Actionable Marketing Podcast

In a single sentence, describe your ideal customer. Where do they hang out online? What are their biggest problems? How often do you talk to them? Don’t rely on assumptions. Consciously focus on your customers by creating content that serves their needs and beats the competition. Today’s guest is Shondell Varcianna from Varci Media, a content writing company for financial institutions, about how to get to know your audience. She shares effective and easy-to-follow advice to improve audience research without extra time and resources.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Reach Real Customers: You can’t offer something to someone you don’t know Real Problems: Sell your product or service as a solution for your customers Relationships: Are you the right person to serve your audience at highest level? Recommendations: Know who to target, where they are, and what they want Website Content: Match with searched keywords and make it resonate Communities: Wherever your target audience is, is where you want to

High-profile data breaches at big-name companies have become an all-too-common pitfall that creates negative press. Marketers need to protect their company and customers by knowing how to prevent a cybersecurity attack or security lapse. Today’s guest is Gary S. Chan from Alfizo Security Solutions. Gary is a cybersecurity expert and helps organizations make sure software and systems are safe and secure. Avoid being the next victim and consider the cost of inaction.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Why should marketers care about cybersecurity? To stay safe and do a better job Best Practices: Proper messaging, deliverability, and documentation gets clients Settings: Configure SPF and other security options for recipients to receive email Security Defense: Stop bad things from happening to you and your customers Remote Security: Technical services and tools to prevent serious problems Privacy Policies: Read terms and conditions to understand intended use of data Repeatable Software: Always use wha

Are you familiar with the dark mode? About 92% of those with smartphones use dark mode on at least one app. The increased use of dark mode with various email services and clients present challenges. How do email marketers make sure that emails are easy to read in dark mode? Today’s guest is Melissa Sargeant, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Litmus, a well-known email marketing software company. She explains exactly why dark mode matters for marketers, and what they can do to make sure their emails look their best. Melissa provides insights into why this is important for marketers to understand, test, and optimize.   Some of the highlights of the show include: App Developers: Dark mode makes type and visuals lighter on dark backgrounds Functional Trend: People use dark mode to read content; easier on their eyes Benefits: Reduce screen brightness to preserve battery; accessibility preference Email Clients: Apple, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo offer dark mode Problems: Prioritize dark mode for subscribe

What does it take to write a great headline? A simple, yet effective tool that makes marketers more confident when writing headlines. Take the guesswork out of improving headlines.  Today’s guest is LaRissa Hendricks from CoSchedule’s product marketing team. She introduces Headline Studio, CoSchedule’s new premium headline testing platform that takes your headline writing to the next level.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Differences between CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer and Headline Studio Headline Data: Leads to more engagement, traffic, clicks, higher rankings Challenge: Know what to write to get people’s attention, click to read content? Familiar and New Features/Functions: Word/character count Headline feedback and suggestions History of past headlines Headline and SEO scores Word banks (power, emotional, common, and uncommon) Full thesaurus Free browser extension Search competition   Links: CoSchedule’s Headline Studio CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer LaRissa Hendricks on LinkedIn Ben

What's the problem with doing what everybody else is doing? Marketers are expected to come up with something wildly innovative or creative. Dare to be different and get unstuck by presenting interesting or authentic ideas in a meaningful way. Today’s guest is Mike Poznansky, founder and managing partner at Neato—a full-service marketing agency that helps brands connect with young audiences, including college students and Gen Z. Mike explains how to break out of a rut and do work that reflects you and your brand. What makes you uniquely valuable, instead of someone simply following the leader of the pack?   Some of the highlights of the show include: Neato: Uncovers insights, develops strategies, and creates marketing programs Turnkey Tactics: Marketers observe how successful brands market themselves Thoughtful: Put time, energy, and effort into effectively identifying ‘why’ or ‘how’ Copy-and-Paste Marketing: Don’t expect the same results by mimicking tactics College Culture: People's needs, pain points, aspi

How do marketers bring customers back to maximize revenue? Loyalty programs build customer devotion and retention by incentivizing repeat business. Buying becomes a habit. Today’s guest is Matt Baglia, co-founder and CEO of SlickText, an SMS marketing platform. If a loyalty program makes sense for your business, Matt talks about what it takes to make a loyalty program work as a growth lever.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Why loyalty programs matter? 20% of company’s customers make 80% revenue Brand Champions: Pay attention to their interests, what they’re buying or not What is a loyalty program? Distinct difference w/two purposes—register, rewards Customer Behavior: Value-add messages give customers a reason to return Getting Started with a Loyalty Program: Step 1: Understand clientele Step 2: Incentivize customers Step 3: Talk and listen to customers Step 4: Select a loyalty service Growing a Loyalty Program: Interaction: Ask, are you a member of our loyalty program yet? Incentivize: Joi

How can marketers retain an engaged audience? Treat content like a carousel by getting people to come back for unique value from you and your brand. Today’s guest is Lindsay Tjepkema, CEO and co-founder of Casted—the first and only B2B marketing platform for brand podcasts. Lindsay knows what it takes to build, grow, and retain an audience.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Podcast: Opportunity to connect with audience and sales by providing content Marketing Channels: Leverage content for podcast business to amplify voices Content Challenges: Underwhelming access to software and experts Actionable Advice: Be the change you wish to see, and practice what you preach Casted: Create, publish, syndicate, and leverage show content across channels Content Carousel: What is it, who’s it for, how will you continue to serve them? Good or bad thing? Customers stop coming once they get what they came for Audit Audience Trends: Downloads, listens, and other signs people stay or leave CRM Capabilities: Engage

What strategies can marketers learn from nonprofits about building brand advocacy? Successful nonprofits know what it takes to get people to rally behind a belief or cause. Brands that turn their best customers into advocates build brand loyalty and drive sales. Today’s guest is Spencer Brooks from Brooks Digital, an agency that helps health-focused nonprofits grow a digital presence and turn patients into advocates.   Some of the highlights of the show include: What is an advocate? Highly engaged customer doing work on brand’s behalf Passive to Active Promoters: How to turn customers into brand advocates Why do brands need advocates? Free marketing saves time and money How? Gift products and provide positive referrals, reviews, recommendations What makes nonprofits effective? Fewer resources rely on constituents Meaningful Why: Nonprofits use emotional storytelling to create advocates Company values solve some philosophical problems when things are done right Foundational Concept: Brand advocacy resonates p

What are the best ways for brands to make a difference during times of crisis? Connect customers with solutions to their problems.   Today’s guest is Richard Lau, founder of Logo and executive director at Water School. Richard discusses how to build a business and brand. Find the right balance between being genuinely helpful and useful while driving sales and revenue.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Donations: Time, money, and network covers clean water project costs NamesCon: Purpose of conference and partnerships to raise awareness Sun, not Son: Women and girls are burdened with getting clean water Colon Cancer Crisis: How it changed Richard’s perspective on life and business Doctor’s Orders: Required workaholic to rollback on number of hours worked Life Goals and Lifestyle: Borrowed or gifted time where life is about relationships Compliment: Create a culture where everyone feels like more than a paycheck COVID: Companies can better serve customers, employees, and communities How to help oth

The belief that being empathetic means being emotional is not actually very empathetic. Marketers often misunderstand customers when crafting messaging and marketing content. How can marketers be genuinely empathetic?   Today’s guest is Megan Thudium from MTC - The Content Agency. Megan discusses how to adjust, adapt, and authentically understand the needs of customers from different cultures and countries.   Some of the highlights of the show include: MTC: Berlin-based B2B organic content marketing agency w/empathetic mindset COVID and Cultural Barriers: Stay connected and relevant during tough times Empathy Marketing: Long-term gain emphasized now when emotions are high Empathy: Them to you, not you to them process for messaging and marketing Worst-case Scenario: Miss the marketing message? Lose customers Bottom Line for Business: Make messaging more empathetic for direct impact Marketing Evolution: People want authentic, engaging, empathetic conversations Consequences: Failing to do right messaging or fol

Consumer behavior is always changing. Even with COVID-19 affecting people’s lives and how businesses operate, it will never be the same. How can businesses better serve customers by staying ahead of changes and trends? Data.  Today’s guest is Jonathan Silver from Affinity Solutions, a data intelligence platform with access to consumer data. Jonathan talks about how businesses need to collect data, know how to interpret that data, and turn it into action to succeed.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Affinity Solutions: Access to unique data around people’s purchasing habits Permission and Participation: Banks provide businesses with consumer data Business Benefits: Use data to build relationships and grow, retain market share Consumer Benefits: Use data to improve people’s lives to get what they want Shifts: COVID changes behavior with price sensitivity, personalized experiences Trends: Parallel reality where physical environments change with technologies Predictions: Colder weather will spike COV

Two things are true about marketing—saturation across digital channels makes it difficult to be different and using direct mail is a unique option to reach customers at home where they are spending most of their time these days.  Today’s guest is Nick Runyon from PFL. The software company makes tools that help marketers bridge the gap between digital and direct mail marketing using Tactile Marketing Automation (TMA). Go beyond the send!   Some of the highlights of the show include: PFL: Orchestrates digital difference between TMA and direct mail marketing Pandemic vs. Marketing Plans: Collectively, society remains pessimistic, fearful Consumption and Conversion: Cut through digital clutter for direct mail comfort CRM Mishaps: Direct mail data mashed together from multiple people, places TMA: Enables direct mail to be triggered to send based on digital intent signals Getting Started: What’s the overall experience that you want to deliver? What business objectives do you want to move with that experience? S

Marketers have access to more data than ever before that enables them to offer better customer experiences—if they make use of that data. Don’t struggle to find and apply the right information.  Today’s guest is Michael Loban, Chief Growth Officer at InfoTrust. Also, Michael is the co-author of Crawl, Walk, Run, a new book on advancing marketing analytics maturity.  He describes how to level up your analytics progress with consistent practice.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Crawl, Walk, Run: How organizations progress through digital analytics maturity Target Audience: Every marketer with every level of analytics experience Three Industries: Direct-to-consumer, consumer packaged goods, news/media Marketers, Pay Attention: Change is inevitable, but progress is optional Missing Skills: Being data driven makes some marketers fail to be successful Google Marketing Platform: Helps marketing teams keep pace with changes Google Optimize: Test hypothesis by reviewing analytics to improve experience Da

Research shows that 73% of consumers expect brands to personalize and tailor online experiences to meet their needs. It feels weird when websites don’t give people what they want and expect. Personalization matters for your business, even in difficult times. Today’s guest is Amey Shivapurkar, an experienced optimization SME at Avionos. Amey helps clients create data-driven experiences that deliver business outcomes. He talks about how personalization isn’t always easy, but worth considering for marketers to maximize CRO, create meaningful results, and drive user experiences.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Personalization: Relevant products, services, content based on previous visits Key Investment Benefits: Improves customer loyalty, engagement, vanity metrics Steps to Start: Crawl, walk, and run to get to end product Define measurement framework that tracks customer’s journey Identify best opportunities/skills for personalization to improve bottom line Experiment and iterate personalization

Former professional boxer Mike Tyson wisely stated, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Unexpected blows, such as a global pandemic and recession, have marketers evaluating their strategies to learn how to change, respond, and adapt during times of crisis. Today’s guest is Tony  Guarnaccia, a brand consultant, founder, and author. He knows how to turn businesses around and out of tailspins. If you don’t know what you don’t know about how to grow a business, you and your business will fail.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Bakery 2.0: Bounce back by studying marketing, business, and entrepreneurship 10-Year Journey: If you don’t know, follow those that do to grow a business Resources, Strategies, Tools: Learn what you don’t know; teach what you learn Right or wrong decision? Reduce marketing budget when revenue drops Rules to Follow: Make business sustainable and maintain profitability Maintain advertising spend in marketing; make cuts elsewhere Expand market share due to l

Do you spend too much time and money creating content from scratch every time you need to publish a piece, launch a video, or ship a campaign? Create a year's worth of content in one day for a specific channel through the power of repurposing. Today’s guest is Shaina Weisinger from Repurpose House. Shaina talks about how to make the most of your time and resources, while using less effort to make your ROI go through the roof.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Purpose of Repurpose House: Help those struggling with repurposing content Savvy Digital Marketing Strategy: Video production at same time in same place Pain Points and Pieces: Changes to content takes too much time and effort Repurposing Content vs. Creating New Assets: Cost- and time-saving benefits Chasing Content: Creating content that’s impossible to keep up with every day Content Map: Be in better place before making content and measurable results Where to start? Go through content that crushed it to start finding small snippets Cuttin

Email inboxes, social media feeds, and internet experiences are filled with marketing messages. However, what’s old is new again in marketing. Direct mail can be an effective way to cut through the noise and grab people's attention.  Today’s guest is Ryan Cote, Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine. Ryan talks about how to make the most out of direct mail by integrating it with digital strategies and tactics.   Some of the highlights of the show include: Two Things: Ballantine’s transition has combined direct mail and digital marketing High Demand: Direct mail isn’t dead, but has changed print marketing Mail vs. Email: Printed mail is less competitive than congested inboxes Print and Digital Tactics: Complement and work together for integrated campaign Informed Delivery. Find out from USPS what’s in your physical mailbox Direct or Digital? Determine which makes more sense for your brand Direct mail is expensive, so start with something simple and cheaper Mailing List: Stay specific and targe

Does your business rely on revenue from selling tickets for live events? To stay in business due to COVID-19, you may need to turn to other options for profits. Today’s guest is Jim McCarthy, CEO and co-founder of Goldstar. With more live shows, concerts, and other events going digital, Goldstar quickly created Stellar. Within just a few months, the new streaming and ticket platform launched to help organizations continue to make money.   Some of the highlights of the show include: New Normal? Pandemic shutdown forced switch from live to online events Stellar Solution: Learning curve to what does/doesn’t work with digital events Live vs. Digital Events: Either, neither, all, or nothing, which will people prefer? Goldmine for Goldstar? Make, film, stream new forms of online entertainment Pros and Cons: More people and money, different expectations and experiences Getting Started, Going Digital: Commit to quality not money to build/market product or service Make thoughtful and aggressive use of assets (i.e.,

Do you have something to say and share with others? Start a podcast, but don’t sell yourself short when trying to get your dream guests on the show. It takes connections. Today’s guest is Stephanie Cox, vice president of sales and marketing at Lumavate. She hosts the company’s Real Marketers Podcast and has talked to guests from the world’s biggest companies. What did she do to make it happen, and how can you do the same with your own podcast?   Some of the highlights of the show include: Lumavate: Platform enables marketers to build mobile apps without code Real Marketers: Authentic conversations that ask forgiveness, not permission Strategic Networking: Who and what you know, and who and what they know Podcast Launch: First few episodes feature big names to build credibility Timeline: Four weeks post-launch of podcast to regularly land high-profile guests Dream ‘Guest’ List: Goals to get ultimate brands/names (Google’s Alex Russell) What’s the worst that could happen? All you have to do is ask and outreach

Are your emails failing to reach and resonate with readers? Maybe, you’re asking for too much information without offering enough value. Every time someone opens their inbox, they’re flooded with people asking them to do something. What do they get in return? Today’s guest is Brendan Hufford from SEO for the Rest of Us. Brendan emailed thousands of subscribers to ask: What frustrates them the most about SEO? As promised, Brendan followed up by sending every person who replied a custom video response. Was all his hard work worth the thoughtful effort?   Some of the highlights of the show include: Stay in School: Transition from being a teacher to helping clients learn SEO Bright Idea: Utilize unique video content on what people care about Incentive: How to get people to reply to emails and build relationships Numbers Game: Subscribers in traffic are costs; make money on sales Timeline: About 50 videos made, each taking 10 minutes equals 500 minutes Replies and Responses: Quantify what it’s worth by understand