Cue the ticker tape parade!! Cue the day drinking!!
The 4AM Report, our podcast baby, has hit EPISODE 50! Fifty episodes in one year – Thursday after Thursday – have we mentioned how terrified we were of this kind of a commitment when we started??
“And still, they persevered!”
And while we’re huzzah’ing and back-patting ourselves silly at the moment, back up for a minute – our big day WOULD have been last week – and friends, did we have celebrations planned!
Then BOOM – suddenly the entire world erupted in protests against police brutality and the systemic racism that still permeates our communities – so we put the brakes on that shizz, and instead talked about crisis communications.
But we weren’t going to miss out on celebrating our Big 5-0!
So, we published two extra episodes – we jokingly labelled them “Episode 49.5 and episode 49 and three-quarters”! LOL
We make the rules. We break the rules. It’s as simple as that! LOL
In this week’s episode, we share our 5-step (not so secret – ‘cause we blab about it all the time!) sauce for high conversions.
While it’s for marketing, it can work for anything. Even dating and parenting!
Why Should YOU Create a Podcast?
Because our podcast is literally *the content gift* that keeps on giving – it’s pure gold that’s sliced and diced in myriad ways to flood our funnels and keep those conversions happening!
Sound appealing? Listen and learn.
🌟 Why the broadcast-only model is dead, and what that means.
🌟 How to use that content gold to help you connect with people online.
🌟 Tips and tricks to have up your sleeve to help take your digital networking from 0 to 100!
🌟 Plus, when it’s appropriate to put the brakes on and adjust your messaging (see above re: crisis comms)
🌟 And why it’s KEY to let your personality be its own marketing sparkle-bomb! Like we do! (No sh*t, eh?)
Are we feeling pretty good about ourselves? Damn straight! And that’s a mighty good feeling to have.
If reading’s more your bag, here’s a sampling of what we talk about in the episode, enjoy!
Boots on the Ground and Fingers on the Keyboard
“In the startup world, it’s what you call sweat equity, right? Like you, as the founder of something, are expected to pound the streets a certain amount in order to really show that you believe in this thing. And you’re really willing to put the effort it takes into it. So, you know, if you look at it from the communication lens, then how do you break that down? It’s really understanding that the *broadcast only* model is dead. What is that? That means one-way conversation. Going out there on LinkedIn or social or your blogging platform or whatever it is, and you’re only just ever publishing stuff. You’re just putting out stuff. And you’re thinking that people will see it, and they will come. There was a time when that worked. Maybe it was 10 years ago, because not enough people were creating the things. [Today] you really have to acknowledge that there is a community of people who are creating awesome things. And there is value to the two-way conversation. If you’re only posting and you’re not really engaging with people, that’s not going to work for you.”
Like Attracts Like
“The pivotal detail is who. Who are we talking to? And sometimes we get a little lost in these marketing details like the ideal customer, the Avatar, and all of this buzzword crap. Really, it’s about picking one person and speaking with them. It’s like I’m going to speak with Will. Will is someone who likes X, Y, and Zed he responds to a more casual tone of voice. And if you start constructing it like that, by attracting ‘Will’, a number of other people who are into that ‘Will way’ of thinking are going to come to you. So really, the narrower you get the better.”
“I always love that exercise of figuring out specifically who, and kind of fantasizing about their life, their likes, that’s always a fun job for me. Then the next thing we were going to talk about was having those key messages ready at your hand. Some of us are great off the cuff, but why not become more efficient, and prepare some varying pieces of messaging that you can copy and paste from (while not making them seem copy and pasted!). Almost like some boilerplate messaging you can use when you do reach out to someone, or you are responding to comments on your content, and you want to write back and suggest they look at something else, for example. It’s almost like an elevator pitch! Why you and your business is exciting. Showing that you’re passionate. And again, if you’re not great at off the cuff, then what we recommend to people often is that they have one document with a few different turns of phrases that you think are to the point and effective and then you’ve got those to draw them, you have no excuse not to engage!”
Research, Research, Research
“You don’t just want to start talking to someone without understanding or researching them a little bit. Like, what have they been posting about? What do they seem passionate about? Oh, they have a new job title! Doing a little background to have the conversation become an actual two-way conversation. And the best way to get someone involved in a two-way conversation is honestly to compliment them. And it sounds disingenuous if we say it like ‘that’s a formula’, but think about yourself, how often are you completely disarmed and charmed when someone tells you something awesome about yourself? And few of us are sitting there by ourselves thinking ‘I’m awesome at this!’ So, if someone compliments you, it’s like a little bit of validation. That’s a pretty powerful way to convert.”
You Be YOU, Baby!
“You need to stand out. Inject your personality, People are in front of the screen all the time right now. So, doing something that’s unusual for LinkedIn, for example, you’re going to stand out! People are doing a lot more of an Instagram vibe with their LinkedIn and that right now is standing out. That was something we were talking about last year with clients as well.
So honestly, it’s showcasing personality that helps you stand out and gets you noticed. That’s something we are living by right now if you can’t tell. And it’s more entertaining to write, think about it. The space is crowded. You need to be doing something different. And maybe to us, it’s an easy default that you bring out the personality and you’ll bring out the humor, but you’ve got to find your default in the space. There’s something you’re probably good at in terms of, I don’t know, your turn of phrase, or maybe you’re cheeky, maybe you’re tongue in cheek, maybe you’re super witty – bring a little entertainment and lightness to your engagement.”
You can catch our full conversation and the 5-steps to increased conversions on our BIRTHDAY episode (YAY US!!!) . We’re of course on Apple Podcasts – subscribe to us – you won’t regret it!
