
Elite Marketing Tips Podcast
By Michael Fritzius
Marketers: get ready to learn some cool stuff 💥
Elite Marketing Tips is brought to you by The Arch DevOps Podcast Collective. Follow us on LinkedIn for more.

Elite Marketing Tips PodcastDec 01, 2020

Kathryn Bennett - Paid to Audit a Marketing Degree
Kathryn's got quite the interesting story in this episode, about how she got into marketing. In her words, she 'stole her way in' by basically getting paid to do the work that would result in her learning just as much about marketing, as she would have had she gotten a Marketing degree. We talked about the disciplines between marketing and proposal writing, which is what she does today at Loopio as Director of Proposals. Turns out there are 3 ways to win a proposal: comply, price and satisfy. We discussed new trends that she sees with marketing, especially how government sectors make buying decisions. What is it she wishes she'd learned 5 years ago? She's got some really helpful things to share. Listen in for the Elite Marketing Tip at the end. And after listening, find her under the username 'kathrynbennettwrites' on LinkedIn if you'd like to set up an appointment. Or find her at @kaybeelifts on Instagram to follow her powerlifting career. Let's get started.

Brian Ondrako - How What You Say Makes People Feel
So, funny story: I actually interviewed this guest's sister-in-law more than a year ago and didn't realize it. The last name gave it away. Brian Ondrako is a marketing aficianado, writer, coach and podcast host. We dig into what it is that makes us make decisions, and how marketing really hasn't changed a whole lot in recent years. Yes there's new technology there, but the human aspect is still driven by the same stuff that's been driving us since time began. We also talk about how what we say makes people feel, and the effects of communication as it pertains to marketing. Find Brian online at brianondrako.com, and @brianondrako on social media.

Terry McDougall - Why Marketing Is So Stressful
Terry's company helps people gracefully balance success with happiness. An executive and leadership coach, she sees quite a few people in those positions suffer form stress and burnout. She works with a ton of marketers, and helps them understand why their job is so stressful, and how best to use that stress as a positive instead of a negative. After listening, find her on LinkedIn under the name 'terrybmcdougall' and connect with her. Also head over to her website at terrybmcdougall.com or marketingmambo.net to hear her podcast.

Christina Noel - Turned Into A Marketing Nerd Accidentally
Christina Marie Noel and I met up awhile back on an episode on another show, and since then we've gotten into a LOT of different areas surrounding marketing. Today's episode, she shares how she became a marketing nerd by accident, and talks about her story. Listen in for some great insights about product and market fit, and how she determines that. After listening head over to noelandco.io or christinamarienoel.com to find out more.

Mickie Kennedy - How to Be Newsworthy
The press release. A medium that's been around forever. In an age where social media and instant gratification is the norm is there even a place for these anymore? Heck yes! Man, I learned a ton from today's guest about this way of reaching people, and you better believe that tapping into the massive news infrastructure with good PR will boost peoples' perception of your company. Mickie Kennedy shares his story about how he got started in the space, and how in the past 20+ years he's built a well-established company that helps small to mid size companies get more awareness about what they're doing. If you're interested in seeing how public relations can be used for your company, get with Mickie. Head over to ereleases.com to find out more, or take a free one-hour training at ereleases.com/plan to see how you can start getting your news press release worthy.

Mark Morris - What is 'Character Branding'? This.
Mark Morris is one solid dude. We've known each other for a little over a year and keep crossing paths, catching up and following each others' businesses. He's an established author but helps people figure out how to author their OWN books, along with launching blogs, coaching, character branding, storytelling, and everything else that goes into creating your unique branding DNA. Find him anywhere online by searching for 'Mark R. Morris Jr', and set up a free 30-minute consultation with him. Enjoy the listen.

Dr. Denise Dennis - Sell the Sizzle AND the Steak
On this episode I get the chance to chat with Dr. Denise Dennis, whose mission is to help people automate a lot of their business and marketing process. Since we're both huge automation nerds, we end up having a lot to talk about! Her career dropped her into marketing after getting a degree in Organizational Psychology, and having the ability to get into peoples' heads to help lead them to success just naturally went this direction. She's always done leadership coaching and has helped lots of people get a handle on scaling their business. We talk about the massive shifts to online meeting, how the pandemic's affected marketing on the whole, what alliances have been strengthened, and even a really awesome insight at the end that should bring you some perspective. You might have deviated from your marketing roots, so listen in to see if you're still on track. Find Dr. Denise anywhere online under the handle @drdenisedennis and find out what you can automate in your business by going to automate25things.com and download her free PDF. Let's jump in now.

Sidd Masand - Monetizing a Youtube Channel for Fun and Profit
Previous guest, fellow podcast host and marketing expert Sidd Masand joined me to talk about how he's applied marketing to his YouTube channel called Rock n Roll True Stories. Last time on By Podcasters, For Podcasters, we alked about the mechanics of how he built his channel but this time we talk about the marketing behind the message. He had worked for seven years as a project manager but realized he was kinda marketing by way of his normal everyday work. Channeling those skills into building Youtube channels gave him a huge edge over other content creators. Looking back on his history, he shares what tactics he's picked up about marketing on YouTube, and how the platform itself has modified itself to look omre like the other social media platforms. Sidd knows his stuff about monetizing a Youtube channel, and has tips about how to market and monetize your channel. Find Sidd at Rock and Roll True Stories on Youtube, and if you've got questions, reach out. He's one of the good guys and he'll respond. Let's jump into the show now.

Caelan Huntress - Micro Actions, Macro Results
Caelan Huntress helps entrepreneurs to get their message out into the world. For people with a broken marketing message, he helps translate chaos into consistency. Got his background in designing Wordpress websites, but now he focuses on the strategy of helping people know exactly what actions they need to take to have a succesful business. He shares with me what he's learned over the years, and how we've moved away from volume of content, but now we're focused on the changes that solid SEO brings. We've moved away from who's the most popular, and now we search for who we trust the most. Now is definitely the time where micro actions can have macro results. Find out more about Caelan and get a handle on your marketing by going to marketingautomationplanner.com. Let's jump in now.

Paul Gassett - Go Against the Flow
The first time I got introduced to today's guest I was like: I love this company's name. Yank and Limey, based right here in St. Louis is a full service marketing and ad agency. But they take their work a step further than other agencies. Paul Gassett told me a couple stories of how when they were asked for a design for a new sign, they realized the client needed to do some deep work on the image they had inside their store, before they even thought about getting an awesome sign to draw more people in. He's learned over the years the importance of being brave enough to do what no one else is doing, and shares that wisdom earned from decades of experience in the marketing space. He's one of the few people who are still doing what he majored in in college, so expect some deep learning about marketing, and a really powerful way to stay relevant even during chaotic times. The company motto is: our business is helping you get the most with yours. And you can believe they have the skill to do that. Check out yankandlimey.com to learn more about the company, or you can even call up The Yank at 314-378-5863. Let's jump in now.

Keith Monaghan - On Finding Your Tribe During the Crucible Times
Keith Monaghan is a solopreneur that helps clients with marketing and research. From marketing campaigns, market research, customer psychology and anything else in the spectrum. Moving to the Bay Area from Los Angeles in the late 90s during the dotcom boom, websites were a big thing. So he jumped in and got his first job in tech. With his background as a great communicator he became the go-to liaison to engineers and management, and became a great person to grow into email marketing. That blend has carried him through to today. The wild journey in between is where character is developed and you find your true calling. Keith's found his. Marketing's changed a ton since he started, from a time when most people didn't have internet or smartphones, til now when we're steeped in tech everywhere we go. We talk about how the internet helps bring like-minded people together, and how it's gotten a lot easier to 'find your tribe' using tech that's ubiquitous today. Find out what Keith's hard-earned lesson is at the end of this episode. After listening, find Keith at readeasyemail.com to find out more about him, marketing, or his book. Enjoy the listen.

Jennie Wright - Hurry Up! But Be Authentic
Jennie Wright and her partner founded their marketing company in 2012, and with her background in retail she had some things happen that made her realize she had a knack for marketing. The catalyst was a hard conversation that her boss had with her about her performance. But then he decided to take her under his wing and shadow her on her sales and marketing tactics. And she's learned a ton. Fast forward to now, and she's a staunch advocate for building relationships while being mindful that these days, peoples' attention spans are incredibly short. But these aren't opposing goals, you can actually pursue both of these by having a short term and a long term game in mind. There's a lot to unpack in here, and a really cool marketing tip at the end. After listening find her on jenniewright.com, and take her regular challenge at jenniewright.com/challenge. Also listen to the podcast she co-hosts called 'System to THRIVE. We're starting off talking a little about parenting and then we'll get to the marketing stuff. Let's get going.

Monique Idemudia - The Future of Social Media
Florida local and fellow podcast host Monique Idemudia and I got the chance to talk about her company, Dragon Digital Marketing. Turns out she always wanted to be a marketer when she grew up, and about a year ago she got the chance to take her corporate marketing knowledge and create her own thing. In today's talk, we discuss what the nature of social media is, what works, a bit about authenticity (and how sometimes it might be faked), and what some of the newer trends are as indicated by the new platform Clubhouse. What's the future hold? And what cool tip does she have to share with us today? Just keep listening. And afterwards, head over to her site, dragon-digital-marketing.com for free resources for people wanting to get a handle on their marketing. I'm headed there myself. But for now: this podcast.

Tracy Lamourie - Life's a Pitch
Hold onto your hats, we're gonna learn about PR today. Talking with Tracy Lamourie today about the importance of getting your message out to the right people, at the right time. And it's funny, because a lot of solopreneurs think that they don't have a story anyone wants to hear, but guess what: they're wrong! She shared a story about a young lady who ended up getting quoted in a big publication and it resulted in her business taking off. Tracy's key phrase near the beginning of the show was 'LIfe's a Pitch'. 'With a 'P'' she says, in case you're hearing me wrong. But it really is. The more you get yourself out there, and be yourself, the more likely you'll find the people that vibe with you. This is a fast paced conversation, so after listening, if you're ready to see what this crazy red haired girl can do for you, head over to lamouriemedia.com or find her on instagram @tracylamourieprmedia. Conversation's happening... right now!

Swire Ho - Stuff We All Get
Got the chance to talk to Swire Ho today and find out what he's got going on with his company, Garuda Promo. We often think that promotional products are just cheap throwaway items that you get at conferences that last a few days before they're used up. And I mean, there are plenty of products like that out there. But Swire's mission is different: incredibly high quality products for the purpose of helping build deep relationships with people. Each item that you gift a previous, current or future client is something that they should really enjoy, and have a constant reminder of the kind of relationship that's being forged between them and you personally. Listen in for tips about what he's learned about marketing, and how it's not random chance that makes you go 'viral' with promotional marketing. Find Swire at garudapromo.com, or under the hashtag #thepromoguy. Swire and I are already chatting so come on in and join us.

Bharat Kanodia - A Half-Million Dollar Lesson in Marketing
Wow, right off the bat I realized today's guest shoots from the hip and distinguishes himself in a sector that's usually full of posers. Bharat Kanodia is the owner of Veristrat and founder of the What's It Worth YouTube channel. He shared with me how he wasted half a million dollars on ineffective marketing. He decided one day: enough of this crap, I'm doing it different. The result? Posting on YouTube. Instead of creating a bunch of watered down content, he focused on creating high quality videos that speak to particular problems his current and future clients were having, in a way that they understand. Instead of throwing out a bunch of buzzwords to look like he knows what he's talking about, he actually demonstrates it by meeting people at their level. Bharat's company helps other companies figure out their valuation so they know where to make adjustments, but if you check out his YouTube channel you might learn a thing or twelve about marketing. Head over to the YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/whatsitworth/ to learn more. In the meantime, keep listening to hear about his half-million dollar lesson, and the Elite Marketing Tip he has at the end.

Matt Sodnicar - Staying Small but Staying Warm
Fellow entrepreneur and podcast host Matt Sodnicar's company started as a hobby. Warm Front makes a variety of chest warming apparel for skiiers and cyclers to keep them just warm enough to enjoy the sport. And as a resident of Colorado, he knows the importance of this. Starting his career off as a software engineer, he realized he really wanted to be in front of people in a sales and marketing capacity. Learning how to craft messages and marketing a product later became a matter of necessity. Today's chat, we talked about how you can make use of being small by having your messaging tuned to the idea of handmade, bespoke solutions, whether you're producing a product or providing a service. And he has a really awesome marketing tip for you at the end. If you're feeling the nip of weather setting in and you're getting chilly, find Matt at thewarmfront.com, email him at matt@thewarmfront.com or find him on LinkedIn. It's kinda cold out in the truck today so lemme warm up my fingers here and we can get started.

Jenn Donovan - Make Marketing Great Again
Let's face it: there's a lot of boring marketing out there. Sometimes it's just a bunch of buzzword soup. But marketing can actually be fun! And enjoyable! And today's guest helps you figure out how to tap your potential and do just that. Jenn Donovan started off her career in law, but one night over way too much wine, she and a friend decided to start a retail business. A short time later, it was successful enough that it sold. The rest, as they say, is history. She realized she could impact a lot of people by teaching them how to market their own businesses to become a lot more profitable. She's not only doing that, but also manages a Facebook group boasting over 300,000 members. Every day she's getting a chance to apply her skills to impact peoples' lives at scale. You can too. Find her on LinkedIn or on Instagram under the name @smallbusinessmadesimple. Let's hop into the talk now.

Dustin Miller - PolyInnovator - How to Be Omnipresent on Social Media
Today's guest is Dustin Miller, Polyinnovator, and this is one high energy guy. His excitement is contagious. A big part of what he does with marketing is being everywehre all at the same time on social media. His approach is to systematize everything as much as possible, and to date he's developed a strategy to bang out 107 pieces of repurposed content. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Videos, PDFs and all kinds of other media. I'm amazed this guy doesn't have a head full of gray hair by now! Dustin's a big mover, fellowe podcast host and tool nerd, and we're already planning to have another episode to pick up where we left off. If you want to talk with Dustin about how to manage your content and find more about how he's doing it, find him literally anywhere online under the handle @polyinnovator, or his website, polyinnovator.space. We ran a little late today so let's jump into the action.

Bob Musial - On Fostering Credibility, Trust and Value
Ever work with someone who's just kinda... I don't know. They talk a lot, they don't listen, they're always self-focused and overbearing? Annoying. Yeah that's the word. And in a corporate environment, these kind of people can lead to the culture of an entire company going that direction too. Unless you've got a guy like today's guest helping out. Bob Musial is the founder of Street Smart Biz Dev, and on this episode of Elite Marketing Tips we talk about his journey in marketing and how things have changed over the years. Social media of course has had a huge impact in how we communicate, but more than that, it's basically changed our brain structure. Now that we live in a world of people with the scientifically proven attention spans of less than a goldfish, we have a choice: be reactive, or be proactive. When it comes to building credibility, trust and value, there are some tactics that help you stand out when everybody else is running around trying to stay relevant. Bob's a solid guy, and if you want to reach out to him after the episode, find him on LinkedIn. Open networker, easy to contact. Keep listening and let's learn together.

Kathleen Celmins - Throw the Metrics Out the Window!
Kathleen Celmins literally started her company AmplifiedNOW in August 2020. In that short time, she's learned a ton about herself and the market at large. The main thing: video is incredibly important for small and large business owners. But once you go that direction, there's an easy trap to fall into. Most marketing agencies look at a bunch of metrics that show whether you're going 'viral'. But her approach? Don't focus on that. At all. Throw all those metrics out the window and focus on a different one: scalability. How easy can you reuse a video or repurpose content into smaller pieces to not only save time but create more sales? That's how she helps. Today's talk is packed full of tips for marketers and business owners, and if you're anything like me, you'll come away with some good ideas. If you'd like to reach out to Kathleen, find her website at amplifiednow.com, and at @kathleencelmins all over social media. Also check out her free course at amplifiednow.com/course. Let's see what she has in store for us today.

Sameer Somal - Controlling Your Image Online
The internet is a wild place. When something outside your control ruins your reputation for you personally or for your company, what will you do? WHAT. WILL. YOU. DO? Well get with today's guest, that's what. Sameer Somal is with Blue Ocean Global Tech, and a big part of what they do is digital reputation management. See with so many people focusing on making sure their website looks slick and they have a social media strategy to bang out content, they often forget to get their house in order. The perception of how trustworthy you are is the foundation of any good business. And you can't game the system. It's a long term process that leads to even longer term results, but managing your digital reputation is key. And it's something that can be fixed. If you're wondering if your digital reputation is where it should be, reach out and get in touch with Sameer. Check out his personal site at sameersomal.com, his company website at blueoceanglobaltech.com, his email at ssomal@blueoceanglobaltech.com, or even call him on the phone at 202-276-7589. Listen in for some tips about reputation and marketing in the conversation now.

Raj Goodman Anand - Influence Marketing Has Been Around Forever
Raj Goodman Anand's 3rd venture is a company called Goodman Lantern, an exclusive content marketing company focused on the B2B and B2C space. After completing an engineering degree in university, he realized he'd gotten into some cool areas combining artificial intelligence with marketing. Back then there wasn't a name for it, but today we know it as MarTech. Today he can look back and realize that things like influence marketing have been around for a long time--centuries, even. And we may be more into influence marketing than any of us think! One key takeaway from today's talk is that technology can't do everything, and we have to get involved at some point. We can't just rely on tech as a silver bullet to solve all our marketing challenges. Some. Most maybe. But not all. When you're ready to reach out to Raj, find him on LinkedIn, or the company website, goodmanlantern.com. What's Raj's Elite Marketing Tip today? Keep listening to find out

Lisa Mothersille - Are You an Influencer?
The company Innovative Minds Marketing has only been around for five years but in that short time they've figured out that taking an Agile approach to marketing makes them a distinct choice.
Lisa Mothersille has been with them for part of that journey and has learned that balancing the left-brained hard data work with the right-brained creative work is what makes marketing really work. Among her wisdom in this episode, she talks about the idea of 'planting your seeds'--which seems to fly in the face of today's instant gratification culture.
But also, we talked about the advent of Influencer Marketing. What even is an influencer? How do they affect the market? How can you form partnerships with them to help boost your brand? And hey, maybe even ask yourself if you're an influencer already? You might be.
But at the end, the Elite Marketing Tip has to do with a much deeper bit of wisdom that will help you, regardless of your background, and even if you're not in marketing at all. After listening, if you'd like to connect with Lisa, find her on LinkedIn and also check out her work on Instagram in the travel and hospitality space. Let's listen into the last episode of the season.

Dorit Sasson - Hey Authors: SEO Isn't That Scary
Today's guest, Dorit Sasson is an accomplished author who was, for lack of a better term, thrust into marketing. After writing her book she realized she needed to have a mechanism to get her book out to the right people at the right time. She then got into digital marketing and SEO, but tuned it to help authors like herself get their book out to the public quickly. The goal has been to help authors be the advocate for themselves that they need to be, in order to help readers believe in them. Otherwise... books just won't be flying off the shelves like they expect. She's collected some wisdom on her journey and we had a great time sharing what we've both learned. Dorit can be found at bookmarketingacademy.com where she helps fellow authors think about SEO for their book, and also on her personal website, doritsasson.com, along with all her social media links. Let's see where the talk goes today.

Rachel Noall - Think Global, Act Local
Did you know about 76% of people will reach for their phones when they want to look up a business? And 74% of those people visit a business' website within 24 hours of that search? Are you in that percentage? If not you might be missing out. Rachel Noall and I talk about her focus on the Google My Business service, and how it can be used to get local attention quickly. Trusting the algorithm is a great way to build rapport with people close to where you business is physically located, while giving the chance to use storytelling and genuine communication to connect with people just a short distance away. Hear her story about how she got to where she is on the journey, along with her Elite Marketing Tip at the end. If you'd like to get in touch with her, find her at www.gmbpirate.com, or on Instagram or Twitter under the handle @rrnoall. Let's join the conversation now.

Brenden Kumarasamy - Finding Your Niche by Seeing the White Space
Brenden Kumarasamy was a featured guest on another of our podcasts a few months back, and he's still killing it today. He started up Master Talk to get content out on YouTube specifically for helping people get better at public speaking. And he's learned a ton of marketing tricks along the way. One of the biggest is: don't waste time on focusing on one channel if it's not working. Branch out. Try a bunch of things. THEN see what's working and focus there. We have a high-energy conversation here where we talk about how to keep yourself relevant for the next 10 years, and a strategy for making that happen, along with how to build a following quickly. It's hard work but the tactics are a lot easier than you think! Find Brenden at the Master Talk Youtube Channel. Let's get into the conversation now and hear the Elite Marketing Tip.

Bruce Kellerman - Staying Cool in Marketing
Well it's kinda chilly this time of year, but during the summer months, not so much. Especially here in St. Louis! Got the chance to talk with Bruce Kellerman of Power Breezer about a unique product that they've put together, to help with evaporative cooling on a big scale. Installed at stadiums for the Superbowl, used by the military, and many other applications, it's helping keep folks cool in the hottest environments. We actually talked about the science and psychology behind marketing and selling, and what he wished he knew five years ago. This may be the 'coolest' episode you'll hear! If you'd like to contact Bruce, find him at bkellerman@powerbreezer.com. Let's jump into the chat now.

Alvaro Sandoval - Beep, Boop, I'm a Bot
Companies still seem to focus on generating likes on social media. But does it equate to revenue? Unless you're working with a guy like today's guest, it might not be. Alvaro Sandoval got his start in marketing awhile back, but after some key pivots he's gotten into an interesting and cutting edge area of marketing: chat bots. Writing a robust chat bot is a great way to build rapport with your target audience, and have presence with your people even when you technically can't be there. Plus, it provides a great way for people to opt in or out, while still being completely honest about being a bot. It was hard not to go down a geeky rabbit trail with this guy, but if you get to know him, you'll probably learn a thing or twelve. If you'd like to get in touch with him, find him on LinkedIn, or email him directly: alvaro@maxcapacitymarketing.com. Beep, boop, let's get in the loop.

Jon Hinderliter - Content is Dead! Long Live Data!
Content! It's all about the content! Are you writing content? Content! Today's guest Jon Hinderliter is kinda tired of hearing that, and so are a lot of other people.
Quite frankly, content isn't king anymore. So many people are chasing the new shiny object without focusing on what's really important: the data. See, the thing is, you can't really monetize metrics. You can't pay your bills with likes and shares.
But data... data is where it's at.
With enough of the right kind of it, you can do some amazing things. Instead of doing things the way they've always been done, it might be time to take a look at what's actually working, and how to measure that success.
Jon's written a book called 'The Death of Content as King' which can be found over at deathofcontent.com. Listeners can get a FREE chapter of the book at https://www.deathofcontent.com/elitemarketing. Let's get started with the episode now.

Kenny Pordon - How to Win Fans and Influence People
Talking with Kenny Pordon today, and got some really great insights about the sports industry. When he got his start in marketing for the NFL it was a temporary position, but once it was wrapped up they gave him a suggestion. 'You should sign up for this junior marketing program over here, you'd be perfect for it!' And wonder of wonders: they were right. This set him on an interesting path that he's enjoying sprinting down every day. Over the years he's learned what it means to make a fan out of someone. And he's learned the importance of building that fanbase for your whole team, not just a single player. There are some lessons here that can tie back to marketing as a whole, and even into company brand and employee loyalty. This, along with his Elite Marketing Tip have some neat applications that can help you starting today. LinkedIn is a self-proclaimed LinkedIn junkie so find him on there anytime and reach out. Let's jump in.

Kate Adams - How's Tofu and Bouillon Apply to Marketing? Like This.
Got a chance to talk with Kate Adams, Head of Marketing at Burkland Associates. Turns out they have a unique way to approach common financial operations for startups. Rather than hire a team of accountants, CFO and controllers, they offer their services fractionally so their clients can move faster and build great things. Kate's had a lot of experience marketing in the financial sector, and shared a pretty funny story about one of the toughest lessons learned, and how it applied to her future career. It turned into her Elite Marketing Tip. And actually, you get two for one in this episode, so get ready to learn some cool stuff! Find Burkland Associates at burklandassociates.com and on LinkedIn and Twitter. Or find Kate on Twitter, @kateadamsburkland. Kate and I are already chatting so come on in and join us.

Brandon Gabay - The Squishy Side of Marketing
One thing about marketing for the sports industry is you can find out really quick what works and what doesn't. It's one of the best environments to experiment and see what marketing tactics reap the greatest benefits. Brandon Gabay of The it Crowd Marketing got his start in that sector, and then left to join a top-notch fractional marketing team. What he's found over the years is that connecting on a deep emotional level is what makes the best impact, and his Elite Marketing Tip dovetails nicely with that principle. If you're looking to bring on a marketing team but can't afford hiring 23 full time employees, The it Crowd might just be for you. Check them out at itcrowdmarketing.com, and reach out to Brandon directly via email, brandon@itcrowdmarketing.com.

Jeremy Boudinet - Do Epic Sh!t
Today's guest started off his career by getting a law degree... and he hated it. Then he started up a company writing papers for students... and loved it. Fast forward a bit, and Jeremy Boudinet got his start in marketing by joining a couple friends in their startup to do content marketing and e-books. Eventually, his approach to getting awesome content up got him a job at Nextiva. He's exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up, just it took a little adjusting to get there. He's found that the key to marketing is the willingness to step out and do some weird things, deviate from the norm and think outside the box when everybody else is trying to conform and do what's worked before. And his Elite Marketing Tip goes right in line with that. If your company needs a great internal communication platform, check out nextiva.com. Or if you need to talk with an awesome marketer, find Jeremy on LinkedIn or on Twitter, @boudinetj. Let's jump into the chat.

Matt Schneiderman - How's Your Content Making People Feel, Fam?
Things are really hopping in the Bay Area these days! Matt Schneiderman and I got the chance to talk about what it was like doing content marketing for a tech startup in the area. The challenges he faced go beyond just content marketing itself, or helping tech startups. It's more social. It's long been said that people will never remember what you said, but they'll always remember how you made them feel. So can you content connect with people on an emotional level? Can it resonate with them in a way that will last for weeks, months or even years? There's a way to write like that, and he knows how to do it. Find Matt Schneiderman on LinkedIn as a content writer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now let's hop into the conversation already in progress.

Gary Phipps - Keep on Truckin'
Today's guest, Gary Phipps technically got his start in marketing back in the military as a recruiter. This was back when the Army started getting into social media and really leveraging it to reach their target audience of folks they could bring into the family. Now that he's a formal marketer in a totally different industry, his learning about the craft has increased dramatically. Working at Tri-National has taught him a lot about how to connect with certain demographics and reach out to them about an exciting career in the trucking industry. Plus, he knows his way around Google analytics, and what makes them able to know exactly what you want to buy, and when. And no you don't have to be scared to talk around your phone. SEO, social media, marketing magic, all of these are topics we cover in today's episode. Find out more about Tri-National at trinat.com, or Gary personally at gary-phipps.com, or his handle garybear86 on all kinds of social media platforms. All right, enough jibba jabba from me, let's get going.

Daniel Ybarra - It's Our Time Down Here
Turns out Daniel Ybarra and I are a couple of Goonies. 80s kids will get that reference. We reminisced about what it was like growing up, and how television was the heartbeat of homes in the US. And it's true. We both remember our families sitting around the TV in the living room watching shows and stuff. Throughout his schooling he was always into film making, production and editing. But when he started at Vizio he found that blending his passion with the mission of a company that cares about entertainment was a perfect fit. We talked about how social media has made it much easier to find a target audience since its whole job is to deliver content to the right people at the right time. And we talked about how marketers can use those platforms to simply see what works and what doesn't. Find out more about Vizio at vizio.com. Now let's see where the conversation goes.

Christopher Foust - Just Do The Thing!
Today's guest didn't start off in marketing. He originally was a music major in college! But his path took him through some challenges that he realized he was fairly close to knowing how to fix. Running around with a band got him in line with opportunities to get into marketing FOR the band. And the rest, as they say, is history. Chris Foust of Specialty Care in Nashville talks about what he's learned over the years, what's changed in marketing since he started, and about the now tremendous power that marketers have, as it relates to the external and internal facing aspects of a company. There are some cool things to learn about internal branding in this episode, along with his elite marketing tip at the end. Find Chris' company at specialtycareus.com, or find him on Twitter, @chrisjamesgtr. Let's jump into the conversation now.

Andrew Maffettone - Heinz 57 Blend of Experience
Andrew Maffettone's been marketing for, like, his whole life. As a child he would make up commercials for products around the house, and then later in college got into marketing for the music and hospitality industry. What he's noticed during the pandemic is that e-comerce has had a dramatic uptick. But what he suspects is, it'll still be flying high even after things get back to normal. His general advice for marketers is to make sure not to focus on improving metrics for the sake of improving them, but to focus on the main one: customer satisfaction. However, his specific Elite Marketing Tip has more to do with scalabilty, and making sure you're working in a way that doesn't slow you down, while still offering room for personal and professional improvement. I'm stealing his tip and adding it to my collection. I think you will too. Andrew can be found all over social media under the handle @andrewmaff, or you can find the company at bluetuskr.com. Let's hear Andrew's story now.

Jeremi Griggs - Don't Put the Cart Before the Horse
Jeremi did one of the craziest things starting up a business right in the middle of COVID. April 2020 he went live with The J Benjamin Group, a company focused on using creative thinking to solve tough challenges for other businesses. When many other advertising and marketing agencies focus on tactics, Jeremi brings strategy. His approach? Focus more on the long term. While this might seem obvious, so many people do the opposite. Social media for example--just because you're on the platform doesn't mean you're going to get conversions. Jeremi can be found on LinkedIn or on his site, thejbenjamingroup.com. His elite marketing tip today is about what to do to get your own mind out of a rut if you're having trouble coming up with a solution. Let's hear what it is now.

Mark Fletcher - Removing Fear of Experimenting
When Mark Fletcher started off in marketing, he realized it was a passion of his but didn't have much of an outlet for it. Great ideas met with zero budget kinda fall flat. But now that he's working with NewULife, he's got all kinds of support. In today's episode, we talked about what flavor of content works best for now, but also about how eliminating fear frees us up to make experimental choices in how we market. Today's elite marketing tip is along those lines. After listening, find Mark Fletcher on LinkedIn, or his company newulife.com. Let's jump right in.

Gregory Elfrink - Where's Content Fit Into Marketing?
Gregory Elfrink's job is to kill entrepreneurs. Well, not actually. More accurately it's to help prep them to sell their businesses. Or buy another one! The company he works at is Empire Flippers, and on today's episode we talk about the importance of content marketing, how it's meant to work all through the funnel, and some slight tweaks to your process can reap enormous benefits. Find out what Gregory's killer tip is in this episode--it's one that I've stolen for myself too. Let's jump into the conversation now.

Keshanna Sterling - Try Some Crazy Sometimes
Today's guest, Keshanna Sterling, got started in marketing pretty recently at around 5 years ago. But during that time, she's learned a ton. We talked about social media and the impact it has on marketing, and how strong it can be for positioning your company. She has not just one, but two killer marketing tips for people just starting out, and ones that have been in the game for awhile. So I guess you could say this episode has a two-for-one deal. If you'd like to reach out to Keshanna, find her on LinkedIn, or email her at ksterling@mdlgroup.com. Let's get started.

Scot Safon - Market Mastery and Wielding Data
From an early age, today's guest realized he had a desire to do marketing. But not just a particular kind. It was more about mastering the craft of marketing. Different companies, different media and wildly different products, Scot Safon has learned marketing at a high level in a way that helps him help ANY company. We talk about how technology has changed the overall look and feel of marketing, and how the ever-elusive Word of Mouth is more attainable now than ever... as long as you can wield today's data properly. What's the Elite Marketing Tip that Scot has for you today? Find out in this episode. Here we go.