On this week's episode, I speak with Dave Polykoff, the CEO and Co-Founder of Presto Media, Zenpost, and ProWriter. Many companies are looking for ways to build out their content presence and just don't have the know-how. We discuss how companies should find and hire their writers, how you can write for humans and search engines at the same time, and the key concepts and tools to start blogging right now.

Yours in Marketing

Dave Polykoff: Creating Content the Right Way

On this week's episode, I speak with Kelly Glover, the Founder of The Talent Squad.  We focus the show on podcasting, specifically addressing if you are a company or individual that is trying to get booked onto podcasts.  We talk about how to get booked on podcasts, the perfect elements for a "perfect" pitch, and how great podcasts grow their audience. Episode Highlights: Kelly's background in media and "talk show host" influence.Key differences between Australian and American schools.Internships that began to shape Kelly's career and her unique career path.Major differences between radio and podcasting.How the number of current podcasts affects the quality of content.The key factors for podcasting's rapid growth.Podcast's multi-faceted purposes and potential for even greater reach.Why you should "not" have a podcast.The 2 ways of approaching podcasting to be successful.The first step before attempting to pitch your brand.The key foundational elements to a great pitch.The "secret sauce" for getting a response from a pitch.The process for improving how you communicate your value.What should be on your "one-sheet" to peak the greatest interest?Key elements to have in your online press kit.How the ROI of podcasting stacks up vs. the ROI of a conference circuit.Strategies for preparing for your interview.Techniques for finding the "right" shows for you.The 1 strategy to take you to the "top tier" of pitches.Foundational steps to grow your podcast from "ground zero."Kelly's definition of "ROI" for podcasts.Key factors for shows attracting the right guests.Lessons to learn from podcasts that are growing well. 3 Key Points:Podcasting has been one of the fastest growing mediums in the last few years and companies are realizing it's incredible potential.You don't have to have a show to succeed and/or benefit from podcasts.Being successful in podcasting is knowing how to track ROI correctly and presenting yourself and your content effectively to the right audience. Quotes:“People are starting to realize that sometimes the audience isn't actually the target of a podcast, it can actually be the guest on a show.” – Kelly Glover“You need to think of it in a different, more than just as questions and answers with commercials." – Kelly Glover"Do you want to throw 1 party a year, or be a guest at 50 parties a year.” – Kelly Glover"No one really cares about the person unless you're a start in your field, they actually care about the content and what you're going to teach the audience." - Kelly Glover"Treat yourself as a brand and as a media expert, and then your opportunities will be more frequent and bigger." - Kelly Glover Resources Mentioned: The Talent SquadKelly Glover on LinkedIn

Kelly Glover: How to Get Booked on Podcasts

On this week's episode, I speak with Tamara Yarovoy, the Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Meltwater. She has an interesting story, being that she was originally from Serbia, and now living in the US. We talk about how college athletics prepared her for a career in marketing and how sales and marketing can align to achieve success. Episode Highlights: Tamara's background: from Serbia to the University of Wyoming for marketing.  Why marketing and not professional volleyball?Tamara's "first step" into marketing.Running a real estate venture, in Serbia, while in the US for college.Tamara's current role with Meltwater, goals, and contrast from previous roles.The importance of partnership in digital marketing.Creative vs. Technical marketing.Melding marketing and sales teams.The "Rule of 8" for the alignment strategy of marketing and sales.The challenges of having marketing and sales under one "umbrella."Minimal recommendations to achieve better alignment.Thought experiment: 4 problems of misalignment and solutions.Is the average salesperson better at marketing or the average marketer better at sales?Should marketers and salespeople become one?The #1 piece of advice for new marketers.Why athletes make great marketers.What's next for Tamara. 3 Key Points: It's important to have both the creative elements of marketing and the technical tools working together to build successful campaigns.Marketing and Sales need to be in alignment to have a successful customer strategy.Being willing to continually learn, adapt, and grow your skills is key to being a successful marketer. Quotes: “If both teams understood more of what the other did, it would certainly help.” – Tamara Yarovoy“Have a clear business strategy, where both marketing and sales can build strategies that align with the business." – Tamara Yarovoy"Be patient, try your best, don't give up, continue to learn, find a mentor, and don't be scared to explore.” – Tamara Yarovoy  Resources Mentioned:Meltwater WebsiteTamara Yarovoy on LinkedIn

Tamara Yarovoy: How to Align Sales and Marketing

On this week's episode, I speak with Ross Simonds, the CEO and Digital Marketing Strategist at Foundation Marketing. Ross is an extremely active entrepreneur and has numerous side projects including Hustle and Grind. We discuss why content strategy doesn't stop when you hit "publish", how distribution is a "game-changer" for any type of content, and the future of social media. Episode Highlights: Ross's current projects and ventures.Ross's background and journey into the marketing sphere.How blogging drives growth in building a brand.Biggest differences between building a brand now and when Ross first started.Game-changing content distribution tips for marketers.The time-frame for "optimal growth" after publishing content.Common misconceptions around content distribution.Examples of great content distribution strategies.The "Sherlock-Homeboy" effect.Advice for creating content to build a successful brand.The importance of experimentation in creating content.Key failures to learn from when creating content.Types of content that generate the greatest potential ROI.The hardest platform to currently have the biggest impact.The next "big thing" in social media.Podcasting: a strategic platform for the future.Predictions on fading social media platforms.Video: The future of content for all channelsSteps to take for landing speaking engagements.Tips on creating great presentation topics.Keys to juggling multiple ventures at the same time.C.R.E.A.M: How things get done.Ross' "call-to-action" on content strategy. 3 Key Points: Distribution of content is just as important as the creation of content.Focusing on creating content that withstands the test of time.Listen and be aware of trends in social media and create and distribute content based on those trends. Quotes: "Oftentimes we get caught up in the idea that once we press publish on a piece of content I've succeeded... but in reality, that's when the livelihood of your article really begins." - Ross Simonds"Distribution is, without question, the most underrated element of the content marketing process." - Ross Simonds"If you are creating content that's reaching masses, you have the ability to shape the way that they view their world." - Ross Simonds"Spend as much time distributing your content as you did, creating it." - Ross Simonds Resources Mentioned: Ross Simonds WebsiteRoss Simonds on TwitterRoss’ “85 Distribution Tips” Guide

Ross Simmonds: Content Strategy Doesn't Stop When You Hit Publish

On this week's episode, I speak with April Dunford, the Founder and Chief Strategist for Ambient Strategy. She's been with a number of large companies and now doing her own consulting. We primarily discuss the idea of "positioning." We talk about what positioning is, how to find your product's position in the marketplace, and how positioning fits in with branding and go-to-market strategies. Episode Highlights: April's current primary focus and role in consulting.What is "positioning" and how do you know you have problems?April's background in Systems Design Engineering and unique reason why?April's first role in a startup, the requirements needed.The key learning points in strange career arcs between startups and large companies.The importance of creating the right environment for the right team.The impact of various positions on consulting work.The goal of positioning consulting.The core differences between "positioning" and "branding."Approaching the value proposition of a company unaware of positioning.How positioning and go-to-market strategy work together.Positioning on the book "Obviously Awesome."How to combat overthinking in marketing.The #1 call-to-action for new marketers.What's next for April. 3 Key Points:Positioning allows multiple departments of a company to be on the same page.The key to positioning is putting your greatest feature "right in the middle" so that everybody "gets it."The foundation of every marketing piece is positioning. Quotes:“Positioning done right...makes it so that everything you do in sales and marketing is that much easier.” – April Dunford“My job was to create the conditions to where my team could be successful." – April Dunford"Re-contextualizing your product changes all your assumptions about it.” – April Dunford"If your stuff didn't exist, what would they do?" - April Dunford"People get bored of their own tactics, but if they're working, why not just do more of that." - April Dunford Resources Mentioned: April Dunford's Website“Obviously Awesome” by April DunfordPositioning: The Battle for Your MindApril Dunford on TwitterApril Dunford on LinkedIn

April Dunford: How to Perfectly Position Your Product

On this week's episode, I speak with Joel Harrison, the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of B2B.net. He's been in the B2B space for decades and really has much to share. We discuss the current state of B2B and what's important, the common thread between ABM, MarTech, and CX, and how to use thought leadership to build a trustworthy brand. Episode Highlights:Joel's background in urban planning and journey into marketing.  Joel's early years in journalism.How marketing got "onto the radar."The ideas and challenges of starting a media-based company.Journalism's effect on the product.What is the draw to B2B?The most challenging part of being Editor-in-Chief.The most challenging aspect of being an Entrepreneur.Key efforts B2B leaders should be involved in, to positively affect their business.The Journey every marketer should go on.Key tactics for building your thought leadership.Other key tactics to build a loyal following.What is ABM?ABM model: different types and processes.The common thread between ABM, MarTech, and CXThe Rise of behavioral economicsBecoming a trusted brand in B2BWhere in-house and B2B marketers "fall short." 3 Key Points:Being an entrepreneur is both challenging and rewarding, but totally worth the effort.It's critical to become the authority in your space to build your following.To build your brand and become a trusted source in your industry you must be authentic and be yourself. Tweetable Quotes:“We're only here once, and if you don't do this, it's not a rehearsal.” – Joel Harrison“It's about exposure therapy, just about putting yourself out there and starting small." – Joel Harrison"If you can speak authoritatively and clearly, representing the organization, then you will be taken seriously.” – Joel Harrison“Having gray hairs helps" – Joel Harrison Resources Mentioned:B2B.net WebsiteThinking Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanJoel Harrison on LinkedIn and Twitter

Joel Harrison: ABM in B2B Marketing and Growing through Thought Leadership

On this week's episode, I speak with Geoff Atkinson, the Founder and CEO of Huckabuy, an SEO software company. We dive into a number of technical aspects around SEO. We talk about optimizing for humans and search engines, and how to use structured data and schema to succeed in SEO. Episode Highlights:Geoff's background journey into digital marketing.  How a "ski bum" got started in marketing.Advice on getting to the SVP level of your company.What made Geoff "fall in love" with SEO.Internal Navigational Search: the key reason for a spike in growth.The importance of structured data in SEO.The idea and foundations of Huckabuy.Defining structured data.The major ways structured data can be used.Focusing on JSON-LD for the future of structured data.Why does structured data and schema not get enough attention?Where to start on growing your technical SEO skillset.The natural move from developer to technical SEO marketer.Balancing between optimization for humans and search engines.Objections and responses to the importance of structured data.2 SEO strategies that always bring results.The vision and reason behind SEO cloud.The concept and importance of Dynamic Rendering.Why you need faster page loads today and how to make it happen.The #1 skill every marketer should have.The reason you should check out Huckabye. 3 Key Points:Earlier in your career, experience and worth are more important than how much money you make.Combating the fear and nervousness around SEO can help you succeed in growing your skillset and your brand.Building relationships between your development departments and marketing can help to enhance SEO.

Geoff Atkinson: How to Become a Structured Data Master

On this week's episode, I speak with Seth Avergon, the President at Avergon Marketing Group.  His focus is on strategic marketing. We discuss how to have a top 1% marketing strategy, how psychology plays into marketing, and his time as a "fractional" CMO. Episode Highlights: Seth's background in psychology and shift to marketing.  How psychology plays into marketing.Discussion on growth ideology vs. marketing.The cohesion of Sales and Marketing.Consulting vs. company work.Creating a marketing group focused on both strategy development and implementation.Seth's personal marketing strategy.Honing the skills to be a complete marketing strategist.The need for flexibility in marketing strategies.Understanding those that have a vested interest and approach to strategy.The importance of marketing intelligence.The role of "fractional" CMO and its place in the market.The goals of a "fractional" CMO.The foundational elements that go into a marketing strategy.What the top 1% of marketing strategies have that others don't.The need for "delighting" your customer.The game plan to learn how to become a strategic marketer.The top marketing minds on the planet.What Seth is working on right now.

Seth Avergon: How to Be a Top 1% Marketer

Cyrus Shepard [Replay]: SEO Golden Nuggets and Building a Great Career

On this week's episode, I speak with Mike Carroll, who's the head of Growth at Nutshell CRM. He has some amazing things to share with us about growth marketing and sales. We discuss how a career in politics can prepare you for a career in marketing, creative alchemy, and why sales and marketing should be combined for maximum results. Episode Highlights:Mike's background in journalism and politics, to marketing.The benefits of working in an agency.The difficulty of working politics and running campaigns.Comparing political campaigns and marketing.Core differences between Agency and In-house marketing.The advantage of knowing your limits.What is a "Creative Alchemist?"How to blend all the elements to create a balance between Sales and Marketing.How to overcome being overwhelmed.The importance of focusing on the skill of writing.What does it mean to be the "Head of Growth?"How to get rid of your "silos" and become agile in your customer approach.The difficulties of having a single "growth" team.How marketers can get better at sales.Melding Customer service into a "growth" team.The keys to great communication between Sales and Marketing teams: avoiding arrogance.An interesting experiment: who would do better, switching roles.The importance of CRM's in your strategy.Mike's opinion on "Growth Hacking."The benefits of Nutshell. 3 Key Points:You must know your limits to create a successful team to implement successful campaigns.Building cohesiveness among your teams will allow you to better serve your customers in any part of the funnel.Good marketing is all about understanding context and timing.

Mike Carroll: Combining Sales and Marketing, Creative Alchemy, and Growth Hacking

On this week's episode, I speak with Rachael Pilcher, the Founder, B2B, and SaaS Conversion Copywriter and Growth Strategist at Mighty Fine Copy in New Zealand. Rachael shares how to bring to light your company’s personality, how insurance companies and insurance commercials became interesting, and also her framework called SNACKS for creating great converting copy. Episode Highlights:Rachael articulates what Mighty Fine Copy is and does. How did Rachael make the transition from a legal PA to copywriting? What hands-on experience taught Rachael niche marketing and branding?How far has she come in copywriting? The Copywriter Club group on Facebook opened her eyes to the bigger money she could make as a copywriter. What did she learn during her rebranding process at Mighty Fine Copy?If your brand isn’t ‘funny’ how can you still stand out?Did she ever go against her own recommendations during rebranding? What are the fine points of Rachael Pilcher’s personality that need to be represented on the page? Has she had to turn any clients down for them not being a good fit? What tips or optimizations does Rachael have for B2B SaaS businesses to help their users care about their words? Are companies trying to cast too big of a net in terms of their marketing efforts? What is the relationship between copy and design? Did she think about design first or copy first when working on her website? Is it more of a challenge for a company looking for a serious tone? What is her process for getting up to speed with a client’s needs? What is her SNACKS framework?Rachael Pilcher applies SNACKS to a mock example. How long should a company wait to revamp their copy? Rachael states her opinion on keywords for traffic. What does it take to identify a company’s personality and bring it to life? What if a company’s founder has a terrible personality? What are some ways to incorporate a brand story into the copy? What is the brand story behind Mighty Fine Copy?Does that copy she writes for clients feel like books she has written? Has she come across a company that has changed her copy for the worst? How can something boring like insurance be made interesting with marketing? Video and YouTube channels have been great for showing a company’s personality. There is still a great need for great copy. What tips does she have for copywriters? Are great copywriters born that way? How many words does she think she may have written for other companies? How many words does she typically put into a conversion copywriting project? 3 Key Points:Copy and design should come together, be cohesive, and draw your eye.SNACKS stands for Strategy, Niche, Asking, Knowledge, and Sales. It is better to focus on good copy than being keyword-driven to force traffic.

Rachael Pilcher: B2B Copywriting, Branding, and SNACKS

Episode Highlights:Brandon and Jeff share the history of Pixel Jar and their roles.Jeff's background in Front-end development.Brandon's background in gaming, programming, and Back-end development.The "sweaty backroom" that led to Brandon and Jeff working together.Why Wordpress was the right platform for development at Pixel Jar.WordCamps: the "life-blood" of PIxel Jar.The impact of WordCamp on the business.What skills led to their particular focuses on Front-end vs. Back-end development.Finding the time to get "into the weeds" with coding.The role of website builders such as Squarespace, Wix, etc.Reasons for using Drupal or other platforms.What do you tell someone that is looking for marketing results right now?The importance of exploring the goals of your client.Using "split-testing" to evaluate theories.How often should you consider redesigning your website?Key things to look at when deciding on website management and redesign.SEO's role in the web design conversation.Key aspects to look at for analytics.The biggest marketing mistakes in web design.The most drastic developments in web design since the beginning of the internet.Why breaking conventions in design is so difficult.Why innovation has to be a part of web design.The key differences for designing for mobile.The future of the internet: Brandon and Jeff's bold predictions.What do know about Pixel Jar, and what Brandon and Jeff are excited about.  3 Key Points:It's critically important to understand the goals of your client as a starting point for web design.Creating great content for your site is an on-going process, but don't constantly play the SEO game.The key to success in design is both understanding standard conventions and innovating for the future.Resources Mentioned:Orange County Wordpress CommunityPixel Jar Website

Brandon Dove and Jeff Zinn: Future of Web Design and Dev Meets SEO

On this week's episode, I speak with Steve Toth, who is the Manager of SEO Strategy at Freshbooks. Steve brings a great mix of creative and analytical knowledge to the show. We discuss why the top of "the funnel" gets ignored but really shouldn't, what content really belongs in the middle of the funnel, and his journey from agency life to in-house work at Freshbooks. If you are in SEO, or even starting out, this episode is for you! Episode Highlights:Steve's passions beyond SEO.Spheres of SEO leaders and who you should follow in the space.Why Facebook is a good place to watch for emerging SEO leaders.What to learn from Steve's journey starting with blogging, through the agency world, and on to Freshbooks.The advantages of starting in an agency.The advantages of working in a SAAS company.The key skills you can learn from working with an agency.The main questions to ask when hiring someone working in SEO.Comparing UX and SEO: How much does UX play into SEO ranking?The importance of focusing on the top of funnel and mid-funnel content.How to convince business owners to invest in SEO long-term.Success Stories with Freshbooks and strategies for implementation.Insights into the industries that always "work well" in SEO.Local SEO strategies vs. national.Steve's opinion on how Google feels about SEO's.Using top-of-the-funnel content effectively.How functional content and tools fit into SEO strategy.Should you optimize for social engagement?How to "sell" top-of-the-funnel content to a business owner.Examples of optimal mid-funnel content and why it's important.The advantages/disadvantages of working for a company like Freshbooks.Key tools to have in your SEO toolbag.Steve's advice to the young marketer: passion and healthy obsession.The process for making a strategic content creation shift.What's happening at Freshbooks  3 Key Points:The best gains in SEO are found when you are willing to invest long-term.Focusing on top-funnel and mid-funnel content is key to long-term success.The key to being successful in SEO is having both passion and a healthy obsession for content creation.

Steve Toth: SEO, In-House Marketing, and MOFU

On this week's episode, I speak with Ben Shapiro, who is a marketing consultant and host of the MarTech Podcast. He talks about how to build systems for automation while remaining authentic, the keys to successful brand development, and shares some great advice for young marketers. Episode Highlights:Defining MarTech: What is it?How MarTech enables smaller staff counts in the industry.The trends in digital media and some reasons to use more traditional media.Ben's journey from a "shady company", to sports marketing, and ultimately "starting" his career at eBay.Lessons learned from eBay and transitioning to launch a new venture.What to learn from working with new startups.The one unique ability that Ben uses to his advantage.How the challenging times feed positively into your ongoing career.Using data and weaving technologies together to enhance your marketing operations.Maintaining your authenticity through automation.Ben's "secret sauce" for email automation.Examples of MarTech utilization.Processes for automating SEO and content.Ben's foundational tips for brand development.The effective process for revising a companies personas.Ben's advice to new, young marketers: Take risks and networking.All about the MarTech Podcast. 3 Key Points:One key to success in marketing is the ability to give brands a voice and articulate things in a way that consumers can understand.MarTech helps you authentically automate things that you do multiple times per week.Taking risks as a young marketer affords you the learning needed for a long-term successful career.

Benjamin Shapiro: Martech, Brand Dev, and Lessons for Young Marketers

On this week's episode, I speak with Hal Werner. Hal is the Global Manager of Digital Marketing and Strategy at Mitel.  He' a content strategist extraordinaire and copywriter. We talk about the power of content strategy in marketing, how you can put data at the forefront of your content, and how to become a T-shaped marketer. Episode Highlights:Hal Werner's Superpower: "The Analytical Creative"The journey from traditional advertising to digital content creation.Aha Moment: The importance of collaboration among teams to develop a content strategy.The importance of moving beyond "hard boundaries" in standard roles.What all copywriters need to know about data and marketing.Valuing terminology as a content strategist.A Thought Experiment: the questions to ask when building out a new site.Strategies for getting solid feedback from your customers.Defining Content Strategy: The steps to take for defining your strategy.The "T-shaped" Marketer: Is it possible? Is it recommended?Hal's advice on combating writer or idea block.Moving from "I need to create content" to "a valuable content resource."The value of regular data analysis.Hal's "expert secret" for content strategy: Data Over-Dogma and Insight.Hal's "favorite" piece of content he ever created.Rapid Fire Round: the most "successful" person, one "insane" thing you believe, a common misconception about you, a deep regret, book recommendation, a movie about your life, and personal call-to-action.Mitel's current direction and market shift

Hal Werner: Content Strategy, Data-Centered Content, and T-Shaped Marketing

Yours in Marketing is a weekly digital marketing podcast that is laser-focused on upping your marketing game.Do you want to grow your business by learning proven marketing strategies? Or perhaps you're interested in hearing the stories behind some of the greatest brands out there?The show provides tactics, strategies, ideas, and more to help in-house marketers and founders achieve marketing goals.In other words, we want to help you rank higher for important keywords, improve your sales process, and get more qualified leads by implementing wisdom from digital marketing thought leaders.Each episode features an interview with an influential marketer, discussing topics such as marketing strategies, conversion optimization, content marketing, video marketing, paid advertising, leadership, and SEO.So whether you are a business owner, entrepreneur, wantrepreneur, marketing manager, or Uber driver, we challenge you to apply these lessons and tactics. You may just hear the one thing you've needed to take that next big leap.Subscribe today! Your future self will thank you.

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Yours in Marketing

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