The Jenna Rainey Show

Stand out among all the noise.

That's the goal, right? As the markets become more and more saturated, you want to be seen!

But if you're thinking, What's the point? There are already soooo many artists out there...lemme tell you something. There's no other you in the world and you have something uniquely special to offer.

Enter this week's guest—Kira Hug. She's a brilliant copywriter, specializing in personality-driven conversion, cofounder of The Copywriter Club, and cohost of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Kira helps small business owners package their weird, following her signature trifecta framework. So if you're just dying to know what the heck that even means, don't skip this episode! It's so so good.

We talk about how to picture yourself in a living room with the people on your email and what that can do for your copy. It's brilliant.

Kira has worked with some amazing marketers like Jasmine Star, Rick Mulready, James Wedmore, and helped them write copy for hugely successful launches. She is a master at being strategically weird and helps you define your personality within your brand so you can effectively communicate that on your website, your email copy, your sales pages, eCommerce site, etc. So if you are any type of business owner and you write any of your copy, this episode is for you.

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/kirahug/

Time management strategies that WORK can be game-changers in your business (and in your personal life, too!).

One of the most common questions I receive is, How do you have time to do everything that you do?

Life is busy. We have kids, appointments, sleep, eating, cleaning...you know, juggling all the day-to-day stuff. Very quickly work can pile up and deadlines creep up on you.

For years, I used to feel like I was always behind, treading water, before I figured out how to work smarter and not harder.

In this episode, you're getting my tried and true strategies for being more efficient and better managing time. But remember, we're all different! Try these out and tweak them for your personality and schedule. Then, enjoy all the productivity and extra time you free up in the process.

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/timemanagement/

Effective Instagram strategies are hard to come by. It seems like the app is always changing! Right?

Instagram polls and questions boxes...

Effective niche hashtags...

Quality vs quantity when it comes to followers...

And the often-dreaded direct to camera Instagram stories...

These are the wildly popular topics when it comes to using Instagram as a powerhouse marketing and engagement tool in your business.

One incredible woman who I consider to be extraordinarily proficient in all things Instagram is my good friend Jamie Dana.

Jamie and I went to high school together and she used to be my amazing hair stylist until she left the salon to pursue her passion of being an educator. Through her courses, membership site, and YouTube channel, she educates other hairstylists on how to use and grow their businesses using Instagram.

And even though her niche is hairstylists, these techniques and methods can be applied to any business or brand. I had some amazing aha moments during our conversation and I know you're going to love her!

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/jamiedana/

What do you do when your client wants a refund?

It's an uncomfortable situation to be in, no doubt.

In my 8 years in business, I've made plenty of mistakes when I had to eat costs. But there have also been times when my clients have requested refunds and I know I was not at fault.

Whether you're a service-based business or product-based, I'm giving you my best tips for handling these tricky situations with grace and professionalism. And because I believe in the value of prevention, I'll let you in on what I did to avoid (or at least, greatly reduce) these scenarios from coming up again.

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/clientrefund/

A few years into my custom stationery business, I spent a LOT of time and money creating semi-custom invitation suites. And by the title of this episode, you know how many I sold. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nil. None... Seriously.

Have you ever launched a product, course, or some kind of service and made ZERO sales?

I know. It stings! And this happened even with a sizable Instagram following.

So how do we change that and hopefully prevent it from happening in the future?

Tune in and learn from my mistakes so you can rock your next launch!

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/isoldzero/

How do you navigate trends as a stationery designer? They seem to always be changing!

Well, I'm stoked to introduce you to two of my friends in this episode—Rachelle Schwartz and Emily Owen. They are the co-owners of Wiley Valentine, a luxury custom stationery design agency where for the last 14+ years, they work with celebrity clients and top notch event planners.

I met Emily and Rachelle when I shared an office with them (and also with Czar Press, run by Rachelle's husband, Michael) a few years ago, hence the super casual conversation. Not only did I learn so much from them about the stationery industry, they're just wonderful human beings full of insights.

Emily and Rachelle have an intriguing and inspirational story of how they hustled as total newbies in the industry to get to where they are now. And having been in business for 16 years, they also have some experience weathering tough times—I'm talking the 2008 recession and the current pandemic.

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/wileyvalentine/

Handling high maintenance clients is part of the the not-so-fun side of business. Let's admit it.

I'm talking about those people that cross boundaries, are impossible to please, email you at 3am or call you nonstop outside business hours.

Can you relate? While these scenarios tend to be rare, they do happen—whether you're a stationery designer, graphic designer, custom crafter, hair stylist, or photographer. High maintenance clients are unavoidable!

In this episode, I'm sharing my 5 tips you can take to prevent unpleasant scenarios from escalating (and manage them professionally if they do come up), and protect yourself...all with the end goal of giving the best experience possible.

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/highmaintenanceclients/

A well thought-out, beautiful website design is hugely important for introducing your brand to your customers.

Jen Olmstead and Jeff Shipley from Tonic Site Shop came into my life in 2019. Jen designed the stunning, colorful, bursting-with-personality ShowIt/Wordpress website you see today and I couldn't be more thrilled with it.

Throughout the process of working with Jen and Jeff, I learned that there's so much more to website planning than color schemes and pretty fonts—you've got to have a clear brand story.

Because Jen is SO knowledgeable about intentional website design and killer About pages, I knew I had to bring her on the show and share her wisdom with all of you. (Plus, witty banter is her love language and so it's always a blast talking to her.)

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/jenolmstead/

Have you ever felt a lack of inspiration and motivation and just utterly burnt out?

I have. More than once, too. And these feelings are especially common in the creative community with all the noise and competition.

Burnout can affect more than just your work—it can impact your relationships, sleep, mood, and health. (I speak from experience.)

In this episode, I give you my best 5 tips for getting more clarity, direction, motivation, creative inspiration, and excitement back to your work.

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/avoidingburnout/

Customer loyalty is the lifeline of every business. Whether you have return customers or not, building up a loyal customer base that spreads the word to their friends about you is key to growth.

On this episode, Casey Graham—Co-Founder and CEO of Gravy—shares some amazing tips on this topic of customer loyalty and how to serve your audience, especially in times of crisis, whether it be a global pandemic or economic recession.

Casey's company, Gravy, is the leading failed payment recovery and customer retention solution for companies with recurring revenue. Prior to launching Gravy, Casey is known for founding The Rocket Company, an organization that helped church leaders scale their financial leadership and fundraising. The company grew quickly from 2008 - 2015 and was on the Inc 5000 list three years in a row. In late 2015, a capital venture group approached Casey to acquire The Rocket Company, and in February 2016 the company sold.

His passion for entrepreneurship and bold vision for leadership are the driving force behind his energetic and engaging presence, both on and off the stage. And this episode is no exception. I can't wait for you to listen!!

Episode show notes: https://jennarainey.com/caseygraham/