FIR Podcast Network

Leverage your intellectual property through automation. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Tad Stephens (http://aha.pub/TadStephens), whose expertise focuses on direct response internet marketing for online businesses. Tad creates sales funnels for coaches and speakers to automate revenue streams with or without tools. He works with executives and business and life coaches, as well as business consultants who have a message to deliver. Tad expounds on the benefits of solving their point of pain by automating their intellectual property. Automating their products allows for higher profit returns without being directly involved.

To learn more about Tad, go to http://aha.pub/TadStephens. To get in touch with him, visit http://acceleratedfunnels.com/.

Here are a few AHA messages from this episode:

* The pain point of coaches, speakers, and business consultants with IP is not having the know-how, nor the time, to reach a larger audience with their message. #AutomateYourProduct https://youtu.be/5sFHhxq8SXc http://aha.pub/TadStephens

* Many years of experience in the online world, can give a person the credibility to automate IP. Choose someone with credibility. #AutomateYourProduct http://acceleratedfunnels.com http://aha.pub/TadStephens

* Good, compelling speakers deliver a message of value from the stage. How can they expand their method of delivery beyond the stage? #AutomateYourProduct https://youtu.be/5sFHhxq8SXc http://aha.pub/TadStephens

* Automation allows you to deliver your message without being involved. Are you #AutomatingYourProduct? You should! #IntellectualProperty http://acceleratedfunnels.com http://aha.pub/TadStephens

* Automation is a powerful tool that can extend the reach of your IP. Expand by #AutomatingYourProduct. http://acceleratedfunnels.com http://aha.pub/TadStephens

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, subscribe to the channel: http://youtube.com/user/thoughtleaderlife.

Karl Sakas of Sakas and Company fills in for Gini Dietrich as Chip Griffin’s co-host on this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast.

Chip and Karl discuss how agencies can raise prices and increase revenue from clients by moving them along a continuum toward higher-priced (and higher-value) services.

Quotes

* Karl: “If you lead with strategy, if you lead with the think activities, you’re positioning yourself as more of an expert, and you can charge more, get paid more, you and your team will be happier, ultimately getting paid more, with fewer hours.”

* Chip: “Start thinking about it, what are the kinds of activities that I can start to shift and empower my clients to participate in, as opposed to having to do for them, it really allows you to think much more broadly about the value that you can deliver to that client, which at the end of the day is how you continue to get and retain clients by showing that you’re delivering that value.”

* Karl: “If you’re using teach services to make your clients less dependent on your agency for the really low level stuff that your team hates doing, that sounds like a win.”

* Chip: “it takes time to be able to move up these tiers, and do it well, because nothing’s going to expose you faster than if you pretend to be an expert in something that you’re not. So really make sure that you have that close alignment between what you’re targeting on these tiers and what you can actually deliver on.”

Resources

* Agency Services Framework: Charge More via “Think, Teach, Do”

* Strategy Tiers: Charge More for Strategy Work

* Boost client retention with Warmth & Competence

* Get paid more later with “strategically free”

* Listen (and delegate!) better via Values, Goals, and Resources (VGR)

* How to pick a vertical specialization for your agency

* Newsletter: Business tips for agency leaders (and eBook on handling difficult clients)

* @KarlSakas on Twitter

* The Human Brand by Chris Malone and Susan T. Fiske

* Jay Baer

[read the transcript]

Karen Swim is a tireless advocate for solo agency owners. She is the president of the membership organization Solo PR Pro, founder of the PR and marketing agency Words For Hire, and co host of That Solo Life podcast.

On this episode of Chats with Chip, Karen breaks down how changes to the workforce and agency culture have allowed independents and micro agencies more freedom and flexibility than ever before. She also advises how having a financial plan and advances in technology can help smooth the path for solo agency owners.

Quotes

* Chip: “And a lot of multi employee agencies are supplementing their workforce with freelancers, contractors, etc, as well. So it’s not just solos that are turning to contract labor in order to expand their reach or capabilities, it’s really across the board.”

* Karen: “With Solo PR Pros, because you are in charge, you really are able to see business from a much wider lens. And with that perspective, I think that we have driven a lot of the changes that have come and happened for our industry as a whole.”

* Chip: “This mirrors a lot of what’s going on in society as a whole. Because the whole gig economy concept is really revolutionizing a lot of different sectors. In PR, solos have been commonplace, if you will, for a long time. But I think they’re being perceived differently.”

* Karen: “But the thing that I love now is that being a solo doesn’t even have to be a forever choice. The younger generation sees work in a different way that we do, and they see that you can progress your career, and you take those steps up the ladder, or sideways across the ladder, however you want to, with a mixture of traditional or self employment. And so what we see now is people moving in and out of solo and employment.”

About Karen Swim

Karen has more than two decades of experience in public relations and marketing communications, sales management, and strategic marketing. She uses integrative problem-solving to customize marketing and content solutions for clients. An award-winning sales and marketing professional with a depth of business expertise, clients value Karen’s broad-ranging knowledge, and commitment to helping them reach their goals. (more)

Resources

* KarenSwim.com

* Solo PR Pro

* Words For Hire

* That Solo Life podcast

* Voice Matters

* Karen on social: Twitter | LinkedIn

[read the transcript]

This week we discuss three examples of unintended consequences for B2B marketers that showed up in recent business marketing literature. Our first piece, which appeared in B2BMarketing.net, highlights recent survey by Acoustic that found a jump in email open and click-through rates in the past year – and in some cases a pretty substantial jump – thanks to new privacy regulations in the EU and elsewhere. The rules have forced marketers to hone their messages and to produce more precise email campaigns, which has resulted in better engagement with recipients. Talk about silver linings!

Next, we found a year-old survey from the British Marketing Week that found the influence of the marketing organization drops as brand value grows. This could be caused by several factors, including not understanding how customer acquisition and retention work or the fact that many marketers are still loath to employ data-driven technologies.

Finally, Inc. looks at a Harvard study about the unintended consequences of doling out awards to your staff. The researchers found that awards can have the revenge effect of actually de-motivating employees. Reasons include the unintended social cost of being singled out or employees slacking off once they realize they’re exceeding expectations. Businesses need to consider the reason people do the things they do and dig deeper to find out rewards that have more than just recognition value.

This could be an underlying reason why Facebook is thinking about hiding the “Like” counts on its posts, according to TechCrunch. Facebook says it wants to protect users from envy and dissuade them from self-censorship.

Everyone loves a vacation.

You get to unplug, spend time with friends or family, and best of all … RELAX.

We all know vacations are good and that we actually need one on a regular basis.

They allow us to refill the proverbial “creative tank” and return to work refreshed and ready to dig in.

Of course, all of that goes out the window if you return to a million fires to put out, client emergencies to take care of, and the occasional angry glance from a coworker who’s been doing extra work since you’ve been away.

Relaxed? Who’s relaxed now?

Regardless of what you return to, you still need time off.

Here’s how to prepare for a return to the office without tossing your relaxing vacation vibes right into the trash.

Why an Unplugged Vacation is Important

Please don’t ever tell me you love your job so much you don’t mind working 24/7, even while on vacation.

It forces me to try really hard not to roll my eyes.

No matter what you think, our brains are not meant to work all the time.

We are not robots.

It’s part of the reason we aren’t nearly as productive if our brains are tired.

There are major benefits of taking just a few days off and completely unplugging from your job.

The Spin Sucks Podcast

In this episode of the podcast we talk about:

* How unlimited vacation works for us at Spin Sucks

* Why everyone needs an unplugged vacation

* How you can manage your tasks while you’re away or when employees take time off

* Why lists, handover meetings, and more are so important for everyone in the office

What are the vacation policies in your organization?

Do you truly unplug when you take time off?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

In this episode of Chats with Chip, Matt Rizzetta, founder and CEO of N6A, discusses a new model he calls Outcome Relations, designed to provide measurable accountability to clients.

Matt explains the benefits of Outcome Relations, how the workforce has changed over his career, and how entrepreneurs need to make mistakes and innovate incrementally over time to be successful.

Quotes

* Matt, on the impetus for starting his own agency: “I always had a little bit of an entrepreneurial mindset, I saw some things that I liked in the agency world, I also saw some things that I didn’t like. And I thought that it would be neat to strike out on my own and put sort of a unique kind of spin on PR agency culture, which I thought really needed an injection of energy and innovation at the time.”

* Chip, on how youth can be an asset for agency owners: “It really sounds like you sort of set out to build a better mousetrap. And as is often the case with younger entrepreneurs, you don’t know what you don’t know, you don’t know what’s not supposed to work. So you get to be much more creative and inventive.”

* Matt, on why agencies have to transform how they sell themselves: “It’s very difficult nowadays, in the world of immediate measurement and accountability, to be able to sell a product or a service that really has an intangible value to a client the way it once did. So I think it’s incumbent on PR agencies to try to shift, to transform, to reinvent themselves, and to innovate, in a way where they’re not just selling intangible value, they’re selling value to a client that, they’re selling a result to a client that has a tangible value on the P&L.”

* Chip, on the better way to judge success: “I’ve been on the the media and monitoring and measurement side of the business a lot over the course of my career. And so I’ve often talked to clients and others about the need to focus on outcomes and not output.”

About Matt Rizzetta

Matt Rizzetta has served as CEO since N6A’s inception. Under his leadership, N6A has been ranked as the #1 fastest-growing agency in the United States in its revenue category by O’Dwyers, as well one of the 50 most powerful agencies in the United States by the Observer. Matt has been instrumental in creating N6A’s “Compete and Care” culture and “Embrace the Pace” atmosphere, which have been lauded as the most rewarding, collaborative and unique in the agency world by Forbes, Monster.com, New York Post, Chief Learning Office Magazine, Entrepreneur, and others. N6A was named a finalist for Digiday’s Most Innovative Culture Award, and as a winner of PRWeek’s Best Places to Work. Matt serves on the Alumni Board of Directors at his alma mater Iona College, and resides in Westchester County, NY, with his wife and three daughters.

Resources

* www.n6a.com

* Outcome Relations

* competeandcare.com

* N6A on social: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram

[read the transcript]

Ken Jacobs fills in for Gini Dietrich as Chip Griffin’s co-host on this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast.

As an executive coach, agency consultant, and trainer, Ken has a passion for leadership issues, so he and Chip share three lessons that each has learned over many decades of management and leadership roles.

Some of the topics covered include:

* The importance of listening

* The value of servant leadership

* The need to customize your leadership style

* The requirement to show (and not just tell)

* The understanding that how you climb the leadership ladder is how you descend it one day

* The significance of the “Washington Post test”

Quotes

* Chip: “A fantastic lesson is the importance of a leader understanding that when they listen and when they speak can impact the outcome of a meeting. Because if you’re not listening, and instead, as a leader, you’re coming out too soon and sharing your views, you may inadvertently stifle creative thought, you may stifle useful opinions and insights that your team has.”

* Ken: “When you put money in the stock market or the bank or wherever, you don’t expect to just get the same thing back, you expect to get more back, you expect to get great ROI. And I know if leaders out there work on their leadership, get trained, get coached, they will get that time back. And, more than that, they’ll have a more impassioned, inspired follower, who is really helping you achieve organizational goals.”

* Chip: “In the PR and marketing community, it is a small world. So your employee today could very well be your client or prospective client tomorrow, your coworker today could be your boss tomorrow, or could be managing that account that you just won last year, but you need to now get through a renewal process. There’s all sorts of ways in which relationships change over time. So you want to make sure that you are generating that kind of respect over time, “

* Ken: “And this, I think, is one of the differences between managing and leading, because we manage programs, projects, budgets, calendars, production schedules, etc. Those are things. But when we’re ready to step up, and step into leadership, and want to have inspired, motivated followers, it is about the human dynamic.”

Resources

* Jacobs Consulting and Executive Coaching

* Ken Jacobs on social: Twitter | LinkedIn

About Ken Jacobs

Ken Jacobs

Ken Jacobs, a certified coach and experienced leadership consultant and trainer, is the principal of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching. For more than 12 years, he has helped senior leaders and executives in public relations and integrated communications achieve and surpass their goals by becoming more inspired and inspiring leaders.

Jacobs has also helped nearly 50 agencies grow and manage business, improve client service and relationships, and enhance staff performance, communications and leadership skills.

Prior to launching his consultancy, Jacobs spent 25 years in management and leadership positions with a number of firms, including Ogilvy & Mather PR; Marina Maher Communications (MMC); and Maloney & Fox. (read more of Ken’s bio)

[read the transcript]

Doug Simon is an expert in producing video for agencies and brands in both broadcast and social media. As CEO of the award-winning DS Simon Media, Doug has lengthy experience in getting clients’ spokespeople on television news. By arranging satellite media tours, providing behind the scenes video coverage, and servicing social media video production, Doug gets his clients’ positive stories out there.

In this episode of Chats with Chip, he addresses what the trends in both broadcast and social media mean for the future, as well as changes he is seeing in how clients and agencies work with firms like his own.

Quotes

* Chip: “It’s no surprise that video is becoming increasingly important in the communications arsenal. And so a lot of agencies, even traditional ones that maybe didn’t engage in video as much now are needing to, and obviously the clients are demanding it.”

* Doug: “We are in process of conducting a survey of local TV news directors and it’s actually a very low percentage of their newscasts, about a quarter, that they plan on devoting to election coverage in 2020. So what that means is there’s actually more opportunity for brands to get their spokespeople on in local markets.”

* Chip: “20 or 30 years ago, it was almost impossible for agencies to do video in house unless they were really large, because of the equipment and the infrastructure that was needed. Today, you can actually produce pretty good quality video with a consumer grade technology like iPhones.”

* Doug, on the impact of local TV markets, including the 2016 election: “So if these local markets were enough to help someone get elected president, as a brand, as an organization, you probably don’t want to cede that territory, those consumers, to your competition.”

Resources

* Doug Simon on Twitter

* DS Simon Media

[read the transcript]

One of the very first things you see when you visit Spin Sucks is, “Emails suck. Ours don’t.”

So you might assume we’re proponents of email marketing.

And you’d be right.

Yet, not all content creators and communications pros feel the same. 

Some of them shout from the rooftops, “Email is a waste of time! Nobody gets anything out of opt-ins!”

The other side stands their ground and shouts back, “You all are crazy! We shouldn’t give everything away for free! If you’re a real communications pro, you would even collect emails!”

It never ends.

The purpose of most emails is to drive traffic and business outcomes.

And no matter whether some experts claim email marketing has gone the way of the dinosaur, I’m willing to bet they have a newsletter opt-in lurking somewhere on their site.

Email’s convenient.

It gives us exposure to potential clients with a few clicks and, to top it all off, it’s useful.

BUT…

Not all email marketing is created equal.

To be fair, a lot emails actually do suck.

But that doesn’t mean yours has to.

And that’s what I’m talking about on this episode of the Spin Sucks Podcast.

Why Your Emails Don’t Have to Suck

Here’s what we cover:

* Best practices for email marketing

* Nailing the content of your emails

* Why you shouldn’t worry about open rates

* Creating clear calls-to-action

* Email mistakes to avoid

* Editing, editing, and more editing

Your Turn

Where do you stand on email marketing? Are you a staunch believer that it’s a waste of time? Maybe we can change your mind.

Check out the latest episode of the podcast and let us know your thoughts.

Interview with Andrew Hickey from Scott’s Cheap Flights about Social Media Marketing.

With more than 10 years of experience working in social media marketing for global travel brands, Andrew Hickey has worn many hats including running large digital marketing campaigns, increasing brand awareness, driving web traffic, supporting marketing initiatives, and increasing sales.

Hosts: Leif Pettersen of Leif Pettersen PR and Chris Christensen of BloggerBridge.com and AmateurTraveler.com.

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