The Content Experiment Podcast

Getting more visibility has never been easier, especially with the ease with which we can create content today. And by “content,” I don’t necessarily mean blog posts and YouTube videos.

On today’s episode of the Stories in Small Business podcast, I’m talking with my friend Jodi Brandon about why business owners should consider writing a book to elevate their business and how to put aside the fears of jumping into the process. Jodi also shares a big “oops” she made in her own first self-publishing venture. Of course, I love that she shared this because no one is perfect and we can all make mistakes--even within our own expertise.

We also talk about outsourcing in our businesses, my progress (or lack thereof) with writing my own book and her new group program, The Write Life. Listen in now!

Mentioned in This Episode

• Write. Publish. Market. by Jodi Brandon
• The Write Life

About Jodi Brandon

Jodi Brandon has more than 20 years' experience in book publishing. After many years working in traditional publishing, Jodi and her husband relocated from New York to Philadelphia and she launched her freelance editing business. Today Jodi works primarily as a book publishing partner for entrepreneurs, creatives, and small business owners who want to grow their business with a book. Find more on her website or follow her on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Content marketing can save the day in your business. Really. What excuses are YOU telling yourself about why you're not creating content for your business?

It's time to stop. You can't afford to NOT be creating content for your business.

This week's episode is all about my favorite book ever on content marketing, They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan. It's such a powerful book that every business owner and content marketer needs to read.

Because if you're not answering your audience's questions, are you really offering them what they need and want to make an informed buying decision? (The answer is no.)

Tune in for some of the big takeaways and be sure to pick up your copy of the book today! (We're actually reading it in my membership book club in Q1 2020.)

Mentioned on this Episode

• They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan
• Episode 21 - How to Improve Your Reputation Right Now
• ActiveCampaign
• MemberVault
• 4 Steps to Content Strategy Clarity - Free Video Series

Content marketing can save the day in your business. Really. What excuses are YOU telling yourself about why you’re not creating content for your business?

It’s time to stop. You can’t afford to NOT be creating content for your business. 

This week’s episode is all about my favorite book ever on content marketing, They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan. It’s such a powerful book that every business owner and content marketer needs to read. 

Because if you’re not answering your audience’s questions, are you really offering them what they need and want to make an informed buying decision? (The answer is no.)

Tune in for some of the big takeaways and be sure to pick up your copy of the book today! (We’re actually reading it in my membership book club in Q1 2020.)

Mentioned on this Episode

• They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan
• Episode 21 - How to Improve Your Reputation Right Now
• ActiveCampaign
• MemberVault
• 4 Steps to Content Strategy Clarity - Free Video Series

Ask any business owner what they dislike or struggle with most about business ownership, and chances are many of them will say “sales.” I’ve been firmly in that camp myself. 

As Nikki Rausch, this week’s guest on the Stories in Small Business podcast, shares, it’s a mindset shift that we need to work on. Instead of focusing on your audience’s pain points, Nikki shares that we should instead focus on solving their problems. It’s in trying to convince people they need to buy from us that makes the whole process feel icky and sleazy.

This is such a necessary conversation in business because without sales we would have hobbies, not businesses. Nikki walks us through her Selling Staircase framework, how to identify signals that someone is ready to buy from us, shifting our mindset that sales are icky and asking the right questions to keep the conversation going.

If increasing sales is an important part of your business strategy in 2020, you’ll want to tune in!

Mentioned in This Episode

• The Selling Staircase: Mastering the Art of Relationship Selling by Nikki Rausch
• Buying Signals: How to Spot the Green Light and Increase Sales by Nikki Rausch
• 30-minute Selling Strength Assessment
• Closing the Sale e-book

About Nikki Rausch

After 25 years of experience selling to such prestigious organizations as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, and NASA, Nikki Rausch decided to trade in her road warrior status so she could help entrepreneurs sell in a way that builds relationships, creates true connection, and results in more closed deals and long-term clients. Now, as a sales coach, author, speaker and founder of Sales Maven, Nikki transforms the misunderstood process of “selling” into techniques, tools, and tips that can be successfully incorporated into a process replicable by anyone whose livelihood relies on selling a product, a service, or themselves. When she's not helping business owners move their clients along the 'Selling Staircase', Nikki enjoys taking in all the beauty that living in the Pacific Northwest affords her.

Ask any business owner what they dislike or struggle with most about business ownership, and chances are many of them will say “sales.” I’ve been firmly in that camp myself. 

As Nikki Rausch, this week’s guest on the Stories in Small Business podcast, shares, it’s a mindset shift that we need to work on. Instead of focusing on your audience’s pain points, Nikki shares that we should instead focus on solving their problems. It’s in trying to convince people they need to buy from us that makes the whole process feel icky and sleazy.

This is such a necessary conversation in business because without sales we would have hobbies, not businesses. Nikki walks us through her Selling Staircase framework, how to identify signals that someone is ready to buy from us, shifting our mindset that sales are icky and asking the right questions to keep the conversation going.

If increasing sales is an important part of your business strategy in 2020, you’ll want to tune in!

Mentioned in This Episode

• The Selling Staircase: Mastering the Art of Relationship Selling by Nikki Rausch
• Buying Signals: How to Spot the Green Light and Increase Sales by Nikki Rausch
• 30-minute Selling Strength Assessment
• Closing the Sale e-book

About Nikki Rausch

After 25 years of experience selling to such prestigious organizations as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, and NASA, Nikki Rausch decided to trade in her road warrior status so she could help entrepreneurs sell in a way that builds relationships, creates true connection, and results in more closed deals and long-term clients. Now, as a sales coach, author, speaker and founder of Sales Maven, Nikki transforms the misunderstood process of “selling” into techniques, tools, and tips that can be successfully incorporated into a process replicable by anyone whose livelihood relies on selling a product, a service, or themselves. When she's not helping business owners move their clients along the 'Selling Staircase', Nikki enjoys taking in all the beauty that living in the Pacific Northwest affords her.

I can’t imagine what my life would look like if I had grown up in the internet age. Thankfully, I grew up in the 70s and 80s when you could do ridiculous things and no one’s the wiser. But now as someone who works online, I see the world a little differently. 

Today, you can make or break your reputation in a split second--from a gaffe to a Facebook post, a misplaced Tweet to something you said at a meeting. What you do or say moves at the speed of light (or wifi) and sometimes you can’t control the outcome.

On this week’s episode of the Stories in Small Business podcast, I’m sharing why reputation is so important to online businesses and what you can do to give yours a little (or big) boost--both today and in the long-term.

This is such an important topic, and I’m speaking to myself just as much as I’m speaking to you. I hope you’ll tune in! 

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Yelp! I Got a Bad Review! (Now What?) from Molly McPherson 

I can’t imagine what my life would look like if I had grown up in the internet age. Thankfully, I grew up in the 70s and 80s when you could do ridiculous things and no one’s the wiser. But now as someone who works online, I see the world a little differently. 

Today, you can make or break your reputation in a split second--from a gaffe to a Facebook post, a misplaced Tweet to something you said at a meeting. What you do or say moves at the speed of light (or wifi) and sometimes you can’t control the outcome.

On this week’s episode of the Stories in Small Business podcast, I’m sharing why reputation is so important to online businesses and what you can do to give yours a little (or big) boost--both today and in the long-term.

This is such an important topic, and I’m speaking to myself just as much as I’m speaking to you. I hope you’ll tune in! 

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Yelp! I Got a Bad Review! (Now What?) from Molly McPherson 

How organized is your life and business? If you’re like many people I know, you’re really good at organizing one pocket of life but feel frazzled and overwhelmed in others. I think a lot of us focus on the systems in our businesses but forget that we should have systems for home too.

This week on the Stories in Small Business podcast, I’m chatting with my friend Jill McMeekin about organization and how to shift your mindset so you can do the little things that will add up over time. I mention my own embarrassment in having people over to my house. I don’t have a lot of “stuff,” but it does seem to get disorganized quickly if I don’t stay on top of it.

One of the things I love about Jill is that she truly took something she’s passionate about and turned it into a business. She delivering her expertise in exactly the way that feels good to her and teaching people how to do the “thing,” rather than doing it for them. You’ll learn lessons you can use in every aspect of your business and life and find out how disorganization impacts your business and mindset. Plus, Jill gives you actionable steps to help you feel more at peace in your workspace.

If you’re going into 2020 wanting to get yourself more organized, you need to tune into this episode!

Mentioned on This Episode

• Home, Inc. course

About Jill McMeekin

Jill is an organizing coach and strategist who inspires homeowners to create systems in their lives. She believes that an organized and efficient home allows people to feel energized and free to focus on what brings them joy in life. Jill will be launching an online course in January called “Home, Inc.” that teaches people how to organize their belongings, make sense of their money and files, manage their to dos and events, and implement effective cleaning routines, so that their home can run like a well-oiled machine. Follow her on Instagram or visit her website.

How organized is your life and business? If you’re like many people I know, you’re really good at organizing one pocket of life but feel frazzled and overwhelmed in others. I think a lot of us focus on the systems in our businesses but forget that we should have systems for home too.

This week on the Stories in Small Business podcast, I’m chatting with my friend Jill McMeekin about organization and how to shift your mindset so you can do the little things that will add up over time. I mention my own embarrassment in having people over to my house. I don’t have a lot of “stuff,” but it does seem to get disorganized quickly if I don’t stay on top of it.

One of the things I love about Jill is that she truly took something she’s passionate about and turned it into a business. She delivering her expertise in exactly the way that feels good to her and teaching people how to do the “thing,” rather than doing it for them. You’ll learn lessons you can use in every aspect of your business and life and find out how disorganization impacts your business and mindset. Plus, Jill gives you actionable steps to help you feel more at peace in your workspace.

If you’re going into 2020 wanting to get yourself more organized, you need to tune into this episode!

Mentioned on This Episode

• Home, Inc. course

About Jill McMeekin

Jill is an organizing coach and strategist who inspires homeowners to create systems in their lives. She believes that an organized and efficient home allows people to feel energized and free to focus on what brings them joy in life. Jill will be launching an online course in January called “Home, Inc.” that teaches people how to organize their belongings, make sense of their money and files, manage their to dos and events, and implement effective cleaning routines, so that their home can run like a well-oiled machine. Follow her on Instagram or visit her website.

It’s holiday season time and you’re trying to figure out how to take time away from your business so you can spend the holidays unplugging. But you have too many projects to do and not enough time to get them all done.

I will raise my hand high and tell you that I’ve been there too. But a few years ago, I cracked the code on how to take time away from my business--and took a full two week vacation from my sole 1:1 service-based business. It took a lot of work and planning on my part but I was able to pull it off. Fast forward to this summer when I wasn’t so lucky. 

Tune in to this week’s episode of the Stories in Small Business podcast and learn from my experiences--and failures--in enjoying a work-free vacation. Because every single one of you deserves to have time away from your business!

And that guide to batching your content so you can be one step closer to unplugging? Grab it right here!