The Bright Ideas eCommerce Business Podcast | Proven Entrepreneur Success Stories

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [0:53] — Trent breaks the news  Hosting the Bright Ideas Podcast for 12 years has been phenomenal for Trent. Through the podcast, he learned a lot, met many interesting people, and hopefully made a positive impact on his audience. For now, and most likely forever, the show is officially coming to an end. [01:31] — Why is Bright Ideas ending?  After recording so many podcast episodes, he doesn't enjoy it anymore. It's also been increasingly difficult to make time to do an activity that he no longer enjoys due to other demands on his time. He enjoys talking to people but realized that there are other ways he could spend his time. The ROI on the podcast also steadily decreased since there's an abundance of shows. [02:36] — Should you publish a podcast?  Podcasts are not a great way to build your audience because they're not searchable. On the other hand, YouTube is a great search engine. While you can publish podcasts on YouTube, a long-form podcast on that platform won't do much for growing your audience. Due to platforms like Instagram and TikTok, people's attention spans have shortened. However, you can also chop up your podcast into smaller segments. [03:49] — Advice for YouTube podcasts  You can chop up your podcast into smaller segments. Trent believes that if you're using video content for your top-of-funnel awareness content, you must keep it short — ideally 10 minutes or less. Make use of YouTube shorts. Seek advice from someone with millions of followers on their channel. [04:45] — What will happen to the website?  The Bright Ideas website won't be taken down, but it will be static. Due to the demands of his time running Flowster, Trent no longer has the bandwidth to add content to the site. It might still change in the future, and he'll surely let everyone know if it does. [05:45] — What about email subscriptions?  For email subscriptions, all current active Bright Ideas subscribers will have their records moved over into the Flowster email database. They will double-check in case some subscribers are already in the Flowster database. Still, all future emails will come from Trent and Bright Ideas. They simply do not want to pay for two databases for email marketing.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [3:15] — Yuri introduces himself and Healthpreneur  Yuri is the founder and CEO of Healthpreneur.  Healthpreneur helps health professionals and coaches gain clients and scale their virtual practices or businesses online. They help clients make more impact, reach more people, and enjoy a better quality of life. [4:22] — Webinars as powerful tools  Content marketing plays a significant part for most businesses. Regardless of industry, it doesn't matter what you do if no one knows about you — and that's why webinars can become an asset to your business. Creating webinars is a more efficient and effective method of educating and persuading people to consume your brand. Every business should have a webinar that allows them to create leverage. Listen to the full episode to hear about how Yuri used a webinar to educate people and earn money — all while being on a plane to Hawaii! [10:56] — Figure out your big idea  Answer the questions, "What is this?", "What is it all about?", and "How is this different than what I've tried before?" Build your webinar around the pain points of your target market.   The big idea is an articulation of what you believe. The goal of the big idea isn't to be empirically true; — it's to share your truth and persuade people to change their perspective. To create a big idea, you must understand your target audience and the marketplace. [17:10] — Identify your perfect client The key to great marketing is marketing to one person, not everyone. Find out the frustrations, fears, wants, and desires of your perfect client. When people feel that they're understood, that's when they start paying attention. [21:16] — Knowing what you're talking about Show them you know what you're talking about while holding on to the granular details of the actual process. To justify the unique qualities of your methods, you need to establish the results of what you do. Mapping the details out doesn't equate to success; the devil's in the details. The audience should feel that the webinar resonated with them and made sense. A good webinar primes your clients and shortens the selling cycle. [25:36] — Finding an audience Every entrepreneur should master paid traffic.  In creating ads, consider the questions: “What's the messaging going to look like?", "Who's the audience?”. The ad should lead people to the webinar, where they will be a call to action. Regularly assess what you're willing to spend for a client. [31:12] — Determine how much you're willing to lose Invest in your business. Ask yourself, “How much are you willing to lose?”  Practice realistic budgeting. [33:12] — Live webinar vs. evergreen webinar Doing a live webinar and subsequently putting up the recording as "evergreen" doesn't work very well. Think about what gets people excited enough to show up, such as doing a preamble and offering worksheets. Start promoting your webinar four to five days before the webinar. With evergreen webinars, you could re-record or tweak certain parts to make them more solid and concise.  

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [1:07] — The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant VAs are the single greatest addition to Trent's business arsenal. Significantly increases productivity at an affordable cost. [1:32] — Costs of Hiring a Virtual Assistant Trent typically hires most virtual assistants from the Philippines, while his personal assistant is from Mexico. You can hire a Filipino virtual assistant for around $4 an hour. Trent's executive assistant in Mexico gets paid about $6 an hour. Aside from being less expensive, it also saves costs from providing healthcare benefits. An hour-to-hour basis allows you to terminate them without hassle when they don't perform. [2:22] — The Role of a Virtual Assistant Allows you to focus on more critical tasks instead of $10 an hour jobs. You can hire a general VA for all the tasks you don't want to do. Hiring a specialized VA can help you with specific tasks like project management and content creation. Accomplish a collection of tasks that do not require experience. Some examples of these tasks are: Making phone calls and contacting venture partners and clients. Doing first-level research tasks and project management. Order management. Create content, graphic design, digital marketing, social media management, and email management. [5:22] — Where and How to Hire a Virtual Assistant Trent typically hires from the Philippines and Mexico. He hires VAs from Mexico to be in the same timezone as them. The best places to find virtual assistants are Upwork and OnlineJobs.ph. Make sure to put a unique code in the job description that you want applicants to put in their application. It will allow you to filter out qualified candidates more quickly. [8:23] — The Applicant Screening Process Trent's wife handles the hiring process of all their VAs. They have them complete a test task to filter out applicants who will do a good job. Test tasks are usually one to two-hour jobs. But instead, they tell them it could take up to eight hours and that they will get paid by the rate. The test task works as a trial run to find out who among the candidates does the job most efficiently. [9:49] — Common Mistakes When Hiring a Virtual Assistant They don't put a code word in their job posting. They do traditional interviews instead of straightforward project-based interviews. There's no clearly-defined process and instruction documentation in place for the virtual assistant to follow. They set unrealistic expectations far from what they have to offer. Tune in to the full episode to learn more about why people struggle when hiring VAs! Make sure to get your SOP template from Flowster SOP Template Marketplace.    

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [4:38] — Joe's Journey in Content Marketing  Joe has been in the content marketing industry for over 20 years. They popularized the term "content marketing" and held the largest content marketing event in Cleveland, Ohio, with 4,000 attendees. After leaving the business in 2016 with his wife, he wrote books on content marketing and a novel called The Will to Die. He has started a new business called The Tilt, which focuses on helping small content creators learn to build a business using a "content first" mentality. He dabbled with business models, such as Web 3 and NFTs, that didn't exist before. [6:32] — What is an NFT? (Non Fungible Token) After getting into crypto and discovering NFTs in 2020, Joe realized that content creators could build their own mini economy. He then launched Tilt Coin. A fungible token is primarily for trading dollars; conversely, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique, and have an underlying contract. Listen to the full episode to find out how one of a kind NFTs allow creators to set the rules for what happens when the tokens are bought and sold online and give their audience access to unique experiences! [12:54] — Leveraging the Scarcity Element of NFTs Joe mentions that he learned a lot from the Gary Vee model. Gary Vaynerchuk was a huge content creator but was still subject to the whims of more centralized platforms, so he created 10,255 individual NFTs called VeeFriends. NFTs consisted of his art, and each digital artwork had different access points and perks, such as exclusive mail and different levels of admission for his VeeCon. You don't need a large audience. The NFT market is limited; you can provide premium access to your audience regardless of size while also controlling your own business model. Fans also get the chance to own something from the creator and resell it. [17:05] —  The Benefits of NFTs for Creators and Fans If an event becomes successful, the pricing for NFTs could go up. The creator will benefit, being the IP owner. With The Tilt, they created Tilt Coin and set membership levels by the number of Tilt Coins someone had. Among the perks that come with the Tilt Coins are VIP access to ask Joe questions and monthly content drops. Launching at 36 cents in March 2021, Tilt Coins are currently priced at $53, which shows that the people who invested are satisfied with it. [18:42] — How to Create an FT or NFT  For social tokens, it helps to find an organization that can show you how to do it, or you can look for a contractor or technologist to do it for you. The Tilt worked with rally.io to set up the whole thing on the blockchain as a side chain of their own Genesis coin. Other organizations you could check out are Roll and Coinvise. Outsourcing the creation of NFTs by finding foundations to help you set up underlying contracts and deciding on the royalties would be helpful. [22:05] — The Downsides of NFTs In 2017, initial coin offering (ICO) boomed, and many shell companies would pump up their prices and leave everyone hanging. While it's possible to dump Tilt Coins, it would ruin his reputation. It's not about getting rich quickly but building an economy. Two people recently created Squid Coin based on Netflix's Squid Game, which went up around 5,000%, and the creators made millions before disappearing. Do your homework before investing in any social tokens. [26:42] — Resources for Studying NFTs  The Bankless Podcast had an episode with Chris Dixon where he discusses NFTs and paints a picture about why he thinks the future will be tokenized and decentralized. Tim Ferriss' podcast had a more than 2-hour talk with Chris Dixon about NFTs. Another one would be Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory episode about the gold standard, the usage of dollars, and the transition to Bitcoin. Some people might think non fungible tokens are a scam, especially in the digital art world. However, you'll find value in its scarcity element and asset inflation as you learn more about it. The future is exciting because new business models are emerging. [30:15] — Get Started Owning NFTs It's hard for someone to understand what they're talking about unless they try it. Try getting a digital wallet by going to MetaMask. You'll need Coinbase to buy $50 worth of Ethereum and deposit it into your MetaMask account. After that, find some NFTs worth $5 and buy it regardless of whether you'll lose it. This gives you a taste of NFTs. You can figure out if you want to explore it or continue living in the banking world through experimentation.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights [2:57] — Brad Introduces OutLoud Group and Influencer Marketing  Brad is the Chief Growth Officer at OutLoud Group, a 60-person influencer marketing agency. Brands can use influencer campaigns to grow their revenue. Social media influencers can be tapped as third-party endorsements because their audience trusts them. [7:56] — The Who Of Influencer Marketing Running an influencer campaign is not for everyone. Influencer marketing campaigns are not great for commoditized products, but they work best for B2C brands and those with a story to tell. Brands should make sure to pick influencer types that are either a good brand fit or adjacently related to their brand. [15:10] — How To Structure A Deal With Influencers  Smaller creators are generally easier to reach since they usually don't work with managers or agents yet. Brad observed that some creators are more reliable. He also recommends starting with an initial test with influencers before committing to a long-term deal. Most influencers will protect themselves by asking for a flat fee regardless of the campaign's success. [20:42] — KPIs To Watch In Influencer Marketing Campaigns  Brad recommends observing CPM by the increase of traffic to your website. Different creators and their platforms will have different CPMs. The subscriber and follower count is only a vanity metric — it may contain fake followers and cannot assure conversions, potential customers, or traffic. Brad recommends starting with a minimum of 5 creators first. [27:48] — What Can Go Wrong With Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns  Don't force influencers to use a script of brand voice and marketing buzzwords. Let them do their own thing since they know what will resonate with their audience the most. Don't negotiate for the lowest price. Remember that influencers' work will be affected by how much they feel valued. [31:44] — Brad Shares How The OutLoud Group Grew  Brad shares that their agency started with a family model. However, as the agency grew, they had to adopt a pro-sports team kind of model. The agency's main principle is to have clear goals and bring out the best in people. [36:55] — Where To Automate Or Humanize  As their agency grew, the business became more complex. At this point, they implemented Salesforce. Brad shares that their agency prides itself on customer service rather than automation. The agency automates its contracting and execution. However, they keep their humanized communications with different influencers and clients. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to brands and influencers. So the agency's SOPs evolve over time. The core of their SOP is the willingness to change.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [02:35] — Andrew introduces Marknology Seven years ago, Andrew founded Marknology, a company that helps brands evolve and compete in the Amazon accelerator. He started out freelancing on Upwork and Elance and eventually quit his day job to build his agency. Marknology has grown to a team of 25 through bootstrapping.  [09:05] — What's the difference between hourly billing and retainer? Andrew struggled with hourly billing since it put his interests at odds with his clients'.  This model also ties you to the belief that you must get paid for the hours you work. After many iterations, Marknology ended up with the retainer plus commission model.  Andrew found it advantageous, as he could count on the retainer to plan for hiring and scaling.  When the commission hits a certain level, the retainer falls off and from there, it's just a straight retainer or a straight commission.  [18:25] — Venturing into international markets Marknology is now big enough to handle the international market; In fact, they're already in 13 different Amazon marketplaces around the world. One of Andrew's early wins was getting brands into a less saturated market. He advises paying attention to whatever Amazon's focus is, so you can leverage it and bring more value to your clients. [20:39] — How to attract clients Content marketing and partnerships are Andrew's bread and butter. He's created a YouTube channel, opened blogs and speaking events, and started a podcast as a trust-building effort to win over clients. [24:41] — The advantages of creating content Explaining Amazon's new releases from a commentator's perspective is Andrew's strategy on YouTube content creation. Through that, he helped brands in a more casual rather than formal way. He wanted to talk about things that could help companies, such as SEO and tracking organic growth. People usually hear about him or watch his videos, leading them to connect with him. [28:34] — Why Andrew hates hard selling Andrew hates the salesman's approach to selling a product or service. He prefers building on his expertise in the field to reflect his credibility rather than convincing someone to hire him. [33:03] — Challenges and solutions in running Marknology Cash flow isn't an issue for them anymore, although it used to be a great challenge. People are both the best part and the hardest part because of needing to build relationships, communicate effectively, and be aligned in the workflow. Moreover, managing the team and continuously learning to be a leader has also been quite the challenge. Partnering with Flowster has helped him overcome those challenges. Albeit a new user, Andrew's excited about partnering with Flowster to get more processes in place. [36:18] — Andrew's diverse team Andrew's workers are distributed between Colombia, Kansas, Florida, and India. His workers in India are focused on data researching and SEO. Andrew is also looking into hiring from Romania because of the amazing branding of barbershops, restaurants, and small businesses. He finds that outsourcing talents from all over the world adds value to his business.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [2:39] — Gainful's humble beginnings Eric is the co-founder of Gainful, a CPG brand manufacturing personalized nutrition products.  During his undergrad years, Eric had always played sports but was intimidated by supplements. Not finding the products he wanted led him to mix his protein powder in his college dorm basement. [6:33] — The concept of progress As an athlete, he always wanted to do better. This passion translated into his desire to create a better protein powder.  As a liberal arts graduate, he wasn't knowledgeable about raising venture capital, setting up a business model, and other entrepreneurial skills. Yet his desire to make himself, the people, and the products around him better spurred him on. [8:53] — Setting their business foundation Jahaan, Eric's buddy, became excited about the idea of personalized nutrition.  His enthusiasm made Eric consider that there was a potential business in his personal experiment. Thus, they applied to accelerators and startup incubators. The progress and traction that they got with The Brandery got them into Y Combinator. Throughout their journey, they ran around gyms and conferences throughout their journey to hand out flyers and do some guerrilla marketing. [13:35] — Knowing your customers It's important to figure out your brand identity, core values, and customer needs. Everyone who purchases a Gainful product needs to answer a five-minute quiz to help Eric's team fulfill their needs. This quiz helped them figure out what makes them use the products that they love. [18:58] — Getting a distribution network Eric soon realized that working night shifts and selling products online isn't sustainable for growing a CPG brand. So, they found a production facility, hired a small staff, and employed a third-party logistics provider. Going from small circles to a distribution network is a crucial inflection point for CPG brands. Through that, Eric and Jahaan were able to focus more on tech, research, and innovation. [21:03] — Scaling personalized products Figure out what's important and what people want by doing it on a small scale. For two years, Eric and Jahaan mixed hundreds of protein powder blends by hand. By doing so, they found trends in customer conversion, retainment, and preferences. They waited for a specific amount of demand before going to a contract manufacturer. [26:47] — Bringing value vs. paid marketing The days of building a big business off the back of paid marketing are long gone. However, it will always be important for any direct-to-consumer business. Gainful focuses more on its products and finding ways for customers to see their brand value in their daily lives. [30:28] — Hiring people When hiring people, approaching each conversation with sincerity will help you be able to communicate better. It's also crucial to have strong advisors to lean on for reference calls or interviews. The most valuable thing for founders is being able to adapt and learn by doing. [35:34] — Leveraging your core competencies It's necessary to do things that will bring you closer to the customer and understand how your internal processes work.  Gainful's key differentiator is personalization and making product categories better through this trait. Eric has been communicating that vision to potential partners, investors, and his team. [39:58] — Evolving as a leader Setting brand values establishes Eric's credibility to lead the company.  He also considers being present, proactive, teachable, and compassionate as good starting points for getting people to believe in their brand. Reading Emily Heyward's book, listening to podcasts, and the Fitt Insider podcast's newsletter have helped him evolve as a leader. [45:33] — Dealing with impostor syndrome Eric is passionate about working with brilliant people, learning what makes customers tick, and bringing something valuable into the world. So when he doubts himself, he reminds himself that his job is still the best gig in the world. He also remembers the sacrifice his parents made to let him pursue his American dream with full freedom. He simply loves doing what he does every single day. If he feels down in the dumps, he clears his head through exercise and a good meal.    

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [1:46] — Key takeaways from the Traffic and Conversion Summit Have an irresistible offer. This is more important than having effective copy and ads. Optimize your copywriting by utilizing AI. AI for writing copies. [7:37] — How Ben started Beast Gear All the best businesses start with people who are scratching an itch. Ben did the same with his fitness equipment through Beast Gear. As an ecologist, Ben tested his ideas and gathered data through experiments. That's what gave him an advantage in his business. [14:27] — Zigging in the fitness industry Through Facebook groups and subreddits, Ben was able to know that people are getting frustrated with the elitism of the fitness industry. He also discovered that people wanted good quality fitness products at a lower price. Instead of hiring professional athletes to model for his brand, he chose himself—an average Joe—to represent Beast Gear. His message resonated with other people, and that's how he started a community. He could ask this community what they wanted and tailor his products accordingly. [19:00] — How to create a community Religiously message every customer on every platform. Engage them in real conversations and show empathy. Share the process of how you develop your products. Build goodwill, trust, and a relationship with your customers. [24:01] — How to shift the Amazon funnel to your website You can add marketing collateral to the products you ship through Amazon. Through these materials, you can ask customers to post on social media. When people post your products, you can reach out and redirect them to your website by offering discounts. You can also save their posts in a collection on Instagram and continue the conversation after a few months to ask them to leave a review. Over time, this one-to-one relational strategy became unscalable for Beast Gear. But at that point, they already had a big enough tribe and evangelists. [29:39] — Spending money on ads and PPC Ben managed Amazon PPC profitably until he handed the task off to an agency. He also experimented a bit with Facebook ads. However, what benefited them the most was word of mouth. Some athletes even showcase their products in matches without sponsorship, boosting their reach. By that point, they had already become a reputable brand in the UK and even Europe. This all boils down to having a great product that people naturally want to share. [31:35] — Growing the business by doing what other people can't be bothered to do Joining the pan-European FBA program helped Ben's business immensely. His competitors didn't join this program. As a result, Ben hit 1.5 million in revenue — he had no competition. Ben also asked Amazon to gate his brand against Beast Gear knockoffs. A competitor also wanted to sue him for intellectual property but didn't fall through. Listen to the full episode to learn how he succeeded in this legal battle. [40:46] — Preparing an exit plan You don't need to stay with your company forever, but make sure that your exit plan will benefit you. Boost your company's value and sellability through efficient systems and boosting profitability. [47:51] — Exit plan strategies and tactics Have someone fighting for your corner to ensure you don't get screwed in a deal. Understand what your business is worth now and what it will be worth in the future for the buyer. Some buyers will first offer a huge amount for your business and, slowly, over time, reduce it as much as possible. Don't fall for this tactic. Market to the right buyers who have the chops to run your business.    

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [03:06] — The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make  Entrepreneurs spend way too much time working in their business instead of working on it. Your business will not be successful if you treat it like a job. Instead, treat it like a machine. You need three parts to build your machine. [04:44] — Part one: The importance of standard operating procedures Building a business machine requires establishing standard operating procedures (SOP). SOPs are highly detailed sets of instructions for the business's repetitive processes. These are crucial because you're not going to do all the work yourself; you need people who will follow them. [05:06] — Part two: Why automate in business? Using software to automate recurring or repetitive processes is one of the key business growth strategies. Delegate tasks a software could do. If you don't, you run the risk of driving up costs. Unlike software, people make mistakes. [05:36] — Part three: Training people to be part of the business machine The people you hire will be the ones following your SOP. You need to train them to be part of the business machine. Virtual assistants can be excellent additions to the business if given the right processes, coaching, mentoring, and accountability. [06:42] — Why entrepreneurs should not make decisions based on where the business is today Many earlier stage entrepreneurs make the mistake of making decisions based on where the business currently is. Make decisions with the mindset of where your business will be in the future. Create an SOP so that you can hire VAs that will get those things done for you. Always think about how you can make the best use of your time as a machine builder. [09:31] — Business growth strategies: develop a quarterly planning template  First, set a revenue goal. Second, have an offer. It should solve a customer problem and have an element of scarcity. Third, come up with a strategy for how you will sell your offer.    

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [05:20] – Joe introduces himself Joe does authority marketing where he helps people build their online reputation.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights [03:01] – Michael introduces himself Michael has been working for 25 years in sales, primarily in corporate marketing. He founded Marketing Insider Group, a content marketing agency, six years ago. This company helps businesses grow through organic traffic using consistent content and empathetic marketing strategies. [04:15] – What do you think about marketing? On a consulting call, Michael would usually ask what the client thinks about marketing. Most people confuse marketing with advertising. Marketing is forwarding your company to the people whose problems you can solve. [06:13] – Busting marketing myths Marketing and advertising are not the same. You don't need to hire a social media person right away. It's more sustainable to invest in organic traffic than ads. Organic engines allow you to build an audience and encourages them to engage by providing valuable interactions. Marketing is about earning trust and gaining attention by introducing your company, not promoting your products. [12:22] – How to find your ideal customers Buyer profiles shouldn't be about demographics but their interests. When they know they're being targeted, audiences tend not to engage with your content. Be specific about the concerns you want to address to attract the right audience. [16:28] – Finding the moment of inspiration Don't focus on why people chose your product or service. Instead, hone in on the moment of inspiration behind that why. Agency owners often do great work that's not reflected on their websites. Share your founding stories before anything else. [18:16] – Using content to learn about your target audience Start with an SEO-based foundation. Identify the keywords that people are using. Seek to help rather than to persuade, promote, or sell. Come up with a list of keywords that your company could rank highly on search engines. [20:51] – Narrowing down your keyword list Go big, then go small. Scrape your website and build a heat map. Whittle down the keywords by looking at the CPC before ranking them. Lastly, consider a keyword's value, ability to rank, and competitiveness when creating the final list. Figure out the pain points of your audience. [23:15] – Determining the strategy for content creation The keywords should ideally straddle the funnel. Focus on the top of the funnel first. [25:23] – Should you build links or better content? Spammy links have lost their value. Quality content on your website should still be of utmost priority. These help drive organic traffic. Earning external links from high domain authority and relevant websites can be an option too. [27:27] – Getting links organically Knowing your target audience's pain points and writing about them generate great links. Look at the trends, insights, research, and infographics. You can do guest posting to add value for your clients, but such strategies are not advisable for an ROI-driven business to invest in. [30:15] – Crafting expert level articles Take the identified focused keyword. Look at the buyer intent behind the headline you created, then Google it. Read through the top 10 results on the first page. Doing so allows you to get a good grasp of the topic. [32:28] – Promoting content You can try connecting your social media to your RSS feed to publish your content automatically. However, don't focus too much on social media. Organic traffic accounts for 75% of visits to a website. A newsletter is a great way to boost organic traffic. [35:51] – Building a list Growth hack your way into a downloadable guide. Take your first ten articles and bundle them up into an ebook. Put that on a landing page that requires people to register with an email address. Setting a conversion point in place is essential in building up organic traffic.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights [05:07] – John introduces himself John is the CEO and founder of Orca Pacific. His company has transitioned from a full-service agency focused on Amazon to global eCommerce. Orca Pacific has merged with global marketing firms, MightyHive and S4 Capital. [06:39] – eCommerce and Amazon Trends COVID has influenced consumer demand and the global acceleration of the adoption of eCommerce. eCommerce is gaining traction; this will stick even post-COVID. One of the most notable Amazon trends in recent years has been the increasing pay-to-play platform. Brick and mortar retailers are starting to adopt retail media as a revenue channel. They do so to increase revenue streams. [08:51] – What is retail media? Retail media is the monetization of traffic by eCommerce retailer marketplaces. They do this by selling ads on their platform. By selling digital real estate, retail media provides eCommerce platforms a second revenue stream. Amazon is the blueprint for retail media. [11:18] – The challenge for brick and mortar retailers Brick-and-mortar stores leverage their scale to pump more money out of their vendors and suppliers. However, they do not present any significant benefits for the brand. Meanwhile, retail media is self-sustaining and has larger financial returns. Paying money to obtain more shelf space is not as direct as getting an ad click. If done correctly, retail media could be beneficial for both the retailer and the brand. [14:07] – The industry's responses to Amazon trends There is cynicism in that Amazon is finding another way to extract money. The biggest complaint on the pay-to-play shift is the erosion of organic customer attraction. Product quality doesn't matter as much as paying to be advertised. For newer and more aggressive brands, this shift provides opportunities to accelerate their presence. [17:21] – Equipping your ad toolkit Sponsored products are the lowest funnel you can reach for. High-funnel ads target customers that are not necessarily browsing in your category. Mid-funnel ads target customers who might be searching in your category but not specifically looking at the item you're selling. Sponsored videos are effective tools in attracting customers. With its emphasis on creativity, videos can grab customers' attention in just a few seconds. [19:49] – What is effective creativity? There's a lack of practical creatives in the market. Effective creativity doesn't mean creating top-notch images and videos. It's the practicality of presenting the appropriate information in the right way. People prefer authentic ads over polished ads. [24:56] – Amazon trends to look out for and predictions on its competitors eCommerce could become a more significant channel. The players in the competitive landscape may be maintaining their relative share. Groceries could leapfrog Amazon in eCommerce. Amazon is strong on the hard lines, but they can improve on their fashion categories. Smaller and more niche players could overcome Amazon. Instacart, Shopify, and other direct-to-consumer brands can be a threat to Amazon. [28:55] – Will Instacart and Shopify overtake Amazon? Amazon has built its physical infrastructure for almost three decades. There are no roundabout ways to build it easier and quicker. And so, Amazon's physical infrastructure is its biggest strength. Instacart is their most interesting competitor because they don't need physical infrastructure. [30:50] – Amazon trends: drones and cashier-less stores Drones will be put into action in five years and only if they're 100% perfect. Cashier-less stores solve the customer pain point of having to wait in line. These stores minimize the formats of brick-and-mortar stores and monetizing the data streams. [35:26] – Walmart's customer experience Walmart is starting to treat its physical stores as an asset. It's convenient to buy your groceries online, show up at their store, and have the goods loaded onto your vehicle. Walmart's biggest advantage is the connectivity back to their physical store. Jet was a good investment for Walmart because they picked up many new people, tags, and customers.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights   [04:23] – Mark introduces himself Mark is a writer, blogger, and marketing consultant. He has written countless books, including Marketing Rebellion and Cumulative Advantage. Mark also teaches graduate studies at Rutgers University. He enjoys helping people create momentum in their lives by mentoring them. [06:18] – What is the third consumer rebellion? The first rebellion happened in the 1920s when companies lied to their consumers. The second rebellion happened during the dawn of the internet. It's also called the end of secrets. We are currently in the third rebellion or end of control. During this period, customers make more well-informed decisions. [10:09] – How Cumulative Advantage came to be Marketing agencies are all struggling with the dilemma of getting heard. This situation urged Mark to research momentum. His book contains a five-step process to generate cumulative advantage. [10:48] – #1: The initial advantage that drives momentum comes from everyday experiences All momentum begins with some initial advantage. Bill Gates had early access to computer prototypes. He learned to code and used this to gain a cumulative advantage. You have to pursue your idea to build momentum. [14:12] – #2: Develop a strategy in a new way Observe the trends, shifts, and changes in society. Take advantage of these momentary opportunities by asking yourself what you can do in this situation. [18:30] – Practical advice for full-service marketing agencies Pay attention to what's happening around you and do your research. Make a connection with what's happening, adjust your offerings, and create new opportunities. [24:50] – #3: The insider secrets of creating vast awareness for projects and ideas Don't assume that people make independent decisions. Before people buy products, they would usually consult with friends and family. They'll also lookup reviews, testimonies, and information on social media. So, social proof is a valuable tool to market your product or service. [28:35] – #4: Regarding mentoring relationships in a new light The fastest way to build momentum is to get a lift from others. In traditional mentorship, someone teaches you something. However, you can learn almost anything on the internet. Instead, we need to see mentorship as a trusting relationship that opens doors and creates opportunities. [35:42] – The correlation between your personal brand and your ability to reach out for help In one chapter of Cumulative Advantage, Mark talks about creating a sonic boom. If you are just starting, you're creating a sonic whisper. That's okay. The more work you put into your personal brand, the more you build momentum and reach a bigger audience. [38:04] – #5: The certainty of business uncertainty can be used to your advantage When you face a challenge in your business, you need to have constancy in your purpose. Have the grit, determination, and discipline to keep the momentum going. When you handle the pain of discipline, you don't have to deal with the pain of failure. [44:54] – Mark's parting words Do not fall into the trap of consumer rebellion. Remember that the most human company wins. So, you need to double down on what customers love.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights [04:43] — Aaron introduces LIFEAID LIFEAID Beverage Co. started by making products for the CrossFit community. They aim to make beverages that are healthy and enjoyable. With 3,000 retail accounts, LifeAID earned $16 million revenue this year and continues to grow by 25-30% every year. [08:22] — Control your choices and mindset  When the real estate market crashed, Aaron had to file for bankruptcy. His finances and ego both took a hit. Our perceptions form our thoughts, words, and actions. These directly affect our choices and the results that they create. By controlling his words and actions, Aaron found that he started to progress — slowly but surely. Overcoming adversity requires that you change your language. [13:54] — Breaking free from the victim cycle  Being a victim means you are not in control. Discard the "cause and effect" mindset. Adopt the mindset that "cause plus reaction equals effect." We have the ability to choose. [17:06] — Ditching materialism When the house he had worked on for 17 years burned down, Aaron took this experience as an opportunity for growth. Don't assign permanence to material things. Words, thoughts, and actions are what last forever and hold the most weight. [19:31] — Dealing with bankruptcy  After going bankrupt, Aaron and his family lived in a 400-square foot RV. LIFEAID started as a side hustle with a fellow CrossFit enthusiast, Orion. Eventually, they decided to devote their time entirely to LIFEAID because they couldn't serve two masters if they wanted their business to succeed. Their finances were tight during this period. This experience served as a lesson in humility for Aaron. [23:36] — Choosing your target market and offering them something new Looking for tips that they can apply to their business, Aaron joined a high-level marketing group. There, Dean Jackson advised him to choose a single target market. By doing so, you can focus your time and resources on putting together a great product. Aaron emphasizes that you should bring something new to the market and not follow the usual path to compete in the market. [28:55] — How is LIFEAID different from other energy drinks?  Rather than an energy drink, LIFEAID belongs to the healthy energy or performance energy space. Their ingredients consist of moderate hits of natural caffeine with green tea, nootropics Alpha-GPC, GABA, and B complex. It's cleaner and more sustainable approach that aims to stimulate the brain and nervous system. LIFEAID costs more, but it's different and healthier than other energy drinks in the market. [31:26] — Creating their products   Because of his background in nutrition, Aaron is well-versed in the right ingredients to use. Aaron researched the best ingredients to use and worked with a food scientist to make LIFEAID's first products. [38:12] — Hiring the right people    Don't hire people out of desperation. If you do, it might cost you more in the long run. Instead, make sure that your prospects are a good cultural fit and can keep up with your company's progress. [41:35] — Increasing business capabilities    Focus on learning new things. Encourage holistic growth for the business. Pass on what you learn to the team so that you are all growing. Assess your goals. If you are not satisfied with the results, choose better. [44:41] — Developing the business process    It's better to develop your business process sooner rather than later. Aaron hired a consultant who helped them set up a quarterly vision statement. Creating the systems and processes for your business is a constant work in progress that you revisit and upgrade over time.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/ Episode Highlights [3:19] — Kelsey introduces VAXA Digital Agency and explains his background Kelsey worked in finance before switching to the creative industry because of his passion for video editing. He started VAXA as a side hustle in January 2020 and turned it into a full-time business in March 2021. Business slowed down when the pandemic first hit, but it has since started to gain momentum and boomed. [7:33] — How Kelsey decided to quit his job Kelsey dabbled in a few side hustles before finally hitting the nail with his digital agency VAXA. It's important to know when to cut your losses, even when you've invested money and effort into something. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to shut it down. Even when VAXA made Kelsey six figures, he didn't jump to make it his main job just yet. However, Kelsey knew that if he wanted VAXA to earn $40-50k a month, he'd have to go full-time with it. He never knew the exact time to jump off — he just did. It helped that Kelsey got support from his colleagues and peers. [15:11] — Bootstrapping vs. debt financing There are pros and cons to each method of starting a business. Kelsey wonders if they could have doubled their growth rate had he invested more capital or acquired debt financing. Aside from using one credit card to buy their initial equipment, Kelsey shares that everything was positive cash flow.  They charged clients upfront, which they use to pay contractors and salaries.  [20:28] — VAXA's current customer capacity Kelsey is confident that they have the capacity to deliver outputs for eight retainer-based customers a month. He is considering expanding the team if they hit 10-12 customers a month. On the possibility of scaling to 80 clients, he shares that he would replicate their teams and have them follow the systems that they built. [25:53] — Kelsey shares how he creates systems The first thing that Kelsey systematized was editing, including the standard fonts they would use, the colors that pop out, and how to insert graphics. Kelsey reverse-engineered his output when creating a framework, dissecting it by figuring out the hook, benefits, problems, social proofs, and call to action. He then built flowcharts for employees to follow. They also built systems for production day (such as hiring talent, booking Airbnbs, sending out the schedule) and client experience (onboarding, forums, sources for materials, feedback forms). There are many tools you can use to track and manage your processes. [34:25] — Kelsey explains the importance of opportunity cost Hiring people and expanding his team have allowed him to focus on other revenue-generating things. There will be an initial drop in quality as new hires learn the ropes. But eventually, they catch up and produce good results — sometimes better than what Kelsey can make. Understand the value of your time. Don't incur costs; use your time to generate revenue. [40:45] — Kelsey on outsourcing Not all outsourcing has to cost you money. Finding people willing to work on commissions is also hugely beneficial. [42:21] — How did you get your digital agency's name out there? Kelsey had no outbound strategy for the digital agency. Being active on social media, engaging with other people in the same community, and expanding your network all play a significant role in organic growth. Consider an affiliate program as that can also generate more customers. [46:22] — Building his connections Kelsey joined as a beta member in the Facebook group “Trends” in December 2018. He blocked off 15-20 minutes of his day to engage with the community, establish rapport, and set up a solid client base. Kelsey launched VAXA through a post in the group and got 40 leads by offering a 90%-off trial for anyone who needed an e-commerce video ad.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo// Episode Highlights [02:51] — Neil introduces himself and how he became an SEO consultant Neil was an investment banking project manager before he started his SEO journey in 2009. He worked on his business evenings and weekends until it grew. Initially, he wanted to hire agencies to help his business grow. However, he found that he was more than capable of solving his problems. That's how he fell into the world of SEO strategy. [05:13] — Neil shares his client's experience with SEO Neil worked with a client who sold thousands of products, including heaters, online.  This client's traffic mainly was from paid advertisements.  They wanted to know how they can grow their sales organically. Neil introduced an SEO strategy to his client, along with the factors that can affect SEO results to manage their expectations. [10:15] — Factors that you need to consider when looking at the speed of SEO strategy results  Brand new sites will not be trusted by Google right away. Sites that have more history will have better domain authority. The more trusted sites link to your site, the more Google trusts you. Determine how optimized the site and the content are for Google and the users. When site architecture and content are optimized, it becomes easier for Google to rank your website. [17:29] — Neil's SEO strategy and tactics  Identifying architectural issues in your site and clearing them up contributes to the site's reputation. Creating content with keywords targeted to your users will make them find the products faster. Optimizing category pages declutters the site, which heightens the experience of Google and its users. The more good data is given to Google, the higher a page can rank.  [34:07] — Why SEO is a compass that builds your brand organically online  Tactics for SEO strategy on this front include blogs, social media presence, and non-sales-related newsletters. The effects of this SEO strategy will snowball over time. When you broaden your view, you can fill your content calendar with exciting ideas. [39:34] — Link building practices to avoid and do You can hurt your site by buying links from the wrong places.  Buy links if the site is genuine and high-quality. Running a blogger outreach campaign is also a good idea. Create unique content if you want it to be shared. [49:20] — Why an SEO strategy involving link building pays dividends Link building is a component of SEO strategy that takes time. However, it can be a better investment than paid advertising since it provides value to your site over time.  You can do a mix of building links and increasing your domain authority, depending on your keywords.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/   Episode Highlights [01:46] – Francis introduces himself and what he does in his company Francis is originally from Memphis but is now living in Budapest. He is an email strategist and copywriter for eCommerce businesses, coaches, and consultants. Francis works with six-figure drop shipping brands to eight- to nine-figure health supplement companies. As a copywriter, he is responsible for differentiating these brands against their competitors. [2:52] – Why should brands focus on email? According to Francis, the email system is not dead. It is more relevant now than at any other time in history. Your email copy is a crucial element in ensuring a personalized, customized, and less scammy approach to marketing. Today, it is difficult for eCommerce businesses to stand out.  [5:55] – How does a brand construct an email strategy to make itself stand out amidst the competition? Care about your customer and your emails to them.  Email engagement goes far beyond just sending promotions. Chubbies, an apparel brand, is an example of effectively delivering care in their content.  Speak a specific language relatable to your audience. Brands should keep their emails quirky, engaging, and unique. If you are a direct-to-customer brand, establishing email engagement can get you ahead of the curve. [8:50] – Examples of funny names used in email engagement Francis shares one of the shoe brands he works with. Instead of using their brand name in their emails, they write “From: Your Foot Pain.” By doing something unusual, you entertain and interest your audience. The main thing you have to do is not initiate a bored response from your audience. [10:59] – How do you leave a rockstar impression? Email engagement is like dating. Make your customer feel good about their decision. It helps to set expectations at the start of your email engagement with a customer. Email engagement doesn't start and end with the first email. Stay engaged for three, four, or more emails. [13:47] – Francis' successful ideas for further establishing email engagement Keep your customers updated. Incentivize customers to respond so you can stimulate further email engagement. Humanize your emails — the last thing you want to be seen as is a bot. [16:23] – What is email deliverability, and how can you optimize it? Email deliverability defines whether your emails get into their primary inbox, promotions, or a spam folder. The higher the quality of your emails, the more likely they will land in the primary inbox of your customers. Low-quality emails get sent to promotions or spam. If your emails get sent to promotions or spam, you can ask for a response from your customers. Listen to the full episode to hear about Francis' techniques for increasing email deliverability! [21:33] – Difference between sales and content emails Sales emails are typically about product launches, promotions, or discounts. Repetitive sales emails get boring and tiresome, like a friend who only talks to you to ask for something. Meanwhile, content emails provide a different kind of value to your customers.  Content emails can still generate sales. Listen to the full episode to find out how and why! [24:48] – How can you boost your average order value and lifetime value? Focus on making your customer feel good. Emphasize the benefits customers receive from what they've just bought. Track your data: when people visit, what people buy, and more.  Give your audience valuable content, and they'll be back for more.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/   Episode Highlights [03:03] — About Airborne and the B2B Tech Landscape Lee is the co-founder of AirborneApp, a sales engagement platform built for lead generation in marketing agencies. They help marketing agencies manage their outreach. Unlike other sales engagement platforms, AirborneApp is built for agencies. Unless you're into B2B tech, it can be hard to differentiate products in the market these days. More businesses are now focusing less on automation to reach a high volume of people to narrow down on single accounts.  [07:21] — Making the Processes Systematic for Agencies When they started AirborneApp, they interviewed around 100 customers. They found that agencies had trouble managing so many things all at once.  Because products in the market were geared towards individual reps, there was no one system for any agency.  That was the problem that Airborne wanted to solve. They also noticed that agencies wanted to create their own tech. So, they allowed agencies to license Airborne tech and build whatever they want on top of it.  [12:36] — Best Practices in B2B Demand Generation Have a playbook and know what your playbook looks like. Know where your prospects are hanging out and how they're going to respond to you. Try a little bit of everything to know what works best for you.  Your process is more important than your channels when it comes to B2B demand generation. They also ask experts in B2B demand generation to write for them, which results in leads. [18:38] — B2B Demand Generation Pain Points The biggest problems are: getting into their prospects' inbox, managing the deliverability of their messages, and running out of the right prospects to sell to.  [20:44] — Channels that AirborneApp Covers Email, phone, and LinkedIn are their primary touchpoints. They don't use Instagram or Facebook for communication.  LinkedIn is a manual step, meaning that they don't do automation on their AirborneApp per se.  They don't want to deal with the headache of tweaking their system every time LinkedIn cracks down on automation. [29:15] — CRM vs. Sales Engagement CRM is about actively managing a client, whereas sales engagement is about how you get a client. With AirborneApp, a client can bring all of their prospects into their system, and it'll take only around 30 minutes to set up and send emails to all of these prospects. Sales engagement platforms are useful for reaching prospects who have yet to opt into your marketing.  [34:20] — Automation and Sequencing Lee recommends sending out only a few hundred emails per day. Doing this allows you to change your messaging and pause your sequence if the campaign is not working. Understand why people do not respond to you so you can nurture them into another campaign. [37:20] — Lee's Formula for B2B Demand Generation Success Lee shares their playbook involving emails, phone calls, LinkedIn connection requests, and a piece of content. Listen to the full episode to hear how they tie together! This strategy earns them 15 to 20 meetings in a week. B2B demand generation playbook works very well for them because they target a niche.  They only message people whose problems they know they can solve. [40:37] — Why Agencies Use Airborne AirborneApp generates agencies' reports with just one click. It saves precious hours and allows agencies to have a high level of visibility to their clients. They focus on one customer at a time, helping them with their problems before expanding to other market areas.  [46:45] — Inbound and Outbound Strategies, What's Next for Them Lee's team started making content a while ago, believing that it will pay in inbound leads in the long run. But since they're still starting, they recognize that they still need outbound marketing.  Ultimately, business is about people. It's about your mission, vision, and values. Even a lean team like Flowster can benefit from the services of AirborneApp.  They are planning to expand their services to sales teams.

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/     Episode Highlights [02:16] — Logan introduces Kanga Coolers Kanga Coolers is a company he started back in college. They produce koozies for beer or soda cases. He had to create a solution to a problem for his entrepreneurial class.  The idea came from tailgate parties and how they never used coolers because they were inconvenient.  They just bought from convenience stores and drank their beer warm.  Their product bridges the gap between convenience and coldness of the beverage. [04:30] — How much has the company grown?   Kanga Coolers is in its 5th year of business. They became a multi-million dollar company last year and expect to double or triple their net growth within the next quarter. Their success was boosted by their appearance on Shark Tank when Mark Cuban offered them an investment. [06:23] — From class project to an actual company They had to figure out every aspect of the business, from marketing, website development to creating a prototype. After buying the materials for the koozie, they took it to a dress alteration shop and asked someone to make the prototype. When starting a business, you have to get your foundations set up.  This process involves the not-so-fun parts of a business, such as filing for intellectual property and setting up operating agreements. In terms of capital, they got started with loans from friends and family. Since then, they've adopted more of a bootstrap method. [10:11] — Kickstarter and Shark Tank Right after they did market testing, they met their first mentor. This person helped shift their mindset to become more serious. Then, they turned to Kickstarter to market and sell their product but found that their target market was not on that platform.  Whenever you drag a customer too far to buy your product, you pay more money than you would get in return. They learned that lesson the hard way but made it out alive to turn the next page on their next chapter—Shark Tank. To prepare for the show, they watched episodes and conducted mock trials. [16:12] — Understanding the target market Initially, they assumed that college students would be their target market, but it turned out to be recent grads. It's hard to narrow down your target customers when your product has broad appeal. Kanga Coolers figured out their market by analyzing online marketing metrics. Testing your assumptions is essential to not marketing to the wrong audience. [21:01] — Getting a lucky break via B2B Lead Generation Before the Shark Tank episode, Logan's team had to generate enough revenue. They did this through B2B lead generation. They got a lucky break when a company reached out to them, wanting custom koozies with their logo. Luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity.  If they had not chosen a material they could print on, they would not have been successful with that particular B2B lead generation. [23:16] — Figuring out Facebook ads and eCommerce You can't establish a reliable relationship with your agency or partner if you don't grasp how Facebook ads and internet marketing in general work. After having a volatile relationship with some ad companies, Logan studied how online ads work using digital resources.  He now has a partner who handles Facebook ads for their company. In terms of sales channels, they temporarily opened on Amazon. However, they are focusing on only one channel right now due to inventory shortages: Shopify. They diversify their manufacturing and try to reduce the distance from the manufacturers. [30:15] — Getting into retail It takes a long time to broker a deal with a retail company.  You have to nurture the relationship and be ready when the opportunity comes up.  B2B lead generation makes up about 40% of their revenue, split evenly between custom and wholesale. The B2B lead generation side of their business is only one stream of income. Kanga Coolers has diverse income streams. [35:30] — Content is king Having quality content will be even more critical now that iOS users can opt out of targeting. Kanga has long-form content, ranging from documentaries to podcasts. They found social media success on TikTok. Here, they create content for top of the funnel, mass awareness. Listen to the full episode for more ideas on how to find or buy an audience! Down the road, their marketing will expand to involve SEO and influencer marketing. [50:06] — The challenge to scale Maximizing their multiple distribution channels with one product is a challenge for them.  So is introducing new products to the market. Instead of doing poorly at many things, they choose to focus on a few routes to excel. Be wary of Amazon resellers who violate the minimum advertised price. When this happens, you compromise your relationship with retail companies. Overall, they love what they do, so they have yet to think of an exit strategy.    

Flowster Live Demo https://flowster.app/live-demo/   Episode Highlights [02:56] — Who is Stefan? For the past 15 years, Stefan has worked for startups or agencies focused on social and media technology. He was the founding Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the first-ever social television network Youtube TV. Currently, he's focused on more individual coaching for solopreneurs, one-man-bands, consultants, and coaches alike who are trying to keep the pipeline full so they can do what they want to do. [06:36] — Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) for B2B Lead Generation Directing your message to the right customer is a marketing fundamental. Unless you have enough money to segment your marketing to multiple, varied audiences, having a product or service with broad appeal may create a problem. Imagine having a stack of bowling pins. It's challenging to knock them all down at once, but taking them down one at a time is more manageable. Similarly, in marketing, you want to focus on your first audience first.  [10:05] — Build Traction with Your First Cohort Understand and gain insight from your first audience Outbound plays a critical role in allowing you the opportunity to have one on one discussions with possible clients. Look for patterns of keywords. [13:41] — Improving Response Rates Turn cold calls into lukewarm outreach. Increase your chances of getting a response from experts and influencers by interacting with them through other platforms. Listen to the podcast to learn more about how you can use blowing digital sunshine to increase your response rate. [17:37] — B2B Lead Generation Through Automation There's a variety of LinkedIn automation tools in the market. Use the message that gets you the most significant response rate. Once you've built rapport and get a response, you can get the data you need to dial in on your ICP. [22:30] —  Fundamentals of Marketing

In this episode, Benji Hyam shares what it takes to be a successful business blogger. According to him, the key is identifying and addressing your target audience's problems. He also talks about writing blog posts for SaaS businesses versus service businesses, and we share actionable tips to produce meaningful and measurable returns on investment for your company.  Tune in to this episode to learn how you can maximize blogging for business, the Benji Hyam way.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the show with me today is Jeremy Sherman is the Marketing & E-Commerce Manager at SNACKLINS - accidentally healthy, intentionally delicious, low-calorie crisps made from simple ingredients. In this role, Jeremy oversees paid digital advertising, e-commerce channel strategy, and e-commerce customer experience. Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/363

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the show with me today is Chris Bell;  founder and CEO of Perch - a company is focused on acquiring and building consumer brands. Chris has a very diverse and interesting background and as a result of his background, the way they are building Perch as a technology platform is very interesting.  Prior to starting Perch, Chris - whose a software engineer by training -  worked for 3 years at Wayfair and helped them to open 50 new distribution facilities and reduce the time it took to deliver a couch from 30 days all the way down to two. Before that, Chris worked as a Principle at Bain & Company, and while there, gained extensive experience in M&A. So....as you can see, Chris career path has ideally positioned him to lead Perch  toward his goal of a billion dollar company. 

On the show with me today is John Hefter; a founding member of the team behind Thras.io; a company that has acquired over 100 FBA brands in the last 2 1/2 years.  In the first part of John's interview, we talk about what's going on in the marketplace, and how Thras.io is differentiating themselves from the legion of competitors that have surfaced in the last 6-9 months. Then, in the second half of the interview, I asked John to share with me what makes a good product, how to launch them using what he calls "stupid smart" ideas and what brand owners should be doing now if they are hoping to sell within the next year. 

On the show with me today is Cameron Herold; a guy Forbes magazine calls Today's CEO Whisperer.  In addition to coaching the CEOs of some of today's more successful high growth companies, Cameron is also the founder of the COO Alliance, and the author of 5 books. Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/359

On the show with me today is Codie Sanchez is a reformed journalist, turned institutional investor to now a Managing Director and Partner at Entourage Effect Capital, a private equity firm focused specifically on investing in the legalized cannabis industry.  In addition, Codie is also the founder of a rapidly growing newsletter by the name of Contrarian Thinking; which was started in January 2020 and just a year later has grown to 100K subscribers.  Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/358

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the show with me today is Mark Lewyn, President and co-Founder of Sorfeo; an ecommerce company focused on acquiring Amazon private label brands.  Previously, he was was Managing Director of JEM Partners, which used data analysis to create popular consumer products and then distribute them via a global network of inter-connected e-commerce platforms. Mark is also the author of "The $500 Start-up on Amazon: How a dad of three launched a business on Amazon and escaped the hamster wheel of 9-5." Please join me in welcoming Mark to the show Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/356

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the Bright Ideas eCommerce podcast, Trent Dyrsmid interviews today's most successful eCommerce, Agency, and SaaS founders and gets them to share all their most effective strategies and tactics for growth so you can quickly figure what you need to implement in your business today to get ahead of your competition. If you are looking for proven methods to scale up your eCommerce business, increase efficiency, improve your systems, and delegate more, this is the podcast for you. eCommerce, automation, outsourcing, standard operating procedures, workflow management, search engine optimization, social media, podcasting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

On the show with me today is Brent Weaver Founder & CEO of UGURUS. From a bank balance of three dollars, Brent grew his digital agency to seven figures a year while managing more than 300 active clients, including Dish, Anheuser-Busch, InBev, and Adobe. In today's conversation, Brent and I talked about the biggest risk facing agency owners today, why focusing on a single niche is so important, and how to do it correctly. We also covered topics that included how to create awareness for your brand, how to identify your target audience and where they hang out online, how to create awareness for your brand with this audience, how to focus on the 3-5 things your audience cares about so they will be attracted to your company, how to establish the authority you need to be seen as an expert, and finally, how to convert these leads into paying customers. If you are an agency or eCommerce brand owner and you are looking for proven strategies to ignite more growth, this episode is for you!

On the show with me today is Gene Hammett, an executive coach for founders and CEOs of companies on the Inc 5000 list.  In today's interview, Gene and I decided to take a different approach, and rather than me interviewing Gene, we decided to use this episode as a live coaching session for yours truly. Want to know how to become a better leader? Tune in and listen to what Gene had to say! Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/340...and if you have any questions for me, you can leave me a voicemail at brightideas.co/asktrent

On the show with me today is John Lincoln; founder of a full service digital agency by the name of Ignite Visibility; a four-time Inc 5000 company. With 16+ years of demanding experience, Lincoln has worked with over 1,000 online businesses including amazing clients such as Office Depot, Tony Robbins, Morgan Stanley, Fox, USA Today, COX and The Knot World Wide. Lincoln has authored thousands of articles and videos, taken hundreds of websites to number one positions in Google for competitive keywords, built social communities to millions of members, strategized many record breaking advertising campaigns with millions in spend and worked on hundreds of advanced projects in CRO, influencer marketing, media buys, email, Amazon and affiliate marketing. Lincoln has authored two books, "The Forecaster Method (2019)" and "Digital Influencer (2016)," and is Producer and Director of "SEO: The Movie" and "Social Media Marketing: The Movie". Lincoln has received the Most Admired CEO Award and San Diego's Top Business Leaders Under 40 Award. He has spoken at Web Summit, SMX, Pubcon and more. In my conversation with John, we talked about two main topics; how authoring books has helped me to become an influencer, and how to leverage analytics and attribution tracking to ensure that ad spend is not wasted on offers that don't perform up to expectations.  In fact, I was so impressed with what John shared with me that I hired his firm right after we finished recording the episode.  So, regardless of whether your run a SaaS, an eCommerce business, or a digital agency, you are going to get a ton of value from this interview. Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/340...and if you have any questions for me, you can leave me a voicemail at brightideas.co/asktrent

On the show with me today is Ethan McAfee; founder and CEO of an Amazon brand management agency by the name of Amify.  Thanks to all that is going on in the world these days, many brands are revisiting how they are (or aren't yet) leveraging the Amazon sales channel as a part of their go-to-market strategy.  For some brands, this means that changes are in order, and in today's discussion, Ethan and I talked about the 3 ways a brand can sell their good on Amazon, along with the pros and cons of each method. If you are part of a brand that is looking for ways to improve your online marketing and sales, this is definitely an interview you are going to want to listen to. Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/339...and if you have any questions for me, you can leave me a voicemail at brightideas.co/asktrent

On the show with me today is Mike Begg, founder of AmzAdvisors.com; an Amazon brand management agency located in Guadalajara, MX. Mike's agency is currently working with approximately 50 different brands and the initial part of our interview is focused on asking Mike to explain how they attracted their clients. Content marketing and cold email both play a significant role in their marketing and lead generation, and when you listen to this interview, you are going to hear Mike explain the details of the exact tactics they are using.  In the second half of the interview, Mike and I dove into the topic of living and working in Mexico, and by all accounts, it seems like a pretty decent idea. Talent is abundant, labor costs are a fraction of the US, and life in Guadalajara sounds pretty enjoyable! Bottom line; if you are running a digital agency of any kind, you are going to get a great deal of value out of listening to this episode! Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/338...and if you have any questions for me, you can leave me a voicemail at brightideas.co/asktrent