Say it Online

The first step to agency success is always clarity. Unfortunately, it's something that most agencies continue to struggle with. And Say wants to find out why. 

So, what's holding your agency back from achieving growth through clarity? Say and Jason Swenk are getting into it.

Jason has literally written the book for growing an agency from nothing to two 8-figure agencies.  He is one of the most sought-out advisors to agencies in the world, and shows them an 8-system framework that worked for growing his agency — working with brands like AT&T, Hitachi, and Lotus Cars — and eventually led to selling his agency.

Jason currently hosts the Smart Agency Masterclass Podcast, the #1 Digital Marketing Agency Owner podcast for sharing the strategies and stories from real agency owners of what is working today in the agency world, and how they got to where they are now.

In this episode, Jason dives into his 8 systems for agency growth, including why you can't JUST focus on the areas where you're currently struggling. He and Say chat about where agencies tend to miss the mark on clarity and why it's such an ongoing struggle. 

Tune in to learn how to:

• Avoid the biggest hiring mistakes that agencies make 
• Let your core values drive how you run your agency 
• Take a strategic approach to growth instead of just focusing on the area you're currently struggling with

Did you know a bad hire could cost your agency upwards of $15,000?

Over the last five years since Say started Anansi, our leadership team has consistently been asked by digital agency owners how we built such a passionate and dedicated team that totally rock their roles.

So, what's the secret? There is no secret: it's by design.

Say's finally spilling the beans about our kick-ass hiring process in our upcoming Ace Your Next Hire 6-week group training, and giving you a sneak peak on what to expect in this bonus Say it Online episode. 

If you're ready to FINALLY build the team of your dreams, where people actually care about your agency, your clients, and your values (and where turnover is rare), this training is for you.

In this episode, Say covers:

• The hiring mistakes she made that led to building our killer process
• What to expect each week during the training, and how she'll help you implement your new hiring process as you learn
• The hard evidence on how and WHY this training will significantly improve your hiring process

Rule #1 of marketing: if you don't know your audience, you'll never create effective content. That's why Say chats with Anansi Content Strategist Jacob Smith about how to drop the jargon and speak directly to your community — even if you have more than one.

Jacob strives to approach his work objectively. His goal is unraveling the ways to communicate complex ideas with anyone.

Prior to becoming a writer, Jacob worked as an industrial equipment trainer. There he learned how to communicate complex ideas to any audience, from a certified machinist on the floor every day to human resource managers unfamiliar with the technology's jargon. Cross-functional communication is his secret sauce.

Away from work, Jacob loves screenwriting as well as making music. He currently has an album released on all major streaming services under the name Oddly Oaktree.

In this episode, Jake dives into the fear many clients have about letting go of their old, familiar (sometimes generic) copy and how to optimize the user experience based on what your audience needs.

Tune in to learn how to:

• Avoid the biggest mistake copywriters make in today's marketing world
• Simplify language and training internally
• Effectively write for multiple unique audiences

Our newest strategist dives into the pros and cons of coercive marketing, how copywriting is basically narrative writing, and the final piece of marketing that MOST clients don't think about.

Finding the exact right words when you can't quite articulate what you do is Caelin's speciality. They have a knack for seeing you, your customers, and the intersection where that perfect, precise, and compelling message lives. 

Caelin's been writing since they were 10 years old when their cousin told them they had "no imagination". After spending 8 years in sales, they found copywriting in 2015 and haven't looked back — because the only thing better than writing a story that moves someone to tears is writing a piece of copy that moves them to buy.

When they're not at work, you can find Caelin reading up on the epigenetics of trauma, yelling at their Tarot deck, and desperately trying to keep their houseplants alive. (Even the fake ones!)

In this episode, Caelin dives into why the mainstream marketing approach and narrative/models don't work anymore and why you need to work with an expert. They also share a process to reduce cognitive overload and give examples to notice when you're overwhelmed and exhausted – before it leads to compromised decision-making. 

Tune in to learn how to:

• Be mindful of how you process information to reduce cognitive overload
• Tell if your clients are experiencing cognitive overwhelm (and set boundaries to prevent it!)
• Create win-win relationships as part of how you do marketing

Want to follow along with our episode transcript? Click here! 

Books referenced in this episode:

• Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) by Lisa Cron
• The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write with Emotional Power, Develop Achingly Real Characters, Move Your Readers, and Create Riveting Moral Stakes by Donald Maass

Hold up – what does positioning even mean? Lucky for you, we're talking to an expert about it. 

Brendan Dell is an author, messaging strategist, and go-to-market advisor to the world's fastest-growing B2B technology brands. His book The 12 Immutable Laws of High-Impact Messaging helps organizations tell their story. 

His positioning framework – The Market of One Positioning Framework – helps brands tell their story and differentiate themselves in red ocean environments. 

Brendan's clients include Expedia Group (Fortune 500), Accrue (500 Start-Ups), CrowdCompass then Cvent (Deloitte Fast 500), TOPO (Leading B2B Analyst Firm), UserTesting (Deloitte Fast 500), Nuance (Fortune 1,000), Panasonic (Fortune 500), SAP (Fortune 500), Brother (Fortune Global 500), and 100+ more.

In this episode, Brendan dives into how to find that ONE word or phrase that positions your company and represents your value to clients. Basically, he's helping make sure you're unforgettable!

Tune in to learn how to:

• Use Brendan's positioning framework for your agency 
• Get a hold of positioning even if you've been struggling for years
• Remove the stigma of niching your agency

Think you know what makes a podcast successful? Think again!

John Corcoran is a former White House writer, speechwriter, attorney, author, and B2B podcasting expert. His company, Rise25, helps B2B businesses connect with their ideal clients, referral partnerships, and strategic partners using done-for-you podcasts and content marketing. 

In this episode, John dives into misconceptions about podcasts, sharing why most people fumble by focusing on getting ads or sponsorships instead of putting focus on uplifting and growing their network. 

John chats with Say about how he created a results-driven podcast centered on great conversations and content that brings real value to the world. 

Tune in to learn how to:

• Build value for both the host and guest
• Get started on building an audience as a beginner
• Measure the success of your podcast using the right goals and metrics 

Connect with John at rise25.com and smartbusinessrevolution.com.

"How can we design experiences for everybody if we don't really have everybody in that process?"

Perfecting your customer experience could be the most important thing you do at the start of the year. And we're making sure you follow all the right steps to do it with ease. 

Jeannie Walters is the CEO/Founder of Experience Investigators, a global Customer Experience consulting firm. She has 20 years of experience helping companies improve loyalty and retention, employee engagement, and overall customer experience.

Jeannie is an international keynote speaker and has a TEDx talk all about microinteractions, those small and often-overlooked moments in the customer journey that have a huge impact on customer emotions. She is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), a member of the CXPA's CX Expert Panel, and a LinkedIn Learning Instructor.

Jeannie was named in the Huffington Post as a "Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros on Twitter" and the Online Marketing Institute's "Top 20 Digital Marketing Strategists," and recognized as "One of the Top Customer Experience Influencers To Know" on CX Day.

Jeannie has co-hosted the top rated podcast, Crack the Customer Code, since 2015, and is an active writer. You can find her work on CustomerThink, The Future of Customer Engagement and Commerce, and Forbes, as well as in university-level textbooks. Jeannie and her team launched the Year of CX on CX Day 2020. Anyone can sign up for free resources at www.yearofcx.com.

Jeannie lives with her husband and 2 growing boys and a spoiled dog, spending her free time cheering on young athletes and choir singers alike, and spoiling the dog.

In this episode, Jeannie dives into the importance of knowing your customers so you can find opportunities and relate to them.

Tune in to learn how to:

• Build a customer journey for diversity and inclusion with Jeannie's framework
• Bring perspective and personal experiences into building exceptional customer journeys
• Ask yourself the right questions to increase critical thinking around diverse customer experiences

Connect with Jeannie at experienceinvestigators.com, yearofcx.com, and on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The key to a comfortable, productive work environment is effective boundary-setting, yet it doesn't always feel as easy as it should be to speak up about your boundaries. 

In this episode of the podcast, Say gets into WHY it's so essential to be clear, concise, and consistent with your boundaries. She shares her 3-step framework to setting better boundaries and discusses the difference between managing a stressor and setting an effective boundary. 

Plus, she sheds light on how setting boundaries in your processes and client management will make your life so much easier. 

Tune in to learn how to:

• Decide what to do when someone breaks your boundaries 
• Help others navigate your boundaries 
• Let go of the fear of setting boundaries 

Connect with Say at anansicontent.com/saygabriel or send her a quick email at [email protected]

Need a killer recipe for SEO success? This episode is for you!

Chris Dreyer is the President and Founder of Rankings.io, an agency that specializes in personal injury lawyer SEO. His agency ranks personal injury firms for the most lucrative keywords in the industry with end-to-end SEO, from content creation to technical optimization.

"Most personal injury attorneys struggle to rank at the top of the search results. That's why I'm here: I help elite personal injury law firms generate motor vehicle and serious injury cases through Google's organic search results," says Chris. 

In this episode, Chris dives into how he niched down into SEO for personal injury firms based on data – and all the mistakes he made along the way. He chats with Say about why copy is crucial at the beginning of your SEO process, the power of link building, and so much more. 

Tune in to learn how to:

• Identify the difference between site SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO
• Recognize what you're doing wrong with SEO and how to correct it
• Use SEO strategy and metric tracking to make decisions quickly 

Connect with Chris at rankings.io.

Need a killer recipe for SEO success? This episode is for you!

Chris Dreyer is the President and Founder of Rankings.io, an agency that specializes in personal injury lawyer SEO. His agency ranks personal injury firms for the most lucrative keywords in the industry with end-to-end SEO, from content creation to technical optimization.

"Most personal injury attorneys struggle to rank at the top of the search results. That's why I'm here: I help elite personal injury law firms generate motor vehicle and serious injury cases through Google's organic search results," says Chris. 

In this episode, Chris dives into how he niched down into SEO for personal injury firms based on data – and all the mistakes he made along the way. He chats with Say about why copy is crucial at the beginning of your SEO process, the power of link building, and so much more. 

Tune in to learn how to:

• Identify the difference between site SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO
• Recognize what you're doing wrong with SEO and how to correct it
• Use SEO strategy and metric tracking to make decisions quickly 

Connect with Chris at rankings.io.