurs struggle with messaging because it’s so transparent in the social media age. - How do we talk to all people at once? - What do we put out there from a media perspective? - How do we tailor the message for multiple audiences at once?
Your Brand - Everyone has a personal brand. - Others tend to think about the person and then what they do, rather than the brand first. - Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not around. - Start listening to what people say about you, and curate photos that capture that personality. - Ensure your branding photos communicate your personality. - Mastermind with people who see you from the outside and can provide feedback. - If you have brands and sub-brands, you have to figure out the overarching message.
Branding - This is how you communicate yourself, your business, and your message online. - You need to know what message you are communication through your design. - It is better to outsource your personal branding, as you are too close to it.
Doing Your Own PR - Anyone can do their own PR, but it takes a while and you need to be educated about the process. - It is common to pay a PR firm $2K per month for them to just pitch you to outlets. - Look at what is trending and think about where you fit with that. - When it comes to PR and media, there is only so much in your control. - The best pitch is only good if the other party is interested. - It is beneficial to do a full website audit and assess where your messaging and branding is on each page.
Shark Tank - The sharks don’t have profiles on the entrepreneurs prior to on-air recording. - Each 7 minute segment can take more than an hour of filming in order to ‘wear down’ the entrepreneurs and get the best reality TV content. - People rarely say anything negative about Shark Tank, as they fear no longer being a ‘friend of the show’ and getting a second chance. - None of the women in the Shark Tank Mompreneur book said going on the show was the best thing they did in their business. - A lot of people want to go on the show just to get the Shark’s advice over the hour period.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Shark Tank Mompreneurs (book) |
Wed, 20 May 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Josh Turner who is the founder of Linked Selling, a B2B marketing firm specializing in fully outsourced LinkedIn lead generation campaigns. Josh’s company represents clients, such as Neil Patel and Microsoft, and also operates Linked University, which is an online training program for LinkedIn marketing. During the show, Jessica and Josh discuss how to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, how frequently you should update your feed, and the do’s and don’ts of connecting.
Main Questions Asked: - How did LinkedIn become your main platform and area of expertise? - Tell me about LinkedIn ads. - How is LinkedIn different to Facebook, and how should you be interacting with people? - In order to send someone an Inbox message on LinkedIn, do you have to have a mutual connection? - Is there a feature on LinkedIn that shows you mutual contacts? - What types of things should you post on LinkedIn updates, how often, and is it a running feed? - What are the do’s and don’ts on setting up and maintaining a LinkedIn profile?
Key Lessons Learned: - It depends on your business as to whether LinkedIn ads are great or not. - LinkedIn ads or a sponsored update will see a higher cost per click. - Click cost isn’t what matters. It is about the cost for a lead and cost for a sale. - For a campaign that is working well on LinkedIn, you can expect to see $6-10 per lead for a webinar opt-in or free report.
LinkedIn vs. Facebook - LinkedIn is more professional and used for business. - It’s the template stock scripts inbox emails that give LinkedIn a bad name. - If you take the time to develop the relationship first, then the success increases. - People spend more time on Facebook than they do on LinkedIn. - LinkedIn’s data says that 40% of its users check in at least once a day.
What Works on LinkedIn - Make messages personal and informal so that the receiver feels as though you only sent the message to them. - Be personal and avoid talking in marketing speak. - Before you earn to right to send someone a message you have to get his or her attention first. - Stay top of mind in a way that provides value, and position yourself as a resource and authority in the market.
Connecting on LinkedIn - Free LinkedIn accounts grant you access to people within a certain degree of you. - Higher-level premium accounts allow you to find anyone on LinkedIn and message them. - Another way to message someone is to contact them through a common group. - A frequent mistake people make is not including a personal message when sending a connection request. - If you include a personal message when asking someone to connect with you, then 50-75% will say yes. - Using ‘shared connections’ is a great way to prospect, as you can leverage common connections you have.
LinkedIn Updates - This is a running feed, so you should post content daily in order to stand out. - People will get quickly turned off if your content focuses on your own business, so be sure to also include curated content. - Share a balanced mix of resources in order to become a trusted authority.
LinkedIn Profile - Focus on making a solid profile so that when you get views it entices people to take the next step. - Structure your profile headline or summary section with a call to action.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Connect (book) |
Wed, 13 May 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Susie Miller who is an author, speaker, and known internationally as the Better Relationship Coach. Susie’s goal is to help you create better relationships in thirty days or less, even if you are the only one making the effort. For more than twenty years Susie has helped people reduce stress, improve communication, increase intimacy, and have better relationships with each other, themselves, and God. Susie believes relationships are the currency of today and is the author of Listen, Learn, Love. During the show Susie discusses communication in relationships, business, and as an entrepreneur.
Main Questions Asked: - What are the ‘how-to’ steps of being open in your communication with staff? - Why did you decide to write your book, Listen, Learn and Love? - Why are you focusing on people in business when you are talking about relationships? - Talk about the Listen, Learn, Love skills.
Key Lessons Learned: You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home is in shambles- Zig Ziglar.
Inner Circle Communication - Everyone needs an inner circle who they can be their raw, real selves with. This will give you a sense of security. - Different people will always fulfill communication needs roles. - Your spouse isn’t necessary the person you tell everything to. - Your husband is not your best girlfriend.
Staff Communication - Set up expectations from the beginning of how management communication will be delivered. - Be willing to be uncomfortable and give people permission to ask the hard questions and give feedback. - Employees often don’t feel free to give feedback on communication when there is an issue. A great question to ask your staff is, “What are you not telling me?” - Communication is difficult as it’s not just the words but also the tone and non- verbal expression.
Relationships - Every relationship can get better quickly. - Relationships are what cause us to get up in the morning. - Our schedule is based around the people in our lives, so if those relationships are going well, then most of our lives go better. - When relationships are successful, every aspect of your life gets better.
Entrepreneurs - You can be in massive action or start up mode and think of your relationships as a ‘drip’ campaign. - Set up an intentional action plan to foster relationships that will produce great rewards. - Entrepreneurs often feel they are in massive action with their business and don’t have any time for their relationships. - There aren’t a lot of people talking about how to be successful in relationships while you are growing a business. It’s either business advice or relationship advice but not both.
Listen, Learn, Love
Listen - We don’t often listen but are actually busy thinking about our response or hoping that the other person will finish sharing. - When you listen to people, make sure you clarify and validate what they are saying.
Learn - Know people and go on a treasure hunt to discover their dreams, struggles, and quirks. This will help you connect more deeply.
Love - What does it mean to love well? - It’s more about the short-term sacrifice for the long-term game. - To love well is to put the other person first.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Listen, Learn, Love (book)
|
Wed, 6 May 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Paul Colligan who is a YouTube expert, the Director of Content Marketing for InstantCustomer.com, and CEO of Colligan.com. Paul hosts The Podcast Report, and on today’s show discusses twitter bombing, the importance of getting listed on New and Noteworthy, and how the podcasting conversation is moving away from tech and toward content.
Main Questions Asked: - What do mean when you say, “It’s not a massive play but it’s a deep one?” - Talk about ‘Twitter bombing.’ - Do new podcasters need to worry about New and Noteworthy? - What are the best things you see podcasters doing?
Key Lessons Learned: - Podcasting is new media, so you don’t have to try and fit it into an old media format. - The conversation is moving away from tech to content. - A lot of people’s main goal is to be all over iTunes; however, there is also Stitcher, and TuneIn, so your goal should be to be everywhere.
“It’s not a massive play but it’s a deep one” - People think that the revenue in podcasting is downloads x CPM, but chasing downloads is not as smart as going niche. - The more niche your audience is, the better you are going to be able to serve them. If you are doing it right, you will be able to make more money simply via downloads. - As a podcaster, you want to bring your audience products and services they are looking for. - When you have a deeper audience, they are more likely to act on the hosts’ recommendations in purchasing products. - It is better to be on someone’s weekly ‘must listen’ list than on someone’s top 100 podcast list.
Twitter Bombing - Because the only metric people care about is downloads, people are cheating the download game by Twitter bombing. - Twitter bombers register hundreds of Twitter accounts and use popular and trending hashtags to trick people into clicking and downloading a podcast. - An example of a Twitter bomb is “New song by Justin Bieber, click here! [link] ” The link goes to a podcast, which when clicked will count as a download.
New and Noteworthy - Getting listed on New and Noteworthy will defiantly drive traffic to your show, but you need to ask yourself, “Where is New and Noteworthy on the list of things I should do?” - If you have a show and get more than a dozen downloads, you will probably hit New and Noteworthy. That exposure might bring you some downloads, but there are things you can do that will bring you more. - New and Noteworthy is not the normal path for normal people when finding podcasts. - Most podcast listeners hear about shows from recommendations rather than searching New and Noteworthy listing. - Do people listening to your show care about what you have to say, or do they care that you are listed on New and Noteworthy? - When it comes to the New and Noteworthy algorithm, ‘subscribers over the last 24 hours’ seems to make the most impact on getting listed.
Do you need 3-4 podcasts to launch? - No. You don’t need to have 3-4 shows before you go public. - People tend to listen to the most recent episode, so any content loaded prior to that will have significantly less downloads. Therefore, you are more likely to get more downloads if you release episodes individually.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned How to Podcast (book)
|
Wed, 29 April 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Joel Boggess & Dr. Pei Kang Boggess,who are the hosts of The Relaunch Show. Joel is also the number one bestselling author of Finding Your Voice, and Dr. Pei has the experience of successfully running both online and brick and mortar businesses. During the show you’ll find out one of the biggest mistakes podcasters make, how to get podcast guests to open up, and why content is no longer king.
Main Questions Asked: - Did you record Chris Brogan at a conference? - How do you work together successfully as a couple? - How do you divide the roles on the show? - Share your thoughts on high quality interviews and great content. - Talk about podcasters thinking star guests will save their show. - If star guests aren’t the ticket to a huge audience, what is? - How can a guest help build your show? - How do you decide what interviews get released on your show? - What do you do in your show to get guests to be comfortable opening up and keeping the conversation flowing? - Talk about what’s next for Relaunch.
Key Lessons Learned: - Relaunch is Joel and Pei’s fifth podcast, which shows that sometimes you have to go through trial and error before you find success. - You become a better podcaster when you take the art and craft of interviewing seriously. - Every touch point matters, so it’s important to check in with your guest and keep them updated on what’s going on and where they are in the process. - As a podcaster, you need to position yourself directly to who matters. - Content is no longer king; it is a commodity. This means that no one person owns the market. - Podcasting is all about connection, relationships, and showing your personality. - Always place the listeners time as a priority.
Podcasting Guests - Your guest does not drive your show, you drive your show. - Often, guests can be heard on a variety of shows, but only you can be heard on your show. - The big mistake podcasters make is thinking that the star guest is a ticket to a huge audience and will save their show. - Remember, it is the podcaster who is the difference maker, not the guest. - When you bring a guest on your show think of them as a co-host rather than a high and mighty expert. - Your guest needs to understand who your audience is, what their greatest challenges are, and how the guest can offer the most value. - When your guests feel like they have a strong relationship with you they are more likely to share the show and recommend people listen to it.
How to Get Guests To Open Up - Create a safe space very quickly and do a pre-show chat before taking the guest live. - Even if guests have listened to your show, it’s a good idea to give them a 30 second ‘crash course’ explaining how it works and your expectations. This will put them at ease. - If a show isn’t going well, sometimes it’s not you as the host, it could be that the guest isn’t the best conversationalist. - As a guest, it’s better to share a story than a theory as stories are much more entertaining.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 22 April 2015
Networking is not collecting contacts; networking is about planting relations. On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Mike Bruny who is a speaker, author, certified life coach, and an alum of the Boston-based Leaders of Color Development Program Inc. Mike believes we are all ambassadors and stand for ‘something,’ so he is on a mission for individuals to discover and live their ‘something.’ Mike’s runs The New Art of Conference Networking, which helps conference organizers create the kind of environment that fosters people to make great connections. If you want to know how to make meaningful connections at your next conference or event, then this podcast has some awesome tips for you.
Main Questions Asked: - How did you come up with the idea of becoming a networking ambassador and helping people make connections at conferences? - What is the ‘pivot’? - Talk about how to deal with collecting business cards at a conference. - Should we be strategic in who we take a business card from? - What are your tips of the best kind of business card to have and what information to include? - What are the ways people can be memorable at conferences? - Where do you recommend people fall in the spectrum of how to dress for conferences? - Share your tips for entrepreneurs who are running their own events and what they should do for networking and relationship building. - What do you think about setting up a group for people who will be attending a specific conference?
Key Lessons Learned: - If you put in the work before you go to the conference there is a greater chance that you will connect with people.
Alone At the Conference - When you are at a conference and you aren’t taking to anyone, don’t panic. Be happy to have a moment to yourself. - When you look confident and make eye contact, people will approach you. - If you are alone and focused on your phone or laptop, people will avoid you as they will think you don’t want to talk or be interrupted.
The Pivot - When you are at a conference and find yourself in a conversation clique, make sure to keep your eyes open for people who also want to join the conversation. - The way to let people into a conversation clique is to let them know there is an open space for them to join the conversation. - If you are on the outside and are looking to insert yourself into an existing conversation, take in what is going on and look for an opportunity to make a point to add to the conversation.
Business Cards - Having an idea of your personal goals at the conference makes collecting business cards a different process. - Before you decide to ask for a card, get a good idea about the person, what they are working on, what’s their biggest challenge, and if can you be of assistance to them. - Ideally the best strategy is to take other people’s cards because it gives you the power to take action and contact the other person. - When you get a card, make sure to write a note on it to remind you of who the person is and why you want to stay connected. - Receiving a business card is also an opportunity to think of whom within your network you can help other than yourself.
Tips For Your Business Card - Mike says stay away from glossy business cards as they are difficult to write on. - Use high-quality heavy stock and use a professional printing service. - Having a photo on your card is great for after the event, as the person receiving it will have a better chance of remembering who you are.
Dressing for Conferences - Dress for your comfort level as well as what you are going after. - Women have the advantage when it comes to accessorizing as our eyes are drawn to the color contrasts. - For men, you can have a strong pocket square game and forgo the tie.
How to Handle Networking At Your Own Event or Conference - Get information on the people who will attend your event and find out what they want to get out of it. - Ask attendees who they would most like to connect with. - It used to be that attendees wanted to connect with people in their physical geographic location, but now people prefer to connect with others in the same industry.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned The New Art of Conference Networking Move the Crowd: 30 Days of Hip Hop Affirmations to Change Your Life (book) |
Wed, 15 April 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Katie Krimitsos, who runs The Tampa Bay Business Owners group and is the host of Biz Women Rock, which is an amazing podcast that features business and entrepreneurial women. Katie’s team did everything right in launching her podcast and today we talk about leveraging the power of a Facebook group for fans. In this podcast find out how Facebook groups can help you engage with your listeners.
Main Questions Asked Tell us about the Biz Women Rock podcast and why you’re passionate about it. Talk about your Facebook marketing efforts. What was the investment in your Facebook ad campaign? Talk about your Facebook group and how you’ve grown it. Talk about building your list by having people opt in so they could join the Facebook group. What is the purpose of your group and how do you make sure people know and understand what is and isn’t appropriate to post? Talk about how you used the group to promote the podcast.
Key Lessons Learned Biz Women Rock Podcast Facebook pages allow your listeners to interact with you. Groups allow your listeners to interact with each other. The Biz Women Rock podcast is an opportunity for savvy businesswomen to share their journey. This isn’t topic specific show but rather is story related. Katie wanted to build a solid community rather than a high number of listeners.
Facebook Marketing Katie paid for adverts and started a page before the podcast launched. Within two weeks of advertising she had 2,000 likes on the Biz Women Rock page. Katie was spending $300-$500 per month. You need to spend money on Facebook ads so you can get your page in front of the right people but you need to be active in order for this to work If you have 100,00 people on your page but no one is engaging then the high number doesn’t mean anything. Katie’s Facebook content strategy was to post 3-5 times per day. Quotes with a photo of person’s face get a lot of engagement than just the text on its own. The majority of what Katie posts is curation and not just her own podcast content.
Facebook Groups This is an opportunity to talk to the whole group and the members get to talk back and forth to each other. Katie marketed the group to the page, and created a specific graphic for the group. Katie personally reached out to 10-15 people on the Biz Women Rock Facebook page and invited them to brand ambassadors within the group. The ambassador role was to ask questions, respond to posts, making their own posts. There was a general Facebook ad for the group as well one that specifically targeted people who already like the page. Always provide different content or messages to the group than you would provide on the page. Anytime an individual in a group feels like you are talking to them directly, your group will multiply and engage more because they will feel like you really care about them. If you can make 2,500 people feel like they are the most important person in the group then you have done your job well.
Facebook Online Group Culture The more structure you give the group better behaved people will be and the better the outcome you want to create will happen. The guidelines (rules) of the BWR group were posted in the group description as well as in the form of a graphic. The idea of the rules is the keep the group spam free as a way to retain members. In the beginning the rules graphic was posted weekly or kept as a pinned post. If someone goes against the rules Katie will contact them personally and if they continue with rogue posts Katie will delete from the group.
Building Your List Via Facebook Groups Instead of the opt-in on the website, Katie changed it to ‘join our private community,’ which takes them to a button to join the group.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Biz Women Rock BWR Connect (Facebook group) Tampa Bay Business Owners Entrepreneur Support Services Interview Connections TV |
Wed, 8 April 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I’m pleased to share an interview I did as a guest on Jason Hartman’s podcast. On the show we discuss how to book great podcast guests, what it takes to be an awesome guest, and how to pitch yourself and get interviewed on podcasts.
Main Questions Asked: Tell us about getting good guests for a podcast? Elaborate on getting famous guests who have a lot of interview experience versus booking guests who are new. How do we get interviews, especially with famous people who get a lot of requests? Do you have a ratio you think is ideal of how much someone should be a guest on podcasts versus interview guests? What does it take to be a good guest? What does it take to put yourself out there and be granted interviews? How hard is it to get chosen? How do you pitch yourself? How does a podcaster define their market and show?
Key Lessons Learned:
Getting Guests Know the goal of your podcast and what kinds of guests you want to feature. Look for someone who has experience behind a microphone and has been interviewed before. A good way to check if someone has been interviewed is to search iTunes, then listen to interviews in order to hear how your potential guest sounds. Check that the guests social media and web presence are active online and will add value in the form of sharing. People who have been interviewed a lot are great guests because they have experience, but there is a risk of them sounding rehearsed and scripted. When reaching out to prospective guests, you need to personalize your request and be specific as to why you are interested in interviewing that particular guest. Remember, unless you get a ‘no,’ it’s not a ‘no.’ A lot of guests want to be booked on shows with a track record so they are confident that if they record the interview it will be published.
Being a Guest If you have your own podcast, then you are a much more appealing guest because you have credibility as somebody who produces their own show and knows what it takes to produce a podcast. Focus on your verbal communication skills and work on getting rid of your ‘crutch words.’ The more you know what you are talking about, the less you will use ‘crutch words.’ Have a one sheet, speaker kit, or press kit that shows the host your bio and suggested speaking topics, as well as interview questions. Then know what you will say if asked those questions. Make sure your answers aren’t too long or too short. End your answer in a way that creates a follow up question in the mind of the host. If you like the interview you did, there is potential to run that interview on your own show.
Getting Interviewed on Shows In order to get yourself booked as a guest on other shows, it is helpful to use a service, broker, or virtual assistant to pitch you. There will be a point where people start requesting you to be on their show; however, in the beginning you will need to pitch yourself. There are so many podcasters who want to get pitched, so you just start doing it.
How to Pitch Yourself It is vital to have a one sheet or media kit that summarizes you as a guest. Know what makes you different to all the other guests in your niche. Narrow your expertise down and be specific to the podcast you are pitching. Make sure you read the show description and understand how they explain their show. When a podcaster is being pitched they will be thinking, “Is this of value to my audience, will they want to listen to this interview, and is this something they will like?” When you pitch a show, it should read something along the lines of: “This guest would be a great person to interview because your listeners will get x value from it.” Follow and connect with podcasters on social media so you can get a lot of value.
Define Your Market and Show You must have a target market and be really clear. Don’t be afraid to leave people out, otherwise you are in danger of your show and content being broad ‘general’ area.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Jason Hartman Podcast Conversion Cast Interview Connections Entrepreneur Support Services Interview Connections TV |
Wed, 1 April 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Lyndsey Anderson who is a web strategy expert and works with business owners to help them grow their businesses. Lyndsey is the founder and CEO of two companies and knows how to utilize web technologies to help business owners find their dreams. If you’ve ever wondered what backlinks are and why they are so important, then this is a must listen episode.
Main Questions Asked - What are backlinks? - What are other ways to earn links back to your website? - How do you leave a comment and link on a website and not look spammy? - What is the best way to find new places to find high quality backlinks? - Is there a difference to creating a hyperlink in a blog post and a backlink? - What is PageRank and what does that have to do with link earning? - How does PageRank work if the source is a podcast host or app? - What does effect your PageRank if web traffic doesn’t effect it? - Can you talk about website conversions?
Key Lessons Learned - A backlink is a link from another website to your website. The purpose of which is to increase your website in search engine rankings. - Backlinks are now known as ‘link earning’ (this is the new approach of building links back to your website.) - Google takes into account more than 200 factors when you type in a keyword to search. One of the main factors is how many links you have back to your website. - If you are a guest on a podcast the podcaster links to your site in their show notes then that is considered link earning as you provided value to the audience. - People used to buy links, use link farms, and comment on blogs, however, Google started recognizing these tactics and made changes.
Earning Links - Make relevant comments on industry specific blogs with a link back to your website. - Don’t just provide a link back to your website, you need to provide excellent information and answer a question. If you can expound on that information then link back to your website with a specific tool or resource. - The best way is to build an audience and get other people linking back to your website.
Finding New Backlinks - The best way is to spy on your competitors by going to Google and typing in your keywords and see what first few websites come up. - There is a way to search what backlinks your competitors have such as moz.com or majestic.com. - Take the competitor backlinks list and see where you can offer content or help and reach out to the owner of the website and see if you can also get a linkback. How Google Views Backlinks - Google no longer wants links on a resource page or amongst hundreds of others in the footer but now prefers links surrounded by content. - Google is smart enough to recognize legitimate link backs and see natural links in the middle of a post with your name highlighted and a link.
PageRank - Google has an algorithm that will grade a page based on how many incoming backlinks there are ranging from a scale of N/A to 10. - If you are getting a lot of backlinks from websites with a page rank of 1 then Google will think you are spamming as pages with low numbers are easy targets, and don’t have quality content. - Go to Google and type in ‘what is my page rank’ and Google will show you PageRanks. - Before you go on a link earning campaign, you need to investigate and not go for all 7s. In the natural realm you will get links from 2s and 3s too. - PageRank doesn’t necessarily have to do with traffic but is more of a general way of checking if a website is legit or spammy. If it is a 1 or a 2 then don’t aim to put your link on there.
Website Conversions - Remember that a huge percentage of people will visit your site on a mobile device. - From April 21, 2015 Google is incorporating whether a website is mobile friendly or not into the algorithm. - Use the Google mobile friendly test to check if your site is mobile friendly. - Make sure you have a call to action to get on the list and let visitors know what they will get for opting in on your list. - Go to an outside source and have them do a full review your site. - Always know where you are driving people once they open your site. - Ensure you spend money on professional images and well-written content to make sure they are kept up to date. - Visitors want to get to know you and see you speaking, which is why video is an essential element. It doesn’t have to be a huge production and can be 30 seconds or less.
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 25 March 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Bree Noble, who is an entrepreneur, musician, and speaker. Bree is the founder of Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres. She also launched the Women of Substance Podcast that ranked number four overall on iTunes New and Noteworthy. Bree draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians.
Main Questions Asked: What do you do 9 to 5, and what is your business made up of? Is consulting, coaching, and creating courses how you generate revenue in your business? Tell us more about your life as a musician. Is that what you help musicians with most? Finding their voice, what to tell, and how to tell it? How does someone create a bio that is going to stand out? How is marketing a musician different from marketing a business, product, or service that is not the identity of the person selling it? Why is marketing hard for musicians, and why don’t they like it? Tell us more about the Women of Substance radio station. How did you grow your audience and what marketing was involved in building the community? Talk about the relationships lifecycle that you build with the musicians. Are you mainly focusing on musicians who don’t have a record deal or manager? Is it strategic to build your consulting and courses?
Key Lessons Learned: Bree does five podcasts a week, and tries to fit it all in one 8-hour ‘podcasting’ day. If you don’t figure out how to make money in the music industry, then you are not going to have a career.
Writing a Non-Generic Bio There are hundreds of thousands of independent female artists, so don’t be generic! You need to find a unique angle. When writing your bio, start with your super fans, even if they are your family members, and find out what resonates with them and stands out in your story. Most people think that their life isn’t that special, so work with an outsider to write your bio, as they can draw things out that you can’t see.
Marketing and Musicians Nowadays businesses are becoming more about the identity of the person that sells it. Musicians have the mindset that if their music is good, people will listen to it. Regardless of how good your music is, the truth is that people aren’t always going to find it. That’s why record labels exist, as they will do all the promotion for you. You need to be like a record label and become a promoter for yourself. This often involves building a team around you. A lot of musicians feel that the ‘business stuff’ dulls their creativity. If it does, get a team.
Women of Substance Radio Station The mission is to make well known and indie artists equal. The thing that helps most with marketing is that every artist has their own set of fans. Bree leverages the artist’s fans, and has a mailing list of around 4,400.
Relationship Lifecycle Bree uses platforms that are built for radio, such as Noise Trade and Airplay Direct. The Woman of Substance shows are planned a few weeks in advance. Bree then contacts the artist two weeks before the podcast goes live. On the day of the show, the artist receives an email telling them they are live, and Bree publicizes the artists on social media and is very specific with hashtags. The target market finds Bree so she no longer worries about building it.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Women of Substance Radio Women of Substance Podcast Female Entrepreneur Musician Interview Connections Entrepreneur Support Services |
Wed, 18 March 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Aaron T. Walker, who is a businessman and life coach who has inspired many through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. After 35 years of entrepreneurship and marriage, Aaron believes experience is a great teacher and has examined and grown from them. In this podcast, Jessica and Aaron discuss winning at home, as well as winning in the office.
Main Questions Asked: Why did you decide to put 35 years of marriage in your bio? Talk about coaching a male only mastermind group. What are some of the most common things that hold men back from growing their businesses and growing personally? What do you mean when you say you help men to discover their identity?
Key Lessons Learned: If we make money at the expense of our families, then we have failed. When your relationships are strong, your business grows. Most men are ‘sprinters’ in business, but Aaron teaches them to be ‘marathon’ runners to stay in the game longer. Motivation is an exhaustible resource, but what really works is a well thought out plan.
Fear and Failing Fear is what holds men back, as they just don’t want to fail. Aaron’s life mantra is that he fears missing an opportunity more than he fears failure. Failing is in “not trying” and not necessarily in “not succeeding.”
Identity & Personal Assessment Aaron has created a ‘personal assessment’ form where he discovers a person’s identity, including skill sets and abilities. Don’t tie your identity into your career, as one day it will be gone and your identity will be as well. If you have no relationships, then you have no business. When men introduce themselves, the first thing they generally ask is, “What do you do?” Whereas, women often ask if someone is married and if they have children. You must identify your ideals and things in life you want to accomplish. This includes goals and personal ideals. We all have physical, emotional, and financial needs so Aaron offers a detailed plan to find out your needs. Work is a tool to provide income but it is not your life. Family and friends are your life.
What Do You Want? Most people don’t actually know what they want and live every day reactively rather than proactively. You can’t live on purpose; you need to live intentionally so there is a need to establish goals and dreams. Aaron’s discovery questions seem elementary until you try and answer questions such as, “If you were to wake up tomorrow morning and there were no limitations geographically or financially, what would you do with your life?” A dream is something we think about but a goal has metrics and is measurable. A lot of the time we miss opportunities in teaching children to participate in activities that have meaning for our lives.
Steps to a Productive Day The third of Aaron’s documents that gives you a chance to practically apply the lessons learned. This has 30 line items, and is a ‘to do list on steroids’ that maps out your entire day.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned View From the Top (Free documents) Iron Sharpens Iron Interview Connections Entrepreneur Support Services
|
Wed, 11 March 2015
This is a special episode of Rhodes to Success as I interview Jim Palmer on his podcast Stick Like Glue Radio about the launch of his new book, DECIDE- The Ultimate Success Trigger. We cover many of the mindset challenges and hurdles that entrepreneurs face and how to overcome them.
Jim Palmer is a marketing and business-building expert, host of Newsletter Guru TV and is the founder and CEO of multiple six-figure businesses including the Dream Business Academy. Jim is known internationally as the Newsletter Guru and Dream Business Coach.
Main Questions Asked - Why did you decide to write this book? - Talk about the experiences you went through early on and the lessons learned. - What are people going to learn in this book that they can apply to their journey now? - Talk about ‘head trash,’ what it is, and how it holds entrepreneurs back. - When and why should we raise our prices? - Talk about delegating or staying small. - Expand on the lesson ‘good is good enough.’ - Why do you need to be immune to criticism? - How does wealth reward risk and speed?
Key Lessons Learned - Inspiration is as important as information and education. - It’s not just about knowing how to do something but also what the person went through to get where they are. - Growth happens when you take action and do things outside your comfort zone. - Don’t do what the pros do now. Do what they did when they were where you are now.
What Is Covered in ‘DECIDE – The Ultimate Success Trigger’? - Head trash. - Deciding to survive. - How to be authentic. - How to invest in yourself. - The difference between an entrepreneur and a small business owner. - Imposter syndrome. - Unwillingness to delegate and get help. - The need to be perfect.
Head Trash - Everybody has head trash. This is all the thoughts, feelings, and how you think. This is often made up of self-limiting beliefs. - Head trash affects how people make decisions to invest, go forward and start a business. - When we have a fear issue, we tend to make up excuses. - At some point you have to stop being an impediment to your own growth and take care of business and do things that successful people do.
What Successful People Do - Become a speaker, author, create videos, work with a coach, join a mastermind, and do your own live events. - Instead of growing your business 1:1 becoming a speaker gives you a chance to grow your business 1:many.
Raising Prices - This is featured in the ‘Decide To Be Profitable’ chapter. - A lot of people struggle with charging fees that they are actually worth. - You must be appropriately rewarded for the value that you are deliver to customers and clients. - Fees should be based on the value you are delivering rather than on an hourly rate. - It’s also not the immediate hourly value but rather the years of learning, training, and experience leading up to that point that you are charging for.
Outsourcing - There is a point in every business where you start gaining momentum and doing more of what your core services are. At that point it should translate into your high revenue generating activities. - Most entrepreneurs think they can do it cheaper, faster, and better than anybody.
Good is Good Enough - Perfection is the enemy of progress. - If you strive to get everything done to perfection then nothing will get done. - Good is good enough doesn’t mean you put out crappy work. It just means you push the ‘go’ button sooner and ‘get it done.’ - Wealth rewards risk and speed. You just have to start and get better as you go.
Criticism - Criticism can also be a business crippler as everyone has an opinion and people aren’t shy about sharing theirs (especially on social media.) - The only people who aren’t criticized are people who aren’t doing anything. - The filter Jim uses is by asking himself, “Do I know this person, trust them and do I value their opinion?” as well as “Is this someone who has earned the right to share this opinion?” - There will always be people who don’t resonate with who you are and what you offer. You are not meant to do business with everyone.
Wealth Rewards Risk and Speed - Your business loves speed. When things happen fast there is associated growth. - The faster you get things done and put out content the more able you are able to attract people to your business.
Three Types of Risk - i) Savings account entrepreneur - ii) Stock Market entrepreneur - iii) Casino entrepreneur
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Decide for Success (book)
|
Wed, 4 March 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Tom Schwab who is the leader of the e-commerce Hub Spot user group and knows how to build and online business with an inbound strategy. Tom led the growth of Goodbye Crutches, a direct to patient private pay e-commerce business from a regional player to national leader in fewer than three years.
Main Questions Asked - How did Goodbye Crutches come to be? - What was the journey from Goodbye Crutches to inbound marketing? - What is inbound marketing? - What do you have to say about the relationship that inbound marketing has with content marketing? - Why is it so important that your marketing focus on the customers pain points? - What do you say to a business owner who is not taking care of a pain point but is offering something that makes life more pleasurable? - Talk about your strategy to boost the lifetime value of a customer. - How is your company helping e-commerce do more customer nurturing? - How do you go from being self-employed to having a salable business?
Key Lessons Learned
Inbound Marketing - Inbound marketing is permission-based marketing. You are basically asking, “How can I be helpful to people who have a question and make it so I’m the thought leader there to answer?” - The difference between permission-based marketing and content marketing is life, “Fishing for Sharks and only using Chum.” Sure, it will attract them but how do you get them on the hook? - Inbound marketing is about listening to the customer and figuring out the tests to improve so you can give the customer more content.
The Decision Process - 70% of the buying decision is made before you contact the company (research via asking friends, referrals, Google etc.) - A person will go through the entire sales process and be attracted by great content and offers.
Inbound Marketing vs Content Marketing - Inbound marketing is a strategy and content marketing is a piece of that strategy. - You need content in order to communicate with people (blog, videos, podcast) but still need the engine behind it. - Social media is there to amplify your blogs, testimonials, responding to Tweets and LinkedIn. - The ‘real’ customer feedback not found in a survey or comment but via looking through your analytics and seeing what people actually do on your site. They may say they love your e-mails but are they actually opening them and driving sales?
Podcast Guests - When you are a guest on a podcast that is the content. - Every piece of content should have a purpose so you need to always have a call to action at the end. - If you are on a podcast just to be there then that is content marketing. However, if you drive the audience to a sale then that is an inbound strategy.
Focusing on Pain Points - Nobody wants your product or service they just want the relief or solution. - If you only focus on the product you won’t connect with the customer. - You need to identify the ideal buyer persona (the person you want to serve) including the demographics, psychographics. Basically you want to know who they are and what they need from you. - Even a pleasure point is a pain point (how can I spend more quality time etc.) - Always focus on the reasons not the product. - The challenge is making the customer feel the pain point so their urgency to buy.
The Lifetime Value of a Customer and Boosting Sales - It has never been easier to make a dollar online but it has also never been harder to make a profit. - The profit of any company comes with the lifetime value and the brand. - Starbucks sells coffee for $4 a cup but the lifetime value of the average customer is around $40K. - Getting a customer is just the first step. What can you do to nurture the relationship so they continue to buy and become brand advocates? - You need to focus on the lifetime value. - It’s much easier to keep a customer and raise the value of them than it is to get a new customer.
From Self-employment to Salable Business - Put systems in place to allow you to do things without trading dollars for time. - Remember, content is king and context is God. - Ask, “What could I take that I currently do that I can package together and put a price on and give as an easy download?” - Figure out how you can monetize long term and offer things like downloads, courses, and checklists. - Making these changes will take you from a self-employed hourly worker to running a business.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Inbound Movement (Interview Connections offer) |
Wed, 25 February 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Jason Cabassi who is the host of the number one fan podcast for AMC’s hit TV show The Walking Dead. Jason’s show The Walking Dead ‘Cast has 25,000 listeners per episode and this week we pick his brain on how to grow an audience for your podcast, have fun with your show, and get a ton of downloads.
Main Questions Asked - When did you start podcasting? - What was your vision for the your Walking Dead ‘Cast show? - Where does your desire to have an audience come from? - Did your show start out with segments and sound effects or just a conversation between you and Karen? - Did you teach yourself postproduction and editing as you went? - How do you get people to engage? - What is the reason your show became so popular over the years? - What is the process of getting featured on iTunes? - How did you make the celebrity interviews happen? - How did you get into Walker Stalker Con? - Talk about your vision for the future and how you see this being a career.
Key Lessons Learned - The Walking Dead ‘Cast started a few months before The Walking Dead TV show actually aired. - The show modeled itself of the Jay and Jack Lost podcast, which had segments like show recap and listener feedback.
Engagement, Downloads, and iTunes - Jason chose not to address that the show had a small audience in the beginning and acted as though they had a good size audience from the start. - In the beginning he asked his friends to leave reviews, write and call in to jumpstart engagement. - Jason has an eye on trying to reach people who might not find the show on iTunes. In the early days he would get involved in message boards and mention the podcast in forums. - Jason wrote to Apple and said he’s the number one Walking Dead podcast and would love to talk about any promotional ideas. Apple wrote back! - There is no secret to high downloads, it’s all about producing great content. - Jason made friends with other Walking Dead podcasters (rather than avoiding the completion as many might do.) - He often does collaborations and guests on other shows.
Making Celebrity Interviews Happen - Jason reached out to all the publicists of the actors on the show in season one in order to get celebrity interviews. - New actors are more likely to do interviews than more established actors. - When you reach out to more people, make sure to tell them who you’ve already interviewed and use that as leverage. - Be persistent. If you don’t get a response just keep writing back every month and always be positive. - Publicists generally respect persistence and often really do keep your contact details for a later date.
Preparing for Interviews - Be prepared for your podcast interviews and think what you would genuinely be curious about if you were just sitting with the person having a drink. - Write 12-15 questions beforehand and try to keep it conversational and not sound too polished (not sounding like a real person.) - The questions are as a safety net but let conversations go into other areas - Let the interviewee speak and don’t step on their answers.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Walking Dead ‘Cast (Facebook) Walking Dead ‘Cast (podcast) Jay and Jack (Lost podcast)
|
Wed, 18 February 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Jeannie Spiro, who is an online business coach and speaker specializing in helping coaches, consultants, and small business owners design, sell, and profit from their signature talk. As the founder of the profitable Create Profitable Signature Talk Systems, Jeannie teaches her five step formula to getting clients from speaking. If you want to know how to craft a magnetic talk to attract clients and sell your product, programs, and services then this is a fantastic podcast for you!
Main Questions Asked - How did you get into business and learn about the underground world of being an entrepreneur? - Did you ever say, “I want to be an entrepreneur” or was it more about “I want to create a life that is best for my family”? - How did you decide to make speaking the main part of your business? - What was the journey of starting the business and doing it on the side, to now where you have programs, courses, presentations and are teaching people? - What are your thoughts on teleseminars, webinars, and podcasts? - What is the best way to start speaking? - Go through what someone should have prepared in their speaker kit to send to a host. - Why is it important for bios to be written in third person? - How can you find speaking opportunities online? - How can somebody prepare for speaking on a webinar and what are some communication tips on sounding engaging? - How do you take speaking opportunities and turn them into paying clients? - Draw a simple outline of what that funnel would look like. - What is the ‘free offer?’
Key Lessons Learned - A lot of people earn their living in their ‘excellence zone’, which is just under the ‘genius zone.’ - The genius zone is when you are living in your total creative zone where anything can flow to you. - Whatever you do make sure you ‘talk your walk!’ - A lot of people are moving into webinars because the audience is engaged. However, the learning curve is bigger than with other mediums. - It’s important to get your voice ‘out there’ through a teleseminar. This is your starting point and is effective but need to be specific (subject or target audience.) - The more refined your subject or target market is the more you can get people to be actively engaged.
Getting Started As a Speaker - Getting interviewed and speaking is a great way to grow your business. You need to figure out how to establish credibility to people talent bookers. - The best way to start is by getting interviewed and come up with a couple of questions you can be asked on your topic. - Ask people who have a similar list and community to yours to interview you. - Get yourself ‘out there’ and let people know you have an expertise. Provide them with your list of questions and get the word out. - The key is to have your link to your free offer and get listeners onto your site and mailing list.
What’s in the Speaker Kit? - Create a word document with an introduction note including information on your socials and Skype. - Include one or two professional promo photos of yourself, a short bio, a long bio, your talk title, and interview questions about your talk title. - Make sure your questions include action oriented, result oriented, benefit oriented bullets that connect back to what your talk is about. - It’s important to do your bio in third person so someone else can read it out. - Third person bios also give the perception that you have a bigger business that you might actually have.
Finding Speaking Opportunities - Look at your competitors, what shows and formats are they are being interviewed on and where they are speaking. - Set up lists in Twitter and segment to see where they are speaking. - Pay attention to your Facebook newsfeed and sponsored posts (take screenshots as reminders to follow up.)
Preparing to Speak on a Webinar or Teleseminar - Provide your presentation to the host of the webinar or teleseminar (pretend as if its your own show.) - To stay engaged, you as the speaker need to have an elevated voice with more volume and energy. - Prior to getting on your webinar or teleseminar get your energy going (this will improve your performance.) - To keep people engaged, strategically design your presentation to pull people in. - You can ask engaging questions after you’ve presented your information e.g “pick up your pen.” - To keep people on promise them something at the end of the presentation e.g a piece of free content or link at the end. - Sit up straight and smile when you are being interviewed or presenting.
Speaking to Get Clients - Your ‘talk funnel’ starts with you presenting or doing the interview and getting people to your mailing list. - Cultivate that relationship to the next level (your own presentation, workshop, webinar, live event etc.) - The interview is the beginning of your talk funnel and the rest is up to you. - What the funnel looks like: - A) Opt in - Get free gift (leads to conversation/ consultation) - B) Invite them to an evergreen presentation or webinar.
The Free Offer - Needs to be directly connected to your presentation and what you offer in your business. - This is the first taste of free information. - When they get to know you better give them even more information.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Jeannie Spiro (website) Jeannie Spiro’s Free Cheat Sheet Business Girlfriends Online (podcast) The Big Leap (book)
|
Wed, 11 February 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Jason Hartman, who has generated more than ten million dollars in income without any sponsors or advertisers. Jason has interviewed more than two thousand guests across his nineteen shows at Hartman Media. In this episode, he reveals the behind the scenes of podcasting in preparing for interviews, dealing with difficult guests, knowing your audience, and monetizing.
Main Questions Asked: - How many shows do you have? - How did you come up with all the different show ideas? Are some specifically business shows to generate income, and are others passion and hobby? - Talk about becoming a good interviewer, and why you don’t do a lot of small talk. - What do you do when a guest is difficult? - Have you ever had a guest ask you to not air their interview because they didn’t think it was good? - How do you prepare for your interviews? - Do you write questions, or does it all come up based on what your subject says? - Have you ever had a time when you didn’t know what to ask a guest, and what did you do? - What is the funnel that happens from the podcast into your business?
Key Lessons Learned: - 25-30% of Jason’s guest interviews are reused. - Every tenth episode is a general life success topic. - The best way to learn something is to teach it. - As a member of the media, you can offer guests exposure to your audience.
Know Your Audience - As a podcaster, it’s important to understand who your customer is. - The audience gives you their time (the most valuable commodity any of us have), and small talk is not beneficial to the listener. - Remember the customer is the listener, not the guest. - It’s all about producing great content, building relationships with listeners, and funneling them into the back end for offers. - If you do too many sponsorships, it will turn people off. All sponsorships should be relevant and curated.
Act As A Media Outlet - Take the position of a media reporter and a watchdog (not a lap dog). - If a guest glosses over something, sometimes it is important to ensure they answer the question. - If you take the approach of being an investigative reporter, you will deliver a lot more value to the customer (audience). - As a host and outlet, your role is to be a gatekeeper and save the listeners’ time.
Difficult Guests - If the guest is bad, Jason says he simply won’t air the show. - As a media outlet, you get to make the choice on what media you want to air. - It is your choice whether you want to edit it or not air the show at all. - As a guest, it’s not your chance to do a commercial but rather to provide high quality editorial content that provides real value to the listener. In doing this, the listener will view you as credible, and they will check you out.
Preparing for Interviews - If you are willing to be controversial and disagree, you can still have a great interview. - Podcasts are there to report on things and not just promote. - Hosts will often ask their guest prior to interview, “Are there any questions that are off limits?”
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned The Longevity and Bio Hacking Show |
Wed, 4 February 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Jim Palmer who is a marketing and business building expert, host of Newsletter Guru TV, Stick Like Glue Radio, and is the founder and CEO of multiple six figure businesses, including the Dream Business Academy. Jim is also the author of five books and known internationally as the Newsletter Guru and Dream Business Coach. This podcast covers business coaching, what being a successful entrepreneur involves, and purchasing speed of growth. If you’ve ever wondered what the Million Dollar Platform is, then this podcast is a must listen.
Main Questions Asked: - Talk about the first time you experienced a business coach. - What are your thoughts on people wanting to wait until they get to the next level to hire a business coach or people who say they can’t afford it? - What is the Million Dollar Platform?
Key Lessons Learned:
Working With a Business Coach - If you are working with a coach, it has to be a person with a successful track record. - The right coach is someone who is going to push you, tell you when you aren’t doing things right, and when you are making stupid decisions. - You don’t need a friend, you need a coach who will tell you what to do and hold you accountable. - Ask yourself, “Am I growing a business or friendships of likeminded entrepreneurs?” The answer should be business.
Being a Successful Entrepreneur - A successful entrepreneur is someone on the move, who is climbing and taking people along with them on the journey. - As an entrepreneur, if anyone is going to slow you down on your journey, you have to cut the rope. - Ego often gets in the way for entrepreneurs. If it is not the entrepreneur’s idea, then they often don’t buy into it. - Will you be more hung up on ‘whose idea it is’ or who actually gets the credit?
Focusing on Revenue Generating Activities - If you want to ‘do it all by yourself,’ then you are creating a job for yourself. - Entrepreneurs come to the table with a skill or talent. However, a successful business needs accounting, marketing, and administration as well, but at a certain point you have to be focused on the skill that bought you to the table. - That skill is your revenue generating activity. You need to focus on that skill and outsource all other skills.
Purchasing Speed of Growth - As an entrepreneur, you have to put money out before you get it back in. - There are two types of ‘you’: 1. Current you/You that you want to be. 2. Business you have today/Business you want to have. - The only way to get where you want to be is to invest. - You can purchase speed of growth by getting connected with a coach or mastermind group. - These are people who have been there and done what you are trying to do. Getting involved and following good advice will give you a shortcut. - It’s only an expense if it fails to produce a return on the investment. - Green Eyeshade Thinking: An accountant will make a decision on the numbers ‘today.’ Entrepreneurs think of the numbers you can ‘make.’ - There are so many ways to get a return on investment with a coach and mastermind group. - This comes on from ideas and implementing what you do right, as well as saving money by not implementing things too.
Tough Love and Defending Your Position - Don’t make rash decisions after you get ‘tough love’ as the ego can help and hurt you. - Sometimes we get so emotionally tied to something, even when you get feedback from lots of people saying ‘no,’ it’s hard to do. - Defending your position often helps you to really think your idea through. - When someone challenges, you’ll either defend it saying it’s a good idea or start to question yourself.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned |
Wed, 28 January 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Corey Coates, the co-founder of Podfly Productions LLC. Corey began his career in broadcast media, music production, performance, and instruction. He is also a pioneer in podcasting and an in-demand freelance guitarist, as well as an audio editor for terrestrial radio production houses. This podcast covers podcasting, post-production, and outsourcing tasks in your business.
Main Questions Asked: - Where did you learn how to start and run a business? - Share some of your insider secrets on podcasting. - Why is it important that entrepreneurs who want to podcast focus on outsourcing extra tasks? - What are your tips on the post-production process to improve the quality of a show?
Key Lessons Learned: - The podcast listening community is still small. It’s like reading books, in that you end up telling your friends about it, and that is how podcasts become successful. - If your first goal is to ensure that your podcast is SEO optimized, then you are probably not going to get the results you anticipate. - You are competing for the time and attention of an individual who doesn’t have a lot of time and attention to give you in the first place.
Content is King - There is no formula that will make you successful. The primary goal needs to be having amazing, valuable content that people love so much they share it with their friends and family. - Focus the majority of your time and attention towards creating content that is compelling and of value to the listeners, and that motivates them to share. - The top 20 podcasts aren’t employing any of the ‘techniques’ people are using, and are just producing really good shows people talk about and share. - Look into the space of what you are entering, and if there are already 10 or 20 podcasts that are doing it well, then don’t bother competing.
Developing Audience Intimacy - Develop a relationship that translates into credibility and authority. - Create a private relationship between yourself and the individual listener. - Podcasting is more compelling than broadcast radio is, as it has a lot more human experience. - The beauty and value in podcasting is that people hear the way you talk, your sense of humor, and your opinions. The more produced and formulaic you become, the more you will alienate people. - Microphone technique, equipment setup, and using the voice as an instrument are all-important, but relatability is a key component. - Podcasting is about making yourself sound relatable and training your voice to be pleasant to listen to, but never lose the personal touch. - Sit up straight and smile – you will come across with energy that is phenomenal!
Outsourcing Tasks - If you can afford to, give the task to someone who does it all day and does it well.
The Post-Production Process 1.) Don’t undervalue the quality in pre-production and source audio. · If you do a bad recording, there’s only so much you can do in post. · A good microphone, quiet room, and clean recording will make for a better sounding podcast.
2.) Learn about how compression, normalization, and equalization work. · The plugins, compressors, and workflow in Adobe Audition are conducive to radio and podcast production. · When bringing in raw content, if you have a nice clean signal, use the built-in multi-band compressor in Adobe Audition. It fattens up and evens out all of the levels. · Learn about compression and experiment to find the magic setting, and use it as an applied preset.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Back to Work (podcast) Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend (podcast) Alec Baldwin – Here’s The Thing (podcast)
|
Tue, 20 January 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Allison Fine who is among the preeminent guides to the social media revolution. She remakes organizations by the least expensive and most profitable means available; connecting with others! Allison is the author of Matterness and the award winning book Momentum as well as co-author of the best seller The Networked Non Profit.
Main Questions Asked - What are the key characteristics of the ‘big small town’ we live in online? - Do you think it’s a bad thing that we are more connected online? - How can entrepreneurs connect with each other in business online? - What made you interested in the social media revolution? - What was your transition like from non-profit political work into being an entrepreneur? - Did you have any internal struggles of making the mindset shift?
Key Lessons Learned - The online ecosystem means a lot of us feel guilt over online connections and lack of in person local connections. - We are at the beginning of an entire revolution of connecting with others. - There is no data suggesting people are ‘meaner’ or more narcissistic because they are online. They just have a chance to express it so we see it more. - Being online never substitutes for being on land with people. - How we choose to connect with people is one of the biggest choices entrepreneurs make in their business. - You‘ll never have the marketing dollars to sell yourself to people. You need them to do some of the heavy lifting for you. - There is a larger merging of nonprofit and for profit sector where a lot of businesses have dedication to social responsibility. - The way we work has to match our values because we spend so much time doing it. We are now able to shape our business life much more than before. - It’s important to think ‘how’ your business can serve the world and not just ‘be’ for you. - Think about how you want to use your influence in the world. We are all holding our own megaphone and have connections with people. - Leadership is about being something before doing something. - We need to think about how to be generous and fill up our networks with good things and make other people better. - The greatest players make the other players around them better. - Don’t just sell a product or offer a service but rather stand for something. - Figure out what your philosophy is and stand by it. This will attract people to you. - Principals should win out over plans. Principals don’t change but plans do. - The world is moving quickly so you have to be agile. The only thing you can hold on to are your foundational principals.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned What’s the Big Idea (podcast) Matterness (book) Momentum (book) The Networked Nonprofit (book)
|
Wed, 14 January 2015
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview communications strategist Maggie Patterson, who works with entrepreneurs and corporations to help them craft intelligent communications strategies. Maggie believes that all the marketing in the world won’t get us anywhere if you don’t have the right message in place, which is where stories come in! Maggie helps her clients figure out what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. She is the host of Moxie Marketing podcast, and has more than 15 years of experience. If you want to know why stories work in selling your product or service, then you must listen to this podcast!
Main Questions Asked: - How do stories help us sell our products and services? - How do you weave stories in when you are giving valuable information? - How do you help people figure out what stories are relevant and will help them? - How do you tell a story that is average and doesn’t seem relevant? - Do you have any thoughts on social media flaws and saying too much? - Talk about your Moxie Marketing podcast and building that platform. - What is your experience in growing an audience but not obsessing over it?
Key Lessons Learned:
Storytelling - There is a definite science behind why stories work. - A story activates multiple parts of your brain. Your imagination fills in the blanks, and turns a story into a memory. - If you hear about facts and logic, only two zones are activated, which are rational areas. - Stories stay with us longer than facts and figures. - A micro story is adding something memorable that creates a connection with the audience.
Entrepreneurs and Stories - As entrepreneurs, we get stuck on the idea that the story should be about us. - Ask yourself where you can start to share your personality (social media or blog posts?). - Start to look at how your experiences fit into your personal story. - We have a tendency to get stuck in the ‘Hero’s Journey,’ which gets tired.
Finding Your Story - No matter how average or boring we think our story is, we all have defining moments. - Due to the stories we consume, we now expect them to all be inspirational. - Implicit egoism is people liking and wanting to connect with people just like themselves. - Never underestimate the power of the relatable story. - Define what your story will be and how you will show up in the world. - You don’t have to expose all your ‘dirty laundry.’ Storytelling is always done on your terms.
Vulnerability, Social Media and Business - We have been trained on the idea that we need to be vulnerable and transparent. However, this can go too far and put you in ‘victim territory,’ which can be a bad thing for your business. - If you are sharing too much online or stories that are not appropriate to your business, you could attract the wrong type of clients or alienate existing clients. - If you are ‘free and loose’ with telling your stories, start to think and post about what is impactful. - Remember that you can’t own every issue and niche. - Everything about you online reflects on you as a business owner.
Podcasting - If you are looking at a podcast as a marketing tool, then get focused on the purpose and mission of values rather than the downloads. - Make sure you know where your podcast fits in with your business. - Success comes in so many different ways and can only be defined by you. - Remember every download is someone letting you in.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 31 December 2014
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Greg Hickman who is an entrepreneur, mobile marketing consultant, and creator of the Mobile Mixed podcast. If you want to know how to build your email list, increase webinar conversion, and drive sales with text messaging then this is an absolute must listen!
Main Questions Asked: - Why is SMS marketing so powerful for podcasters? - How does SMS marketing work, and how do you get people to opt in? - What is your take on high downloads versus people who listen to every episode? - What should lead magnets be? - What are examples that will get people to opt in? - Talk about your video training series and all the different ways you are putting out content. - What is your business relationships philosophy?
Key Lessons Learned: - If you are a podcaster and don’t blog, there is little reason for listeners to visit your site. - Connect with listeners where they are (on their mobile device). - Podcasts are great for authority, getting yourself on other shows, and creating relationships with people, but blog posts, such as tutorials, are what gets shared. - It is much more difficult to create a viral podcast episode, as sharing is not as easy as blog content.
Two Types of Shows: - 1) Passive listeners - E.g 20,000 passive listeners who are not going to show notes or opting in - 2) Active listeners – E.g 500 active listeners who download every episode and offer a high conversion rate
SMS Marketing: - 65% of podcasts are listened to on a smart phone. - If you can’t get people to your show notes, then the odds of getting someone on your email list is low. - Listening to a podcast is something people do while they are doing other things. - The odds of people listening to your podcast from in front of their computer are low. - You need a solid call to action and reason for listeners to participate, such as registering for a webinar, free content, or event registration. - Text message marketing software is available, such as Call Loop. - Only a few software platforms have two-way interaction that allows you to capture email addresses. - Example – Podcaster announces “text ‘lead pages’ to 38470.” The listener will receive a bounce back text “to confirm your registration, reply with your email address.” - Once you have the email address, the listener is on your list and you can add to platforms, such as Mailchimp or Infusionsoft. - By offering this text opt-in option, you are giving the people who want to take action the ability to join your email list no matter where they are listening. - Look at SMS marketing as a new opportunity to capture people that might be audio-only listeners by enabling text call to action.
Downloads Versus Loyal Listeners: - As a podcaster, you have to ask yourself “what is my goal?” - Is the goal to get a high number of downloads in order to gain sponsorship, or is the goal to use the podcast as a lead generation tool? - Most podcasters aren’t going to make a living from sponsorship so it is best to use the podcast as a lead generation tool. - Focus on repeat listeners and people who are going to join your list.
Lead Magnets & Content Upgrades: - Lead Magnets - webinars and free courses work well, and is something that provides the listener a lot of value. - Content upgrades – creating a unique piece of content that is pulled from each episode, e.g screenshots, checklist, or process flows. - Content upgrades are something you will want to download, and is heavily promoted. This helps increase your opt-in and conversion rate. - Most podcasters and bloggers constantly promote the same lead magnet; however, if someone isn’t interested, then they will never opt in. - By having unique lead magnets for every piece of content, you are giving yourself an opportunity for people to opt in.
Business Relationships: - As long as you put yourself out there, engage with people, and try to deliver value, then it will come back to you. - Often, you may not find people in your area who are also entrepreneurs, so you may want to create opportunities to find them. - Meeting face-to-face is important. Going to conferences and live events is a great way to engage. - Once you create relationships with people, you need to actively stay in touch and continue to deliver value.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
Text ‘convert’ to 38470 to get started with Greg’s free video training |
Wed, 24 December 2014
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Steven Daar who is the founder of the Conversion For Good marketing agency that serves businesses and non-profit organizations with a mission. As an entrepreneur, Steven started his first business at age twenty-two before working in the corporate world of advertising and marketing for Fortune 500 businesses. He is also the author of Profit Hacking, so if you want to know how to double your business, then this is the podcast for you!
Main Questions Asked: - Talk about what kind of coaching and training you invested in, and why that was crucial for you to now have a successful business? - What do you mean by ‘investing in your network?’ - What are some of the things you have advised people to do differently? - What are common mistakes that are bringing people’s conversion rates down? - How does improving client retention lead to higher profits? - What are other ways business owners can double their profits? - What is the secret to getting more traffic to your website? - Why did you decide to write a book so early on in your business?
Key Lessons Learned: - You can invest in your network by following up with people and giving. - Make your call to action specific to what the audience is going to get, and a reinforcement of what you are giving them as opposed as to what they are giving you. - Nobody wants to ‘submit,’ but an option to ‘get the video that will change your business’ is far more compelling. - When anyone visits your website, they are subconsciously thinking ‘what’s in it for me? What can I do here? What is the value of this page/ website to me?’ - If the value or ‘what’s in it for me’ isn’t obvious within seconds, the odds of a person bouncing from your site are high. - Remember your website exists to serve the audience/customers and to be of value to them. - Your copy, design, layout, and images should be oriented around the benefit the audience is going to get so they know the value of them taking the next step in the process. - It is more profitable to keep a client than it is to find a new one.
There are three types of investments you won’t regret: 1. Investment in yourself (growing your skills and knowledge) 2. Investments in top performers (someone at the top of their craft), e.g designer, marketer, editing/ copywriting 3. Investment in your network
Three Ways to Double Your Business: 1. Increase your traffic 2. Convert that traffic into leads, subscribers, customers, or clients 3. Increase the lifetime customer value, average order value, or how often people buy - This is the power or ‘what else do we do?’ - If you are not offering a premium version of your product or service, then you are missing out. - There is a percentage in every market of customers who are premium buyers, where price is not their number one deciding factor. They may want prestige or ease, and are willing to pay for it. - One change or split test has the potential to increase profits by at least 20%. - Traffic is the lowest leverage way to double your business.
Secret to More Traffic: - It has everything to do with conversion and economics. - Every visitor has a cost, whether it be cost per click or cost per visitor. - You also have a figure such as earnings or revenue per visitor. - Revenue per visitor is the function of conversion times economics, e.g $100 per conversion/customer and you convert 5% of your customers, then you are making $5. - As long as your revenue per click is higher than your cost per click, you have a green light to buy as much traffic from that source as possible. - If you are earing $1.50 and you are paying $1.00, then you want to make that trade as many times as you can. - The higher your earnings per visitor are, the easier it will be to get traffic.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned GKIC (conference)
|
Wed, 17 December 2014
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Gary George from Blazin Multi Media. Gary has worked with numerous high profile clients including Virgin Records, United Nations, Panasonic, Rockafella Records, and Jay Z. As a consultant, Gary has generated more than $48 million for his clients within the past 5 years by identifying and reversing limiting patterns in their marketing strategy. If you want to know more about apps, Facebook ads, LinkedIn, YouTube, SEO, and pay per click then this is a great podcast for you!
Main Questions Asked: - Talk to us about apps and why everyone should have an app for their business. - What kind of investment does it take to get an app built? - Why should we like LinkedIn and what kind of power is there on the platform? - What are your thoughts on LinkedIn groups with regards to owning versus being interactive in other groups? - How can you leverage the power of LinkedIn? Would you suggest outsourcing? - Should I pay for the advanced membership on LinkedIn or is it not worth my investment? - What should people be focusing on when they have a YouTube channel? - Should a podcaster who is not doing videos post on YouTube with a still image and podcast audio only? - Who are some of the biggest celebrities you’ve worked with? - What are some of the things you learned from musicians in their marketing?
Key Lessons Learned: - The bread and butter of online marketing is keyword research, e.g Google keyword planner. - You can reverse engineer based on CPC (cost per click) and know what to optimize in other places. - Consumers don’t care what format media comes in, they simply care that it’s convenient. - Brand is important, but you have to show results first and have the goods to back it up.
Apps: - If you don’t have a mobile application (app), now is the time to beat your competition. - Apps are untapped ways of exposure for brands. - A huge benefit of an app is that it sends push notifications. - Push notifications act like a text message and ring your phone. - 96% of people read their text messages within in the first 60 seconds of receipt. - People don’t have to open your app and can still receive push notifications. - The iTunes app store has become the third largest search engine (after Google and YouTube). - What would take you eight months to rank on Google would take you about 8 days in the app store.
LinkedIn: - If you sell to another business in any capacity, you should be on LinkedIn. - You will win at LinkedIn by doing organic marketing, and targeting people on specific criteria. - LinkedIn allows you to pinpoint and solicit people, such as C level executives. - LinkedIn has groups, which is a great weapon to become a thought leader. - If you are looking to target someone on LinkedIn, then you should join a group they are in and communicate. - If you have the capability, an established following, and a niche that isn’t over saturated, then it is a good idea to create your own group. - Creating your own group is a way to have the power to message group members all at once. - When you are looking at groups, don’t just focus on the number of members, but rather the date of recent activity and level of interaction. - Investing in a paid membership on LinkedIn is not worth it unless you are ready to go ‘heavy’ with prospecting.
YouTube: - YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. - The #1 thing to focus on in YouTube is to rank your videos for specific search keywords. - YouTube users are more likely to type searches in first person, e.g “How do I make a podcast?” - Make sure to position yourself for people actively searching for a product or service. - Title your videos as above to match that behavior. - YouTube has its own keyword tool so you can see the best search terms. - People expose their intent to buy more frequently through YouTube searches. - You should be asking yourself “How can I title this better so more people find it?”
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 10 December 2014
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Brad Szollose, the international bestselling author of Liquid Leadership. Brad is a serial entrepreneur, former C level executive of a public company, business advisor, and a millennial expert. If you have any interest in becoming a speaker then this episode is definitely for you!
Main Questions Asked - What has made you a millennial expert? - What are some of the steps entrepreneurs can take to becoming a keynote speaker? - Talk about how comedy, improv, and storytelling help you to be a better speaker? - Can you give us tips on how to start the actual presentation? - Talk more about switching from ‘I’ language to ‘you’ language
Key Lessons Learned - No one is going to know about your brand, who you are, and what you do unless you are going to stand up and be a ‘celebrity.’ - If you are going to increase the amount of money you can make or attract people to your product or service, you have to learn to stand up on stage and deliver the goods. - If you are an interesting and a dynamic presenter then people will flock to you because they like what you are doing. - In the 21st century people have to know, like, and trust you before they buy from you (speaking gets you there faster.) - Toastmasters is great if you want to become good at giving the perfect speech. - Be careful not to be trapped in the mode of being a ‘lecturer.’ - As a keynote speaker, your job is to give the audience three memorable experiences that they can take home and use as a tool or strategy to solve a problem. - Start out with the stories you want to tell. What is the point you want to make? - When you start a keynote speech don’t begin with “I am x and today we are taking about x.” The trick is to get straight into a story. - The beginning point of your keynote speech should be the same as the end point but worded a little differently. - If you are overwhelmed by having to prepare for a long speaking engagement then just start with 10 minutes at time. The structure should be a point, a story, and an end point. - Switch from ‘I’ language to ‘you’ language then everyone can place your story in their imagination. - ‘I’ language is simply you are telling a story, however, ‘you’ language engages the listener.
Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned Liquid Leadership (website) Liquid Leadership (book)
|
Wed, 3 December 2014
On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I share the recording of a live interview I did in St. Louis with James Malinchak of Big Money Speaker. James is a business coach who runs live events twice a year and trains people on how to have a successful speaking career. In this episode, you’ll find out how James’ appearance on the ABC hit TV show Secret Millionaire came about through a relationship.
Main Questions Asked: - Talk about the importance of building and maintaining relationships. - Do you see any mistakes made by attendees at your live events?
Key Lessons Learned: - Content marketing is about getting content made. - If you wait for everything, you create to be perfect you won’t be creating much content. - Content marketing is about being consistent, persistent and getting content out. - Everyone likes to consume their content differently, so think about how you can repurpose your content. - Networking means you are trying to make connections, but it’s not about connections, it’s about relationships. - Instead of thinking what you can ‘take,’ think ‘what can I do for this person?’ - Sending a thank you note and showing gratitude is still being a ‘giver’. - Building relationships is all about positioning and how people think of you, as well as how people talk about you. - Its not about ‘who’ you say you know, but rather about who knows you, how they think about you, and how they talk to others about you. - Being a ‘server’ or ‘giver’ positions you totally different to everybody else who approaches people as a ‘taker’. - Some of the worst advice you can get is to go to an event and take hundreds of business cards. - Nobody cares unless you show you care about them first. - “When you meet someone new, they don’t want to talk about you.” - One of the human secondary needs is the need to talk about yourself. - Start living in other people’s worlds and talk about them.
- Always approach people with the following in mind: 1) ‘what interests this person?’ 2) What’s important to this person? 3) What inspires me about him/her?
Links to Resources Mentioned |
Wed, 26 November 2014
Summary: On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Josh Elledge who is a syndicated columnist and ‘go-to expert’ in building relationships with the media. Josh is a dynamic and entertaining consumer expert who focuses on the day-to-day spending habits of Americans, with a focus on showing people how to get more lifestyle on a fixed income. If you’ve ever wanted to be the go-to TV expert in your field, then this is the episode for you.
Main Questions Asked: - Why should entrepreneurs and bloggers bother with traditional media when they have the power of social media and podcasting? - Do you think traditional media will go into new media? - How do we connect with the journalists and make ourselves known as the go-to entrepreneur in our niche? - What do you mean by ‘checking out’ online? - How do you get good at interviews? - What are some actionable tips and steps people can take to start building relationships with media?
Key Lessons Learned: - In order to be ‘discovered’, you need to be able to speak the language and have the systems down so that you can be presentable and get in front of large audiences with your message and tell your story in an effective way. - Eventually you will get your one shot, but the goal is to be invited back and be the ‘go-to’ expert and part of their team in their database. - Ensure that you are presentable and have the means to reach out and build relationships.
Traditional Media: - Traditional media adds to your credibility. - Over the past 5 years, newsrooms have been shrinking and adjusting to a new media world. - Traditional media, on its own in print form, will not survive which is why they are investing heavily in online presence. - If you are a podcaster, blogger or internet entrepreneur, you are extremely attractive to traditional media organizations as you represent their future.
‘Checking Out’: - Journalists and producers do not like taking risks, so if you are an unknown they will try and build a picture about you before they even respond back. - If you don’t ‘check out’ online, then you aren’t going to get calls back. - You will be ‘checked out’ based on online credibility, including your website and social media profiles. - Producers will be looking to see if you have you been on TV before. - Producers will research if you have been quoted before. - The press kit on your website should have video of you, list of places you’ve appeared, bio, example questions, story and segment ideas. - Establish yourself as someone who is easy to work with.
Interview Skills: - The average sound bite for television is 7 seconds. - Learn how to communicate in sound bites or ‘pull out points’ and rehearse your talking points prior to the interview. - Summarize your point of view and be able to state it in two sentences. - Be able to have a series of points that are interesting.
Podcast: - People love valuable and actionable content. - As a podcaster, you need to engage the listener immediately or they are unlikely to return and give you a second chance. - Podcast guests who aren’t great talent will reflect poorly on the host’s and show’s reputation. - Invite as much feedback as you can get.
Building Media Relationships: - Get to know who’s who in your industry. - Find reporters who are interested in your subject and get to know them via Twitter. - Create a separate Twitter list to follow local media. - Make sure you know what availability media outlets need to fill each day. - Make your contacts aware of the content you are creating. - Take your relationship offline and ask to direct email rather than Twitter exchanges. - Be ready and available for your chance to be interviewed. - Keep an eye on the daily news for opportunities where your expertise could be used in the media.
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Tue, 25 November 2014
Summary: On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview the National Coordinator for Fair Trade Campaigns at Fair Trade USA, Billy Linstead Goldsmith. During this podcast, you will learn about canvasing and communication skills that go into door-to-door sales and fundraising, as well as Fair Trade USA and entrepreneurship in developing countries. If you’ve ever wondered what Fair Trade is all about, how it works and how you can get involved as a small business owner or entrepreneur, then you absolutely must listen to this podcast.
Main Questions Asked: - What kind of fear did you have to get over to work door-to-door? - How do you think having a high level autonomy helps us professionally and personally? - Talk about what is happening in developing countries that we should know about. - Are there products, other than coffee, that can be Fair Trade? - What is the entrepreneurial spirit like in these Fair Trade areas? - Do you sense there is more of an entrepreneurial spirit in these countries and less of a sense of entitlement [like in the USA]? - Are larger corporations starting to understand The Fair Trade movement and becoming more accepting of those products? - How do people know if a product is Fair Trade?
Key Lessons Learned:
Going Door-to-Door - Everyone has an innate fear of rejection. - When it comes to door-to-door interaction, the worst thing someone can do is say no. - If you are starting out, you have to be able to look someone in the face for what you want and not be afraid of someone saying no. - When it comes to sales, you have to take the tools you are presented with and find your own voice. - There is a difference between following a script and a structure - Sample structure: Introduction, icebreaker, what you are asking for, close with an ask. - Entrepreneurship is all about an ability to make a quick rapport with whomever they are talking to. - As an entrepreneur, it’s important to invest in our businesses, ourselves and our world.
Fair Trade - Small business and social entrepreneurs can do things to impact the larger market (and have done with regards to Fair Trade). - Fair Trade provides an opportunity for consumers to examine value and be able to buy products they know are making a difference in communities developing countries. - Farmers, workers, and artisans are empowered to build their own businesses and work together to take more control over their business and future. - Fair Trade is about putting the needed tools in business owners’ hands so they can grow their businesses and stop labor exploitation in their community. - Fair Trade certification started with coffee. This is the most widely available and most well-known Fair Trade product. - Other Fair Trade products include tea, chocolate, beans, grains, body care products, packaged foods and clothing. - Every ingredient that can be Fair Trade certified in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is. - Fair Trade products are certified and you can check the label on the Fair Trade website. - The majority of companies in the USA that sell Fair Trade products are small local businesses started by social entrepreneurs. -
Fair Trade Entrepreneurs - The universal element is that the entrepreneurs work incredibly hard and are driven. - There is a real understanding of the strength of community and collaboration and the tireless drive to succeed. - By participating in Fair Trade, this has allowed many families to send their children to high school (often the first generation to be able to do so). - The harder you work, the less entitled your kids feel. - When kids see adults working really hard to improve their station (whatever that is), there is less of a feeling of entitlement and more of an understanding of what it takes to build a business and be successful. - When you see your parents laboring hard, it instills an understanding of what it takes to be successful and a sense of wanting to give back. - Many of the next generation (who are now in their twenties) are working in cooperatives and areas to improve the capacity of the business, sales, supply chain management, new understanding of agriculture techniques and training farmers.
Links to Resources Mentioned Social Entrepreneurs Challenge
Direct download: BONUS_EPISODE_Door_to_Door_Canvassing_the_Fair_Trade_Movement_26_Social_Entrepreneurs.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:25am EDT |
Wed, 19 November 2014
Summary On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Joleene Moody who is an expert in breaking into the world of paid speaking and entrepreneurship. Joleene is a former TV reporter and anchor turned transformational speaker, author, and business consultant. If you’ve ever been interested in booking paid speaking gigs and landing high paid clients then this podcast is the perfect place to start!
Main Questions Asked - What is your opinion on women in business being afraid of hurting people’s feelings? - How do you describe profitable relationships?
Key Lessons Learned - Building relationships is all about providing value to other people and thus attracting the right relationships to you - When you are growing your business ask yourself ‘who can I help and who can I bring value to?’ Doing this will attract people to you - The more authentic you are and less you care about people’s feelings the more people will want to be connected to you
Business Relationships vs Friendships - Often people want to build business relationships but care more about being liked and not hurting anyone’s feelings - As women in business, there is a problem with defining business relationships and friendships - Sometimes women are afraid to engage in conversation as a professional - Business isn’t personal. Remember to be professional not focus on becoming BFFs - Women have a fear of ‘rubbing someone the wrong way’ and not becoming BFFs this brings up fear that others could speak negatively of you - Building profitable relationships isn’t about building friendships
Business Communication - You can’t read someone’s tone through an e-mail message - Maturity is a piece of business evolution everyone needs to move through - If it doesn’t matter and its not going to keep you up at night hitting delete on an email is fine - Being cognizant of someone’s feelings is different to absorbing them
Profitable Relationships - Focus on what will be best for you not on who you want to connect with - Be part of a network where people want each other to genuinely succeed - If you are in a place where the success is just about you then you won’t make it (this is the space of manipulation) - The relationships you build are at the core of a passion that ignited what you are moving through to bring you to a higher place - If you want to be successful and profitable in your business then working for free is not going to get you there
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 12 November 2014
Summary On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Michelle Fetsch who is the creator of Women Enough and the Bare Campaign. Women Enough is an organization that supports women in having a healthy body image and self esteem through nude photo shoots. In this podcast Michelle will bring you amazing tips on how to connect with your audience and build relationships that move your business forward and have an impact (even if you don’t need your audience to take their clothes off!) Main Questions Asked - Share your background and history that led you to starting Women Enough - How did you decide to do nude photo shoots? - Tell us about the first time you asked another woman to take her clothes off and be photographed as part of your campaign - What did you do that helped these women be comfortable in your campaign? - Give us a blueprint of the campaign and how you are using the photographs - Is there a way for women to be part of the campaign but not do a nude photo shoot? - Talk about your relationships with the media - What is your pitch and what do your tweets to celebrities say? - What is the behind the scenes process? Do you have a spreadsheet of who you want to reach out to and when you’re following up if they haven’t responded? - Have you used Contact Any Celebrity.com, IMDB Pro or anything similar? - What are the steps you’ve taken to build media relationships? - What are some of the areas you wish you were further along in but aren’t? Key Lessons Learned - Many girls grow up with their role models being the women in beauty magazines - The goal of Women Enough is to create realistic media campaigns that support women in having a healthy body image and self esteem - Many women are having children and haven’t addressed their own issues with themselves and are giving their problems to the next generation - So many women have a perception that another person’s life is better than theirs - We often ‘go things alone’ because we think no one else is going through what we are - The story element in the Women Enough campaign is what helps to bridge the gap between perception and reality - Getting women to represent diversity in the photo shoot was difficult due to women’s insecurity around their bodies - Regardless of whether you are overweight or underweight everyone has issues with how they look - Everyone deals with the same issues but it’s their own version of it - The educational aspect of the campaign is for people to take care of themselves regardless of what they look like - The campaign is about women being able to look at themselves - Michelle found that sharing her story disarmed others and gave them permission to do the same - The most successful entrepreneurs and business owners are those who are comfortable being vulnerable and sharing openly about their struggle and journey The Bare Campaign - The campaign is a way for women to have a place and space in the world - The website was created on Square Space - There was more than 200K organic visits to the website in the first week - The Bare Campaign photos are on the website and social media, however, the goal is to have a billboard campaign that features women and their stories - Women can chose their level of involvement in the campaign - Some women do a Bare Photo Shoot to go through the experience but don’t publish their images - The photo shoots are a way for women to address what’s inside of them that is holding them back Media Relationships and Reaching Out - Scout Willis (Demi Moore’s daughter) responded to tweets and is going to join the campaign - Michelle admits she is relentless when it comes to reaching out to the media and celebrities - The ‘ask’ is to be part of the #BareCampaign - Often people won’t respond the first time so you’ll need to continue reaching out in order to get a response - Michelle has a spreadsheet of magazines and blogs that have the target demographic as well as women who she would like to be part of the campaign - There is a lot of groundwork in getting an outreach spreadsheet started - If someone engages on Twitter it is great to follow up within 24 hours - Many celebrities have agents that you need to contact in order to have a conversation - We all want to be further along than we are, however, we still need to give ourselves the acknowledgement of how much has been accomplished - If you have narrowed down your audience it is possible for your pitch to multiple outlets to be the same
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
|
Wed, 5 November 2014
Summary On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Diane Gardner who is the founder of Adept Business Solutions and Tax Pro Solutions. She is known widely as ‘The Tax Coach’ and is the bestselling co-author of Why Didn’t My CPA Tell Me That? Obamacare Survival Guide, and the Ten Most Expensive Tax Mistakes That Cost You Thousands amongst numerous other publications. Diane helps entrepreneurs nationwide pay the least amount of taxes they can legally pay.
Main Questions Asked - What is a tax coach and why should we find one for ourselves? - What do you mean by a co-author book and what is the process? - What is ‘lumpy mail’? - What is the process for writing your book and tips on getting content written? - Share about the relationship behind the scenes with your co-author - What is your advice as a tax coach? - What is the biggest tax mistakes people make?
Key Lessons Learned
Tax Coaches & Tax Mistakes - Tax coaches are your strategists and planners who come up with a proactive 3-5 year plan that factors in personal goals and expected business growth - A mistake is not deducting your home office expenses and mileage - 2014 tax deduction for mileage is $0.56c a mile - Being in the wrong tax entity can cost you thousands of dollars
Co-Authored books - Being an author is a great way to become an authority in your industry - Figure out what your ‘prime writing time’ is and stick to that schedule - Since your name is on the product you have to be careful who you partner with (make sure you’ve known them a while and trust them) - Do your research on your co-author to find out what their work ethic is and the quality of work they are producing - Always make clear on who is doing what work when in a partnership - Split the content with your co-author and commit to having chapters done by agreed upon dates
Lumpy Mail - Lumpy mail is odd shaped mail that won’t stay in the pile and is moved to the top of the pile. - It has a better chance it will be opened due to its size and shape - Lumpy mail is a marketing strategy
Deadlines - When you are launching a podcast or a book you need to give yourself a launch date or it will never happen - When choosing a launch date make sure to look at the time of year; day, month, and week. What is going on in your industry at that time? - Find something that draws people to urgency when they are buying
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio! The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
Interview Requests |
Wed, 29 October 2014
Summary
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Greg S. Reid who is a bestselling author, acclaimed speaker and filmmaker. Greg has motivated millions of people and is published in more than 45 books including 28 bestsellers, 5 movies, and is featured in countless magazines. In this podcast learn how to seize those ‘ah ha’ moments and seek counsel over opinion.
Main Questions Asked - Can you talk about how we can still harvest gold from the minds of successful people when we go a long time without being face-to-face with other entrepreneurs? - What gave you the confidence to go on your journey? - Talk about running from people with negative attitudes and breaking ties with people who aren’t going to move you forward - What is your take on entrepreneurs creating distance between themselves and their audience?
Key Lessons Learned - A good author writes about what he or she needs help with the most - We are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with - Run from people with negative attitudes - Its difficult to cut negative people from your life when they are friends, family and colleagues
Ideas - Many people have great ideas but a lot don’t have initiative to do things with the great idea - How many times have you had an ‘ah ha’ moment and let it go away only years later to see someone else has made a success of it? Don’t let it be you! - The best thing to do is to harness that great idea the moment it strikes you - Its not about what information you get its about the application of that knowledge - All the energy and information is in the airwaves so you just need to tap that source
Relationship Marketing - Relationship marketing is all about building relationships with successful people in order to build your business - Remember don’t give up before the finish line and quit before the miracle happens - LOR – leveraging our relationships - Successful people know how to move the fulcrum so they can leverage their relationships at the highest rate possible
Accessibility - When entrepreneurs become well known some start outsourcing their email, social media and make the decision to create distance between themselves and their audience - The most successful people are the most accessible and available people - You have to have responsibility and accountability for your actions even if you outsource your brand representation for things such as social media
Counsel and Opinion - There is a big difference between counsel and opinion - Opinion is based in ignorance, lack of knowledge and someone who has never done it - Counsel is based on wisdom, knowledge and mentorship - Successful people seek counsel where failures listen to opinion - If we spend our daily lives only seeking counsel and ignoring people’s opinion then that is the day your life will change - The line between successful relationships, mentorships and friendships is often blurred. People often fall into the trap of seeking opinion instead of mentorship - It is possible to have multiple mentors in your life so surround yourself with the right people who can get you the information you want
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
Napoleon Hill: The Road to Riches
|
Wed, 22 October 2014
Summary
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Steven Essa who is known internationally as the “make money with webinars expert.” Steven gives business owners the flexibility to create additional streams of reveneu using the power of webinars. If you’ve ever wanted to monetize your podcast through webinars this is the best start you can give yourself!
Main Questions Asked - What is a webinar? - How professional does your Powerpoint presentation need to be and do you suggest outsourcing? - Can you break down the webinar format? - How can podcasters monetize their show with webinars?
Key Lessons Learned
Webinars Explained - A webinar is a web seminar where you present a Powerpoint with voice, or video image - Webinars are much like lectures but with the opportunity to sell at end - The difference between a webinar and a teleseminar is that teleseminars only use the phone - Webinars are usually presented on one particular topic - Popular webinar platforms are Go To Webinar and Google Hangouts - Webinars are automatable. You can place on YouTube and continue to make you sales after the live webinar
Webinar Effectiveness - Webinars produce higher conversions than any other form of online marketing - There is no better way to convert a prospect into a customer or an existing customer that’s bought a low end product into a higher paying customer - The idea of a webinar is to deliver as much valuable information as you can and at the end offer a natural solution to the next step
Powerpoint - Black and white slides are just as effective as color branded slides and sometimes work better as they are less distracting and seem less ‘salesy’ - The less you put on the actual slides the better - Simply listing a number on the slide is often enough visually - People will want to write down everything on your slides so the less visual information, the more they will listen
Webinar Formula
Introduction - Choose a target market - Come up with a killer marketing hook - Put that hook on slide #1 - Immediately outline the benefit for the listener (rather that talk about yourself) - On slide #2 outline who the webinar is for (list all the types of your prospects and their needs) the goal is for everyone in the audience to identify and say ‘that’s me’ - In a 60 minute webinar your introduction should be 10 minutes - 15 min introductions are best for 90 minute webinars - On slide #3 show proof, case studies and statistics. - People want to know why they should listen to you and that you are a credible source - The introduction should include “what led me to this webinar and why I’m talking to you today” this really isn’t about you but you need to relate back to your audience
Content - Always show 3, 5 (60 mins) or 7 steps (90 mins) - Webinar content should be 40 mins for a 60 minute - For a a 90 minute webinar content should be 60 minutes - You need to have multiple ‘ah ha’ moments in your webinar - Webinars need to have practical actionable steps people can take away - Webinars for Podcasters - Follow intro and content steps from webinar formula above - Don’t sell on your podcast (do it on your webinar) - Create a name for your product such as Podcast Mastery Program e.g 8 webinars delivered one per week over an 8 week period - People aren’t interested in the actual pitch is, they are interested in working with you (tell them what they will get out of it) - Focus on 30% features 70% benefits - Reveal the value of the package (if you are not sure multiply your hourly rate by 8 webinars) - Offer some one-on-one support or group sessions - Find out why customers bought and where your program is strong and weak - Make sure to get testimonials from your one-on-one clients - Offer email support (another opportunity for feedback and to sell other products) - People buy because of bonuses (interviews, e-book, mastermind session, and workshops etc) - When giving a special or reduced price you have to give a reasoning - The word ‘because’ automatically makes people think there is a ‘reason’ - Offering an unconditional guarantee shows confidence in your product - Keep repeating the link to buy at the end
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Links to Resources Mentioned
Direct download: Rhodes_To_Success_Episode_006_Steven_Essa.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am EDT |
Wed, 15 October 2014
Summary
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Lyndsay Phillips, founder and CEO of Smooth Sailing Online Support. Lyndsay’s goal is to serve and help businesses grow and run efficiently using her Virtual Assistant team and account managers. If you want to scale your business and grow, then hiring a virtual assistant is what you need to do! This episode of Rhodes to Success answers all Virtual Assistant questions!
Main Questions Asked - What is a virtual assistant? - What are some things a virtual assistant can do for an entrepreneur? - Talk about the perception of virtual assistants and how they are viewed - How does a virtual assistant having multiple clients bring more value to your clients? - How do your clients find you and what advice do you have for entrepreneurs who want to hire a virtual assistant? - How did you grow relationships so they resulted in paying clients? - Talk about trading hours for dollars and moving toward being a business owner
Key Lessons Learned
What is a Virtual Assistant? - A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an executive assistant, a secretary, a receptionist, an administrative assistant and many roles beyond - A VA doesn’t work in your office but is available remotely (electronically )e.g email, text or phone - Tasks a VA can complete include email, contracts, letters, scheduling, customer service, event management, promotions, and marketing - A VA can encompass anything in regards to the operation of your business such as client management, payments, customer support and marketing
The Value of A Virtual Assistant - Having a VA means you can focus on the revenue generating activities and doing the things that you love - Remember a VA is a business owner who has other clients so they are an entrepreneur in their own right - VAs are not employees so you don’t have to pay tax or vacation or sick days - Many VAs work on retainer or an as needed basis so you don’t need to hire a full time employee (saves you money)
Finding A Virtual Assistant - Two great ways to hear about VAs for hire is via word of mouth from other business owners and networking - Make sure you interview your VA before committing to ensure there is synergy and that they meet your needs - When searching for a VA think about what you value most in a business owner (complete tasks on time or communication in a timely manner etc) - Make sure your VA is familiar with the software you use or that they are trainable
Be A Virtual Assistant - Starting by offering services for an hourly rate is a great way to start as a VA - When building your business ask yourself “what revenue generating things can I do and have my support staff take on?”
Links to Resources Mentioned
Info@ ssonlinesupport.com 484-284-0933
Direct download: Rhodes_To_Success_Episode_005_Lindsay_Phillips_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am EDT |
Wed, 8 October 2014
Summary
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Jonny Andrews who is a bestselling author, publishing expert, entrepreneur, international speaker and business strategies consultant. Jonny is known as the go-to-guy for author entrepreneurs when it comes to launching a successful business or book by leveraging the power of audience and Amazon. If you ever wanted to know how to hack the publishing industry then this is podcast is a must!
Main Questions Asked - What is an audience hacker? - How do you focus on building a large audience while still bringing in revenue? - What is your opinion on self-publishing versus traditional publishing? - What is the secret to a successful book launch? - What is your opinion on writing for Kindle?
Key Lessons Learned
Audience Hackers - An audience hacker is someone who builds their business by the power of audience - Building an audience is all about going to where they live online, hang out with them and bring them to your platform so you can communicate with them - Learn how to properly leverage your platform so you can build a sustainable audience driven business
Building Audiences - Build your audience of people who are more than likely going to buy from you - If you can leverage 5-10K of people you can have a million dollar business - Aim for a focused audience who are your ideal customers not just people who are your fans - You can turn your customers into fans and your fans into customers
Publishing - Traditional publishers are more credible and can offer more distribution which potentially get you in front of more eyeballs - If you don’t have an audience you won’t get a major publisher - A book is a method of growing your audience - You can’t make money off books if you are only getting 7-15% (what a publisher will give you) - Amazon takes 30% so you will get to keep more money
Book Launch - Get pre-release copies to book bloggers in your niche (Make sure they are a book reviewer) - If pitching to a podcast host make sure to pitch the content and not the book itself (sell the benefit and not the book)
Pre-Selling - Book Scan tracks all of the book sales on Monday-Sunday basis across platforms - If you want to get on the New York Times Bestseller list be in pre-sale 30-60 days before you go live - The day your book goes live sales count toward Book Scan
Links to Resources Mentioned The Red Podcast (David Hooper)
Click to Tweet
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Direct download: Rhodes_To_Success_Episode_004_Jonny_Andrews.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:11am EDT |
Tue, 30 September 2014
Summary
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Michael Stelzner, founder and CEO of a multi-million dollar social media blog called Social Media Examiner. Michael also hosts one of iTunes most popular business podcasts and was once known as the King of White Papers. Listen to this episode to learn how Michael propelled his way to success using the power of relationship building!
Main Questions Asked - Why is it so important early on to build relationships? - How did building relationships help you grow Social Media Examiner so fast? - What is your take on why it is important to leverage multiple content platforms? - Do you think that using your personal brand hurts or helps people when trying to get noticed? - How frequently should you post on Facebook and Twitter and what is the etiquette?
Key Lessons Learned
Relationship Building - People like to work with people they know, like, and trust - Build relationships with the right people way in advance - We all have something of value to other people. If we can figure out what they need and help with that, that can become a profitable relationship for both parties - Just asking someone for an interview (or favor) doesn’t always work. Sometimes you need to offer value first without asking for anything in return.
Content Marketing - Be realistic about the time you have as a business owner and what you will spend that time doing - In the beginning choosing one platform such as podcast, video or written is okay but in the long run you should diversify - Remember that there are different kinds of people that are interested in consuming different types of content - On average people spend 1-3 minutes reading a blog post and generally only skim the content (more time is spent consuming other formats) - As your business gains momentum it is worthwhile experimenting with more than one form of content marketing
Branding - There is a difference in being the spokesperson for the brand and the brand itself (personal branding vs spokesperson for the brand) - Not everybody might like ‘you’ as the person if you are the brand which means you may lose business - If you are not the ‘brand’ itself then people have the opportunity to rally around the business identity and not you - When it comes to selling, it is easier to sell a non-personal brand - As a personal brand the challenge is when you get to the point where everybody wants a piece of you and you can’t grow your business
Social Media Posting Guidelines - As an example; Social Media Examiner posts 5-7 times a day on Facebook, 20-30 times on Twitter and publishes 10 articles a week (Keep in mind that SME is a publisher) - Before posting or setting a schedule, ask yourself: What am I trying to accomplish? - Posting content is about what your audience finds interesting and what you find acceptable - Post interesting content that people find of value 2-3 times a day (non promotional.) If that works increase the frequency and monitor for negative consequences then adjust - Lists come in handy as a way to privatize your content into sub groups
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
Links to Resources Mentioned
Social Media Marketing (Podcast) Solopreneur Hour with Michael O’Neil Nuclear Chowder Marketing Podcast
Click to Tweet
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Direct download: Rhodes_To_Success_Episode_003_Michael_Stelzner.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT |
Mon, 29 September 2014
On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Adam Hommey, founder and creator or Help My Website Sell and The Business Creators Institute. Adam’s focus is on helping you emancipate the power of information by converting more social media fans and followers. His goals is to turn website visitors into prospects and customers by simplifying your internet marketing technology. In doing this, you can get more customers, make more money and make a bigger difference. If you want to know how 1 hour of content can be used in 22 ways then you need to listen to this podcast!
Main Questions Asked - How did you end up founding Help My Website Sell? - What are web conversions? - What does multi-purposing and content marketing have to do with web conversions? - What is the model where 1 hour of content can be used 22 different ways? - What kinds of entrepreneurs have you had a lot of success with?
Key Lessons Learned - When you want to take things to the next level its important to invest and implement systems to increase conversion rates
Web Conversions - When people who visit your web pages do what you want them to do - Sign up for your webinar, product for sale and buy it, register for your event, comment on your blog, listen to a podcast are some examples of actions taken - Just getting traffic to your website is not effective, you actually need visitors who are prequalified, prepped and pumped - Prequalified- addressing the right people - Prepped- when click on link they know what to expect - Pumped- they are excited to be there so they are waiting for page to load to take action - It will take an average of 9 months to a year before someone contact you after they first hear about you
One Hour of Content Used Twenty Two Ways
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!
Links to Resources Mentioned
The Dream Business Coaching (Jim Palmer)
Click to Tweet
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic
Direct download: Rhodes_To_Success_Episode_002_Adam_Hommey.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:41pm EDT |
Thu, 25 September 2014
On this episode of Rhode to Success I interview Jared Easley, the bestselling author of Podcasting Good to Great; How to Grow your Audience through Collaboration. Jared is the host of Starve the Doubts and the man behind America’s only national podcasting conference; Podcast Movement. If you’ve ever thought of starting your own podcast or want to know a few insider tips then this is the episode for you!
Main Questions Asked
- What is the music you use on your podcast? - How does building rapport with your listeners help build relationships with them? - What are some things you did early on in your podcast that helped you build a strong audience? - What is the podcast co-hosting strategy? - Talk about the power of mentioning people’s name on a podcast - How can speaking at attending live events grow relationships?
Key Lessons Learned
Music - You can purchase stock music for your podcast, but it will be widely used - Another alternative is to utilize local bands’ music which in turn helps promote them too
Early days of your Podcast
- Allow yourself permission to not be great when you start out podcasting - Embrace your invisibility when you are starting your new idea. This is your chance to practice and improve. - Focus on the people you are trying to serve and ask yourself “how do I get to know them and how do I develop a rapport?” - If you want to get noticed online one of the best strategies is to start noticing (sharing) other peoples’ content who are in your target. This develops a rapport and synergy. - Check in (share) on a consistent basis with several people - Over time rapport generates reciprocity - You don’t have to have the best equipment, guests, and performance straight away just start doing recording podcasts - Perception is reality so just fake it till you make it
Benefits Podcasting with a Co-host
- There are different formats of podcasts; monologues, panels, interviews, and podcasts featuring co-hosts - You can grow your network by inviting people on your podcast as a guest - Think about how you can make people feel appreciated and share their story (how do you make it about them?) - Helping other people get what they want helps you get what you want - Building relationships doesn’t have to always be affiliate marketing, you can just genuinely help others
Mentioning People in your Podcast
- An on-air mention is a simple free strategy with big impact - Ask yourself: “who are the people that would appreciate my mentioning them?” - The best people to mention are the people in the ‘trenches’ and your target audience who wouldn’t usually get a mention - A mention is a powerful way to get people excited and build rapport - You can make somebodies day just by mentioning their name in your podcast
Speaking at and Attending Live Events
- Proximity is power - When you are communication in person with someone you have a richer dynamic in your relationship connection - Find unique ways to go to events or local Meetups - Everyone loves a prize no matter what the speaking engagement
Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and leave a 5 star rating and review in iTunes!
Links to Resources Mentioned
Tankia Dakka - The Garage Party
The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic |
Monetize the Mic
Categories
generalArchives
AugustJuly
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
August
July
May
March
February
December
November
October
September
August
July
May
April
March
February
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | ||||
Syndication
