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The Truth About “Toxic” Backlinks: What Google Actually Cares About

michal@clickers2clients.com (Michal Caro) — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 22:04:59 GMT

First, Let’s Get This Straight: SEMrush Doesn’t Work for Google

SEMrush is a third-party SEO tool. It does not have access to Google’s internal algorithm or ranking system. Their "toxicity score" is based on their own set of rules and assumptions, which often err on the side of caution. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it does mean their reports should be interpreted with a grain of salt.

If you’ve run a backlink audit using a tool like SEMrush, you may have seen alarming red flags labeled "toxic backlinks." It's natural to feel concerned, after all, no one wants to risk a Google penalty. But before you hit the panic button, let’s unpack what these labels really mean, and more importantly, what Google actually pays attention to.

How Does Google Evaluate Backlinks?

Google's algorithm considers many factors when evaluating a backlink, including:

Relevance of the linking site to your niche
Authority and trustworthiness of the linking site
Anchor text and natural placement within the content
Overall link profile (diversity, consistency, etc.)

It does not use SEMrush’s toxic score. In fact, Google has become very good at simply ignoring bad backlinks, rather than penalizing your site.

Why Your SEMrush Report Might Look Scary

Many legitimate backlinks get flagged by SEMrush simply because they:

Don’t allow SEMrush’s crawler (so SEMrush can't see the full content/context)
Come from private blog networks or partner networks not indexed by SEMrush
Appear on domains SEMrush doesn’t recognize or hasn’t categorized properly

As a result, your report might show a lot of red that Google doesn’t actually see as negative at all.

What Metrics Should You Be Looking At Instead?

At our agency, we use Majestic to analyze backlinks. Why? Because it focuses on:

Trust Flow: How trustworthy a page is based on how trustworthy sites link to it
Citation Flow: How influential a URL might be based on the number of sites linking to it

These metrics are more in line with how Google determines authority and trust.

Can You Still Get Penalized for Bad Links?

Yes, but it's rare. Google typically only issues manual penalties for aggressively manipulative link schemes, and even then, they'll notify you in Search Console.

If you’re not getting a manual action, chances are Google is just ignoring any low-quality links you didn’t build intentionally.

Don’t Let Tools Intimidate You

SEMrush is a helpful tool, but it's not a judge or jury. It's one lens through which to view your backlinks—but it’s not the full picture. The most important thing is real-world performance:

Are your rankings improving?
Is your traffic increasing?
Are you getting more leads or sales?
If the answer is yes, your SEO is working.

If you ever have questions about a backlink report or how your SEO is being handled, feel free to reach out. Transparency and education are a big part of what we do. We want you to feel confident in the strategy behind your success.

Need help decoding your backlink profile? Contact us today to schedule a free backlink audit review.

Episode# 007 Supercharge Your Events Using Social Media with Jade Shebelski

michal@clickers2clients.com (Michal Caro) — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:00:37 GMT

How to use social media to get the right customers at your next event!

Episode Description:

In this episode of "Marketing Strategies Uncovered," host Rebecca is joined by Jade Chabelski of Maven and Muse Media to explore the powerful impact of social media on event promotion. Jade shares her expertise in social media management and content creation, offering practical tips on how to effectively use platforms like Instagram and Facebook to boost event attendance and engagement. From the importance of early and frequent promotion to leveraging user-generated content and collaborating with local vendors, Jade provides a comprehensive guide to supercharging your events. Tune in to discover strategies for both in-person and online events, and learn how to make a lasting impression on your audience. Whether you're a small business owner or a marketing professional, this episode is packed with valuable insights to help you maximize your event's success.

Connect with Jade:

https://www.mavenandmusemedia.com/

https://www.facebook.com/junkn.jadarie

Secret Podcast: 4 Part Audio Training and Free Workbook: CLICK HERE

Full Transcription:

Rebecca:

Hi friends and welcome to another episode of Marketing Strategies Uncovered.

We have another exciting and special episode for you today. We're going to be talking about supercharging your events using social media and we have Jade Chabelski, of Maven and Muse Media. Uh, Jade, thank you so much for being here. I'm really excited to chat with you.

Jade:

Yeah. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Rebecca:

Can you introduce yourself and let us know who you are, what your business is, and what you specialize in?

Jade:

Yeah, so I'm Jade. I do social media management and content creation for businesses that don't have that in house. I've been doing this for a long time. Pretty much since Netflix sent you DVDs in the mail.

So if you can remember back to those days, the infancy of Instagram and all of that. Um, I specialize in Instagram, Facebook, Primarily a little bit of LinkedIn and then email marketing and, um, you know, the old school ways of marketing to like events and word of mouth and all of that. Yeah, so I'm happy to be here.

Rebecca:

Nice. Yeah. A little bit of everything. Do you recommend a certain amount of platforms that people use?

Jade:

Oh my gosh, this is like the million dollar question. I wish I had like a dime for every time somebody asked me this.

Um, I know like business owners always want to be on every single one, right? Because that's cool and they feel like they need to be, but I like to say like pick two. Pick one where you feel like you're ideal person is hanging out, and then one that you really love to be on. And sometimes, like, it's the same platform, and that would be the ultimate goal, right?

Like, where do you like hanging out? Because that's where you're going to be posting the most.

Rebecca:

That's a great answer. I agree. If you try to be everywhere and all the platforms are always changing and if you don't have somebody like you that's keeping up with it, that's just too much for anybody when you should be like really focusing on running your business.

Jade:

Yeah. And like doing it, you know, if you are the one doing your marketing too, like picking two is easy because you can just do two very well instead of doing six mediocre.

Rebecca:

That's really true. I'll kind of throw myself under the bus with my LinkedIn right now. I never go over there except if somebody messages me.

But I love Facebook, love YouTube. So, yeah, I want to know all the social media stuff today.

Can you tell us how you got started, and what's your why for doing your business?

Jade:

Yeah. So my why for doing my business is I 100 percent believe that small businesses are the heart of our economy and our society in general. And I want to make sure that people know about them.

Right. So like people can't buy from people that they don't know anything about. And so that's the number one thing with marketing is like just bringing awareness that this business exists. And how I got started is a total fluke. I had a full time job, and I had a side hustle of selling vintage clothing and housewares online, and then at different street markets.

Instagram had just came out and I was styling stuff to, you know, announce like, this is coming to the street festival this weekend, or this is going to be on the website. And I would go to the street festival and my whole tent would sell out.

And different business owners would come up to me and be like, how are you doing that? Like you're leaving with nothing essentially. And I said, I don't know. I think it's this Instagram app. And they said the photo sharing thing for photographers. I'm like, yeah. And so I would have coffee with them, teach them how to do it.

They would do what I was doing. I had no idea because that was, you know, back when there was just likes and comments, there was nothing else and they would do it. And then a couple weeks or a month later, they'd contact me and ask me how much for me to do it for them, cause it was so intensive. And here we are now.

Rebecca:

Wow, that's amazing. That's kind of what we're going to be talking about today is supercharging your events with social media. I know I do see some things locally to me, like events that are popping up. Is that kind of what you're talking about or you want to just kind of go into detail how it would work if you're having a local event?

Jade:

Yeah, so I like to tell different business owners, primarily ones who are brick and mortar, you know, like all the cute shops like around Portland and stuff, you know, have an open house, have a sip and shop, something like that.

Where you're getting people in the actual business, so then they can talk about you on social. They can talk about like, hey, I went to this cool event, or like, even like the cool artist markets that there are around Portland or the farmers markets just getting your audience to talk about you more than you talking about yourself.

Rebecca:

I love it. Do you have a certain strategy? I know you also have a product that you actually sell. This is something you'll help people with, but is there maybe a few tips that you'd give to somebody that want to use social media a little bit more with their events that they could do.

Jade:

Yeah, my biggest tip would be to know that the algorithm right now as of this recording is like set up on a 72 hour algorithm. So you couldn't like if you were deciding today that you wanted to do something Over the weekend or whatever, just keep that in mind that you have that leg time that people who are not interacting with your account a lot might not see your stuff for three days after you post it.

And I think that's where a lot of business owners get caught up is they're like, Oh my gosh, It's Monday. I want to have a sale on Saturday. I need to post about it now, but people might not see it till Saturday morning or like Friday night or really close and they already have plans.

Rebecca:

This weekend there's something going on locally near me and somebody was posting while it was happening, like, Hey, come by and see it. And by the time I saw it, it had ended an hour before I saw it.

Jade:

The saddest thing. Yeah. Because it's like, I would have loved to go to this event. Like, why didn't you talk about it weeks ago? So that's my biggest piece of advice would be talk about it far out and talk about it often.

Rebecca:

That's great advice. Can you share a story of a client that you've helped, like maybe that, you know, wasn't having good results before and then you worked with them and they, you know, had their aha moment, hopefully some success?

Jade:

Yeah, one of them that comes to mind is, I was working with a boutique. And, they were a consignment place and they were looking to get into more higher end, like older women clients, that have, you know, more disposable income that would have better things to consign, for example.

And so they were like, how do we pull these in? How do we pull these people in? And so, we came up with a sip and shop. And it was, if you donated anyone in general, if you donated like these certain brands of denim, they got a 10 gift certificate to the store. And so it brought in those higher end people to start consigning.

And then over time their demographic totally shifted from like 20 year olds to like mid thirties. And it's pretty interesting to see how it just changed gradually that way.

Rebecca:

Very cool. Yeah. So having the right strategy in place and then doing something that's people actually want to go to.

Do you think it would work for online businesses too, or mostly just for, or what we talking about is really more of the in person events?

Jade:

I would say that you can make it work online, but the guide that I offer is primarily for in person events. But it's not to say that you couldn't do it as like a story sale or, Something along those lines. We have translated for a couple of clients that same kind of event, as a story sale instead of an in person thing.

It's a little bit harder to do because again, you have to like talk about it a lot and really annoy yourself with how often you're talking about it, but you're not annoying the people who are going to come to the event.

Rebecca:

Very true. I think COVID taught us nothing really replaces the in person ness too. So it's not a bad thing to have an in person event.

Jade:

And people I feel are like craving that right now. Like they want to feel part of a community again and want to be with the people and all of that.

Rebecca:

Yeah. Speaking of that, what do you think are the benefits of in person events for business owners?

Jade:

I definitely feel like the benefits of it are you actually meet your customer, right? So in marketing, there's all this talk of like, you need to create this persona. Of this person, like who, how much do they make a year? Where do they shop all this stuff? But most of the time you never meet that person you've created in your brain in real life.

So at an event, you actually meet your customers and it's good to see, like, is that who I thought my customer actually was, is that who I thought it was actually talking to? Then it also gives people like your community on social, a place to interact with each other in person. And you know, maybe you're creating more friendships and again like they're going to talk to their communities on social about the rad event they were at that you hosted.

Rebecca:

That's very true. And people are going to remember you more if they see you in person. Making more of an impact versus the thousands of people we see every day online.

Jade:

Yeah, that we kind of don't really know, but we know.

Rebecca:

Feels like we do sometimes, but yeah.

What are some emerging trends for event hosting and using social media, do you think?

Jade:

I'm not really sure how to answer this question because the trends are always coming and going, but I definitely think that a lot of stuff that's coming up has a food element to it too. So if you're having an event collaborate with maybe, another caterer or a coffee cart or have a food truck there.

So then you're having that hospitality of here I have food and drink for you and hang out and do your thing, meet some people. That's what I see emerging a lot is just being more of a destination hangout place for your event. And definitely, posting, reposting the user generated content that you've gotten from your event.

So when people take their pictures or stories and tag you to just repost that to your stories and make a whole like recap post of just user generated stuff.

Rebecca:

That's smart for sure. Everybody loves food, so I love that you said that. Do you also recommend using Facebook ads, Instagram ads? What are your thoughts on that?

Jade:

Ooh, I have so many, this is like a philosophical topic. I would say, if you were consistently posting, not just posting about events, not just posting about selling certain things, to boost some event posts, you know, like boost your event or create an ad for it or something.

Because if you're not consistently posting, the ad isn't going to generate a lot of interest, because we now have like this Netflix binge mentality. So if someone new sees your ad, And they click over to your entire profile and see your last post was like 2019. They're going to be like, is this spam or is this real?

So my advice would be like, if you are in a position where you want to boost or run an ad for an event, make sure you're also consistently posting and you haven't not posted in four years.

Rebecca:

Yeah, for sure. I always tell people that too, even your website but especially social media because you can tell when the last person posted.

And so, you kind of wonder, is that an active business? Like, will they help me?

Jade:

Yeah. It's a lot of questions come up and people are not going to ask them. They're just kind of going to assume some stuff in their head.

Rebecca:

If somebody is just starting their business and maybe they don't have a lot of money, so they're probably not going to be running ads. How to use the strategy if they have, a really small budget.

Jade:

Yeah, if they have a really small budget, I do offer an hourly rate.

So we could crank out, a couple questions, a little bit of a strategy and even an hour, if they have been doing it for a couple months at least. I would say maybe not someone brand new. So I do have hourly consultation time or I do have vip days where we would work together for like four to six hours and Get a whole strategy out and then I would coach you on how to run it and then you would go with it and then I would offer be there for support.

Rebecca:

So a little bit of a mix of you can DIY a lot of things if you need to, but if your budget's bigger, you could just take over and make life easier. Anything I didn't ask that you can think of?

Jade:

I would just say don't overthink the posting. Like, a lot of businesses get caught up in this, but the picture's not good enough, but the words aren't good enough. Like, just post. Because, the average person is following 250 people, and nobody can buy from you if they don't know you exist.

If you keep getting held back from, the picture not being a professional photo or something like that, just post. Just throw it up there, let it go. And again, like talk about your events a lot. You will be very annoying to yourself, but you will not be annoying to your audience.

Rebecca:

Yeah. One of the people that I follow, they're a marketing coach and, they recommend basically reposting the same exact thing. Their email, their social media, like, just kind of spinning the same exact thing, because not everybody sees it.

Would you recommend doing that?

Jade:

Oh, totally. Yeah, like, the marketing rule of the 1900s was, people needed to see something seven times before they did something, whatever you were asking them to do. And now we have a shorter attention span. So it's 14 times. So you might be posting the thing for the 13th time, but it's someone's first time.

Paying attention to it. So yeah, I love that. Like, recycle the content, exactly what you said, post it multiple times, because who has time to constantly recreate content for an event that has the same exact details all the time.

Rebecca:

Awesome. If you are going to have an event, you were saying 72 hours is when, the contents starting to get shown to people. When should people start like initially before then? When do you think that should happen?

Jade:

I would definitely say start talking about it at least a month before, you know, like have a date picked out have a time and a location secured and then like 10 to 14 days. That's when you start doing that reposting over and over again. Like, Hey, remember, we're going to be at blah, blah, blah on blah, blah, blah.

Rebecca:

Yeah. Keep reminding people. Cause a lot of people aren't going to put it on their calendars. Actually, another good question. Facebook events. Do you still recommend that? Is that still a thing?

Jade:

Oh, 100%. Yeah, like, as old school as it sounds, set up a Facebook event, and then on Instagram, you can create a reminder for your event as well.

So people can, tap to be reminded when the event is coming up and you can decide how do they get reminded in 24 hours before your event do they get reminded 12, you know, whatever you pick that, but 100 percent Facebook event and then ask your friends to click that they're interested, even if they're not in the same area, just click that they're interested because it'll feed the algorithm or get distributed wider.

Rebecca:

That's a great tip. Okay. Now we know what to do. At least to get started.

Jade:

Yes. I think this is a good foundation for everybody.

Rebecca:

We have the basics covered.

What's the best way for someone to find you and connect with you?

Jade:

Yeah, I would definitely say through my website Mavenandmusemedia.com. And then I am on insta at mavenmusemedia. Yeah, let's be friends and get these businesses growing and staying.

Rebecca:

Yes. Thank you Jade for coming on the podcast and sharing all these great tips with us.

Jade:

Yeah. Thanks, Rebecca, for having me. I'm so grateful for you. I'm grateful that you're doing this podcast for people. That's awesome.

Rebecca:

Well, thank you. I think we're definitely kindred spirits because I that's exactly why I started my business is what you said with yours is it's like I can help small business owners be successful because you do see so many people struggling, especially now with the economy, people need to get their name out there. You have to tell people what you do. You know, I do the website aspect. You do the social media and it's all important. So yeah.

Thank you everybody for watching and I will see you again next week .

Episode# 006 How To Start A Business With No Money

michal@clickers2clients.com (Michal Caro) — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Unlocking Success:
Launching a Profitable Business with Zero Marketing Budget

Episode Description:

In this episode of Marketing Strategies Uncovered, your host Rebecca Van Diest sits down with Joaquín Herrera, the creative force behind Blazing Heart Productions. Joaquín shares his journey from a visual artist in the VHS era to a seasoned video production expert. Learn about the evolution of video marketing, the art of storytelling, and the importance of respecting your audience.

Joaquín discusses his dual passions for film and martial arts, and how they intersect in his promotional work. He offers insights into creating impactful video content, emphasizing the importance of high-quality sound, brand consistency, and the intelligent use of modern technology.

Discover practical tips for making clients comfortable on camera, crafting effective video marketing strategies, and the potential future trends in the industry. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting, Joaquín's experiences and advice will inspire you to elevate your video marketing game.

Tune in to explore the power of video in today's digital landscape and how thoughtful, creative approaches can make all the difference in your marketing success.

Secret Podcast: 4 Part Audio Training and Free Workbook: CLICK HERE

Full Transcription:

Hey, friends, and welcome to another episode of Marketing Strategies Uncovered. I'm Rebecca Van Deist, your host, and today we are going to talk about how to start a new business with basically zero dollars for your marketing. I'm really excited to dive into this. We're gonna discuss what's important in the very beginning, some things that you might want to think about as you grow, but this way you're not going to waste any money.

You're going to be profitable from day one. I'm really excited, so let's go ahead and get started.

I wanted to do this episode because some of you might be just getting started with your business, maybe you're really new and you're not really sure what to do for your marketing yet. So let's talk about what's gonna give you the most, bang for your buck.

You might have heard that if you're not making money, you don't have a business. You actually have a hobby at this point. And so you want to be really cautious of where you're spending money.

Funds are probably really tight, and you don't want to be wasting money on a business idea that you don't even know is valid or not really profitable yet. So let's go ahead and dig into what you can do.

I just read the book Million Dollar Weekend. And this talks about validating your business idea before you start spending money.

It's really interesting and I'd never really thought about it from this perspective. With me, I love marketing so much that in my head the first thing I do is I go buy my domain name, I put up a website, and it doesn't always work out. And if you can relate to that, let me know. I'd be glad to know that I'm not the only one.

But reading that book, he talked about not getting carried away spending money, before you're making any money.

So not buying a website, not buying equipment, not paying people to do things for you. I know this can be really difficult for me. I like to feel like I have something that looks good to present to people vs you really just need to validate you have a good idea. You have to find out if there's a need for what you want to do. It makes sense, right?

Some common misconceptions about this could be that saying of, you have to spend money to make money? And I think that's really not necessary. Especially depending on what you want to do, it'd really be ideal to actually line up some jobs first and pre sell your offer if at all possible.

Somebody that I really like to follow on YouTube, she's always got some great stories of different business ideas, is Cody Sanchez. She loves to talk about boring business ideas that cost little to no money to start up. And I love hearing about different business ideas.

Last week, I actually decided to start a cleaning business. But I'm not going to do any of the cleaning myself. I'm actually going to outsource all of it because I don't have a lot of extra physical energy or time. I've got a lot going on at my house, my property, and just life in general. I'm also running Clickers 2 Clients, so I have to take that into consideration. We're just going to kind of see how that all goes.

After reading the Million Dollar Weekend book, I did my research, and the first thing I did is I found out if there is a need in my area for this type of business. Some things that I found out when I was researching is I looked into local Facebook groups near me, and what I noticed is yes, there is lots of people asking: "Is there a cleaning business around here?" Sometimes it seems like there are one off people that do it, but nothing legit, nothing that you can Google, or anything comes up when you search: my city cleaning company or cleaning company near me.

And what does come up is really bad Google My Business profiles. Nobody has a website attached. And the businesses that are there, are very few. And I think what's happening in my area, is what is here is kind of maxed out.

I was actually looking for accountants near me, about 30 minutes away, and one that I really liked the most said they're not accepting any new clients right now. So it just shows the demand is there for businesses in my area. And honestly, I think jobs are in demand, too.

Something I want to do is be a really good employer. I want to be a good company that people want to work for. I want to pay well, have good benefits, have a good incentive that people want to do quality work, want to stick with me long term. And I guess that is part of my marketing is I'm actually going to, have this all on my listing for hiring people, is letting them know what I offer, what makes me different. So hopefully that'll help me stand out and I'll find some good quality people to help actually do the cleaning.

And the third part of my research is I watched some YouTube videos. Just like you would with Google, I went into YouTube and I put how to open a cleaning business. And I found this lady, The Professional Cleaner, and she has a very different view on marketing when you're opening a new cleaning business and keeping your costs very low.

Surprisingly, she doesn't think you should have a website or waste your time doing social media. These are things that she still doesn't do after 20 years of being in the cleaning industry. I love that she's successful.

She has a six figure business. She doesn't have a website. So I did want to include her in this episode because it's really interesting that you don't actually need a website. What she did do for her marketing, where she did spend some money, is she got business cards that it looks like she designed herself.

She actually had a successful business in Florida, and then moved to a whole other state like 2,000 miles away. She actually invested in a newspaper ad when she moved. Honestly, I wouldn't even do that. I wouldn't recommend putting in a newspaper ad unless you know that your ideal client are going to be looking at the newspaper. I kind of feel like that's outdated at this time. She said that she did that five years ago, and I think even five years ago, more people were getting physical newspapers, than they do now. Most people now, they are Googling, they're looking at Google My Business profiles, and they're looking at websites.

They're trusting Google to match them with the service that they need. So in my opinion, I would do that. But if you're on a budget, it just shows you don't need a whole lot. Tell people what you're doing and do free things like a business Facebook account. Those can actually come up in search results.

Honestly, you don't even need a business card. I actually hired somebody and paid him thousands of dollars to remove several trees on my property. He didn't have a business card. I contacted him on Facebook, he has a business profile account there and I messaged him. The truck he was driving wasn't even branded when he did the interview to work for me, and I chose to hire him. And he didn't need to be licensed until he actually got the job, right? So you don't even need to spend money on licensing until you know that you have a job lined up and you could even pre sell that job, letting people know, "Hey, can you give me 10% or a hundred dollars up front just to secure your spot on my calendar?"

Whatever you wanna do, whatever feels good to you. So what this lady did is she actually relies more on networking, or leaving handwritten cards with the businesses, or on people's doors if she wants to work in a neighborhood, and she just puts her business card inside.

She does recommend going to business owners and talking to them face to face. You can do networking, so going to things like the local chamber of commerce, you can do this for free. You don't have to be a member to visit, and you can get your name out there. This is a really great way to network, and if you don't have business cards yet, what I would do is just have your cell phone out like it's just totally normal for you and saying, "Oh, hey, I would love to stay in touch with you.

What is it that you do again?" Put in their name and their phone number, send them a text with your name and phone number, so that way they have that saved and maybe book a one to one getting together at a coffee shop if they're going to be a good referral partner for you. And just make it sound like, Oh, this is just what I do. You know, feel confident in yourself, feel confident in your business. And again, you don't need anything for that, it's completely free.

How she talked about networking face to face and referrals being such a huge part of her business, reminds me of how I scaled Clickers 2 Clients, my digital marketing business. And I got that to six figures just with networking and with referrals. So it really does show it does work. I love having a website because it makes me feel more confident, but is it a need? No. Did I need it in the very beginning? No. I Could have definitely gotten away with a Facebook business page, things that could make me still feel comfortable and professional, but not really costing me a lot of money.

So these are some really great ways to validate you have a good business idea. Are people willing to pay you, work with you, hire you, before you're spending a lot of money? If you do feel like you need business cards, I actually created and designed mine on Canva. And I got 100 for $30 just to start out with. It's not the cheapest version, so it just shows you can still get decent quality business cards for not a lot of money.

Also what I like about getting a small amount of business cards is it lets you see it in person and then you know if you like it and if you want to reorder. Something that I realized this morning is I'd really like to add a QR code. So I'm glad that I didn't order a whole bunch in the beginning.

A great first step if this is your first business, your first idea, is to try and get three people who will give you money before you start. This will validate your business idea based on the book that we've been talking about. So, you don't need a license, you don't need a bank account, insurance, anything really until you start working, right?

Just validate your business idea and then you'll know if it's worth investing in.

I hope you found this video helpful and I would love to know, how much did you spend to start your business before you made a profit? If you're like a lot of business owners and spent thousands before you made a profit, what would you do differently?

Send me a direct message over on Facebook or leave me a comment on my YouTube channel and just let me know wherever you're watching this or listening to this. I'd love to hear from you.

And since I started talking about this cleaning business, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be talking about this cleaning business that I'm starting and what I'm doing for my marketing. My goal is to create a six figure business in six months. I'm actually going to talk through this whole thing with a special guest who is a well known business coach and get their feedback live for the podcast. So keep an eye out over the next few weeks for that episode. And I'll share all the details of what I'm doing and the progress that I'm making along the way. We'll get real advice on what steps I should take to make my goal a reality.

That's another tip I'll leave you with today. You don't have to know everything, but find the person that you need to help you and fill in the gaps between what you know and what you need.

Don't be afraid to reach out for help when you need it. Really nobody does anything by themselves. It always takes, a lot of people supporting you to make things happen. Whether that's your referral partners or your friends, your family, your support system, whoever those people may be.

So thank you so much for reading, listening, or watching Marketing Strategies Uncovered and I will talk to you soon.

Episode# 005 2024 Video Marketing Trends with Joaquín Herrera

michal@clickers2clients.com (Michal Caro) — Thu, 30 May 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Unlock the Power of Storytelling in Video Marketing.

Episode Description:

Tune in to explore the power of video in today's digital landscape and how thoughtful, creative approaches can make all the difference in your marketing success.

Secret Podcast: 4 Part Audio Training and Free Workbook: CLICK HERE

Full Transcription:

Rebecca:

Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of marketing strategies uncovered, I am your host Rebecca Van Diest a nd today we have a really special guest joining us.

Joaquín, can you introduce yourself?

Joaquín:

Yeah, my name is Joaquin Herrera, and I run a video production company, handling pre production, production, and post production with video.

Rebecca:

Nice. What's the name of your business?

Joaquín:

Blazing Heart Productions, and you can find my Facebook page that's dedicated to blazing heart productions.com.

I will build a site, I just haven't done it yet.

Rebecca:

Yeah, it's all part of marketing and I just gotta do one thing at a time. It is really cool though that you can point your URL to your Facebook page and use that like as a temporary place so people can find you. That's a really smart thing.

What inspired you to get started doing what you're doing?

Joaquín:

I would say that I began as a visual artist, before and underneath everything else I do. The mid 90s, I worked at a video rental store back, you know, in the VHS days, right.

There were a couple floor model cameras and one took the full size VHS tape. And I was allowed to take it home because it wasn't brand new. And I would create short films. but this was before non linear editing.

So What you would have to do is shoot everything in camera, which means in sequence, which means if you have a person having a flashback, you'd have to shoot the first part there in the room and then set up the other location for the flashback and then come back and shoot when they come back.

So it's like that is very arduous, but I really loved doing that. And I would even make little short films out of like actual. like stuff we had to do, right? So it was kind of playing with documentary and playing with fiction short films. So that's kind of, how it started. And eventually I went to school for photography and then I left school and I went to do labor for 10 years because of my life and everything.

And then I came back and I went to NYU film and that's kind of where I finally came to this. So

Rebecca:

Well, it sounds like you really had a passion for it to be doing it for a long time because we're talking about VHS, which some people might not even know what that is.

Um, but yeah, that you were so inspired to do what you did that a lot of people wouldn't think to do anything like that. So that's, that's pretty cool. And then you were telling me also, you also have a martial arts business, and you're saying that kind of plays together. Can you explain that a bit?

Joaquín:

I would say that video, film art, and martial arts are probably my two great passions that have endured for many years. when you have passions, real passions, sometimes you can synthesize, you can find ways to join them together. You can sometimes find a brand new product operation style approach. I do promotional work for the martial arts school I train in currently, and I also do it for a past school I've trained in.

I'm also a coach and I film work and I reflect on it and I learn watching it. So everything kind of blends together. And whenever there's an opportunity for creativity to come out of that, or even a creative product that I can bring into my business, It just kind of springs out of that.

So there's a lot of flow and creativity happening between the two. Absolutely.

Rebecca:

Nice. Love it.

Why do you believe that video is such a powerful tool for marketing and social media?

Joaquín:

I think video is very powerful. Sometimes it can be misused and it cannot be powerful at all. It can be noise.

I think when it is powerful, it's because it's integrating multiple forms of media, right? We're reaching people with sound, which is extremely powerful. And I could go off on a sidebar here for a long time, but audio is actually more powerful than visual. You're reaching them with audio and video, and text and QR codes nowadays.

So you can take them right to a product directly. there's lots of times in a commercial or an ad we're watching. Sometimes they fall flat. Sometimes they're terrible and unimaginative and insulting, but sometimes there's a really good one or it just appeals to something we need. And there's always that moment where you're like, Oh yeah, I want that.

And if you have a QR code, boom, you're right there. You're buying it done. So it's very powerful in many ways. But again, I think there's, unfortunately, a glut of unimaginative, lazy video advertising and promotion out there and it just becomes noise and we are very good at tuning out noise as people who grow up in a culture where we're inundated with advertising.

So I think you have to be thoughtful, careful, and artistic. And I feel like one of the things that really pushes my work ahead of other people's in this area is I began in fiction filmmaking. I had no, Desire for the marketing, honestly, or the commercial parts of it at all. You know, I'm a storyteller.

I'm an artist. I get into the stories, and the communicating of other realms and feelings. But if you can bring a strong storytelling background, being educated at NYU films, one of the best film schools in the world, plus the work I've done out in the field since then. And you just, Hit a little 15 second or 30 second commercial with that kind of background, then you can make really impressive work, especially if, again, you're trying to avoid being lazy and repeating stuff that's done all the time that people tune out.

Rebecca:

That's a good point. Yeah, because anybody, especially now with cell phones, we can all make video like doesn't mean it's good. And it takes a lot of practice to actually be good at it. And I love what you're saying with the storytelling, having a back message and Yeah, that that can be definitely a lot more powerful than just posting content just to post content because it's probably going to hurt you more than it helps you.

Would you agree with that?

Joaquín:

I would say that you almost never get a second chance with a new contact, a new customer, potential client, someone watching your stuff. Once we decide, eh, you know, Then you're not going back. But if a product comes out and you're like, Whoa, that was a match. That was creative.

Sometimes I don't even particularly like an ad, but I so much respect that the concept or something they did with it. That I'll be like, okay. You know, now I'm going to pay attention.

Rebecca:

For sure. Sometimes just Facebook ads too. I'm like that. I don't necessarily care what it's about, but if they do a really good video or a really good ad, like you can at least respect it, even if you don't want to work with them.

Joaquín:

Right. And I think that touches on something so important for people doing promotion and video is that you should never talk down to people. A promoter, a videographer, a marketer, they might think that if I talk down, then I'm going to reach a bigger range of people.

But what's going to happen is, you're going to insult a lot of people, and they're going to feel irritated. So people don't like that.

And I think that's a huge mistake. And I'd much rather aim for what feels like a narrower target market. With a message that's aimed intelligently and just resonating, with language or an energetic approach.

Rebecca:

Yeah, kind of like having the awareness that talking to people just like a human being and also in a way that they can understand it like for me, I do SEO, and a lot of people don't understand the terminology that I use.

And so I have to kind of be creative in the way that I say it. I don't think I'm talking down to people, just talking to them in a way that they understand what I'm saying and just being relatable.

Joaquín:

Mm hmm. Well, that's, that's almost a separate thing, but also very smart. And that is that you have to shape your message to the ears, metaphorical ears.

That your target market has. That's separate to me than talking down to someone that's simply being about your message, but I hope it's clear what I was saying. It adds a lot of noise to the communication highway and it's just not my style. i'd rather be seen by perhaps fewer people, but make an impact they see and say wow This is a cool company. That's a cool ad It's going to pay off much better because they're going to tell other people, you can't think short term

Rebecca:

That makes a lot of sense.

Is there any trends that you're noticing in video marketing that people should start taking advantage of or doing more of?

Joaquín:

I think they're pretty apparent or you're watching. One of them is accessibility, right? Everyone's using captions now. This is, was interesting to me. I have my daughter and we'll watch a movie together and she's 17 and she'll be like, Oh, can you put the captions?

I'm so, I'd never put captions on unless it's a foreign movie. You know, that's it. I love a lot of foreign movies and I want to know what they're saying. But other than that, Nah, you just make it out. If you miss it, you miss it or you go backward.

That's a new thing. Everything's getting shorter and shorter.

I don't know if it's human beings or if it's how we're being marketed to, but apparently the zeitgeist imagines human beings as having a very, very small attention span. And maybe that's true. Maybe it's partly how we're trained and partly how we just are moving as a culture, but yeah, 30 seconds, 15 seconds. More people are watching 30 seconds than a full minute.

You got to be smart. There are always ways to break those rules. You can get people to watch a minute, but your first 10 seconds better be interesting. And they better be different than what other people are doing. So it's kind of like that. It's almost like a, if you were kind of coaxing along an animal in the woods with crumbs or something, right, you know, you got to catch them right away, you know, and respect them.

To me, that's one of the biggest rules. You have to respect your audience.

Rebecca:

Yeah. Grabbing people right away. And yeah, especially after Tik TOK started becoming a thing, they're having the even shorter videos.

Joaquín:

And you know, that's a whole art, you know, and I went through a phase where I would do a minute long advertisement.

I started offering packages to clients for like, you can get a minute, 30 seconds, 15 seconds. I can flashback to the way distant past with the Burma shave advertising, which changed everything. They would have a sign on the highway, and you'd be driving and you'd see one word, right? You'd be like, Huh, that's weird. And then a mile later, another sign, another word, right? All part of the same campaign. This changed advertising. That influenced me a little bit where I would offer them things and say, listen, here's my idea. Drop a five second ad. You think it's impossible, but it's not. These are like a little, when a movie's brand new, whoosh, whoosh, you know, back to black, you know, and it's five seconds. You're like, what was that? Maybe it's just a logo, like the Batman logo looking all rusty or something, right? Five seconds.

You're like, whoa. And then 10 seconds, like a week later, the 10 second version. And then a week later, you got the 15 and then they dropped the full ad, you know, and this gets people increasingly excited and interested. So that's why I think of the Burma shave campaign. This is something I would like to do. It's an option. Clients can just go for the minute long or whatever, but what I've found with clients and, they can choose, they can pick and they can just go whatever they want, you know, people like options.

We all want to save money with everything we do. There's no judgment for me on that. But. I do sometimes have to remind clients that video works in a way where if you try to budget too much upfront, you're going to get almost no effect from the investment.

And you shouldn't do that. Really the smartest way is find out what it takes, find out what you want to do. I mean, really engage pre production with your video maker, get in there and ask your questions, talk about what your goal is. If they know what they're doing, they're going to be able to shape What they do for you to your goals.

You own that video. Now you can use it a hundred times in a year. If you break down the ROI on your usage, it's absolutely worth it. And if you get a package like that, where you're like five seconds, 10 seconds, 15, 30, you know, and then you can do like an old style, big production house movie or Burma shave or whatever, and really create a buzz.

That's important to create a buzz.

Rebecca:

yeah, like actually invest in high quality video. It's definitely worth it. The cool thing with video, like a YouTube video versus a Facebook post, the YouTube video is going to last so much longer and work so much better for you.

And the higher quality, again, it's gonna just do so much better. So I definitely agree with that.

Joaquín:

Yes, but I have had experience with very positive results from Facebook campaigns as well. And in my experience, you don't even need to lay out a ton of money with them, but people have to see stuff over and over.

We're all like that. Even if it's a good ad, we're going to let it go by the first three or four times. And eventually we're going to say, all right, this thing keeps popping up. Let me listen. So you do have to create a lot of ads on Facebook.

Rebecca:

Nice. How do you develop a video marketing strategy for a new client?

Joaquín:

Yeah, this begins with the purpose and the theme. Their brand colors, their brand fonts, you know, it all starts there.

What the feel of the company is, because that's going to affect the style and approach of the ad. So these things have to be in sync, right? That's the most important thing. The customer and the client and the company and their goal is the soil.

And the campaign, the advertising is going to grow out of that. It's going to draw from it like a plant, like nutrients, it's all going to flower from that soil and every intention and desire and style of that company is going to bear fruit and manifest as that, that's how it should be. That's how the ad should be an extension of everything that company is. If the company is understated and the style is classy, but not cocky. That's how the ad has to be.

One of the biggest lessons in film school was, what does that look like?

Right? Oh, my character, he's having this crisis. He doesn't know anymore if he's this or that. Great. What does that look like? Right. We were not inside their head. This is a visual medium. This is filmmaking. What does it look like on the screen? Okay. On the screen, it looks like a guy looking in the mirror, checking white hair, you know, whatever.

Right. So this is how we learn to do it. It's the biggest lesson. You cannot become a filmmaker until you understand and can operate on this principle. So taking that over to what we're talking about, advertising campaigns, you're manifesting something visual from a perhaps not visible intention, promise, product, and so. What does that look like? You know, and it's a visual manifestation of something that's not necessarily visual.

Rebecca:

I liked how you're talking, about the branding And how important that is. I think people don't necessarily realize that you want everything to feel the same, that it all makes sense that if your video looks a certain way and then you go to somebody's website and it's completely different, you're not going to feel like that's the same company at all.

So I love that you're tying that all together and taking each client individually to make it fit them and their business.

Joaquín:

Very important. Yeah.

Rebecca:

What do you use to measure results?

Joaquín:

I measure results generally by one thing. It's not very geeky. It's feedback from the client. That's it. I can't make people sign up. But if it has increased interest and brought more clients and if it's increased the interest and their sales or membership, I've been successful. That's pretty much it. If it hasn't, then I need to come back with them and talk about all of it., , and there's going to be answers in there with, with a conversation and there can be adjustments. But that doesn't usually happen.

You know, I'm not perfect. My work's not perfect, but I usually don't leave a job alone until people are thrilled. I've had a couple outliers. Sometimes you run into people that are hard to make happy. Aside from that, I would say I usually leave people thrilled.

That's very important to me.

Rebecca:

Awesome.

I know some people get really, really nervous when they're being recorded. Do you have any tricks on how to get them to be more comfortable?

Joaquín:

Oh, I sure do. That is such a big part of interviewing. I've developed and felt that out for many years. Another kind of, well, jokingly unfair advantage that I have is that, my first interest in a career, I started with counseling. So I have practiced listening to people. And I'm trained to listen, actively listen. I'm very good at listening. A lot of people don't understand what an art it is, and they'll do little things, little micro behaviors that just shut down the conversation.

They'll look over your shoulder, they'll look at their watch and a sensitive person knows when you're not hearing them. So I am very good at interviewing people and I do have tricks. Let me just pick one or two. Okay. For example, I start with checking the sound levels and getting the frame line and stuff, even if I already have the frame line set up.

So this gives you a lot of opportunities to have a little chit chat with them, right? You can bring them into a comfort level just in the first 15 minutes. And this is not unique to me. I'm sure these are tricks of the trade that a lot of people do, but I'll just be like, so, you know, you live around here and they'll say, oh yeah, how'd you get here?

I'll just get them talking. And there's a post like this up on my Facebook film page, where I show a little reel where I'm doing this. I'm talking to them, getting answers I'm listening, but really I'm watching the sound levels as they talk, and in the beginning, when I did this, I just thought, Oh, how clever I am getting the sound levels as I just pretend it's a conversation.

I realized that it's good for other reasons, because They start to relax. When I watched back and I watched them, I realized that it was serving a purpose of gradually them relaxing.

And usually also in the beginning, I'll say, okay, your answers don't have to be perfect. They don't have to be neat. You can leave pauses. You can clear your throat. You can start over. I'm a good editor. I will cut all that out and you will come across as fluent.

That will bring down the temperature a little bit more too. And so I have numerous things I do that just keep bringing the temperature down.

Another one is when I'm putting the mic on them, I'm very respectful of people's bodies.

I'm a martial artist and I'm a father and I was a counselor. There's lots of reasons that I understand personal space and autonomy and dignity. It's all very important. It sends a message. When I put a mic on someone, I will not be putting breath on them. I will not be looking at their body, you know, just lots of little things like that. I will let them do certain parts. So I don't have to get too close to them. And all of this also communicates something to them. And then they feel they trust you. You know, this guy cares about me. He's being respectful.

By the time I get to the actual interview, they're warmed up. They're relaxed. And also, I don't count the first 10 minutes of any interview because, about usually five, but I say 10 minutes, they're going to start talking louder than they were when you did the sound check because they're more relaxed. Their voice starts going up and maybe they're going to start to get a little more real, you know?

Rebecca:

Yeah, realizing, you're a safe space, basically.

Joaquín:

They can open up, they can just talk. There's nothing to be afraid of.

Yeah, your number one goal is to get them to trust you in a short amount of time.

Rebecca:

Is there technology that you really recommend for getting good quality video?

Joaquín:

What people need to know, sound is the most important thing.

It's been factual, we'll show you, it's backed it up time and time again, that people will actually watch a video that has good sound with artifacts or problems with the visuals. They will not do the opposite. You could have clear visuals, but if the sound is crap, they will move on. Also sound works and gets into our body subconsciously.

If you're aware of that as a filmmaker or a videographer, a video editor, you can bring in sound in places that people aren't expecting it.

Have a second shotgun mic pointed at the people because something's going to happen sooner or later and you're going to lose your sound and you're going to be so happy or so angry that you did or you didn't have a backup for that. So I'd say always back up your sound.

Always be aware with older people, especially older women. You want to use really soft light and have it be well rounded. We all have angles and lighting. I can make anyone look terrible and I can make anyone look great. And that is a skill I've developed as a cinematographer. So you want to make your people look as good as you possibly can.

Rebecca:

Do you have a camera you really like?

Joaquín:

Yeah, my favorite camera currently is the Black Magic camera. It's a great company out of Australia. And I really love this company for their approach, who they're catering to, what they believe about who should have access to their products, what they charge, what they give away.

I've had lots of video cameras. This is a different beast. It's captures at more depth, more data, more information. We watch stuff through this camera. It looks like a film, right? It looks like a movie. It's like really, really deep, big fat video codec. This stuff might not make sense to people, but it just captures a lot of data and looks really nice.

I also have get a lot of use out of my, 360 degree camera and that's a great addition to, that's a piece of technology that can do a whole lot. It can look like it can make shots, look like a drone shot when it's just on a stick, it can film. And then you can choose the framing later because it's 360 degrees. So you can move the view to anywhere. You don't have to choose the framing, like you set up a camera. It's filming everything. And when you do post production, you decide what you show and how close.

And so it's really wild. So I would say those two things. Videography is kind of like a candy store for people who like tech. So you could go on and on and on. There's lots of technology to help you do what you do. I think more important is. Finding what you need to do on the set for your particular approach and job position like that's going to depend that's going to shape your technology package that's going to shape your gear pack.

Rebecca:

Yeah I agree, it's like a candy store. Technology these days. There's so many options and so many price ranges.

Joaquín:

A lot of fun.

Rebecca:

What do you see like the future of video marketing? Do you think that it's going to be changing in the next five years or so?

Joaquín:

This might just be a hope. I really feel like we need to move beyond the old model of just inundating people. Like I've kind of referenced here, there's kind of a lazy model in place that does work to an extent. Flood the channel, just show the same commercial a hundred times a day.

I feel like that's so blunt and primitive and manipulative. I just don't like it. I think it's heavy handed. I don't think it's good for people and we can just be more intelligent and creative with our marketing.

As technology changes, it'll move into three dimensional stuff. I'm sure in video games, there'll be three dimensional QR codes, like, as part of the scenery of the city, a little thing on top of a building spinning around, it's absolutely going to change as visual technology changes.

I don't want to say anything definitive because this is kind of something more recent I've been exploring and realizing.

It seems like the newer generations kind of feel like there's more authenticity if stuff is kind of just filmed as is, you know, whereas where I came out of film school, art directors for the set, right? It's all completely produced and controlled, and a lot of us love that, but I'm starting to, see that in some cases it's the opposite.

Rebecca:

Interesting. Yeah. I think people want real. So even though AI is kind of taking over in certain ways, we're noticing right now with social media, for example, I started running Facebook ads and I was taught not to use a like professional headshot.

I actually use a selfie photo that like just looked really real and me really happy and genuine and that one's doing really well. So it's kind of interesting because it's more eye catching versus just what looks like maybe a stock photo.

Joaquín:

And we again, we are used to tuning stuff out like that.

Like if you see some really professional headshot, you might even say oh it looks gorgeous, but you're not thinking about it after that Right. But if they're just in the kitchen or their hands up cookie batter, whatever they're laughing, you're going to feel that it's going to be more meaningful.

Rebecca:

Where are you located and where do you serve clients.

Joaquín:

Yeah, I'm located in Portland, Oregon, and, that's pretty much the location I serve clients and there's there's outlying little areas that are not necessarily called Portland.

It's going to depend on the project. I even have a couple clients. I go to Eugene for. Those are bigger projects that pay more and make it worth taking a multiple two hour trips, but in general for most budgets and most projects, it's right here in the city.

Rebecca:

All right. Well, thank you so much, Joaquin, for coming on the show. I think there was a lot of valuable content people can take away as far as Hiring a videographer, what they can do on their own, and just the trends that are happening, which is really awesome.

Joaquín:

And if anyone has questions They don't even have to like hire me or nothing like that Feel free to drop by the website leave a message or my instagram is blazing heart productions. Yeah, send a message ask anything. I'm happy to share my experience with people, I'm happy to help.

Rebecca:

Awesome. So Instagram is the best place to reach you?

Joaquín:

Instagram and Facebook are the best places. Yeah.

Rebecca:

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for being here.

Joaquín:

Thank you, Becca. Bye, bye.

Episode# 004 SEO On A Budget: 4 Easy and Affordable Ways to Optimize Your Website

michal@clickers2clients.com (Michal Caro) — Thu, 23 May 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Cost-Effective SEO Strategies that can be done with any budget.

Episode Description:

In this episode of Marketing Strategies Uncovered, we dive into the essentials of optimizing your website for search engines without breaking the bank. Perfect for small business owners and entrepreneurs working with limited funds. Rebecca shares four easy SEO steps you can follow every month. You can choose to implement them yourself or outsource as you can afford to.

Learn how to perform effective topic research using ChatGPT, create compelling content, apply on-page SEO techniques, and get valuable backlinks. By the end of this episode, you'll have a clear, actionable plan to improve your website’s visibility and drive organic traffic. Tune in and discover how to make SEO work for you, no matter your budget!

Secret Podcast: 4 Part Audio Training and Free Workbook: CLICK HERE

Full Transcription:

Hey friends, Rebecca here, and welcome to Marketing Strategies Uncovered. Today's topic is how to do SEO on a budget. If you are just starting your business, you've probably heard you need a website and some SEO. But sometimes, that marketing budget just isn't there in the very beginning. You're working with a limited amount of money, and you might need that money for other expenses. You might not be able to use those funds completely for marketing.

SEO can range from $300 a month to $5,000 a month, so I want to give you a place to start. You can do it yourself, maybe outsource some things, and decide what works best for you and your business.

SEO is an investment, especially in the long term. Ideally, once you've done SEO, you won't have to pay for ads and will drive traffic naturally to your website. When people type in what you do and where you're located, your site will pop up, they'll click your link, visit your website, and hire you. That's the best-case scenario and what we all want.

SEO takes time and momentum. Today, we'll cover how to get started with SEO on a budget and what you should be doing.

Excitingly, I believe you can do this in about an hour a month. It doesn't need to be complicated. The main takeaway from today's episode is to be consistent with whatever SEO you're doing. If you can only commit to one new page per month, whether it's a landing page or a blog post, be consistent with that. If you want to do two pieces a month, great. One a week? Even better. Just start with something you can commit to every month and block off your schedule.

Use your Google calendar, Asana, or whatever you use to keep track of your time, and block off at least one hour dedicated to your monthly SEO.

Initially, I hoped I could do it all in 30 minutes. This is what I do for a living, but how long it takes me and how long it takes you may differ. I'm very detail-oriented, and things that take others five minutes can take me 30. Creating my first landing page took some time, but I had a trick: copying the formatting of my website to avoid recreating the wheel. The first landing page took about 30 minutes, but moving forward, it will be quicker.

This process has four steps. Step one is brainstorming what type of content to put on your website. If you want to do blog posts, write down the topics you want to cover. I spent three minutes and 14 seconds on ChatGPT finding the top keywords for my industry, such as digital marketing and SEO, and the locations I want to target.

It's never been easier to do research with ChatGPT. Some people are very familiar with it, but I was a little late to the game. Now, it's like my best friend, saving me a ton of time.

I'd also like to cover why SEO is important. Consistency is key in SEO. It's not a one-time task; you need to continually add content, backlinks, and citations to show Google your website is active. Adding value to your audience is crucial. For example, if you're looking for an electrician and their last blog post was two years ago, you might question if they're still in business.

Strengthening your website with SEO will attract more clients. A strong website will help you outrank your competition, making it more likely you'll appear at the top of Google's first page.

Step one is keyword research. Know what your content will be about, whether it's a blog post or a landing page. For me, I chose "digital marketing, The Dalles, Oregon." When someone searches that, my landing page should pop up if I do the SEO correctly.

Step two is writing your content. Use ChatGPT but ensure you optimize and personalize it. Add personal touches like a story or a unique FAQ section. Review the content ChatGPT gives you, as it isn't always 100% accurate.

Step three is putting the content on your website. Hopefully, you know how to edit your website and do on-page SEO. If you're confused, I have a free audio training linked in the description. In episode 2 of the training, I go in-depth on on-page SEO.

I added a title, subtitle, photo with alt text, and a call to action to my page. This increases the likelihood that new visitors will take action and work with me.

Step four is getting backlinks, which can be tedious but are important. There are different types of backlinks, good and bad. There are various ways to obtain them, such as contacting local bloggers or organizations. I have a subscription service for backlinks if you don't have time to do it yourself. Visit clickerstoclients.com for more details.

High-value backlinks are powerful and can boost your website's trust flow and citation flow ratios, making it more credible in Google's eyes. I recommend starting with high-quality backlinks for your homepage and then linking to other pages from there.

To recap:

Brainstorm your content topics.
Create your content.
Build your webpage with on-page SEO.
Get backlinks to strengthen your website.

With these four steps, you can significantly improve your website's search visibility within three to six months. Depending on your industry and competition, you might need to produce more content and backlinks.

I hope you found this episode helpful. SEO can be affordable and attainable for all business owners. If you can't afford a full SEO plan, know that it's possible to start small and still make progress.

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Marketing Strategies Uncovered. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments on YouTube or send me a message on Facebook. I'll talk to you again next week.

Episode# 003 The Subscription Advantage: Transform Your Business with Recurring Revenue

Thu, 16 May 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Add subscription services to your business to get consistent recuring monthly revenue coming in!

Episode Description:

Join host Rebecca Van Diest in this insightful episode of "Marketing Strategies Uncovered" as she delves into the transformative power of subscription services in businesses. Discover how adding subscription models can recession-proof your business, create recurring revenue streams, and enhance customer loyalty.

Rebecca shares real-world examples, strategies, and tips on how to integrate subscription services into different industries, making it a must-listen for entrepreneurs, marketers, and business owners seeking sustainable growth.

Whether you're looking to unlock new revenue streams, retain customers, or innovate your business model, this episode provides valuable insights and actionable advice to help you succeed in the subscription economy.

Tune in to learn how subscriptions can be a game-changer for your business and take your marketing strategies to the next level.

Secret Podcast: 4 Part Audio Training: CLICK HERE

Full Transcription:

Hey friends, and welcome to another episode of Marketing Strategies Uncovered. I'm your host, Rebecca Van Diest, and I'm so excited to chat with you today. I've been having an amazing week working on something and I'm really excited to be sharing it with you today. I feel like it's something that's so amazing for businesses and it's really underutilized too.

So today we're going to be talking about using subscription services to recession proof your business. I'm speaking for myself and I'm also going to be sharing an example with you of something that I remember from 15 years ago, that I loved, that was a subscription service. So we're going to dive into that.

You may be having a hard time in your business right now. It was interesting when 2020 hit, I remember thinking to myself, Oh no, this is going to be really bad for businesses. I was even thinking that housing prices were going to go down and really was the opposite.

Everybody stayed home. They wanted to fix up their houses. They were spending all this money. Not that it was easy for everyone, but it seemed like there was a lot more money going around in 2020 than everybody expected. So that was a really interesting time. One of my really good friends opened his construction business in 2020, he had a really great year that year, and it's only grown, and I think it's kind of slowed down a little bit, but because of how he's structuring his business, he's doing amazing, and hopefully you are too.

So personally, I'm noticing a decline in my business. And this is because a lot of my clients are contractors or they're in that space of things that are kind of optional or that people might hold off on if money's tight. You know, clients are struggling to stay afloat.

Sometimes they're not booking as many services as they were. They're having to get more creative. But on the other hand, a lot of my clients are sticking with me. They know that SEO is working for them. They're happy with what they have. So we just keep going.

Everybody's having to adjust right now. So with myself, because I've seen that decline, I'm having to get more creative. And it's like that with anything in life, you know, we never stay the same. Either we're growing or we're shrinking. I always try to grow.

A business owner that I've been talking to for a few weeks, they were excited to start SEO, I sent them over my packages and they realized that it's just out of their budget right now, but they know they really need my services. I did a website audit for them a few months ago, and their website does need a lot of help.

It's actually maybe one of the worst that I've seen as far as the backlinks go, you can tell something really weird happened at some point. It needs to be corrected with SEO basically. She was just having a hard time committing to six months. You know, there's a lot of uncertainty right now and I totally get that.

I realized I needed to do something different. So one, people don't like to be locked in, right? In my SEO packages, it's a six month commitment. So what could I do to not have that lock in period where people can feel like they've got a little more freedom and if they've got a bad month they can pause their subscription.

Then number two, how can I have more affordable options for people, but also not feel like I'm devaluing my services or devaluing my time? I got some feedback last week saying I needed to lower my prices and it just didn't feel good. I've worked really hard. I'm really good at what I do. Hopefully you feel the same and you've reached a point in your business and you're not willing to go backward. I do need to be charging what I'm charging. So what I did is I came up with a really cool strategy. And that is subscription services.

For me, I'm subscribed to a Pesty, Netflix, google Storage! There's all these different subscriptions that you can get, and it's nothing really personalized, it's not taking up a lot of their time, but they are providing you a service. They might have to pay to mail you a bill or pay somebody to email you or chat with you for customer service.

I wanted to get into what I believe with the subscription service and how you can add that to your business. And I'd like you to think about how it can apply to your industry. We all have different services and we can provide different subscription services. And I really do think that this is super hot right now.

When you buy a house, you get all this mail, and everybody wants to sell you something. I remember one thing that I got was from a plumbing company, and they were called Casey's Plumbing. Something really cool that they had was a subscription service and I think they had different tiers. Basically what you would do is you would sign up with them. I believe it was something like $50 a month that you would pay them, and with that $50 you got free annual inspections of your plumbing.

What they did with that $50 is they put it in a savings account for you. So when you did need to get like a new toilet or you had a pipe leak or something, you could actually use that money towards the service. So like for us, we had an older townhouse, we replaced both toilets and it was really expensive. And let's say it was like $2,000 and we had about $1,000 in our account. So it made it so much more affordable and it makes it so much easier to say yes. You feel like you're getting a deal even though it's actually your own money. It's kind of funny how that works.

So anyway, I thought that was amazing and I've never seen anybody else do that. Personally, if I want to work with somebody and it's a service that I know that I'm going to be using and I feel like I'm getting a good deal, that's the best way to do it.

So if you are a contractor, I would encourage you to think about something like that, where you're kind of locking that customer in with loyalty to you. So like HVAC, for example, what are you doing to make them want to get a yearly inspection with you? That's a good question, right?

So next thing I wanted to cover is how am I adding subscription services to my business? So, if you don't know already, I specialize in SEO services and my main thing for the past four years has been SEO packages, and they have ranged from $300 to $3,000.

Last year I was onboarding one or two new clients for my SEO packages every month. I had an amazing year last year, I will say it was fantastic. My best year yet for sure. And then November came, and I stopped onboarding clients and this can be kind of typical during the holiday season. A lot of people are focusing on spending time with their family.

But normally for me in January, I start getting new clients. People are thinking about their marketing, they're excited to add SEO. Yesterday, another client was asking how, they can save money as a contractor. So I knew I needed to do something different. I've been thinking about subscriptions and I came up with a really great strategy that there's a lot of different things that I offer that people like to add on.

Now that I've done my free SEO course that you can find on my website, it really helped me outline my SEO process, my strategies, and I know what it takes for websites to rank. Some things people can do themselves. If you're on a budget, if you've got a team and you want to train them, you can literally have somebody go through my SEO podcast.

Episode number two you can learn how to do your own SEO audit. You can grab the tools, know what you're doing, if you're comfortable with your website platform, you can build landing pages, you can post blog posts. Really what you need is your backlinks, citations, things like that.

So there's ways you can do it on a budget. You can break it down. You don't have to pay, $500 a month, you could pay $100 a month and just get the backlinks. So that's what I decided to do with my subscription services, it's month to month. So you just subscribe.

And then if you need to cancel, you just let us know. For my subscription services, they're going to be a little less personalized. I'm not going to take the time every month to review their website, come up with a strategy for them. So it saves me time, which saves money, and then I can pass that along to my subscribers.

Another great tip is you want to give people three options. As humans, we tend to pick the middle option. So when you have your subscription services, you want to have three different options and then focus on the second one as the choice that most people are probably going to pick.

And so when you're deciding, okay, how much money do I want to make every month? You can understand, okay, if my prices are between $100 and $300, most people are probably going to spend around $200 with me. How many people do I need to become subscribers, or how many people do I need to enroll, so that way I can meet my monthly goal?

That was something I did, and I have a number in my head, so I know how many subscribers I'm going to shoot for. So, that's how I'm adding subscriptions to my business. I'm so excited because I really feel like this is going to be a game changer and it's going to help me reach that next level in my business.

Also, what add-on's can people add to your subscriptions? So for me, a lot of people like to add content. So people can purchase that separately now for the first time. So basically I'm trying to create more options so people can have what they need.

You need high value backlinks to create that 30, 30 trust flow citation flow. You can buy that now. And you probably only need to do that once a year. So that's awesome. Give your website a little SEO boost with backlinks and citations are another thing you don't need all the time. So you can just buy those once every six months.

So today I want to ask you, what can you do? What service do people need from you on a regular basis?

And how can you provide that in a subscription form? Get recurring income as long as you're delivering on what you're doing for your clients.

This is also a great thing to reach out to past clients because maybe they canceled with you because they couldn't afford your service, but you now have a new option for them. You now have another affordable or different way for them to work with you.

So don't be afraid to reach out to past clients, let your current clients know that you have another option. By letting your current clients know about your new subscription, they can refer that to other people that they know. Make it easy for people to work with you.

I really hope that this episode helped and thank you so much for listening to Marketing Strategies Uncovered, and I will talk with you again next week.

Episode# 002 List Building Strategies with Rebecca Cousins

Thu, 09 May 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Create an Email Opt-In Your Clients Can’t Refuse Using The Secret Podcast Framework.

In this episode, Rebecca Cousins shares her journey from corporate America to successful entrepreneur, revealing how she turned a devastating layoff into an opportunity to build her dream business while staying home with her newborn. With over 20 years of experience in marketing and entrepreneurship, Rebecca Cousins specializes in helping online entrepreneurs generate leads and sales using evergreen strategies, funnels, and automations.

Listen in as we discuss the power of email list building, the importance of owning your audience, and the evolution of lead magnets in marketing. Discover how the Secret Podcast, a unique blend of podcasting and webinars, can revolutionize your lead generation and sales process, allowing you to nurture prospects and convert them into paying clients seamlessly.

Whether you're a seasoned online entrepreneur or just starting your journey, this episode is packed with valuable insights and actionable tips to take your business to the next level. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation with Rebecca Cousins and uncover the strategies that can transform your business. To learn more about Rebecca Cousins and her transformative programs, visit: SimpleBusinessStartup.com/secret-podcast .

Get ready to unlock the secrets of successful online marketing and take your business to new heights.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Welcome, everybody, to Marketing Strategies Uncovered.

I'm your host, Rebecca Van Diest, and I am so excited to have a special guest with us today, Rebecca Cousins, from SimpleBusinessStartup. com. We're so excited to have you here. Thank you, Rebecca, for joining us.

Rebecca Cousins:

Thanks so much, Rebecca, for having me. I'm excited to be here, and can't wait to talk to you and your audience.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Something that I've seen you post a lot on social media and just what you help people in your business, you know, a lot about is email list building. And I think that's such a hot topic. But before we dive into that, can you just introduce yourself, tell us a little bit more about what you do?

Rebecca Cousins:

Sure. Absolutely. Well, like you said, my name is Rebecca Cousins. I work primarily with online entrepreneurs. So a service provider, coach, and consultant, and my specialty is helping them generate leads and sales for their businesses using evergreen strategies, funnels, and automations.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Especially like just online, right? I feel like that's really tricky for people is how can you build an online business and how do you get leads online, right?

Rebecca Cousins:

Yeah, exactly, and that's my specialty. I've been in the online space for many years. And that's really where I find that I'm able to help people the most is with their online businesses.

So whether that's somebody who used to have a brick and mortar and they're suddenly moving online or somebody who is just starting from scratch and they want to be able to work from home and reach clients throughout the world. I help them find those clients and, and generate leads and sales that way.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Awesome. And how long have you been in business and why did you get started?

Rebecca Cousins:

Oh, great question. Well, I have been an entrepreneur now for this is my 20th year. So it's been a while. I've had several businesses throughout that time, and all have been in the marketing space, except for one brief stint with an Ecommerce business that I had, but yeah, I got my start about 20 years ago.

I was at the time working as a development director for a nonprofit and I had just delivered my first son. We had just had a brand new baby and I was on maternity leave. And there was a change in leadership at the company I was working for, and they laid everybody off, including me. So I came back from attorney leave, found out the next day that I was no longer going to have a job, and was let go within two weeks.

And it was pretty devastating. I'm not going to lie. It was a pretty scary time. We definitely needed my income in order to be able to keep the lights on. I just, you know, I had a brand new baby at home and no idea how I was going to be able to take care of him. So it was pretty scary. I looked at it as, you know, just this amazing opportunity.

Once I got, you know, past all of them, the fields of losing my job, I realized, you know what, I have a lot of skills. I have a master's degree in marketing. I have a lot of experience. Prior to that job, I had worked for a big public relations firm that worked on, you know, Some pretty high profile clients, such as the got milk campaigns, Oscar Meyer, you know, pork, the other white meat, like all of those campaigns.

I had built up all of this experience and I thought, why should I go look for another job? I could actually take all of this experience that I have and just do this on my own. I could be a consultant and I can stay home with my son. So it was the moment that I realized, okay, I think I can do this. I can be an entrepreneur and I can start my own business and I'm just going to go for it. Gave myself six months while I was able to collect unemployment and just started and dove in with both feet.

My why was because I had always dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom, but it really wasn't in the cards for us financially.

So I wanted something that would be the best of both worlds. I could work and bring in an income, but still be able to stay home and be there for all of those moments. So it was an interesting time, but that's how I got started.

Rebecca Van Diest:

That's so cool. I don't know that I knew all those details before, especially with your background of working with those major companies and different things for marketing.

I think it's so cool too, that sometimes we do need that push, that life just gives us sometimes where it's just like, Oh, you're a little comfortable here. Let's just throw you out of the nest.

That opportunity to really evaluate what you want, what makes you happy, and create the life you actually want.

You have your first kid, you want to spend time with them. You don't really, you didn't really probably want to leave them in daycare anyway, so.

Rebecca Cousins:

Oh yeah. And that's the truth. That was the hardest thing. We lived in downtown Chicago. So even though the daycare was four miles from my house, I would spend 40 minutes in traffic driving over to drop him off at daycare.

He would spend 40-plus hours a week there. And then I'd pick him up by the time we got home, I'd literally have, maybe 30 minutes with him a day. It was devastating. So, when I had that layoff, even though it was terrifying, it really boiled down to, like you said, Figuring out what I truly wanted for my life and how I wanted to be present and be a mother to my children and what that looked like and figuring out how to marry the two because I do love to work and so I didn't think that I would ever truly give that up.

But I knew that I also just didn't want to be a mom who dropped her kids off and had somebody else looking after them 40 hours a week. So this really was a good push for me. It's something that I encourage any woman out there who wants to have that opportunity is look at the skills that you have because I think we so often underestimate how truly talented we are and what we could bring to the table for somebody else.

That's really how you can turn those passions and your expertise into an online business.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Absolutely. When I was still in corporate America. I had this thought how much of a better world would it be if everybody did what they loved? And so that's always inspired me. We specialize in marketing in different ways, which is why I love talking with you But it's like if we can help people with the marketing aspect then they can take what they love and make money, be successful, actually be happy, spend time with their families.

I'm excited to talk with you because I feel like we're gonna be giving people some really great information on how they can either get started or take that to the next level through email marketing.

With email marketing, most businesses know that they should have an email list, and that they should be nurturing their clients, keeping that communication open. You don't want your clients to forget about you.

You want to be checking in with them on a regular basis. But so many don't set it up or don't have a way to grab those emails.

Let's chat about online businesses since that's your specialty. What do you think are the best types of options that people should be using to grab email lists or have free offers?

Rebecca Cousins:

Great question. Well, I agree a hundred percent with you that every entrepreneur, every business, no matter whether it's online or brick-and-mortar should have an email list.

It's literally one of the most important assets you are going to have for your business. I think it's worth mentioning why that is because so many people spend a lot of time. Growing their audience on social media, right? And you build up this huge audience on social media. You spend a lot of time promoting your offers and your services on Instagram wherever you're promoting, but that's, Like building your business on rented land because you don't own those platforms.

And that's why email is so important because an email list is an asset that you actually own. So let's say for example, if Facebook goes down or Instagram goes down, which we have seen how many times this past year, right? We've seen this so often. And you have no way of contacting your audience.

But if you have an email list, you can still reach those same audience members through email. I've had so many clients who've worked with me and they've built these huge audiences on social media and then wake up one morning and their accounts have been deleted with absolutely no reason and no recourse and they have no way of contacting their audience. And it is devastating to be on, you know, on a call with A grown woman who's just bawling her eyes out because she has no way of contacting her customers and has just essentially lost thousands in revenue overnight. So build an email list.

There are so many different ways that you can start to build your email list. And one of the easiest ways is through what we call an opt-in form. And that's just a fancy marketing term for a box that takes your name and email address.

And it can be on your website. It's really just an online form. That's how you start to generate your list. But there are other ways that you can use that form and bring people into your list through what we call a lead magnet.

There's all different kinds of ways to do that. Some popular ones are eBooks, checklists, guides, webinars is one, and of course, what my favorite one is, is a secret podcast. So all different kinds of strategies that you can use to grow your email list and start to bring leads into your world.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Thank you for explaining that. Also with social media, you know, algorithms change and you might be having people see your post one day and then all of a sudden Facebook stops recommending you. So people just don't see you. You're not really on their mind anymore.

Rebecca Cousins:

Yeah. 100%. And you made such a good point a few minutes ago about, even if you're not actively selling on social media, or you're not actively selling every day in your email list, just being able to have that communication with past clients, current clients, and prospective clients so you can stay top of mind is just one more of the many reasons to have an email list.

Rebecca Van Diest:

I don't know how long we've known each other, but probably over five years now.

It's cool to see how consistent you are with email marketing. You've got your groove, and your systems in place at this point. In the past, for those different email opt-ins that you've had on your website probably over the years.

What was the worst that you've ever used? Is there anything that you were so excited about that you tried that just nobody wanted?

Rebecca Cousins:

Oh, I love this question. Yeah. Well, there's been a lot, I mean, you know, that's the thing with marketing is that you can, you know, test all these different things and some of them you think are just going to be.

Oh, like the one thing that just works so well, and then it flops for whatever reason. And I use the term flops loosely, right? I don't truly believe that anything is a failure, because I look at all of my touch points with potential clients as building blocks. So, you know, even if a certain lead magnet didn't have a real high conversion rate, or it didn't generate a lot of leads.

If somebody saw it, that's one more way that they have come into my world. That's one more piece of engagement, one more touch point that I have with a potential client. They get to know me and they start recognizing my business name and they start understanding what I do and maybe they'll come into my world.

Maybe they won't, but I don't truly look at anything as a failure. I just look at it as just another touch point. To answer your question specifically, I wrote this ebook one time because I thought, oh, that's going to be great.

That's going to be the thing that will position me as an authority. I spent months writing this ebook and put it out there. I marketed it everywhere, promoted it, and did not get anybody to sign up for it. I mean, I had a handful, but it, it, the amount of leads that it brought in versus the amount of work that I put into it definitely was not, uh, in alignment, so that was probably my worst.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Oh yeah. About five years ago, everybody thought you have to have a book to be credible. And now it's, you're kind of lucky if you write a book and somebody reads it for sure. I think people ought to think about in their industry, you know, what people need from you, but also what's easy for people to do. And for me, I think with the secret podcast, which we'll hear about more in just a minute. I'm way more likely to listen to something, even if it's a YouTube video, I'll probably listen to it more than I'll actually watch it.

People are so busy, that you have to make things easy for them. People are usually multitasking. So yeah, I'm excited to chat with you more about the secret podcast, which I know everybody's probably going to be really excited to hear even just that word secret podcast.

Can you tell us a bit more about that, what it is, and how you came up with it?

Rebecca Cousins:

Yeah. Everybody's familiar with the podcast, so it's, you know, an episode that you can listen to on any streaming service.

So Apple Podcasts, Spotify. But the Secret podcast takes that concept and kind of marries it almost with the concept of a webinar. So a webinar is a presentation where you sit down, you watch somebody present, typically like a small training with an offer at the end. And a secret podcast really marries those two ideas and does almost a webinar in an audio format.

And the reason it's secret is because you can't just log in to say, you know, your favorite podcast player and search it up and find it. It's secret because you have to opt into it through a lead form. So somebody has to give me their email address and their name in order to actually get access to the podcast.

So really what it becomes is a lead generation system and sales system for your business that is fully automated and accessible to your potential clients.

Rebecca Van Diest:

So I'm a little bit biased in that I've actually taken the course of how to create a secret podcast and I was so excited because I thought that's so cool, and it was really selling me in the best way possible.

Because all four episodes might be one to two hours long altogether, and it's like things that I wouldn't normally tell somebody in a 10-minute conversation, or I wouldn't think to tell them, you know, testimonials or different stories of successes that people have had with working with me.

And so in the secret podcast, what I really like, is you're able to really think about, okay, what are my best testimonials? You know, what are my best stories of clients' experiences that I can share? It's really cool to have something that really explains what I do and then gives people that quick win in there. So if they want to take action, they can, but they can also just listen to it and just like understand what I do.

Rebecca Cousins:

Yeah, 100%. You had talked a few minutes ago about almost like an evolution of lead magnets, right? Uh, the ebook was really popular a few years ago, and then it became, okay, well, let's shorten that, and let's only give them checklists and actionable items.

And then webinars had their moment in the spotlight, right? And now, you know, people are doing five-day challenges and things like that to try to bring people into their world, but more importantly, get them to understand what it is that they do and how they work with their clients. The thing about all of those other types of lead generation strategies or sales strategies is that they put a really heavy expectation on your clients to give up a lot of time in order to just learn about you.

You know, webinars are a great way to sell. However, They take up so much time for your clients, right? You're asking a potential client who has never encountered you to carve out 90 minutes of their day, sit in front of their computer, and go through this speech with you.

The thing that works so well with the podcast is that it takes that concept of sharing what you do with somebody, giving them a quick win, helping to overcome their objections, shift their mindsets and, you know, also teaching them something that they can implement into their business right away and get a quick win, but it does it in a way that is convenient for them.

They can pick up this podcast. They can listen to it at any time that's convenient for them, whether that's while they're at the gym or driving in their car or, you know, in the pickup line at school with their kids or walking the dog, whatever. It gives them the opportunity to take control and listen to it in a way that feels good to them and is on their own time.

So I think that's, you know, one of the many benefits of this type of lead magnet is that it removes the pressure off of your prospective clients, but gives them an opportunity to really get to know you and to see what it's like to work with you because a podcast is such an intimate environment, right?

You're like right in their ears. It's almost like you're there sitting down and having this wonderful conversation with them, but they get to decide when that conversation happens. So yeah, that's one of the many things that I love about that.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Yeah, very well said, because yeah, personally, I actually really love a webinar, but I would say nine out of ten times I miss it. I'll be like, oh, it's gonna happen at this time, and it's on my calendar, but then life happens, and if I was just able to listen to it, I'm much more likely to do it. I think that's the whole point too of a good lead magnet is people actually doing it. So yeah, I love it that you can just make it easy with a podcast.

Rebecca Cousins:

What makes the secret podcast also different is that there's this whole other level that comes into play with an email sequence that's attached to each episode.

So, you know, it's like you get one episode. So you're listening to that, and then you get an email that follows up and carves out the most important pieces of what they just learned it points them back to that episode if they missed it And it just creates this whole layered effect that hits people at different touch points.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Absolutely. Yeah. You're touching on something that I think is the hardest part about building an email list is emailing them. Right. And so building a funnel, I don't know why, but funnels have always been scary for me.

There's something about it that's really intimidating. And it just seemed like, oh, I can't even do it because I'm not going to get it right, or there's these little fear things that we do to ourselves. Do you want to talk about a little bit about the funnel process and why that's important?

Rebecca Cousins:

Well, first of all, you are not alone, Rebecca, because that is a common feeling among entrepreneurs. Probably the number one question I get from people is what is a funnel and do I need one?

And I love that because it just shows how much confusion there is over funnels. But really a funnel doesn't need to be so intimidating. It's just your customer journey. It's where somebody comes into your world, not knowing anything about you, and then each step is a piece of the funnel until they become a paying client. So it's really just the relationship journey that you're on with a potential client. And then hopefully it becomes a little less intimidating.

The Secret podcast really is the start of that journey. So when you bring somebody into your world, you're going to do it through the secret podcast, which is the lead magnet to build your email list.

But the beautiful thing about the secret podcast is it takes that up even a further notch. So you not only get somebody onto your email list, but you're able to start to nurture them through your customer journey. Each episode builds upon itself to ultimately sell an offer at the end.

So when we look at somebody who maybe has never heard of your business, they don't really know what you do. Then they come into your world, they start to get these episodes and episode one will start off with, you know, talking about a common misconception in your industry. You know, each industry has, people who believe certain things about what they do.

So let's say, for example, Rebecca, you do SEO. So you have people who come into your world who have misconceptions about SEO being really hard and complicated and, you know, something that's expensive and time-consuming, right? So in episode one, we'll start to shift those beliefs. And then episode two starts to build upon those belief shifts and give somebody a quick win so they can see, Oh, SEO isn't so hard. I can totally do this. I now know what SEO is and Rebecca is probably the perfect person to help me with this. Right. And then episode three will build upon that even further.

And it starts to talk about, you know, what it would be like to work with you. We share your framework and how you work with potential clients and how you take them through your processes. And then episode four actually ends up selling them into your offers. So what this does is that it brings somebody into the top of your funnel, essentially, who is not aware of you at all, and it helps to guide them on that customer journey, but in a way that nurtures them, it educates them.

It helps, Give them a quick win. It helps overcome objections. It sells your offers, but it does it all in a way that is automated. So most of us service providers, coaches, consultants, we'll spend a lot of time trying to acquire a lead. So we'll post on social media. We'll hop on sales calls.

We'll do all of these things that require so much time and don't offer results with a secret podcast, it does it all in one container that's completely automated. You're acquiring the new lead, and getting them on your email list. You're nurturing them through your sales process and you're keeping them nurtured through a sales sequence that ultimately sells your offers in the end.

So it truly is a complete funnel to bring somebody through a condensed buying journey.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Nice. Do you think that the secret podcast could work for both online entrepreneurs and then also potential business owners who meet with clients in person?

Rebecca Cousins:

Yeah, that's a great question. Yes, it can work for either. I primarily work with online entrepreneurs, so that's across all industries. So we're talking service providers, coaches, consultants. I've had people in all different kinds of industries who have used the secret podcast with great success.

I think that if you are somebody who does meet with clients in person, so, you know, Somebody who comes to mind would be realtors or financial advisors, you can still apply the secret podcast to your business You might just do it in a way that instead of selling an offer directly online, You might end up having them book a call with you at the end. So there can be different nuances depending on your industry and how you sell and what your offer is, but ultimately the process would still be the same.

The point that really, is important to understand is it's not something that would work for somebody who is selling, you know, tchotchkes out of their store. It's really designed for somebody who is in a service or client-based business.

Rebecca Van Diest:

That's a really good point. Yeah, if you, if you're in the business of selling yourself or you need to build that know, like, and trust factor, it's probably going to work in some way. But if you just have a gift shop down at the coast or something, you probably don't need a secret podcast.

Rebecca, how did you get started with the secret podcast?

Rebecca Cousins:

My first secret podcast that I created was a few years ago. I think it was back in 2020 when I started using it when I still had my marketing agency.

And what I found was that I was spending a lot of time getting on discovery calls. And I would hop on these calls with potential clients just to discover that they really were not a good fit. And I wanted a way that I could start to nurture people and make sure that they were going to be a good fit before we ever got on the call.

So that by the time we got on the call, it was really just a formality of saying, you know, yeah, I'm ready to work with you. I know that you're a good fit. I know what you're all about. I know what your framework is. I know how you work with clients. Let's do this. Right. And so that's really where this idea of the secret podcast came about.

I had been working with the messaging coach at the time and she was the one who actually taught me how to do this. So when I first started it, it was really just designed to replace a discovery call for me. But as I started using it and I started getting more people through it, I thought, well, I wonder why I couldn't also just use this to sell my offers.

And so I ended up reworking the podcast and Designing it in a way that was more like a webinar to sell an offer on the back end. And so how I changed it was I would have the episodes, but then we would have an email that would be attached to each of the episodes that would. You know, help further educate them on that episode, point them back to it, and continue to guide them down this customer journey.

Then I added a sales sequence on the back end of it so that it wasn't just a podcast, but then after they finished each of those four episodes, they would be put into a longer sales sequence to continue to sell my offers. And what this did was it ended up creating a whole lead generation and sales system that was fully automated.

So now as soon as somebody signs up for my email list, they're put right into this and then the whole process is hands off. So now I don't have to do sales calls. You know, I don't really have to do anything. It's just once they come in, they're exposed to my world and I'm building that like, know, and trust factor.

They're being nurtured. They have a small win. And by the end of it, they know whether or not we're a good fit to work together. And then they can just sign up for my packages or my programs right from that. It has been an evolution of it over the last couple of years, but I found that this has been just such a blessing for my business because especially as a busy mom and entrepreneur, I don't want to spend all of my days posting on social media.

You know, I didn't sign up to be an entrepreneur and to be able to stay home with my kids. Just to spend it attached to my laptop. So this whole system has really brought a lot of freedom to my business and has really helped me to be able to sell, with a lot more ease, so it's been a really good addition to my business.

Rebecca Van Diest:

So people do want to work with you. They know you're a good fit. They can just take action right there. And I love that.

Rebecca Cousins:

Yeah. A hundred percent. And then, I started teaching it. I realized, you know, if this is working for me, then who else could it work for? You know, everybody could benefit from having a sales system like this. And I was invited to be on a speaker panel about list building at a conference last year. And I had no intention of actually even sharing the strategy.

But I got up there and started talking about list building and the host had asked me, you know, just like you did, what is currently working to bring in leads and grow my email list right now? And I said, Oh, well, what's working for me right now is a secret podcast. And he's like, wait, what, what's the secret podcast?

You have to tell us about this. And so I shared my strategy and people were just going crazy over it. They had never heard of it. They were so excited. And after that conference, a handful of the people who were at that conference started implementing it into their own businesses and we're seeing just crazy results.

We're talking, you know, double leads on registration. One woman used it to sell a $10,000 package without a sales call. The host used it as a lead-up for his big launch and had a 47 percent increase in sales. So I realized, okay, I'm on to something here. Other people are seeing results with this as well.

Let me figure out how I can teach it and get it into the hands of more people. So that's when I decided to create the secret podcast formula program, which you went through in the beta round. And so here we are.

I'm so grateful too, that you decided to do that. I feel like my website is a lot more valuable because I have a really cool opt-in now. So yeah, I think that's an amazing thing.

Rebecca Van Diest:

What's the best way for people to connect with you?

Rebecca Cousins:

The best way to do that is on Instagram. That's usually where I'm hanging out and I can be found at rebeccacousins.co. Send me a DM. I would love to connect with you there. If you're interested in learning more about the Secret Podcast and finding out when we will be relaunching the program, you can go to simplebusinessstartup.com/secret-podcast . There you can download a copy of mine. It'll give you an idea of really what it's about. You can learn more about how the process works and see if it might be a good fit for you. And then that of course will put you on my email list where when the program opens up, you will be notified via email. So that's a great way to connect with me.

Rebecca Van Diest:

All right. I think this has been a really great episode. I love all the things that we covered about funnels, opt-ins, and the importance of having your own email list.

And just how it can really grow and benefit your business. Thank you so much, Rebecca, for being here and sharing your expertise with us.

Rebecca Cousins:

Oh, thanks so much for having me, Rebecca. It was such an honor to be on your podcast and I'm just so excited to be here.

Rebecca Van Diest:

Oh, absolutely. Thank you everyone for listening and I will talk to you soon.

About Rebecca Cousins:

Rebecca Cousins is the CEO and heart behind Simple Business Startup,LLC. With an entrepreneurial background spanning two decades, Rebecca recently transitioned from running a successful marketing agency for 19 years to embracing her true passion: coaching.

Today, she is dedicated to empowering women, helping them scale their service-based or coaching businesses through streamlined marketing strategies. 2023 marked Rebecca's inaugural year as a full-time coach, a year that saw her guiding over 100 women through personalized coaching, her signature group coaching program, and an exclusive membership.

Rebecca's approach is fueled by her core belief that women can have it all, a successful business and a thriving family. Why choose when you can have both and build a life you love!

Discover more about how Rebecca is changing lives and redefining success at Simple Business Startup.

https://www.simplebusinessstartup.com/secret-podcast

Episode #001 Prioritize Your Marketing to Grow Your Business

michal@clickers2clients.com (Michal Caro) — Thu, 02 May 2024 20:41:57 GMT

Prioritize Your Marketing to Grow Your Business

In this episode, we dive into the journey of a business owner who faced challenges but ultimately found success through effective marketing strategies. We explore the importance of prioritizing marketing efforts, regardless of budget or business stage. The host shares personal experiences and tips on building a strong online presence, including SEO, website creation, social media, and email marketing. The episode emphasizes the need for consistency, goal-setting, and using tools like Google Calendar or Asana to stay organized and focused. Listeners are encouraged to assess their marketing needs, set achievable goals, and commit to consistent action to grow their businesses. Join us on Marketing Secrets Uncovered for more insights and strategies to boost your business success.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Asana
Google Calendar
Secret Podcast : SEO Secrets Unlocked

Full Transcript:

Hello friends and welcome to the Marketing Strategies Uncovered podcast, where we're going to be diving deep into the world of marketing strategies and uncover actionable insights for your business success. I'm Rebecca Van Diest, your host and the proud owner of Clickers to Clients. Today is our very first episode of this podcast, and I couldn't be more thrilled to embark on this journey with you.

And since it's our first episode, I just want to let you know, I wanted to start this podcast because marketing plays such a big role in being successful. My brother in law actually lives in California and I watched him transition from a corporate job to being an entrepreneur. And I saw how much he was struggling, and you know, times were really tough for him and his family in the beginning, when he was trying to get clients, and he had to figure it all out on his own.

It definitely wasn't easy for his family, and you know what? They made it work. Uh, he put in a lot of effort. And about five years later, now he's created a business he really enjoys. He's got clients and he's doing really well. When I first learned about SEO websites and the impact that they can have on a business, and creating lead generating machines, like I like to call them, I thought, wow, like I could help people like my brother in law, small business owners, and he needs people that are searching on Google and other online search platforms.

He needs to be showing up when those people want to work with him, um, when they're Googling his business name or they just need their car cleaned, right? So whatever it is that you do, I know people are also searching for you and they need your help to solve their problems. And this is really where marketing comes in.

It's really connecting the end user, the searcher with the professional, the problem solver, right? That's why I want to have this podcast because I have been in this field for so long and I have so much exciting information to share with you. And so I'm just really excited to do so.

So with this podcast, it's my chosen avenue of communicating with you and just passing along all the tips that I can. And I chose it because I really love listening to podcasts myself, and you just can't beat the ability to just listen from anywhere you want to. We're all busy, right?

So I really hope that you find this podcast inspiring and also super helpful for your business. I want to help you be successful no matter what your budget is or where you are along in your business as well. So that's why I'm doing this. I am really excited to dive into our first episode today. And I wanted to talk to you about why you need to be making your marketing for your business a priority.

Cause you know, again, we're all busy, right? So how do you prioritize your marketing and fit it into your day, your week, your month, your year? I know a year seems like a lot, but we all start with a year plan, right? At the beginning of every year. We come up with how we're going to improve our business.

A lot of times that probably has to do with some marketing. So where do you want to focus on? Maybe you want to sign up for SEO. Maybe you're creating your first website. Maybe you're creating a better website. Maybe you're getting a Google My Business or a business profile page on social media, uh, whatever your focus is right now, how are you going to make that a priority?

So this is really what I want to talk about today.

I also want to share what I'm doing personally because I'm also trying to improve my marketing as we all should all the time. And so, you know, for me personally, I've been on Facebook since it was invented, and websites come easy to me because I love making those. I love the design of them. So I usually have a good website, usually on Facebook. So I'm good with those, but of course I have room to improve as I'm sure we all do, especially with how everything keeps changing. So I personally want to be more consistent on YouTube and I need content for that.

Podcasting is a great way to do that. Maybe you want to just record videos. That's another option as well. Another thing that I'm doing right now is building my email list, doing email marketing, because I really want to be checking in with people that need my help and my services on a regular basis.

I want to be consistent. I don't want to be so sporadic anymore with how I'm engaging with people. So for me in 2024, as we're kicking off the second quarter, you know, things are changing. I'm making some pivotal shifts for my business and my marketing and being consistent showing up and having more ways I can help people is really important to me and growing my business.

And actually a little sneak peek. Sneak listen, is that I'm actually working on an affordable website offer as well right now. This is something I've never done in the past, but I'm recognizing these are hard times for people. I know personally, my business has been slowing down. I'm not getting as many leads as I did last year.

And I think it's just because, the economy is what it is and it makes, Websites and SEO, even more important. And those two things really play really well together. You can't really do one without the other. It's important to have a really powerful website that actually works and that's really important in so many different ways.

And so I'm really excited to have something that's actually affordable that people can have right away and not feel like it's a huge undertaking. People that are just starting out, for example, they're not going to have

$5,000 for a brand new, beautiful website that works, but hey, maybe they've got $200 a month that they've set aside for their marketing budget.

That's something that can help them take them to the next level and make them the creditable business that people want to work for in a website that's showing up when their ideal client is searching for what they do best.

I want to have different options. And I think that that's important for people too, if you can, in your business, by the way. Is trying to create other options for people. Yeah, you have got your high end, but also low ticket offers can be a really great way to get cash flow coming in, and get people used to doing business with you and get them excited to work with you.

So with marketing, it really depends on what you need, right? Another couple things that I'm looking into this year, doing some workshops at least once a quarter, and I'd love to also have a do it yourself website builder course available. It's something that they can potentially do if they're a little tech savvy. They can just spend a few hundred dollars and take a weekend, take a few hours, and build a website that's really something that they can be proud of. I want to make it so building a website isn't hard. You can just get it done. Uh, I really think that would be amazing. So we'll see as that unfolds, this again, exciting to have options.

And the more that I can provide that to people, I think the more people will be successful and having a website is a really great way to do that for a lot of different reasons. And I'm sure we'll talk about that in other episodes. So yeah, I think anyone could spare a few hours on a weekend. If anything's a priority to us too, for our marketing, we're going to make it happen.

So that's a good thing to think about too, is setting aside time, understanding how long things will take to build or create, depending on what you're focusing on, just setting aside some time every week is how you're going to make that happen.

One thing also that's been really huge for my business this year that I've really focused on for the first quarter of 2024 was rebranding. And that has been a huge undertaking. I don't think I realized when I was first starting just how big of a deal it would be.

But it's so worth it, right? If something just feels meant to be and you have to do it, you put the work that you need to, to make it happen. And if you don't know, my business used to be Van Diest Digital Solutions, and we are now Clickers to Clients.

And honestly, that's a saying that I've been using for a really long time, is we turn clickers into clients. And every time I would say that on an online meeting, everybody would be like, Oh my gosh, I love that. That's amazing. I'd say it, you know, from time to time and it just really stuck with me.

I was actually visiting a BNI chapter that I'm not a member of personally and in a breakout room, someone saw my logo and my business name and they thought I was in finance, not marketing. And I thought that was really interesting. And ultimately that was the push that I needed to rebrand and just go for it.

And I'm really glad that I did. I love my logo. I love my colors, the feel, all the things. So hopefully you agree and you do too. And I bring that up because rebranding can also be a marketing strategy or a goal that you might have as well. If you're not currently happy with what you have, you know, and think about, you know, what is your logo?

Do you have a logo? What are your brand colors? How do those colors make people feel? Those are really the different things that you want to think about. You know, do you have a website? I know we've been talking about that, but you know, maybe you need a better website. Can people find your website? Those are different things you have to consider with your marketing.

I don't personally know what your goals are, but you know where you are right now, where you should be headed. to reach whatever goals you have, you need to prioritize making that happen as we all do.

So what I want to encourage you today is just take 15 minutes, get a piece of paper, get a pen, and write out what your commitment is. What you can do is set a recurring task on your calendar every week and take this time and ask yourself:

What are you going to do for your marketing?
Are you going to do a Facebook post?
Are you going to write a blog post?
How are you going to show up and be the voice of your business?
What are you going to do to get more clients?
Who are you going to contact?

If you have more money than time, make sure that you know who you're going to hire to help you, in whatever area that is, so you have more time freed up to do what you love, That will have that positive impact on your business that will lead to more clients that will lead to more income coming in.

Marketing is a great way to do that. What I really want to encourage you today is to think about what your business needs. And if marketing is not what you love doing, that's totally okay. Again, you can hire these things out, like writing blog posts and posting on social media. Uh, but today, again, what I really want to encourage you to do is just think about and write out:

What does your business need in regards to marketing?

A month from today, where do you want to be? And can you make all of these things a habit for the next four weeks? Because if you can, that will be amazing. It takes about that long to form a habit, right? I'm pretty sure that's true. So think about what you want to implement over these next four weeks.

Personally, I love doing recurring tasks on Google Calendar. It really helps keep me focused. It's something I check throughout the day, keeps me on track, so that might help you.

Another resource that I use is Asana, and you can do recurring tasks on there too. That's a really great task manager, by the way. I even personally just use the free version. So you can give that a try as well.

So whatever tool you use, just make sure you use something, whatever tends to keep you on track and remembering what you need to do. Cause if we don't write it down, it doesn't happen. Right?

So, think about, write down, and really understand how are you going to show up and prioritize your business? Is that marketing right now? Maybe you need to focus on hiring an employee first. I'm okay with that if it is. Sometimes we need to free up that time, but you need to know where you need to focus and don't forget it.

I would love to have this be a priority for you. It is so, so important, and if you don't show up for your business, if you're not focusing on your business, I don't know that anybody else will. So it's really important. I want to see you be more successful in your business.

I want your business to grow and for you to not be affected by the crazy times that are happening in our economy. A lot of businesses are thriving and I want you to be one of those businesses. That's our episode for today. Thank you so much for joining me, and I will chat with you again soon.

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The Truth About “Toxic” Backlinks: What Google Actually Cares About

First, Let’s Get This Straight: SEMrush Doesn’t Work for Google

Episode# 007 Supercharge Your Events Using Social Media with Jade Shebelski

How to use social media to get the right customers at your next event!

Episode# 006 How To Start A Business With No Money

Unlocking Success: Launching a Profitable Business with Zero Marketing Budget

Episode# 005 2024 Video Marketing Trends with Joaquín Herrera

Unlock the Power of Storytelling in Video Marketing.

Episode# 004 SEO On A Budget: 4 Easy and Affordable Ways to Optimize Your Website

Cost-Effective SEO Strategies that can be done with any budget.

Episode# 003 The Subscription Advantage: Transform Your Business with Recurring Revenue

Add subscription services to your business to get consistent recuring monthly revenue coming in!

Episode# 002 List Building Strategies with Rebecca Cousins

Create an Email Opt-In Your Clients Can’t Refuse Using The Secret Podcast Framework.

Episode #001 Prioritize Your Marketing to Grow Your Business

Prioritize Your Marketing to Grow Your Business

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Full Transcript:

Unlocking Success:
Launching a Profitable Business with Zero Marketing Budget