If you thought 2020 'a bit strange...'

...we just seem to be getting crazier still, and - leaving aside the rights and wrongs...

...or how you may feel about the man himself...

...amidst it all, there was a BIG marketing lesson last week, and we're ALL at risk if we don't grasp it.

Take 4 minutes to understand what it was, and what you must do now to protect yourself, in my brand new Growth Moves podcast...

Cliff Farrah is President, CEO and Chairman of The Beacon Group and a pioneer in the field of growth strategy consulting.

In this episode of the Growth Moves podcast Cliff talks to Rob about the four key questions to growing the top line that his firm uses as the first step in over 1500 client engagements over 20 years, with some of the world’s most successful companies.

The promise of technology for most consultants, coaches and services businesses rarely pays off, in large part because they lack the kind of intelligent strategy my guest Gareth Everson shares in this show...

Gareth explains why, unless you have one of three outcomes at the end of every client engagement, you've got a problem.

Gareth founded software company Connectably to help business owners who aren't naturally "software people" to systemise processes, understand marketing technologies, improve client experiences, get paid their true worth and increase their business' value.

We talk hot tubs, party-loving alcoholics (are there any other kind?)... and the Yes/No Game makes its debut!

Listen in to understand the strategy then get Gareth's one-pager here.

We've been hearing for 20 years that email marketing is on its way out... and it's still nonsense! Running your own, opt-in email newsletter - even if 'newsletter' is not what you call it - is still priority number 1 in my eyes.

But how do you get subscribers?

What should you send them, and how often?

And finally, how do you generate business with your email newsletter?

My guest on the latest Growth Moves podcast episode is Nathan Littleton, who sends over one million emails every year on behalf of his clients ranging from small accountancy firms to international franchises, and in this show he shares his three essential pillars for winning with email newsletters. Including:

• Why email is still #1, even if you think you get so many emails it 'can't work'
• Email threats and downsides as we go into 2021
• The best strategies for adding subscribers and building your email list
• Should you ever add people to your list without consent - if they give you a business card, say?
• How...

John Vuong is the owner of Local SEO Search and he works to help small business owners rank on Google and grow their business. Listen in to the latest Growth Moves podcast as Rob and John discuss 4 key tips for amplifying your SEO in 2021, including:

• The one completely non-technical but totally essential thing you MUST do before you even TRY to work on your SEO
• What it takes to build a good website today
• How to use the right content to support your business
• What content 'recipe' is better: short and frequent, or long and less frequent?
• How to amplify your message with SEO
• How to protect and enhance your online reputation
• What's the future of SEO, in 2021 and beyond?

I was sad to hear that one of my all-time favourite copywriters, Clayton Makepeace, passed away recently. With permission, I'm sharing one of his many insightful articles here. Enjoy - Rob

• The six qualities all great products share…
• How flawed marketing models kill great products and render brilliant sales copy worse than worthless …
• The quickest, easiest way to find the best marketing model for your product …
• And much, MUCH MORE!

Dear Business-Builder,

It’s your lucky day:

You’ve found a great product to promote.

Maybe it’s a client’s product; maybe it’s your own.

It could be an information product – a book or e-book, newsletter or website membership, an audio or video, a live teleseminar or webinar, a course, conference or a live coaching service – that really does help folks get richer, healthier, thinner, sexier or just plain happier.

Or, maybe it’s a widget – a gadget that slices and dices...

Often, I’ll talk to someone who says:

‘I’m a bit worried that everyone else seems to be doing what I plan to do… 

...there seems to be an awful lot of competition.’

To which my usual reply is:

‘Great!’

You shouldn’t fear competition. Now...

There IS one thing you SHOULD fear which I'll get to in a moment.

But...

All things being equal, the presence of competition is the best indication a given market is VIABLE.

That it contains people who BUY products and services to solve their problems.

So you shouldn’t fear competition, but…

You SHOULD fear:

Your inability to differentiate.

In ‘busy’ or even saturated markets, being better arguably isn’t as good as being different.

There may be ‘nowt new under the sun,’ but…

There ARE always different spins…

...different styles...

...different emphases…

...different routes to the goal.

Need an example?

Think back to Apple’s wildly successful...

Warren Knight is an award-winning keynote speaker, top 100 Global and Tech Influencer, an internationally recognised as a speaker, trainer, and coach on Digital Leadership & Digital Transformation and author of the book Think #Digital First. And, in the latest episode of the Growth Moves podcast, he talks to Rob about Using Thought Leadership To Create A Business Out Of Your Expertise...

Includes:

• What is thought leadership?
• What are some practical things you can do to help settle on the right identity, the right positioning, for thought leadership?
• What are some of the different business models thought leaders can follow, and which does Warren tend to like the best?
• Once we’ve decided on our positioning, and our business model, what’s the best strategy to begin to take all that to market?
• ‘Content marketing’ has been a buzzword for so long people may be confused about what it even means. On a practical level, how should thought leaders use content...

Natalie Phillips is a big advocate for email marketing and the way it can be used to reclaim your time and grow your business. She has over a decade of email experience, managing email lists from zero to a million subscribers and in the new episode of the Growth Moves podcast, Natalie and I cover:

• Email marketing - old hat or never better?
• The general email marketing approach Natalie likes the best
• What’s the best way to plan our email marketing campaigns?
• Why is there fear, and how can we be fearless?
• How can we be fun?
• Should our emails come from us as individuals?
• What should they LOOK like - graphics, or plain…?
• How do we create a feeling of trust in our email marketing?
• How do we strike the balance between helping, and selling? Can you give too much away?
• Essential elements for fun and fearless email that makes sales
• How often should we send email?
• Should we worry about unsubscribes?
• What benchmarks should we look for in our email marketing?
• To...

LISTEN ABOVE - OR READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW

Running your own online 'summit' or conference is not just a new income stream - it can also bring you tons of new leads, enhance your credibility and authority around your topic, and open up valuable new relationships with experts in your space.

So how do you get started, and ensure your first online summit is a profitable success?

Well, Krista Miller of Summit In A Box is an expert in exactly that, and she's here to tell me all about it!

Listen above or read the FULL TRANSCRIPT below, including: 

• What's IS an ‘online summit?’
• The different models of summit we can use - and the one Krista recommends you start with
• As host, should you present a product or program of yours during the summit, or leave that for another time?
• Should you allow your speakers to ‘pitch' at all, or is that a no-no?
• How ‘big’ should we aim for our first summit?
• How do we pick a good...