More Than A Few Words

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox  Since the dawn of the internet, or at least the dawn of social media, there's been this ongoing battle between consumers and media outlets, over how much information they actually have access to and how much they share with their advertisers. On the one hand, we want to protect our privacy. But on the other hand, as business owners, that information is critical.    As Apple and other service providers ratchet down the amount of information available, it will be more difficult to precisely target audiences, driving costs up and effectiveness down. Precise targeting allowed small business owners a chance to get their message in front of the right people, Now with broader , less precise groups, you will have to spend more to put your ad in front of more people, to reach that same number of really qualified prospects.    About Jennifer Denney:  In her words I have been in digital marketin

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week  Hashtags. That little symbol that you see in front of a single word or group of words is an integral part of how Twitter and Instagram work. They allow you to group your message with other messages on the same topic, but there is an art to crafting a good hashtag. And if you're thinking about using one for your business, here are a few rules to keep in mind. The first is to be concise, long hashtags are extremely difficult to read, especially on the small screen of a smartphone. Also, with no spaces available it is easy for your hashtag to look like a hot mess. One or two word hashtags are more memorable and it's easier for others to jump on the bandwagon and join your conversation. If you're absolutely determined to use a longer hashtag, at least add capital letters to identify the beginning of each wo

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox When I started my marketing company in 2002 it was a traditional agency built on pen, paper, and direct mail. . But somewhere along the line, we became a digital agency and began playing seriously in the digital economy. What is it and how can you take advantage of it? Well, that's what we talked to Naresh Vissa about.  He says the digital economy is the new 21st century economy. It is how business is being conducted and where industry is shifting and the pandemic of 2020 has only accelerated that forcing businesses to think in new ways about how to use technology to transact businesses  You have to be prepared to participate in the digital economy whether you're a buyer, a consumer, a customer, or a producer, seller, vendor, small business, or large business,  If you don't you will be left behind.  About Naresh Vissa Naresh Vissa is a media, marketing and publishing entrepreneur and p

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week  A friend of mine who is an improvisational artist, and a marketer told me there were many things he learned when studying improvisational comedy that he could apply to marketing.  The first is the rule of the Yes. And.... In an improvisational interaction, anytime someone says anything, you immediately say yes. This behavior allows you to build on the ideas of others. That's actually how the internet works. If you're looking for content ideas, find something someone else has written, and apply the rule of yes and.  Create your own blog post by talking about what they said and add your own information on top of it. The second rule in improvisational comedy is to tell the truth. When an artist speaks about things that are true to them it is easier to connect to the audience with these shared experiences.

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball When it comes to content marketing, the process is key.  Without structure, you are always chasing the program instead of driving it.    The most basic content marketing tool is a content calendar.  The document allows you to plan ahead, and track your progress, building more effective content over time.    There are software tools that will help you manage content, but sometimes a simple spreadsheet is all you need.    About our guest:  David Perez David Perez is a podcast producer who helps health and wellness coaches build their audiences, grow their online presence and find their voice through podcasts. He’s also the podcast host for Audience Coach, a show focused on helping coaches start and run their own podcast shows.  

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox These days, video is so affordable and so easy to create it should be a part of every small business owner's content program.   We have access to powerful equipment and gear  built right in to the phone in our pockets. Your smartphone, let's you make quick videos on the fly which can look really good if you know a few tricks. Figure out your audio.  Sure you are shooting video, but if it doesn't sound good, people just won't spend the time watching your video.  Get a tripod and make sure you have good lighting Check that there is nothing out of place in the frame, an open window or something which just shouldn't be there.  Decide what you want to share with your audience, and what actions you want them to take when they are done watching your video Have a distribution plan before you create your video , because each platform, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook etc each have different size requir

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week  Real branding is so much more than just your logo, business card and letterhead. A real company brand encompasses what you want people to think and feel about your brand. And so beyond the color and logo, there's also messaging and tone, and how your brand is extended not just on your website and in print, but in social media, and even public interactions. All of this helps you and your employees answer that question, what do you do and how do you do it? It is  fairly easy to keep your brand consistent when your company only consists of two or three people. But what happens when you continue to grow to 10, 20 or even 100 people? How do you ensure your brand is still presented consistently. You will need a solid brand standard document that everyone has a copy of. You will need to train every time you ge

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball, founder of the Digital Toolbox   As a business owner, your relationship with your employees and customers is core to being effective in your role.  Those relationships actually start  with  understanding who you are as a person. That's why like Myers Briggs and DISC Profiles are so helpful. But there are other tools, and in this episode we dive into Enneagram types. These types are based on a personality test where you are asked a series of thought provoking, situational questions. Your results are a number one through nine each connected to a different Enneagram profile.  About Megan Wendholt Megan is the new chief of staff at Roundpeg.  In that role she's in charge of all things HR from hiring and recruiting to onboarding and office management. Her job also puts her in a position to be a driving force behind team wellness the part of her job she loves the most. The time she spends every day meeting with the team,

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball Our guest, Thomas Libby spends a lot of time on LinkedIn. And the time pays off, because he uses the platform to help people get to know, like and trust him.   Why isn't it effective for everyone?   Often it is because they treat it like a platform and not a chance for a conversation. for example, you wouldn't walk up to somebody on the street or walk into a meeting and immediately launch into a sales pitch about a new wonderful, bright, shiny object you are selling.  Too many people try that approach on LinkedIn. Immediately after connecting, the first message you get from them is that look at this bright, shiny object that we're selling, are you interested in it? They forget there should be some foundational work done there. Instead of launching into a sales pitch, try offering something of value. like sharing a resource or asking a question.    About Thomas Libby Tom is a seasoned Sales VP and Business Development

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week  Generation Z, those people born after 1996  make up 1/3 of the US population. And even now they have a buying power of $44 billion. This generation grew up with technology and social media, so as you look forward, you need to build a sales model and marketing channel that keeps that in mind, They tend to be less willing to share information less likely to pick up the telephone and call you and more likely to want to do everything online. If you're in consumer services, you're going to see the impact of this generation in the early 20s. If you're in more durable products like homes and automobiles, it may be a few more years, but the time is coming when this customer and their buying habits will drive your business. You can start thinking about it now. Or you can wait until it's too late.  

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball I love a good story.  I love to listen to a good story and tell one.  Stories are a valuable element in building your personal brand, marketing your business, and as you will discover today, they can add value in your sales process too.   As our guest Tom Jackobs explains  your need two types of stories in  your sales process.  The first is your personal story which explains why  you do what you do and the second is a story of results. How you helped someone achieve their goal.     About Tom Jackobs Tom Jackobs is known as the Impact Pilot for helping business owners sell their services better through public speaking training and a unique sales process which incorporates questions that sell and stories that sell.    

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your day as a business owner. Just like a professional athlete, every salesperson knows it is always easier to sell if you have a home court advantage.  If a customer  will come to your office or showroom, you’ve already scored the first point. But if you are in the plumbing, roofing, electrical or home remodeling business, it is rare for you to have a chance to  sell on your turf. You are almost always in the customer's home, where they are most comfortable, and you aren’t. So how do you level the playing field?  Start with information such as your brochures, web content and emails to move the game to a more neutral setting.

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball As a small business owner, particularly if you are in  a service industry, like coaching or consulting your build practice one customer at a time.  If you want to grow your business, you have to find ways to break through the capacity constraints of a business that revolves solely around you.  This week we chatted with Molly Mandelberg on how to leverage your skill set and expand from one to one services to group programs and online courses.   Molly Mandelberg is the Founder of Wild Hearts Rise Up and Creator of Magnetic Influencer Collective. As a tech-savvy strategist, Molly supports coaches, healers, and emerging thought-leaders to expand their outreach, so they can connect with more people, and make more money with less time spent

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your day as a business owner. If you've spent any time at all on the internet, you've landed on 404 page telling you the page you requested cannot be found. There are usually instructions to try refining your search or use the navigation above to locate the post.  If that's what the message looks like on your 404 page you are missing a terrific sales opportunity. Instead of a simple 404 message, provide helpful information like buttons or a navigation panel to help them get back into the flow. If you come to the 404 page on the Roundpeg website we actually have full navigation and a list of current blog posts along with a fun image of Benny our office cat. We want to make sure that people who get a little bit lost. to enjoy the trip. If you'd like to learn more about spicing up your 404 page, reach out to us at  R

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball If you are like most business owners you want your website to be attractive and functional.  This week we chatted with Wayne Mullins about the top three reasons your website isn't doing anything to actually grow your business and his simple formula to improve your site.  (3:53)  3- You have three seconds to grab the attention of your visitor.  5 - Every page on your website must answer five questions to be effective. 3 - Every page us built on the foundation of the three cs: contrast, composition and content.    About Wayne  Wayne Mullins is the founder and CEO of Ugly Mug Marketing. Over the past 20 years, he has scaled multiple companies and helped hundreds of entrepreneurs do the same with their companies.  Wayne’s work directly influences more than one hundred thousand entrepreneurs annually through his blog, books, and training programs. Wayne has personally worked with clients in over 100 industries - from ever

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your day as a business owner. Social media is about engagement. This is something businesses forget when they start to use it as a broadcast tool. Just because you're posting information out there doesn't mean that anyone is actually paying attention. So one of the most important things you can do to get the most out of your social media is to pay attention to your engagement numbers.  Are people liking, sharing and commenting on your content? Are they interacting with you? If they're not, it's a good time to stop and change your approach.  Create more content designed to engage people. Ask questions, comment on content other people are sharing. If you do that, and you still aren't getting the response you are hoping for, it is possible that you're trying to talk to the wrong audience. While Facebook has the most

When it comes to generating leads from LinkedIn, our guest  Susan MacConnell thinks most people make several critical mistakes.  1 - Trying to connect with everybody. Instead you should clearly define your target and search for people who match. 2 - Taking the same approach to everyone with a generic greeting message as you reach out.  But everyone  is different spend a little time to learn something about them and use that piece of information in your initial message Susan MacConnell Susan is a LinkedIn & sales performance coach & CEO The Client Hunter and President of Diversified Sales Solutions and Smarketing CONNECT. She is the go-to expert for professionals, who are looking for an efficient and customized way to acquire more premium clients and referral partners without being spammy gross or plain to salesy.

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your day as a business owner. Every time I turn around, there's some new, cool, interesting marketing tool. But who has time to test them all? So if you are like me, and you have limited time and want to get the biggest bang for your marketing buck the best thing to do is to go back to the basics. Start with your website. It is your digital home base.  Everything you do online should run through your website, email marketing, online advertising, and social media. Because your website is so important, it is critical that you are well represented with a strong great looking website. To do that, you should consider blowing up your outdated design.  Trade it in for one with a more modern design and updated information.  It should be more user friendly and conducive to starting conversations. If you're looking for some

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball As a business owner, sometimes it is hard to figure out where your business ends and you begin. It can be challenging to create a separation between your identity and your business, but it is incredibly important for your health and the health of your business.  Our guest Michael Reynolds says that too often, small business owners feel as if their identity is their business.  They work long hours,  often sacrificing family and personal priorities for the business. Customer feedback and the success or problems they have in their business, become tightly integrated with their personal kind of mental state.   Not only is this a challenge day to day, but this lack of separation also prevents you from thinking and planning for your end game. About Michael Reynolds Michael is a parallel entrepreneur and former digital marketing agency owner. After owning a digital agency for 23 years, he founded and co-founded four new bus

More than a Few Words is a marketing conversation for business owners hosted by Lorraine Ball You are not charging enough for your products.  If you are like most business owners you make the mistake of looking at your competitors for guidance on pricing. Unfortunately, they probably don't know any more about pricing than you do. Why don't business owners charge more for their products and services?  Usually it is fear that holds them back.  About Robin Waite Robin Waite is the founder of Fearless Business, a Business Accelerator for Coaches, Consultants and Freelancers. From 18 years old until 22, Robin worked as a systems analyst for a medical device company. Putting systems into play, Robin increased e efficiency and decreased cost, helping to make the company 50% more profitable. For the next decade, Robin ran a successful marketing agency, serving over 250 clients. He delivered workshops and masterclasses to over 1,000 business owners on subjects including marketing, product architecture, pricing, websit