Branding. Marketing. What is the difference? Is there a difference? Everyone has an opinion. Including industry professionals - there isn't a standard definition of either branding or marketing. 

There are so many different ideas, opinions, and nuances to these two words. Clients wanting a logo believe they need branding. Is it? Or is it marketing? Or maybe they want a blog written. Is that branding or marketing?

How do you respond when clients ask for services you don’t offer – but they think you do or should?

It is easy to let this question get under your skin or at the very least, start that little voice of self-doubt in your head chattering. Whether you start wondering if you SHOULD be offering the service or if you get anxious wondering how best to respond, a clear and concise understanding of WHY you are offering the services you do will lead you to the best response to these requests.

Do you aspire to be a thought leader in your industry? My guest Carol Cox helps women create a signature talk to put them on the path to thought leadership.

Being a thought leader is about inspiring your audience to dream with you - helping them see your vision of the world and benefit from this newly imagined version of reality. Carol and her team at Speaking Your Brand help women turn their personal stories into inspirational talks.

Show notes 

A recent episode of Gary Vee's brought me to the idea of connecting self-awareness to purpose. His core message was that success comes from being self-aware. And I believe success comes from an understanding of our purpose.  As I listened more closely to this short episode, I realized the definition of being self-aware and purpose are intertwined. 

Also in this episode, I celebrate the 100th episode of The Pursuit of Purpose and share what I've been listening to lately. 

Is your fear preventing business success? Does your business have a clearly defined niche? And, if not, are you hesitant to declare one?

If you are in this camp, I’m guessing your thoughts might include some or all these ideas:

• Is this niche too narrow? Will I be leaving an opportunity on the table?
• Will I be giving up potential income?
• My clients need more than what my niche can offer them. If I narrow my scope of work, they will need to look elsewhere for what they believe I should be able to do for them. And prospective clients will skip past me because I don’t do it all.
• I’ve expanded my services to better serve my client’s needs, I can’t walk away from that now. If I do that, I’m letting them down. But …. this additional service does not play to my strengths.

Fear is a weight, holding you and your business in a place of uncertainty, confusion, and frustration.

For more information, check out the show notes. 

Connect with Amy Austin on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter

As more and more businesses are moving to online courses and programs, experiential learning has become a hot topic. In this episode, I talk with Romy Alexandra about creating a learning experience to ensure our audiences learn and retain the content of our program.

Experiential learning focuses on the idea that the best way to learn things is by actually having experiences. Those experiences stick out in your mind and help you retain information and remember facts. Alexandra shares the philosophies of David Kolb, a psychologist and educational theorist known for this theory as well as his learning style inventory.

For more about Alexandra, her work, and resources from this episode, check out the show notes. 

Follow Amy Austin and Austin Marketing at: 

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Website 

Are you a purpose-led business looking to define success metrics related to your purpose? Do you work with a shared vision and intention but struggle to articulate the role purpose plays in the success and growth of your company?

Many leaders intuitively know there is a benefit to knowing and embracing your brand purpose but have yet articulated the metrics to prove its value. This episode is meant to help you define those metrics. 

Resources and connect with Amy via the show notes page

Follow Amy at Twitter @AmyMAustinMktg

LinkedIn @AmyMAustin 

Do your messages leave your audience empowered to take action? The call to action in a marketing message should give them a sense of empowerment, a feeling of confidence that the action they are about to take is the right one. 

In the final episode of the encore presentation of the Marketing to educate, engage, and empower, I talk about the value of a clear call to action and empowering your audience to take action. 

Download the complimentary worksheets on the show notes page. 

Are you engaging your audience in a conversation? Your marketing message should engage your audience in way that makes them want to know more and take the next step - working with you.

Social media has changed the definition of engagement in marketing circles. The number of likes, shares and comments is one aspect of engagement but I don't believe it is the most important aspect.

Be sure to download the complimentary worksheets to apply this strategy to your marketing tactics. 

In part two of this marketing strategy series, I talk about the importance of educating your audience. The foundation of any marketing strategy should be the who, what, where, when, why, and how of what you need your audience to know. But too often our desire to be creative gets in the way and we miss several of these key elements.

Be sure to download the complimentary worksheets to help you create marketing messages that educate, engage and empower your audience.