Marketing Without the Marketing

Launching a new single today (3/13) has me contemplating the future of this podcast. Should I keep going or would you rather just "Read Me Out?" Give a listen and let me know. The song is available in all streaming platforms & Bandcamp. The post Read Me Out…? appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Of the major platforms, there are only three that are motivated to help you put you in front of new people right now. Given how difficult is is to build an audience, should you accept the help and try one of them? The post The Only Three Platforms That Will Help You with Organic Reach appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

If you hire an outside agency or freelancer to create or publish content, are they up on how to manage and protect your IP? Here's a cautionary tale that comes up far too frequently in my work with clients. The post Maintaining Control of Your IP appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Good or bad, transitions are the interesting parts of life. And I'm definitely in a transitional period at the moment. With that, here's an announcement... The post I’m Leaving appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

The nuances matter. Even if you're genuine about it, are you unintentionally signaling that you're not trustworthy? I hope not. I also explain why I haven't been publishing as many episodes lately. The post A Discount Is Not a Gift appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

The NBA is back as of last week, and it got me thinking about a metaphor that we can apply to our own work. What's your style of play? The post 2 Ways to Get 3 Points appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

When someone sends you an unsolicited email, do you owe them a response? The post Right to a Response appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

My blog can't be this great, can it? If I were to listen to the lies of scammers, I might start to believe that my blog is a must-read. I sincerely doubt that's true though. The post I Love Your Blog Post appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

I describe my work as creating "The Digital Representation of You." In 200 episodes of this podcast, in my client work, and my new project, Consider the Source, I am rooting for your best ideas to make a positive impact on the world. The post The Digital Representation of You (Episode 200) appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

There are 3 different types of quizzes that you can use in marketing. Let s look at the practical uses of each type and how to set goals, choose question types, and deliver meaningful results. The post Three Marketing Quiz Types and Their Applications appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Social media is a lie. It promises a podium. But instead, it hires you to be unpaid labor. Can you still get something out of it? Sure, but we have to see through the misconceptions to find a smart strategy. The post No One Cares About Us appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Like anything in content marketing, a marketing quiz has to be well-designed, well-constructed, and well-presented in order to be effective. Here are the 3 steps to create an effective marketing quiz. The post Designing the Perfect Quiz for Lead Generation appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Scroll through LinkedIn, and it's cringe after cringe. A never-ending stack of performative, self-aggrandizing humble brags. It's done in earnest, I'm sure. But in expressing our genuine excitement, is it coming off the wrong way? Let's audit my feed. The post LinkedIn Is a Tough Scroll appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

It takes years to build a trusted relationship with a customer. It takes one bad decision to lose it all in a split-second. The post How to Ruin a Good Customer Relationship appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

A successful marketing quiz serves the user first and foremost. How do we design a quiz to solve a customer issue and think beyond just generating leads? The post Four Principles of an Effective Marketing Quiz appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

People like to talk about themselves. Let them. If you can open the conversation, you can start building the trust that you need to ultimately lead a customer to choose you. The post Why Quizzes Are Good for Content Marketing appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

There's one question you can ask to find out if your messaging is getting through. I call this The Ambient Awareness Test. The post The Ambient Awareness Test appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

How will we get our good ideas across if we are turning people off in the way we present ourselves to the world? Are we inadvertently giving people the wrong impression? The post Stop Mimicking What Marketers Do appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Your "media fit" is at the intersection of 1) what you can produce and 2) where your audience congregates. Given that, what's the best platform for you and your brand? The post Finding Your Media Fit appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Speaking with clarity and empathy works. Here's a great example of that: How Jessica Valenti changed my mind about cancel culture. The post How to Change My Mind appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

If we want to create positive change in the world, it will take strong ideas expressed with clarity and empathy. To that end, I'm launching a new project called "Consider the Source" that audits the way we consume, share, and produce media. The post Consider the Source: Extending the Scope of this Show appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

With a little planning up front, you can use your podcast to generate an audiobook: A new format you can sell for minimal ancillary effort. The post Using a Podcast to Create an Audiobook appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

It feels like a chance to reset. How will that affect our media diet - what we consume, what we share, and what we produce? The post Turning the Page appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

In promoting your podcast, it pays to be efficient. Automation is a key part of this, in syndication, social promotion, and email marketing. Here's how to get set up. The post Promoting and Syndicating Your Podcast appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Launching a podcast is different than a blog. Here's how to do a proper launch to take advantage of Apple's "New & Noteworthy" category. The post Setting Up and Launching Your Podcast appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Anyone can start a podcast. What would yours be like? Let's take a look at what it would take to get started, including a show concept and format, a USB mic, and free recording software. The post Scripting and Recording Your Podcast appeared first on Control Mouse Media, LLC.

Podcasting offers the ability to create a virtual "rolling book tour" to find new readers and turn them into fans. It's simple to set up and run this strategy, even if you've never worked with audio before. Here's an overview. The post Podcasting as a Strategy for Writers appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Looking at it through a media lens, Black Lives Matter is precise and powerful as a slogan. It's direct, efficient, and airtight as an assertion. Let's unpack the phrase to understand why it works so well. The post Why Black Lives Matter Is Such a Powerful Slogan appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

It feels good to celebrate, with good reason. But record turnout revealed something about the coming challenges we face as a culture. The post Now We Know appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

My hat's off to all of you who shoved aside intentional roadblocks to make your voice heard. Whatever happens tomorrow, thank you all the same. The post What Happens Tomorrow? appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

You don't need my help. You don't need anyone's help. The post Don’t Take My Advice appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

A self-audit is not a bad thing to do, whether you are starting a business, freelancing, or seeking a job. The post Empathy, Energy, and Ethics appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

If we want to make change in the world, our best ideas need to be expressed with clarity, empathy, and a genuine desire to form a real connection. The post We Need Marketing More Than Ever appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

After a hiatus, I relaunch Marketing Without the Marketing with a new format, new focus, and new flavor. The post Refocusing When Focusing Is Difficult appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

175 episodes is a long run. With all that's going on, it's safe to say that someone other than me should have the microphone. So I'll be closing up shop for awhile. Here's my reasoning, and a look into the foggy future. The post Closing Up Shop appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Time is running out! Perceived urgency can be a strong motivator to make a purchase. Here's how we can carefully use urgency as a strategy, and why this is an advantage for small businesses over larger competitors. The post Creating Urgency: Online Store Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

When a customer is ready to make a purchase, there are only two strategies you can use to gently influence them to complete the sale: Scarcity and urgency. Here's a rundown of all the ways to use SCARCITY to up your conversion rates. The post Employing Scarcity: Online Store Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Your online store is the last and most important point in the customer's journey. In the first episode of this 3-part mini-series, I cover how to set up your store site, optimize product pages, and gather the data you need to make smart strategic adjustments. The post Making the Sale: Online Store Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

There are two cases where it really makes sense to run a Facebook Ad. But it cannot be a standalone strategy. In Episode 171, I cover all the things that need to be set up before you start running ads or boosting posts, so that you don't spend your money on useless eyeballs. The post When to Use Facebook Ads: Social Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Many of our favorite small businesses will not survive the severe economic downturn precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic. Now is the time to help our friends and neighbors who run small businesses, or we may lose them forever. Here are a few things we can do to help them weather the storm. The post How to Support Small Businesses During the Coronavirus Crisis appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

The coronavirus outbreak is having a huge impact on small businesses, including my own. Here are a few specific strategies to help you weather a prolonged downturn, and an offer to use what expertise and experience I have to help you directly, one-to-one, for free. The post How Small Businesses Can Survive the Coronavirus Crisis appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

In Episode 168, I question the concept of getting a large social media following. Large numbers of "eyeballs" often don't do us much good compared to the tight connections of smaller groups. A counterintuitive approach involves using a Facebook Group, LinkedIn Group, or the group chat features of messaging apps to cultivate an ardent community of supporters. The post Small Groups vs. Large Followings: Social Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Domain scammers have upped their game. I encountered a new variant of the Domain Name Expiration Scam recently. Episode 167 is about how to spot this new strategy and what to do if you are targeted. The post Domain Renewal Scams: How to Avoid Them appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

By treating our marketing efforts like an experiment, we can set metrics, collect data, analyze the results, and then make the necessary adjustments. Episode 166 is about how to put a simple plan in action to help you get better results from your social campaigns. The post Measurement and Iteration: Social Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

The algorithms are working against us now. Episode 165 offers two strategies to adapt to the new, more restrictive world of social media marketing: How to do an end-run around the algorithms, and three steps to lean into what is still the best part of social. The post Rethinking Our Social Media Interactions: Social Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

The glory days of social are over. Free organic reach is a thing of the past. What used to work is no longer effective. So how do we respond? Are there still ways for us to use social media to build relationships with an audience without having to pay-to-play? Of course there are. The post Social Is Not What It Used to Be: Social Strategy 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Email marketing is one of the most important tools for any small business. Can we come up with something other than "email newsletter" to call it, though? This has been bugging me for a while, and I haven't come up with a solution - so I thought I'd ask for your help. Send me a reply once you've had a listen! The post No One Wants to Read an Email Newsletter appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Your business is at risk if you don't have ownership of one of your most important assets: Your audience. While a Facebook Page is convenient for connecting with customers, what happens when your account gets hacked, deactivated, or deleted? This happened to a client of mine. Episode 162 is her story. The post Your Facebook Page Has Been Hacked appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

You can't do good email marketing without maintaining a clean email list. Good list hygiene not only helps you save money, but it also helps you increase your open rate and click rate. Let's look at some strategies for proper email list maintenance, including running periodic re-engagement campaigns. The post List Hygiene and Maintenance: Email Marketing 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Automation is key to today's email marketing. In the last episode, I covered some basic automation strategies to get you started. Let's take a look some more advanced techniques for when you are ready to go beyond a basic email newsletter strategy: RSS-based sequences and nurture sequences. The post Intermediate Automation: Email Marketing 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.

Adding a little bit of automation to your email marketing strategy can help nurture "cold" leads without a lot of extra hands-on effort. Building on the last episode about list segmentation, let's look at the two types of automations that I recommend to clients when they are just getting started: Welcome sequences and follow-up sequences. The post Basic Automation: Email Marketing 201 appeared first on Control Mouse Media.