Marketing Moxie: Online Marketing I Branding I Promotion I Copywriting I Conversions I Traffic

  Blogging is one of those business things we do over and over...and over, which means it turns into a chore. But don't worry, today's guest Rita Barry has us covered. As a pro blogger, Rita has some amazing advice on how to build a blog with real traffic, create systems and much more. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode70. Items Discussed in this Episode: How Rita went from a hobby blogger, to a professional blogger to teaching blogging Rita explains how the healthy living blogging community inspired her to start blogging and getting to know that community We can try to force a result or an outcome in our business, but sometimes things are going to happen as they should The top things people don’t realize about building a blog Rita explains how the amount of work that goes towards a blog can deter people, but can be totally worth it to grow your business with the right help and plan Networking and building relationships is key to dev

Tough love and straight talk for those of you (um, me included) that rely heavily on Facebook for our business, because if it all goes away overnight we're going to have some big ol' problems. In this bite-sized episode I break down how to diversify and why building on "rented land" is a problem for the long-term. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode69. Items Discussed in this Episode: How finding what I thought was my perfect vacation home relates to running your business on Facebook Most of us who have online businesses are very Facebook dependent I’m challenging you to get all of your eggs out of the Facebook basket and diversify, and I’ve got some tips for how we can do so Use your Facebook ads on Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc. Another platform may surprise you with its results for your business If you’re connected on Facebook, connect on other platforms also with the same people It’s not a matter of if Facebook will go away, it’s a matter o

If you've ever thought "I need to get organized" - today's episode is for you.  My friend and systems powerhouse Alaia Williams joins us to talk systems, organizations and tools. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode68. Items Discussed in this Episode: Tackling a large project all at once can cause you to crash and burn, start small! Alaia shares her favorite systems for getting started on organization There’s a misconception that systems in your business will restrict you, when really it helps free you up When picking a system, it’s really important that it integrates with what you already use Contact management systems are key, Alaia shares her favorite and some runner ups based on where you’re at with your business Finding a financial system of some sort that works for you is essential, Alaia shares some of her favorites that helps eliminate time wasting Project management systems work very differently for each business, you have to

Do you feel like marketing sucks up all your time but your business is kind of flatlining? May be a case of too much push and not enough pull in your marketing. Maybe it’s time for you to push outside the safe zone so you can share your story and message with a wider audience. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode67. Items Discussed in this Episode: Marketing can be such busy work where we spend all our time working on our business and not in our business To get the highest possible value out of your marketing, you can’t just push your content into the world and expect something to happen How do you actually grow a platform? You have to start pulling! I share some examples of how to pull people to your site by stepping off your own platform If stepping outside your comfort zone seems scary, start small and work on one thing at a time Links for this Episode: My Guest Posting Platinum Package Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

The idea of being a best kept secret sounds like a good idea because it's exclusive. But as an online business owner, it's a terrible idea that's seriously bad for your biz! For you to show up fully and make an impact people need to know about you. Today's episode breaks down how to overcome this at a high level with some tangible ideas on how to put yourself out there more. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode66. Items Discussed in this Episode: The real challenge is not our competition or the market, it’s obscurity. If no one knows who you are, that will kill your business. It can be really challenging to show up in the middle of a party and introduce yourself, but the online world is easier to navigate and I’ll tell you how. Why showing up to give your service with receiving nothing in return is so important. How I figured out I couldn’t just rely on referrals for my business and what I did about it. People want to tell others about

We talk so much about our brand and think immediately of design, but what about the rest of the puzzle? Do you live your brand and truly embody it? Food for thought in this Feisty Friday show. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode65. Items Discussed in this Episode: I share some of my ‘hair-raising’ stories, and how it relates to your branding How many seconds does it actually take to make a connection with your audience? If you don’t walk your walk and talk your talk, you are doing your brand a disservice It’s so easy to just become a commodity, I share how to avoid this Nobody’s perfect, I make mistakes, but awareness is super important I issue a challenge for your branding (don’t worry, I’ll be taking on this challenge with you!) Links for this Episode: Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

Have you ever wondered why one person is so fascinating and another is completely forgettable? Could be the same message or story, but the person sharing it makes all the difference? Welcome to the science of fascination, and the Fascination Advantage System created by Sally Hogshead.  In this episode I talk about the power of this system, how to use this information for your business and a few of the things it taught me about myself. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode64. Items Discussed in this Episode: The difference between the Fascination Advantage test and all the other tests out there. The concept and science behind the Fascination Advantage System and how it helps you stand out in your marketing and business. Way to ‘make a story sticky’ so you don’t get ignored or quickly forgotten. A breakdown of how the system works and using your primary/secondary advantage. My primary advantage and my secondary advantage and how I apply them to my bu

Business is so much easier when you approach a lot of what you’re doing as a test. The more you test, the more you correct and you’re on the road to success that much faster. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode63. Items Discussed in this Episode: It’s so easy to stay paralyzed by fear of failure in your business and not do anything to grow Taking the action to fail actually can lead to success By failing spectacularly at launching my first group program, I learned how great I am at one on one coaching and why it works best for my business Everything we do in our business is like running a lab-it’s all about testing and failing and testing and succeeding What may work for one person may not work for another in the exact same business Why trying and failing in your business is like poker Links for this Episode: Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

When it comes to speaking, and pretty much anything else, it’s all too easy to be forgettable. Dr. Michelle Mazur joins us today to talk about how to create a story around you and your business that’s uniquely you and positions you into a category of one. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode62. Items Discussed in this Episode: Is just telling your story enough? Michelle explains why it’s not even close to enough. Making your story ‘audience centered’ is key to speaking. Michelle explains how you can use your story to create a connection with the audience, and then move on to how it can help them. How to find your ‘small moment’ stories and then how to think about relate that to your audience. Storytelling is almost like a fable, it should have a ‘moral’ or a key point to takeaway. Michelle explains how to position yourself in a category of one, and why it’s so important. What is a ‘me too’ speaker, and how can you avoid becoming one? I

Some truth telling and a true story about my first online course back in the day in today’s episode. Dishing up feisty thoughts on what “they” don’t tell you about running your online business amid the big promises and formulas. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode61. Items Discussed in this Episode: When I entered the online world, I actually thought it would be easy to make money online - which we all know isn’t exactly true. The people who make millions online are the extreme exception, not the rule! When you only have influencers or early adopters, it’s very hard to scale your business; 1:1 work is really the fastest way to a profit. The very first something is launched in the software market, it isn’t an immediate success-you need to go through the cycle. Don’t be afraid to buck the trend and use what works for you! Links for this Episode: Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

Too often when it comes to preparing copy for our site customer proof is an afterthought. It’s not just about having some testimonials and calling it good, but crafting customer proof that sells for you. Well done customer proof can help do the heavy lifting as people decide whether or not to buy from you. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode60. Items Discussed in this Episode: How do customer proof and copywriting go together? Think of customer proof as storytelling, not just having a bunch of quotes on your site The problem with negative social proof is and how to avoid it How to strategically place the different kinds of customer proof on your site: small quotes, case studies, client interviews, etc. Don’t shy away from sharing your customer stories on social media, publicly showing your connection to your clients is a good idea How to actually go about collecting customer proof and how to do it in a timely fashion Some pointers on

Feisty Friday and today I’m sharing what I consider a cardinal sin of asking questions in a group setting. Asking basics that you could easily Google doesn’t cast you in the best light, so ask Google first, then your community, next. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode59. Items Discussed in this Episode: Going to a community to ask a google-answerable question time after time is a waste of time (and makes you look bad). To be a good citizen of an online community, you need to make sure your question is helpful to others, not just all about you. If you use Google to teach yourself how to do something and don’t just have surface knowledge, you can just use that for your clients in the future. “Google first, community second!” Links for this Episode: Link to Free Marketing Moxie Facebook Group

About pages are one of the most important pages on our websites, but too often they entirely miss the point. This episode breaks down about page must-haves, how to hook your visitors and invite them into your business and outlines everything you need to avoid. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode58. Items Discussed in this Episode: We all have an about page, and it is a really critical page! Besides the home page, it’s probably the most popular one on your site, so you don’t want to botch it. Leading by talking about you on your about page is doing a major disservice to your readers, and may turn them off. It’s not all about you, it’s all about ‘them’, meaning your audience and their needs. The number one thing to have in your about page to ensure you connect with your reader. Take some time to think about the kind of people you want to be attracting (and who you don’t want to work with). Bragging is actually necessary on your about pa

It’s the first episode of what I’m calling Feisty Friday where I tackle a trend, issue or question and break it down into practical, actionable steps.  This first one is addressing the focus of personal brands meaning let me talk about ME all the time, make marketing all about ME, and holy crackers, I really don’t give a flying anything about what you’re saying. You sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher and you’re missing the point. To make marketing meaningful, you need to make it about your community and your customers. Show notes with key points and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode57. Items Discussed in this Episode: The focus of marketing has seemed to switch to being all about ‘me’ What this comes down to is a case of bad storytelling The main question that should be answered in your story should be ‘what’s in it for me?’ There is a simple fix, and I’ll explain it here There are many ways to make small changes in your story to help your marketing Links for this Episode:

The term conversions is thrown around all the time with copy, but what does that mean and how can you create copy that actually converts? My friend Jen Havice joins us today to shed some light on conversion copywriting and all the need to knows. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode56. Items Discussed in this Episode: According to Jen, what is the number one conversion killer? When someone lands on your page, you’ve only got a couple of seconds to grab their interest, so pay attention to how you’re grabbing it Jen explains what ‘value conversion’ is, and why it’s not as scary as you think Making sure your message doesn’t get lost in your design can be tricky, but it’s necessary to make sure each page of your site has a goal The more decisions you’re asking the client to make, the faster they will leave your site What are some conversion basics you need to know, even if you have a small site Jen’s absolute best trick for creating copy th

The copywriting series continues and I’ve invited Yasmine Khater to talk about attracting clients and figuring out your services on today’s show. While it may not be copy, this is one of the things that I find easily trips people up when it’s time to get your website ready. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode55. Items Discussed in this Episode: How do we go about finding the right clients for you? There is no magic formula, but there’s ways to save time doing it. Yasmine explains how to go from having a client who is interested to a converted sale. Focus on understanding what your client really wants and who they are is key to turning an interested client into a sale. Dig deeper into yourself and what you like to do, along with what you are good at as you figure out your services. Yasmine points out the things we need to keep in the back of our minds when we’re communicating with our clients as far as sales psychology goes. Why being

Good old business-to-business  copy can be so boring as we travel through the world of features and industry jargon. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Jessica Mehring of Horizon Peak Consulting is one of the absolute best B2B copywriters I know, and she’s sharing how to make B2B copy more exciting and engaging in this interview. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode54. Items Discussed in this Episode: Jessica explains why B2B copy can be so boring and how to not fall into that trap The biggest mistake to avoid making in B2B copy What kind of things can we learn from B2B copy? Jessica’s favorite ways to figure out what the value is for customers in your business What is ‘iteration’ and why is it important for your copy? What content marketing really is and how it works Jessica gives us the list of books she’s reading now and why How you can bring the elements of fiction writing into your copy Top 3 Takeaways for this Episode: Before

If you’re launching anything in 2015, you’ll want to listen to this episode where our guest Courtney Johnston walks us through the must-have elements of our launch copy - most of which is so easy to overlook, including all those must-send emails. Show notes with key points, takeaways and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode53. Items Discussed in this Episode: Courtney explains what we should do to plan in advance for our launch copy and not do it all at the last minute The three pieces of launch copy you must nail no matter how complicated or simple your launch Why your ‘cart closing’ email may be the most important one you write Courtney’s best tips for getting your message clear before your launch It’s okay to name a specific goal or result your client will achieve by using your program The most effective and important types of emails you should have covered off during your launch [Tweet "Launching? @courtRJ has your copy covered in this episode"] Top 3 Takeaways for this E

You’re sitting down to write...and you’re having a hard time figuring out what to say, or even why you’re saying it. Which is where our guest Nikki Groom comes in. Today we’re talking about helping figure out your why so your copy actually works and how you don’t need to find your voice, you just need to use the one you already have to be effective. Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode52. Items Discussed in this Episode: Nikki discusses how she helps people create the ‘why’ in what they do You can’t know your ‘why’ if you don’t know your ‘who’ The ‘why’ doesn’t have to solve a life changing event, it can be something small that makes a difference in someone’s day Nikki explains how we can use our voice to infuse into our copy, but not overdo it Nikki shares some of her best editing tips Nikki and I discuss how to use storytelling in the right way and not let it go off the rails. How to not get stuck in your own head when it comes time

This week we’re kicking off a new series all focused on copywriting on the show. Because, let’s face it, writing copy is unavoidable in your business! I’ve got an all-star line up of copy pros to share the inside scoop on everything from B2B to launch copy and more. Today we’re kicking off by talking about content strategy - the #1 thing you need before you write a single word! Show notes with key points, takeaways, and links for this episode available at www.maggiepatterson.com/episode51. Items Discussed in this Episode: Whether you hire a copywriter or not, whether you’re a good writer or not, every one of us has to deal with writing in our business I break down what content strategy is, and what it’s not The questions you should ask yourself to drive your content strategy to be useful to your audienceThe warning signs that say you need a content strategy No matter what, your content has to serve a purposeThe 5 essential elements of a content strategy The 5 Essential Elements of A Content Strategy: You n