Grow & Monetize

Become an indispensable linchpin. In this episode, I explain how to identify and embrace your unique value, showcase your process, and build a personal brand that stands out. Learn the secrets to decoupling your inputs from outputs and becoming impossible to ignore in your field. This episode is filled with actionable insights and real-world examples to help you master the art of being a linchpin.Key Takeaways:Identify and embrace your unique valueShowcase your process and insightsCommunicate what makes your approach distinctBuild a personal brand reflecting quality and artistryDecouple inputs from outputs to become irreplaceable↓

This is an exclusive episode, taken from my eLearning program (link below). In it, I share a few miscellaneous learnings around monetization timing, failing fast, lead handling, outbound prospecting, exponential thinking, and getting behind mega-trends before they pop.===============

This is an exclusive episode, taken from my eLearning program (link below). In it, I dissect 7 things to consider when buying a business and 3 things to do when selling yours.===============

In this episode, I touch on a few topics related to public perception, reputation management, and churn reduction. Specifically, I focus on how to combat negative reviews in the public domain by going above-and-beyond what other companies are doing (and what customers are used to). I also explain how to use cancellation reversals to stop defecting customers from leaving. ===============

In this episode, I share three techniques to grow MRR (or incorporate a continuity into your business), plus three ways to drive customer retention.===============

In this episode, I share three success and productivity truths that no one talks about (or taught me):Most of your money will be made late at night or early in the morning.The world will judge you by the story you sell in public, but what matters most is what you do when you sit down, log on to your computer, and get to work.It's about hard work and smart work combined -- 13 or 15 hour days spent optimizing systems and improving points of leverage.===============

In this exclusive workshop taken from my first eLearning program, 7-figure entrepreneur Anton Wisbiski shares stories, principles and mental frameworks he learned going form rock bottom to consistent $50k months.Anton dives into the two factors that determine, more than anything else, how much abundance you can create in your life. These include:Your level of consciousness—creatively and strategically manipulating the right levers; andYour value in the marketplace—how to uncover and solve real problems for real peopleAnton also explains how to approach business within dynamics of quantum mechanics. As he explains, income/revenue and abundance has everything to do with energy manipulation, conscious intention, and feeling like the person you want to be before you've actually become that person. This hybrid presentation-meditation-workshop will shift you simply by virtue of listening to it.Check out Anton's program, UNLOCK 2024, here: https://t.ly/KsuEs===============

This episode is an exclusive sneak peak from my new eLearning academy that I just launched in tandem with my upcoming book, CONTENT CAPITALIST.

In this episode, I break down eight marketing and growth principles for business. They include the following:· Delay gratification. Invest in audience, content, and long-term brand equity over vanity metrics or quick cash-outs.· Give more than you get. Maximize consumer surplus to encourage word-of-mouth and grow CLTV.· Attention & trust compound faster than revenue. They are like gold in this new digital economy. Optimize for both.· Business continuity is predicated on genuinely loving customers. Anything less than a raving brand advocate is a loss.· Choose to excel–not to compete. If you remain radically focused on excellence, the competition becomes irrelevant.· Make offers, craft messaging and provide so much excess value that it's impossible for prospects to say “no.”· Attention has shifted toward micro-content and multimedia. Understand how to use podcasts, YouTube, and Shorts.· To scale, identify your constraint(s), look at: sales (new business volume), CLTV (increasing yield), and retention (reducing churn). Identify the weak link, fix it, then optimize the others.===============

Pricing strategy can make or break a company. In this episode, I explain why it's best to compete on value and brand but not on price; I share why premium pricing is often the most effective strategy, especially if you're going after more affluent buyers; and I compare different models for both high-ticket investments along with monthly membership programs.============

I'm sharing a snippet from a recent interview I did on Josh Elledge's podcast to promote CONTENT CAPITALIST. We chat on the changing marketing landscape.============

The Content Continuum is not only the most accurate but also the most mutually-beneficial model for both company and customer. In this episode, I chat with Hernan on The Business Bros Podcast to share my new model for modern marketers. Whereas a quick sale was the goal before, the new strategy is built to house and help as large an audience as possible while patiently escorting a portion forward at each threshold much like a dam operator might, to use an analogy. Brands running a Continuum put media at the core of their entire commercial structure, using it as a tool to guide, enrich, and progressively up-skill their community across every touch point. They recognize their audience moves unpredictably among the blurred stages in their curated ecosystem, and happily promote that flow. The stages in the new continuum include: Discovery, Nurturing, Investment, Enrollment, Ascension, and Advocacy. I dive deep into this entire system in my upcoming book, dropping in a few days, CONTENT CAPITALIST, on sale now, here.============

It's time to move to a distributed brand newsroom. An emergent opportunity for entrepreneurs building companies is to decentralize the content function by moving to what I call a participatory publishing model. Here, your entire team is responsible for content (not one or two marketing people).In a creator-centric model, the system constraint is the capacity (and limited knowledge base) of the team responsible for creating content. But let's be honest: most content managers are trained to write for SEO and top-funnel traffic, not for the customer.With a company-centric newsroom, there is no constraint. Content is guaranteed to be more diverse, more relevant and more value-additive for an audience who's looking for real, tangible, unbiased stuff that they know they won't glean from a surface-level blog written by a junior marketing person.============

In this episode, I offer thoughts on connected technologies like brain computer interfaces and explain why I cofounded a non-invasive BCI company focused on adaptive content experiences that use EEG data to guide the content you receive (and how you receive it) on your device.============

In this episode, I explain how humans are poised to evolve with, and, ultimately, through technology. I share how my view on technological mergence has shifted 180-degrees from where I was three or four years ago. The transhumanist dystopia many are fearful about is only one (and a very unlikely) scenario. The truth is that ascension—a divine and spiritual process whereby consciousness progresses toward reintegration with the Oneness, with Source—must happen with technology as a sort of accelerant. We are in the process of catalyzing a quantum shift in Humanity's evolution and technology is a tool with which we will supercharge our ascension as a human race. I share thoughts on what this all means and why it matters.============

I was recently selected to participate in Antler's Spring '24 MENAP cohort, their first in Dubai. Getting invited into Antler as a founder is statistically more difficult to do than gaining acceptance into Harvard. For context, Antler accepts about 3% of applicants across their 12 global locations, and the acceptance rate for their MENAP arm is even less than that (0.2%). I've been in Dubai for a month getting acclimated and working my tail off on my startup, neocore. In this episode, I share five learnings from the journey thus far. It has not been an easy one for me the past year, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. This episode is best for technology founders.============

Content is changing, and consumers are changing how they consume it. In this episode, I explain how to parlay personal brands to scale your company, how to enroll employees in creating and sharing, and how to shift to a distributed branded newsroom. This episode is best for startup founders or sole proprietors. ========================

Over the last decade, Content Marketing Institute has become the leading informational resource in the world for marketers looking to leverage content to spur and support business growth. CMI was founded in 2007 by Joe Pulizzi, now widely recognized as the Godfather of Content Marketing. In this mini masterclass, Joe shares the genesis of Content Marketing Institute and explains how he built the business to first serve his core audience, but also with the intention of selling for "Forever Money." This episode is ideal for content marketing professionals and content entrepreneurs who want to learn how to build a business from the ground up to one day sell for millions... but who are committed to investing in audience and serving that audience with value over the long haul.========================

In this episode, I explain the difference between "influence" and "evangelism" plus how to think about earned media and paid media to support the brand-building journey.========================

In this special one-hour episode, I'm sharing an exclusive training from an eLearning program I ran in 2022. In it, I break down the entire high-ticket sales call structure top to bottom. As a note, this type of call assumes the lead came in "cold" and there had not been detailed rapport established for weeks prior. A small portion of this content is outdated in 2024 so please take it with a grain of salt.============

How should you be thinking about structuring your sales approach when deploying high-ticket products into the saturated social media market? In this episode, I'm sharing an exclusive training from my 2022 eLearning program. In part II, publishing right after this episode, I'll give you the sales script. First, we have to set the tone.============

For most businesses, marketing is an expense. But what if it could be a revenue-producing machine for your business?In this episode, I offer a framework for how to create a profitable marketing organization. We've entered an era where content ought to 'house' marketing as a sub-function - not the other way around. Your whole business can and should be built on content!I also explain the four ways marketing can add value to the bottom line. Most people assume there's only one way - to drive new client acquisition. But with an expanded view of the strategic role content can play, and a commitment to it, you can literally add multiple new streams of cashflow, changing your business altogether.========================

In this episode, I'm dropping thoughts on five paths toward status and respect which you can incorporate into your disposition and decision-making as we speak:► Articulate thoughts for maximum potency and impact► Become more unreachable; when your energy is unreciprocated, walk away► Take a stance and have make a claim confidently► Seek and create leverage; always optimize for choices► Be willing to "die" (to people and old versions)========================

In this video, I'm breaking down the 4-part framework that all humans undergo before we make a decision to act.The purpose of marketing is to facilitate the flow of an audience from indifference to enrollment to devotion... which leads to a stark recognition of a dire need which can't be ignored, thus requiring immediate action.Your job is to break through the periphery, go beyond a preference, become a priority, and position your product as the only solution to an imminent, pressing need.You do this by telling your story, educating your audience about the issue or opportunity at hand, working with them one-on-one to help unlock a vision for change, and then, once that need is established, you hand over the keys to make it all possible.Watch full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5aGCERcrCFs========================

In this episode, I'm sharing an exclusive snippet from my upcoming master course. I share five different kinds of cold emails that you can use to cut through the clutter and trigger a response in 2024. These include:The Jewel is offering to shoot over a "pre-made" customized giftThe Obviously Non-Automated Touch includes elements like a voice note, selfie, or proactive proposalThe Re: Thread is where you create a thread with a colleague who asks you to contact a certain prospectThe Invitation to Contribute means asking the lead to share a quote for an in-progress piece of contentThe Case Study is just sharing overwhelming evidence of how you add value for other clientsIf you'd like to go ahead and pre-register for the course, here's the link to do so: http://michaelbecker.org/courses/content-capitalist-academy/. The price will be going up at launch in March so grab it now.========================

In this episode, I explain how to use a series (like a podcast) to turn would-be competitors into collaborators who spread your brand for you. ========================

In this episode, I'm sharing an exclusive snippet from my new mastercourse. I break down a mock 3-step outreach cadence that you can insert into your prospecting work right away.With DMs and inMails today, you've got to get to the value for the recipient up-front (first line) - no fluff, no BS, no wasted space. Abbreviations, brevity and even slang are your friend. As I share in the episode, one trending strategy being used lately is short messages designed to sort of "erk" the prospect in order to trigger a response and open dialogue (e.g., "Michael? Are you there??"). There are a few others we walk through.The thing with DM techniques is that they're changing on a quarterly basis; new attention arbitrage hacks are being surfaced monthly as the market becomes desensitized to hooks that were working just a few months ago. So you've got to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to prospecting and selling-via-chat. #leadgen #prospecting #sellviachat #dm #dmbeasts========================

In this episode, I explain why members-only content communities are the future of marketing... and how you can take advantage of this shift.The “new" era of marketing isn't aimed at convincing anyone of anything, but rather creating content communities—and companies—that speak for themselves and sell on your behalf. With content communities, in the subtle energy balance, the company or creator takes the power position.Gated VIP groups are so powerful because they're owned, reliable, economical mass nurturing ecosystems. Groups are an emerging and effective strategy to drive demand from people who will inevitably turn into more trusting prospects (compared to cold outreach) in due time. While you might be able to attain far more impressions, open up more conversations, and even set up discovery calls using setters or ads on social, the thing you're solving for with a group is not necessarily how many meetings get set but rather the level of trust and degree of willingness that people who apply will bring to the table simply by virtue of being nurtured more intently. #contentcommunities #communitymarketing #creatoreconomy========================

Welcome to episode #94, a mashup of motivational snippets to get your week started on the right note.========================

Welcome to episode #93 where I explain my high-level decision making framework. I share how I arrived at this methodology and try to present it in a way that you can take it and incorporate it into your life as well. As you'll hear, the framework is built around five spectrums or pillars:Risk vs. rewardShort term vs. long termMicro vs. macroPain vs. pleasureLocal vs nonlocalFor me, this structure has allowed me to maximize life leverage, returns, and happiness based on my current reality. I hope you find value in the episode!========================

I'm joined by Trent Stonehouse, founder of VersedLook and Remote CEOs Academy. Trent's focus is empowering entrepreneurs to leverage delegation and systems for growth. Born deaf, Trent faced significant challenges from an early age. However, he didn't let that setback define him. Instead, it fueled his determination to succeed. At the age of five, he regained my hearing, but the early years of his life had already taught him the value of resilience, grit, and perseverance. At 18, Trent began his entrepreneurial journey, carrying with him the resilience he developed in his early years. This journey culminated in the establishment of VersedLook, a 7-figure digital marketing agency. With a dedicated team of 20+ remote offshore employees, VersedLook achieved remarkable success, generating over $50M for clients in 2022 alone.In our session, Trent and I discuss the shifting outsourced economy, and what it means for businesses into the future. Enjoy!--------◉ Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, subscribe, and share this episode — it would mean the world. ◉

Balance is key to everything. If you've been wondering where and how to allocate your portfolio with all of these emerging Web3 opportunities (like I have), tap in to my conversation with David Doss from CKC Fund, a blockchain and crypto investment firm.David is a growth-oriented marketing, strategy, and operations executive with 15 years of experience in building revenue and developing audiences for startups, SMEs, and Fortune 500/Global 2000 digital transformation. Led teams of 10+, managed budgets of $5M+, and optimized spend of $100M+.--------

From a 6x founder to freelancer, Kevin Dooley has really been through it all from a business perspective. Kevin developed his love for entrepreneurship in college by launching a hot dog cart business to pay his rent. This experience was a springboard to future adventures that include an intraprenuer corporate role launching new products, a burrito business, and a B2B SaaS company. Now, he coaches other founders looking to grow their ventures to scale.--------

In this live, Haylee and I dissect growth opportunities for a fitness app currently doing about $3M ARR. The app uses AI, and is looking to continue to move with the trends in its niche. The company is also struggling with paid ads. Tap in as we discuss why following the trends may not be the right move plus how to test with paid ads in the right way until you find the right mix. For any app like this, the ceiling is infinite. When your incremental cost to add a new user is $0, the only constraint you have is CAC. Once solved for, you can grow... quick. Enjoy!--------

In this snippet from my full interview on UP TO THE MIC with Vinny Hale, we discuss several topics including: taming expectations when enrolling in coaching programs, the importance of how you work when no one is watching, the best way to use books, my newfound personal goal of leveraging W2 income to acquire one investment property every two months, how marketing is changing, and more. Enjoy!--------

In this episode, Haylee McDonald and I look at challenges and opportunities for a local landscaping business in Tampa, FL. The business does $1M in ARR but has struggled to scale beyond their points of constriction (their offer, their pricing, and their lead generation strategy). We break down the firm's opportunities and share ways they can optimize their front-end offer, boost lead gen in economical ways, and drive retention by adding a subscription service.The business in question has tried running print ads in the local newspaper and sponsoring a little league team in the past. They have a limited marketing budget and need to find cost-effective ways to reach potential customers. They also struggle to turn one-time customers into recurring customers. They have tried offering discounts for repeat business, but these efforts have also not been effective. Lastly, they're struggling to find the right balance between setting competitive prices and maintaining healthy margins. They've experimented with various pricing models such as hourly rates, flat fees, and per-project pricing but haven't been able to find the optimal mix.This episode will be valuable for any business who has a local footprint or is looking to incorporate low-cost lead gen avenues into the mix. Enjoy!--------

Are you constantly cowering behind an invisible yet pervasive self-created shield of doubt, fear, and failure? Today's guest Richard Thompson, a former Navy SEAL and founder of You vs. You Coaching, shares how his experiences with the teams enabled him to develop an unbreakable mindset. Richard also drops a personal anecdote during his SEAL days about a timid fellow trainee -- and what happened to him by succumbing to fear. --------

In a candid conversation, I asked Ben Higgins about life, love and learnings he's taken away from the spotlight now several years removed from staring as ABC's The Bachelor for S20 of the popular series back in 2016.Ben is married, living in Colorado, and working full time on his charitable company Generous Coffee which donates all of their profits to in-need communities.Ben discusses how he plans to leverage his platform of 1M+ followers, what he discovered about love that he didn't know before the show, and some of the harsh truths of being a reality star.--------

In today's episode, I chatted with Branden Coluccio who's rise to the top was meteoric early in his career. From private equity in his early 20s, to entrepreneurship, to a $67 million exit at 29, then $40 million in real estate by 31, and another 7-figure exit at 32 and multiple transactions since. But Braden's definition of success was all wrong. He was out of shape, lacked discipline, self-worth, struggled with depression and anxiety all while self-medicating with alcohol daily. Then in 2019, his identity as 'private equity boy wonder' was crushed when he learned that he was about to be indicted. In 2020, Branden was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison where he spent 66 total days in solitary confinement due to COVID-19 protocols. But Branden turned his total destruction into his life's greatest gift by using this experience to transform himself completely.--------

To market well is to understand human psychology. In today's episode, I'm joined by Wayne Mullins, a heart-led leader and founder of Ugly Mug Marketing. Wayne is an outside-the-box advertising and branding extraordinaire. He shares lots of golden nuggets on why most people's marketing is failing, how Ogilvy's time-tested advertising genius might hold the answer despite channel and content proliferation, and more. Enjoy!

AI is going to "take over" but it will be a net positive. In today's episode, I'm joined by a modern-day genius, AI ethics philosopher, and Google insider Josh Bachynski. Josh drops dozens of truth bombs on where we're headed as a species, how AI is going to impact our future, and the mindset of the power-addicted tech billionaires running the algorithms behind the scenes. Tap in for a can't-miss conversation at the intersection of AI, philosophy, and simulation theory as Josh and I discuss what it means to be human in an increasingly tech-dominated world.

In today's episode (#80), I'm joined by DJ Bonics, the man who spins the vinyl for rap superstar Wiz Khalifa. We chat on his humble beginnings as a Filipino coming up in the Pittsburgh music scene, how he got acquainted with Wiz in the studio, and what music means to him. We also touch on awakening past the matrix into meaning, and remaining humble no matter where life decides to put you or how it chooses to use you. Enjoy!

The soul learns best by exposing us to a spectrum of experiences. My guest in episode #79, Haylee Kalani McDonald knows that truth all to well. Before age 10, Haylee was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition that forced her to fight for her health in a way no kid should be expected to do. But coming out of that journey enhanced and enriched, Haylee set off to become something even more. In today's chat, she shares a little more about her story. We also talk creativity, entrepreneurship, AI, marketing trends, and awakening to higher levels of purpose.

You have to “earn the opportunity to be in a better opportunity vehicle.” Today, I'm joined by esteemed fitness entrepreneur and founder of the Alloy franchise, Rick Mayo. In this episode (#78), we discuss how Rick started Alloy with a humble sum of money back in the early 1990s Atlanta, GA to now scaling to over 100 locations throughout the U.S. You'll also get an inside view on how one of the country's premier fitness CEO's thinks about team building, management, and seizing opportunity when it knocks. Enjoy!

Most large organizations don't understand what content marketing really is, or what it's meant to do. Content marketing is consistent, committed creation and dissemination of value-additive content that is separate and discrete from the products and services you offer with the purpose of cultivating a large, loyal audience. The audience then becomes a standalone asset that you can monetize via a number of ways down the road. I also explain why you need to be focused on building a media property that can compete with Netflix, YouTube or Prime Video. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The best subscription models usually offer three tiers — a freemium and/or low barrier-to-entry version, a medium tier, and a “premium” or “platinum” version at the top. Here's how to properly price each of them to drive more signups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI is coming for your job (or parts of it). If you don't want to be replaced by robots, you need to figure out how to couple your skillset (or job) with three key C's: Cash, Creativity, and Collaboration. We're about to undergo a "skills-based survival of the fittest." Menial, generic labor is quickly being swept up by AI, leaving humans vulnerable to being ousted in certain corners of the market. So, what's the answer? How can you protect yourself? The key is to upskill yourself quickly and then to position yourself in front of AI. Figure out how to make the market dependant on you (not the other way around). Otherwise, you're on the verge being made obsolete. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I break down five to-dos if you want to create a product that gains market share fast. They include: make interactions easy, embed shareability, sponsor influencers, gamify the experience, and use data to drive decisions. These points were taken from The Cold Start Problem by Andrew Chen, but I also highly recommend another book called Modern Monopolies which explains more on how the platform economy is taking over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we tend to view the world -- and the things in it -- horizontally, truth is held within the vertical dimension. Things are not black and white, cut and dry. They are always more detailed, more multifaceted than we think. In this quick hitter, I look at two of those things: language and success. Both use symbols and simplifications to try and summarize a truth that is so nuanced that it barely does justice. Enjoy this episode.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

I just got an obviously-AI generated response from someone in a chat thread. Big turn off. A distinct competitive advantage goes to those who can deploy the necessary EQ to understand what's OK to automate and what isn't -- because not everything is. This nuance isn't being discussed enough.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Zach's Links:Investor portal: https://invest.prosperitycre.com/signup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachwinner/Prosperity CRE: https://www.prosperitycre.com/