Smart Agency Masterclass with Jason Swenk: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies

Have current events left you in a panic, uncertain where your agency will end up? Are you looking for a way to make sure your agency stands out from the crowd? It's hard to plan for the next economic recession. At times where things seem like they're all up in the air, it's important to know what to do to make sure you survive.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• 2 Tips to help your agency survive during uncertain times.
• How can your agency grow despite an economic downturn?
• 2 Ways to position your agency as an authority.

Today I had an awesome chat with Mike Gadsby, co-founder and chief innovation officer at O3 World, a digital product agency. With over 15 years of experience at O3 World, Mike and his teammates have survived a few economic recessions. Now, with the state of affairs as it is, Mike talks about how you can make sure your agency survives a turbulent economy, and perhaps, even thrives.

2 Tips To Help Your Agency Survive Uncertain Times.

As an agency owner, Mike has been through several changes in the economy. Having survived 9/11 and 2008, Mike's confident his agency can weather practically any storm. But he didn't get to this mindset overnight. It's been a process that has brought Mike to a point where he's comfortable with where he's at. In fact, during the early years, there were a lot of times where Mike will tell you, his agency fell flat on their face. So what has Mike learned along the way?

1. Evolve, evolve, evolve. The market may be changing, but that doesn't have to mean you are out of a job. Figure out what challenges people are having and what your agency can do to fix those problems. How can your agency change or pivot to meet the changing market?
2. Take a look at how you approach accounts. When the market is down, some clients may have a hard time signing up with a new agency. And those who do probably won't have a lot of capital to invest. Instead of trying to chase down a bunch of new accounts, look at the ones you already have. Think of creative ways to grow these accounts. If you're successful, you'll create partnerships, not projects.

How Can Your Agency Grow Despite an Economic Downturn?

I like to say when people are freaking out, that's your opportunity. The market has been strong for a long time now. Those agencies who were struggling during a good economy are going to have a really hard time in a bad economy. Now is a good time to focus on influence and authority. There's a good chance there will be fewer clients willing to invest in new services, so it's more important than ever that you establish your agency as the go-to source. There are a couple of ways to do this:

1. Work from a strategic point of view. Have the changing events increased demand in an area where there wasn't so much before? Anticipate what clients need and be ready to provide it.
2. Play the long game. Choose clients who have the right mentality and are going to want to work with you, not against you. These are the ones who are going to see the value in your services and stick around.

2 Ways to Position Your Agency as an Authority

This one's important. When the competition is fierce and everyone is fighting for attention, clients want an agency that is an authority in the field. So how do you make sure your agency is that authority?

1. Figure out how you're reinvesting in your agency. Those who are simply executing are the agencies that are most at risk. You have to constantly reinvest in your agency and make sure you have the resources that make you stand out. This means spending a little extra money on things that give you the competitive advantage.
2. Embrace change and keep adapting. Change isn't always a bad thing. In fact, often it can make you take a closer look at how you are doing things and force you to implement more effective strategies. Be patient. Be optimistic. And don't obsess over the news.

An economic downturn can be a stressful situation. But it can also be an opportunity. Now's the time to be creative, be efficient, and focus on how you can provide value to your clients.

Want to Help Your Team Be More Efficient and Scale Agency Faster?

If you want to help your team work smarter and scale your agency faster you need to check out the artificial intelligence software created by our friends at Morphio. It instantly alerts your team about digital marketing errors before they become problems, saving a huge amount of time. Their AI manages and analyzes data, so you can focus on growing your agency.

For a limited time, Morphio is offering Smart Agency podcast listeners a special deal to get you started. Sign up at Morphio.ai/Swenk and get 50 accounts for only $39 per month. That's a savings of over $500/month."

How can your agency stop charging for hours and switch to value-based pricing? Have you ever thought about naming your services or productizing? Branding is important and it can be what sets you apart in a world full of "me too" agencies.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• Why naming is so important to your agency's brand.
• How to match your agency's name with your agency's brand.
• How to get agency clients more involved.

Today I sat down with Jeremy Miller, founder of Sticky Branding. Jeremy describes himself as an author, a speaker, and of course, an agency owner. While he never intended to enter the agency space, after completing a few branding projects for the family business, he quickly discovered he had found his niche. Jeremy talks about why names are so important to branding and how you can make your agency stand apart from the rest.

Why Naming is So Important to Your Agency's Brand

If you're like most agency owners, this one probably seems like a no-brainer. I can hear the chorus now, "Of course I know how important naming is. Do you know how much blood, sweat, and tears went into choosing my agency's name?" But when we talk about names, we're not just talking about what you name your agency, we're talking about the names of each individual service you provide.

Wait— what? Yes, the products you offer, the services you sell, they all need a name. Take my training program, for example. It's not just, "Here, come join my program. It's the best." What I offer is the agency playbook. The name of the program gives my clients an idea of what to expect as well as its value to them. The word "playbook" indicates a step-by-step guide to achieve your goals. See the difference?

If you simply charge by the hour, rather than naming your service, what incentive do clients have to choose you over another cookie-cutter agency? When you create a brand you can begin to provide value-based services.

How to Match Your Agency's Name with Your Agency's Brand

It doesn't matter how great your name is or how many click-throughs you get if you have a subpar product. As Jeremy puts it, you can't just put lipstick on a pig. You want your name to align with what you are actually offering. This means you have to think about two things:

1. Strategy: What you want to provide, how you are going to do it, and what sets you apart.
2. Execution: Once you choose a niche and create a strategy, actually follow through and provide services that align with your brand.

Odds are, you won't be able to name your services from the outset. You have to have a solid understanding of what your product is and why your clients need it before you can create a brand people will trust. But don't wait too long. Jeremy says, one of the biggest mistakes agencies make when it comes to branding is failing to name their services, or just as bad, failing to name their clients' services.

How to Get Agency Clients More Involved

Jeremy believes many agencies need to get their clients to do more work. What does this mean? Your agency should not resemble an episode of Mad Men. In other words, while you are providing a service for your client, you shouldn't be doing all the work. Think about where you can get your clients more involved.

Does your client provide a service in need of serious branding? Challenge your client to tackle the problem. Create a process where they strategize branding and be there as an advisor. Instead of putting 100 hours of work into a project, you'll get away with far less. When you utilize your clients' team, you're able to take advantage of all your resources instead of increasing your headcount.

Great brands are built on substance. But when you have solid branding, that's when you'll stand out from the rest. Remember, when you can get to a place where you are choosing who you want to work with because clients request you by name, that's when you're going to thrive.

Would You Like to Win More Clients Faster?

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Is your agency wasting time and money on making mistakes? Are you trying to make sense of why your profit margins are so low? If so, it's time to take a hard look at how much money actually goes to covering the cost of internal errors. Because for many agencies, this number is just too high.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• Is your agency losing money on these common errors?
• What are tiny mistakes actually costing your agency?
• 3 reasons why it might be time to embrace AI.

Today, I sat down with Eric Vardon, CEO of Morphio. This is Eric's second time on the podcast, and this time he's talking about how artificial intelligence (AI) can reduce the number of costly mistakes your agency makes. Recently, Eric's agency conducted a survey to find out just how much agencies are, quite frankly, throwing away. Eric is here to discuss the results and talk about how Morphio can help.

Is Your Agency Losing Money on These Common Errors?

We've all been there — that bulk email with a glaring typo we notice moments after we hit send. Or, maybe you completely forgot to shut off a campaign and let it run for days (or weeks) longer than it should have. Mistakes happen. Unfortunately, as an agency, these mistakes can be costly.

Eric and his team recently conducted a survey of a variety of agencies. The premise was simple — what type of mistakes has your agency made and how much have these mistakes cost you? Do any of these sound familiar?

• 60% of agencies said they make at least six digital marketing mistakes per week;
• One-third of these agencies say just one mistake can cost them between $1,000 and $5,000;
• 31% of agencies have inadvertently offended a client; and
• 30% of agencies have published a dead, broken, or incorrect link.

What Are Tiny Mistakes Actually Costing Your Agency?

Ask any agency owner, and they're sure to tell you, "these mistakes don't happen at our agency." But if they were to take a closer look, they'd probably be shocked to see just how much profit is lost on revising and fixing mistakes. These same agency owners are also likely trying to figure out why their margins are so low.

As Eric points out, these mistakes don't just cost you money upfront. They can cost your reputation, major accounts, and even your business. As humans, we make mistakes. So the more you can automate and have an AI take care of certain issues, the less you have to worry about mistakes like these happening.

3 Reasons Why it Might Be Time to Embrace AI

If you're still hesitant to use AI, it's time to be okay with being uncomfortable. AI is here, and it likely won't be going anywhere for a very long time. Machine learning has the capability to take data, crunch it, and make decisions faster. So what does this mean for your agency?

1. Better client relationships. Typos, broken links, these mistakes can be costly. Instead, you can use AI to run a quality check for you.
2. Increased employee morale. Why do mistakes happen at such a high frequency? Often, employees are juggling too many things or moving too swiftly to catch errors. If you can get a machine to ease your team's load a little bit, they'll likely be thankful for the breathing room.
3. It can save your business. You can only make so many mistakes before they completely destroy your agency. Do a careful audit of your expenses and analyze just how much you are spending in this area.

Occasional mistakes are bound to happen. Humans are not infallible. But when these mistakes happen on a regular basis, your clients will lose faith in your capabilities. When you take the time to identify mistakes and implement tools to streamline your processes, you're more likely to find success.

For a limited time, Morphio is offering Smart Agency podcast listeners a special deal to get you started. Sign up at Morphio.ai/Swenk and get 50 accounts for only $39 per month. That's a savings of over $500/month.

We are in uncertain times right now and so many agencies are facing challenges as a result of the global coronavirus crisis. Agencies are struggling with everything from cash flow and clients canceling to laying off employees. The silver lining is that no matter where your geographic location, we're all in this together. We are all up against the same issues. That's why I brought on a panel agency owners just like you to ask their questions and get real-time answers.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• How can you serve agency clients whose businesses are on temporary shut down due to the stay-at-home order?
• How can you find short term opportunities while also focusing on longterm growth for your agency?
• What to do if clients ask to cancel or pause their contract.
• Is it OK to go after outbound sales during this time?
• What are ways to provide goodwill right now without devaluing your agency's services when things turnaround?
• How to find opportunities while so many businesses are cutting back and experiencing hardship.
• Is it wrong to prepare clients for a return to normalcy when we have no idea how long that will take?
• Should you pivot your agency's marketing if you're targeting people who are now forced to be at home?
• Should you layoff your team or dip into a line of credit in order to make payroll awhile longer?
• What should agencies not be doing right now?
• Should you be running Google ad campaigns right now for your agency's services?
• How do you respond to clients who want to pull back their marketing during the crisis?

Related:

https://jasonswenk.com/thrive-economic-recession/ ‎

Are you struggling to get your foot in the door with the right clients? Do you have plenty of leads, but just can't convert? Web audits can help you close more new business deals faster and convert prospects easier than ever.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• Why you should always lead with value.
• How web audits can help your agency increase conversion rates.
• What your agency can do to improve on converting leads.

Today I sat down with Clifford Almeida, owner of Hire a Wiz, the digital agency he started 8 years ago. After years of perfecting web audits as their foot-in-the-door strategy, Cliff soon developed a Saas tool for agencies called My Web Audit. Clifford has found a wait to optimize this process to help agency owners grow their agency and convert more leads. In this episode, Clifford shares how audits helped his agency increase its closing rate nearly 40%.

Why You Should Always Lead with Value

If you have listened to the podcast, you've heard me say it before — the number one way to close more deals is to lead with value. When you lead with value, clients are more likely to trust what you have to say and see you as an authority.

So how do you do this? Clifford says you need to show prospects how you can fix their problem. Anyone can talk all day long about how they will increase sales or convert more leads. But when you show a potential client how specific actions will affect their metrics, they'll have a better time visualizing the value of your services.

How Audits Can Help Your Agency Increase Conversion Rates

Early on, Cliff discovered a way to convert more prospects into clients. Instead of selling his core service right away, he presented a web audit with indicators showing the prospect areas of improvement on their site. By pointing out what can be done better and the potential results of making improvements, their prospects became more inclined to work with Cliff's agency. When you provide upfront value at a low cost, you can establish authority, gain trust, and convert more prospects into clients.

The key to a good audit is to make sure you focus on the client. Most audits are built for the agency, with little regard for the client experience. When you do an audit, you want to make sure you keep it short and sweet and address the client's specific pain points. You should be able to present your findings in about 30 minutes. There are a few ways to make sure the audit will be effective:

• Start with generosity. Don't worry, you're not going to be giving away agency secrets.
• Provide information, but make sure that information is valuable.
• Show the client how your agency can solve their problem.

What Your Agency Can Do To Improve on Converting Leads.

Clifford says in the year 2020, there is no shortage of leads. Where the big problem comes is converting those leads into clients. So where do most agencies fail?

• They pitch to anyone and everyone. You can attract prospects all day long, but unless you can present yourself as an expert or authority, there's nothing to stop a prospect from going somewhere else.
• They lead with selling. Remember, the number one way to convert more leads is to lead with value. Provide examples, discuss specifics, and educate the client.

It's important to talk to prospects in a way they will understand. Most of the time you will be talking to marketing directors who are trying to show CEO's, Presidents, or Owners the value in their services. Make sure you present your audit in a way that matters to them and makes them look good.

Are you using audits to evaluate leads for your agency? If not, now's a good time to start. Clifford is offering a special deal just for Smart Agency Masterclass listeners. Check out My Web Audit for a FREE 7-day trial and 50% off any plan for 3 months.

Do you have the right systems but still struggle to grow? Do you look at the big agencies and wonder how they got to 7- or 8-figures? It's all about having the ability to work with the right clients who can afford to pay what you're worth.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• How to turn more prospects into clients.
• 2 Key factors to establish effective pricing.
• How to get to the point where your agency can pick and choose.

Today I sat down with Eric Vardon, co-founder, and president of Arcane, a Canadian-based digital marketing agency. Eric started his agency in 2011 with a keen focus on analytics and a clear understanding of his business. He's on the show today to talk about how you can get your agency to a point where you're able to pick and choose which clients you want to work with.

How to Turn More Prospects Into Clients

As a digital marketing agency, it's your job to get clients to see the value of your services. Clients aren't eager to hand over money for a strategy that might work. This is why so many agencies have difficulty finding success — they don't know how to convince clients to take the risk.

So how do you get a client to see the value in what your agency offers? Make the pitch less subjective. Show potential clients actual figures to show you've run the numbers and care about their bottom line.

Arcane does their homework and researches the client. Within the first couple of meetings with a potential client, Eric's team is able to understand the business' revenue goals and profitability. Using this information, they build a spreadsheet and proposal outlining the specific metrics needed to achieve results. When your client can actually see the numbers and ROI, they are more likely to take the leap.

2 Key Factors to Establish Effective Pricing

Pricing is a big part of your agency's growth and success. Set the price too high and you'll have difficulty finding clients. Set it too low and the good clients won't take you seriously. At the end of the day, your goal is to be profitable. How much do you need to charge in order to achieve this goal?

1. Track and monitor everything. Remember those spreadsheets? Eric says there isn't a process or analytic where they don't have some sort of spreadsheet. Take a close look at your transactions. What are your hourly rates? What are your account costs? And what are your expenses?
2. Look at the big picture. Sometimes you have to look at what you are going to get out of a client in the long run and determine the lifetime value of this client. You may need to do additional work upfront because you know you'll make the margin back over time.

How Your Agency Can Pick and Choose Clients

In the beginning, most agencies are stuck working with any and every client. However, eventually, we all want to get to the point where we can be more selective about which clients we do and don't want to work with. One of the best ways to do this is to bring on solid leadership and surround them with a good team.

While Eric is the co-founder and president of Arcane, he brought on a CEO and a COO to focus on the day-to-day tasks. His COO comes from the public accounting industry and has been a critical part of developing the agency's financial strategy. The agency's CEO is a former HR professional. She knows the human side and is able to use her experience to work with clients and foster a successful team. Together, they create the perfect balance.

Arcane's rapid success comes down to partnership, clarity, and accountability. Eric and his team frequently come together to discuss what they want, what makes them happy, and where they want to go. It's about understanding your agency's vision and communicating it to the team.

Sometimes it's the simple things that bring the most success. When you understand what it takes to make your agency profitable and create a plan to get there, the rest is yours to pick and choose.

Are you struggling with spending too much time working in your agency, instead of on your agency? Do you spend a whole lot of time dealing with the stuff you hate and not enough time on the things you love? Agency owners have a tendency to dive right in and engross themselves completely in their work. But when you create a more autonomous agency you will find more freedom in your role.

In today's episode, we discuss:

• How to move past the desperation stage.
• #1 Way to separate your agency from everyone else.
• How your agency can benefit from leading with strategy.
• What happens when you dominate your niche.

Today I sat down for a fun episode with Max Borges, owner of Max Borges Agency. Over 18 years, Max found the more he worked, the busier he got. He quickly realized his current agency model wasn't sustainable and he had to make a change. He's on the show to share the four phases of creating an autonomous agency.

How to Move Past the Desperation Stage Phase 1 - Anything for Money

We've all experienced what Max calls stage one of his path to create an autonomous agency — AFM "anything for money." This is the stage where most agency owners start out and accept any and all projects... because they don't know what they like, what they don't like, what they're best at, and what they suck at.

At this point, your agency hasn't yet discovered its niche and may or may not have a few employees. The work in this stage is hard but it is something you have to go through to get to phase two. In phase one, you need to spend time exploring what you are good at. Don't spend all your time trying to be good at things you don't like or you're just naturally bad at. You don't need to be good at everything, but you do need to find something you are better at than anyone else.

#1 Way to Separate Your Agency from Everyone Else Phase 2 - Revelation

Next up is the revelation phase. This is where agencies begin to discover and develop their path. During phase two, you've finally realized what you are good at and can start spending more time on things you love while leaving things you don't love to someone else. (Related: How to Stop Doings Things You Suck At)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; the best way to separate yourself from everyone else is to find your niche. When you get to phase two, you know what you like, what you're good at, and what your team is good at. Remember, you're running an agency. This means your vision is important, but you're not the one doing the heavy lifting day in and day out. Your team should be good at what they do and be able to do it without you. Surround yourself with people who share your values and ideas and focus on what they're good at.

How Your Agency Can Benefit By Leading with Strategy Phase 3 - Strategic Drivers

Once you know what you are good at and have your niche, you still need to develop a strategy to make you the go-to agency in your niche. Unless you have some really obscure, specific niche, you're going to have competition and need to set your agency apart.

You have to provide a unique service or have a process that differentiates you from other agencies. This may just mean realigning or narrowing your niche's focus. For Max, his agency focuses on media relations for consumer technology companies. While other agencies focus on consumer tech, most of them don't spend enough time on media relations. This is Max's strategic advantage.

What Happens When You Dominate Your Niche Phase 4 - Niche Dominance

At this stage in the game, you are the accepted leader in your niche. You may find your competition dwindles as other agencies discover you're the best. Getting to stage four is a lot of work, but once you do, you'll find your agency is a lot more autonomous than when you first began.

It's not impossible to focus on what you love and actually enjoy your work. When you create your agency with intention and work diligently through the phases, you'll find success comes easier.

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Are you struggling to get your team more engaged with their work? Do you find yourself doing work your employees should feel empowered to do? Employee engagement is an often misunderstood and undervalued part of running an agency. But it can make all the difference in your agency's success.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• Why agency employee engagement is so important.
• 3 Things to do to raise agency employee engagement.
• Why and how you can implement servant leadership.

Today I had the chance to chat with Christopher Creel, author of the new book, Adaptive. The book looks at the traditional workplace hierarchy, and questions, "What would happen if we flipped it all on its head?" Christopher uses chatbots for much of his processes, but many of the strategies we discuss can be implemented into everything you do. Read on to find out what Christopher says is the key to increasing employee engagement.

Why Agency Employee Engagement Is So Important

Employee engagement is something many leaders take for granted. But it's something agency owners should pay more attention to. Christopher reviewed employee engagement across the board. The results showed that four out of ten employees are disengaged from the organization they work in.

Why is this important? It's because there is a direct correlation between employee engagement and strategy. When an employee is engaged and feels individually invested in the success of the company, they are more likely to be on board with your strategy and not only share the same goals as you do but also work to help you create strategies to meet those goals. When you have an engaged team, you automatically have a step up on the competition.

3 Things to do to Raise Agency Employee Engagement

So how do you increase employee engagement? We all talk about creating a "team," but the numbers show, a manager's actions don't always represent what they say they want. You have to make an active effort to make your employees feel engaged:

1. Have a clearly defined strategy. Most employees disengage when they don't see themselves as a part of the agency's story. Create a clear strategy and share that strategy with your team. If they don't know what the action plan is, they can't be engaged.
2. Focus on culture. Most companies say they prioritize culture, but as Christopher points out, often this is nothing more than putting the company's mission statement on a mouse pad. Culture is what you believe and how you act; and what you put into practice as your agency's values.
3. Create a culture of empowerment. So many managers have the mindset "this is my turf and I'm not going to let go of it." That's not going to empower anyone. You don't want your employees coming to you with every little task to get your insight. Empowerment is "Hey, here's our strategy. I know you have the tools to help us get there. Do what it takes." It's not delegating, it's trusting your employees.

Why and How You Can Implement Servant Leadership

What is the servant leadership model? Most companies work on the power leadership model, where there is one boss who tells the rest of the team what to do. The model is flipped upside down with servant leadership. The leadership puts the employees first and is there to support them and do what it takes to find success as a team. How do you get there?

1. 360 Feedback. Your team is not only capable of contributing to your success as an agency, but they can also provide valuable feedback. As a manager, it can be easy to disconnect and not see the whole picture. When you ask your team to provide confidential, anonymous feedback, you're likely to get a better insight regarding your team's strengths and weaknesses.
2. Actually do something. Christopher says you actually have to "give a damn." If you take in the feedback and then ignore what your team has to say, you're less likely to empower your team and more likely to push them one step closer to the door.

As much as we'd all like to believe we are superheroes that can do it all, the truth is, most of us would be nothing without our team. When your employees are engaged in their work, not only will they be happier, but your agency as a whole will likely find it easier to achieve success.

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And in support of the podcast, Wordstream is offering Smart Agency Masterclass listeners a FREE 14-day trial and complimentary sales-tool add-on. Just check out Wordstream.com/smartagency for more information.

Are you struggling to let go of some of the control and bring on new team members? Or, when you bring in new talent do you discover they have no idea what to do? A lot of your agency and team's success comes down to process. If you don't have an established process or documented SOPs, your team doesn't have a map to follow.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• Does your agency have long-term sustainability?
• Why and how to document processes for agency team success.
• 2 secrets to finding great agency talent.

Today I sat down with Damon Burton, founder of SEO National. Damon started his agency 12 years ago when SEO was just becoming a thing. Now, Damon says he has retained many of his original clients and has learned how to build a team he trusts. Damon is on the show to share tips on how you can do the same.

Does Your Agency Have Long-Term Sustainability?

We're in the midst of the, "I want it now" era. People are easily distracted, quickly moving from one thing to another. With social media, it's swipe left, swipe right, like this, and move on. In this fast-paced world, a lot of people are clambering to get attention. And a few do.

But often, those that grab ahold of today's current shiny thing find themselves wondering why they are not seeing any long-term success. Damon says he has a lot of the same clients he had when he first started his agency, and he attributes a lot of this stability to consistency. While SEO sees some changes here and there, overall, it's the same basic principle. As an agency owner, you have to be careful about jumping onto trends or buying into the "next big thing." Stick to your values and principles, and you're more likely to find long-term success.

Why and How to Document Agency Processes

One of the most important things you can to do help your agency grow is to develop a process for everything and stick to it. Processes help reduce variation and are a huge asset when you bring on new employees. Look, without SOPs you're SOL. :)

Damon says many agencies fear bringing on new employees because they feel new people will mess everything up. But if you have bad employees, it all comes back to you. If you have hired competent team members and they are failing, it's because you don't have processes, or you haven't found an appropriate way to document your processes.

There are many ways to document your process. The most important thing is to get it done. Damon spent two hours every other day for a year, writing down his processes. My system for documenting processes was recording videos and screencasts of tasks I wanted to delegate. To avoid spending hours documenting your processes or spending a bunch of money to have someone write up two years worth of work, document as you go.

2 Secrets to Finding New Talent

Delegating is a great way to free up time to allow you to focus on more important tasks. But it's all about having processes in place and hiring competent team members. So how do you find the right people for your team?

• Find people who are really good at one thing. We all dream of finding the perfect employee who is good at everything. But ultimately, this isn't the best thing for you or your employee. Find people who are not only good at what they do but like what they do.
• Be creative. Damon says he likes to hide Easter eggs in his job posting to have applicants prove they actually read the whole job description. This helps him narrow the field down to people who pay attention and can follow directions. You don't have to put Easter eggs in your job descriptions, but try a non-conventional approach to finding, qualifying, and interviewing new talent.

Developing a process and learning how to delegate are two of the most important things you can do as an agency owner. Remember, you don't have to do it all, you just need to be able to hire the right people.

Looking for a Payroll and HR Solution for your Agency?

Payroll and benefits are hard. Especially when you're a small business. Gusto is making payroll, benefits and HR easy for small businesses. You no longer have to be a big company to get great technology, great benefits and great service to take care of your team.

Have you considered creating a podcast, but don't know where to start? Are you looking for a new way to get clients engaged without coming off "salesy"? Podcasts are a great way to connect with more prospective clients. As an added bonus, they are one of the easiest ways you can generate leads for your agency.

In today's episode, we discuss:

• 3 Reasons why podcasts work to connect you with more clients.
• Why your agency should consider a podcast.
• 3 Ways to make your voice shine through.

Today, I sat down with Mark Lipsky, founder of The Radio Agency. The Radio Agency is a radio-only digital marketing agency. They focus on radio — nothing more, nothing less. Over the past 26 years, Mark has discovered what makes radio great and what makes it stand out from the rest. Mark shares with us what he learned and why you should consider incorporating podcasts into your marketing approach.

3 Reasons Why Podcasts Work

You may think, "I don't need to start a podcast, my blog is doing just fine." And that may be the case. But podcasts open up new possibilities that may not currently exist for your agency. Podcasts are portable. Consumers can listen to your podcast whenever, wherever. But more importantly:

1. There's something for everyone: Unlike traditional radio, even those with weird obscure tastes will find something they like. Have a super niche agency? There's a good chance your client is looking for your podcast.
2. The ability to multitask: As humans, we rarely like to sit still anymore. With podcasts, you can listen to a show in the car, while you run, or while you're sitting at your desk at work.
3. You don't have to schedule your time: Listeners aren't required to tune-in at a specific time. All they have to do is download past shows and binge them during free time.

Why Your Agency Should Consider a Podcast

But isn't a podcast a lot of work? Not at all. There are so many apps where you can create one in just a few minutes on your own. Of course, there are options to make them more technical and expand your reach, but there's nothing complicated about creating a podcast. But why should you invest your time in a podcast?

1. They're easy. Seriously, it's so much easier than you think. If I can do it, anyone can :)
2. They're personable. Even the best writers have difficulty getting their true voice and intent to come through. With a podcast, listeners can hear tone, laughs, and inflections, increasing connection with the audience.
3. Audiences are paying attention. Look at your metrics. How often does someone read the entire blog post? Watch the entire video? Most often, listeners finish most, if not all of the podcast. Because they are so portable and so engaging.

3 Ways to Make Your Voice Shine Through

Just like anything else, the goal is to stand out. With thousands of podcasts covering a variety of subjects, it's just as easy to be a "me too," podcast as it is a "me too," agency. Voice is what will make you stand out. How do you do this?

1. Be genuine. Don't try to create a character. Even if your listeners don't catch onto your act, you'll have a hard time sustaining the character long-term.
2. Let your personality shine through. Be you. Don't hide your personality. Listeners love authenticity and want to hear what drives you.
3. Create content designed to help. Never create a podcast with the intent to sell something. Customers can see through this. Give your listeners something of value. If they like your message and enjoy listening to you, you won't have to try to sell — they'll want to work with you.

In marketing, it's important to embrace all forms of media. Podcasts are a great way to share your message, show your voice, and connect with your audience.

Want Help Pitching and Winning More New Business?

Imagine a partner who helps you streamline Google Ads, Facebook, and Bing workflows, recommends genius optimizations across platforms, and then brags about the results to your clients for you. What if that partner could also help you grow your agency by making it easier to pitch and take on more clients? In a nutshell, that's what Wordstream will do for your agency.

And in support of the podcast, Wordstream is offering Smart Agency Masterclass listeners a FREE 14-day trial and complimentary sales-tool add-on. Just check out Wordstream.com/smartagency for more information.