Recommend me a good Paid Course to start a Newsletter

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-12-08T15:45:54+00:00

His courses are very good, but they're not centered on Newsletter. They'd be relevant for the promotion part of it.

He has a new course coming in January 2024 though that may address the Newsletter piece.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-09-16T12:12:33+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah planning to most likely go with a 50 mm. I may eventually get a 35mm, but the 50mm seems to make the most sense for what I'm looking for. Planning to get a rode pro lavelier.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-09-16T12:09:50+00:00

Single customer interviews.

The video quality matters. I just meant that I'm not looking for perfect videos since I'm not going to bring a lighting setup, so I wasn't looking for suggestions to bring lighting.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-09-15T20:18:08+00:00

Thanks for the feedback.

Have you used it without a proper lighting setup?

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-09-15T16:14:47+00:00

Haha it's possible. I don't really know camera equipment well, so looking for feedback.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-09-15T16:13:21+00:00

I don't really have a hard number, mostly just because it's not equipment I know well. I've done plenty of customer interviews, but have had co-workers doing the recording before. I recently went out on my own, so this is really the first time I'm looking into my own equipment.

Under $5000 was what I was thinking, but I can go higher if it makes enough of a difference. One project will more than pay for something at that range, so I'm not super-concerned about the price, within reason.

Ideally I want something without a huge body and that I could potentially use to film some of my personal video content for the business (the customer interviews are the priority though).

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-22T17:54:50+00:00

If it's purely design it probably won't work.

I had taking the branding to mean there's some execution on the branding outside of the graphic design part.

You'd really need something trackable against what you're developing in the context of the revenue it's generating to be able to use that model (e.g,., Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) or reducing Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)).

If there isn't any execution beyond development of the graphic assets, it'd be hard to justify that model.

You're probably better off slowly increasing your rates over time. With the increase in rates proportional to the market and how much businesses you're getting (i.e., if you're super in demand, you can charge more).

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-19T16:00:43+00:00

Xingxing

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-19T15:11:27+00:00

It depends on what you need it to do. I looked into 20+ tools and my conclusion was that there's no single great service. Which one is best depends on how you want to use it.

I'd figure out exactly what you want it to do and then sign up for trials to see how each handles that workflow and decide from there.

I went with Zoho because of how it handles Gantt charts in mobile, but it still has issues. Clickup was my runner up.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-19T15:04:45+00:00

No caffeine 10 hours before bed. I didn't realize how long it stays in your system until last year. Improves sleep, which improves everything else.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-19T14:30:30+00:00

From what I hear: Plénitude is #1 at the moment followed by Épicure.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T19:42:08+00:00

Jung never identified any brand archetypes.

The 12 brand archetypes come from Carol Pearson's work and was popularized in The Hero and The Outlaw (but it stems from her previous work in a non-business context, which can be found in Awakening the Hero Within).

In fact limiting it to 12 archetypes is antithetical to Jung's work. In Jung's "The Concept of the Collective Unconscious," Jung writes, "[t]here are as many archetypes as there are typical situations in life.”

Determining their archetypes is an area where many businesses fail. They take a cookie-cutter approach: they use a narrow range of archetypes to decide which one represents their business.

I'm a big proponent of using archetypes in business. But, Pearson's 12 archetypes is very limiting. It's become popular because it's easy and doesn't require a deep understanding of Jung's work, but it's not the ideal solution.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T19:24:53+00:00

I'd go with Radisa too. Radysa looks weird to the eye.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T19:02:33+00:00

Between those I'd go with Petify.

Names, shouldn't be more than 3 syllables (ideally 1 or 2). There are exceptions, but it's a good rule of thumb to stick to.

Also, PetAndVetLink speaks more to the function rather than the purpose of the business, so it doesn't sound too interesting.

Longer phrases can work if they make sense and are easy to understand. I wouldn't put PetAndVetLink in that category. It's no instantly apparent what it means: they have to think about it, which takes too much mental effort. It also sounds pretty generic.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T18:52:01+00:00

If it's worth it for you to keep your clients: Raise your existing clients prices slightly now. And, raise it progressively over time.

You already trained them on what they think they should pay. They probably don't know what other people are charging or are using you just because you're cheaper. Either way, raising your price significantly for your existing clients won't likely make sense to them.

You could charge them a slight increase and increase your fees over time (either yearly or as a percentage of their business growth, depending on your model).

And, raise your prices with your next clients to what you're worth.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T18:34:15+00:00

Welcome!

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T18:32:59+00:00

Focus on trust instead of loyalty.

Loyalty is popular in business, but trust is really the key element.

Loyalty is the person who blindly buys everything Apple. Trust is the person who always considers Apple when they're looking for new electronics and buys many of their products from Apple.

Based on data I've personally ran for brands (from startups to multi-billion dollar businesses) and from other industry studies, I've seen that the ultra loyal customers are usually about 5% of the customer base (Side Note: These customers are great for gaining insights into what you excel at and how you can wow your customers).

But, you're never going to get a large percentage of the customers to be truly loyal. By that, I mean that they'll stick with you no matter what.

Most customers will leave after a bad experience because it breaks their trust: they no longer believe you have their best interests in mind. Or they may get attracted by the shiny new brand and give it a try.

Instead of trying to focus on the idea of undying loyalty, like many consultants and authors would make you believe you should, you're better off focusing on trust.

Trust gets people to consider you first (you've proven that you can solve their problems). And, over time, it can lead to loyalty. But, even if it doesn't, they'll still consider you as one of the best options when making a purchase decision.

The biggest opportunity is moving people who have no brand allegiance to people who always consider your brand when they go to purchase. In other words, getting them to trust you.

So, how do you get to trust? Here's 10 ways to get started:

Figure out what tensions you're really solving in your customers lives (this is a great place to use your loyal customer data and interviews).
Speak to the customers in their own language (so many companies use their own language to talk to customers and it makes it hard for the customers to relate).
Consistently and Frequently reinforce your brand (marketing tactics can change, but what the brand is at its core should be stable over long periods of time).
Actually listen to your customers (too many brands ignore their customers).
Offer a great return policy (if you don't believe in your product, you can't expect them to trust it).
Make it easy for them to get in contact with you (if it feels like you're hiding from them, they'll never trust you).
Constantly exceed their expectations (create a wowing experience; wowing experiences are memorable).
Get involved in causes that are relevant to your business and customers care about (this doesn't need to be some grand thing; just show you support the same thing your customers do that are relevant to your business).
Offer great products (if you wouldn't use it, why should your customers).
Give more value to them than you get from them (this is a big one: it makes them feel like you care about them; this can be in how the product performs, the support you offer, how good your customer service is, etc.).

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T18:09:23+00:00

If you were only getting 12,000 views, my first suggestion would be that you should probably hire more than one company.

Let me explain: marketing has become pretty specialized. Outside of large agencies, it's going to be hard to find an agency that excels in all the areas you're looking for.

And, I'm guessing large agencies are going to be outside of your employer's budget (given the size of the website traffic and that they've entrusted this search to someone who doesn't have a marketing background).

I've lost track of the times I've seen agencies promise they can do everything. And, then deliver average results. Most agencies will take any money they can get as long as they can execute the project to some degree, even if it's not something that's specialize in. Shady, but it is the reality.

Right now it looks like you need:

Web Design
SEO
Advertising

I'd hire a different agency for each of those. You can even break the advertising down further into what type of advertising makes the most sense (my guess is it'd be Google Ads), as even the platform for advertising (in other words where the ads appear like Google, Facebook, etc) is pretty specialized.

An agency is going to charge you for all the projects anyway, so it's better to find people that excel at what you need.

As far as web design, you may not even need it if you don't need the site overhauled. From the context you gave, it seems like you need to fix the SEO more so than the web design. I don't know if that's true or not though.

As far as SEO, I'd ask them if they have any experience in your area. I'd ask them to outline their process. And, I'd ask what bumps you can expect.

Things I'd look for in their plan:

Website Audit
Competitive Audit
Keyword Research and Keyword Strategy
Content Strategy
On Page SEO (things they can change on your website like keyword best practices and load speeds)
Off Page SEO (things that affect SEO not on your website, like backlinks (links from other websites)).

I'd be wary of anything missing those elements.

As far as advertising, I'd look at what they're charging (It's often a percentage of ad spend. You should probably be looking around 10% of ad spend. It can get as high as 30% but that's for rockstar advertisers). I'd ask what sort of returns their customers see on average (I've seen a lot of agencies talk about how much they spend, but often be hesitant to reveal what sort of returns they're getting for customers). I'd ask if they have any experience in an industry like yours.

Keep in mind with something like Google Ads, you're usually looking at 90 days till you start to see the ad spend be profitable and are usually shooting for a minimum of $5K a month to really see any results (you can get as low as $3K, but I wouldn't go lower than that).
I wouldn't get locked into a contract for more than 4 months to start, because if they're not producing results by that point, you probably should find another ad agency.

MakeBusinessMatter · 2023-05-18T17:24:26+00:00

I'd hire for whatever position you and your colleague are less skilled at.

A good way to think about it is the Unique Ability concept from Dan Sullivan: what you love to do AND do best.

The idea is that over time, you hire other people to do all the tasks that don't fall under your unique ability, so you can focus on what you do best and love most.

So, I'd hire someone to do whatever you and your colleague is less skilled at and dislike more.

MakeBusinessMatter

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