Josh Elledge used publicity to grow savingsangel.com into a profitable business. Now, he helps entrepreneurs and businesses figure out the best public relations approach and begin to show up in the right places to become an authority.
Josh is a regular contributor on television and in newspapers.
In this episode, Josh will explain how to use what you know to become an authority through publicity.
Don't miss Josh's Twitter Publicity Master Course. Usually, it costs $100, but you can sign up for free HERE.
Josh's website - UpEndPR.com
Josh on Twitter - @joshelledge
Josh on Facebook - UpendPR
This episode we are going to make the final stop on our Florida Customer Experience Tour.
Lessons from Universal Studios:
The final day of touring Walt Disney World to learn about customer service we will visit Epcot.
I had the opportunity to take part in a pilot program Disney World is testing out. Guest relations had my cell phone number. Every day they would text me just to see how things we going. And they made sure I knew I could text them if I had questions about anything.
This worked out great for me. No looking for a cast member. No waiting in line. Just send a text. I did text them with 3 questions throughout the days we have been here. One thing I noticed is they language
When I texted and mentioned I could not see my plans in the Disney World app or website, they pleasant reply I received was. “Our system is currently going through a magical enhancement which is why you cannot view or modify your plans.”
Check out the choice of words. Magical Enhancements. The language you use for your service or product matters. The words you use to and in front of customers matter.
Now, my final lesson from Epcot and from Disney World came when I stood in line so my daughter could meet Anna and Elsa, the characters from Frozen. My daughter was wearing braids. Elsa told her a story of how Anna uses Reindeer slobber to keep her braids in place. It was quite a story. And it made my daughter feel special. What can you do to give customers individual attention to make them feel special?
Day 3 of our Lessons from Disney World tour takes us to Hollywood Studios.
Here are the three lessons from Hollywood Studios;
Listen to the episode to find out where the lessons come from and how you can apply it to your business.
Today, we take the show to the Magic Kingdom for day 2 of Lessons from Disney World.
I visited the Magic Kingdom for one day six years ago, so this park is not new to me. But I came with new eyes. Looking to see what I can learn about how they create magic.
Here are the business lessons I learned from a day at the Magic Kingdom;
This episode is the first of four episode from Walt Disney World.
Each day I will visit one of the Disney World Parks and share with you what I learn.
On The Jody Maberry Show, we have learned about Disney from Lee Cockerell and Jeff Noel. But now, I will get to experience what we have learned on the ground.
Today’s park is Animal Kingdom.
The day got off to a curious start when my Magic Band would not work. But the lesson I learned is that you should stick with your customer until the problem is solved.
I also learned how we should remove the potential of confusion away from customers.
Listen in to hear this short episode about Animal Kingdom. Next episode, we will visit the Magic Kingdom.
The Jody Maberry Show goes on the road to the Kennedy Space Center.
This is the first episode in a series examining some of the popular attractions in central Florida. We will find lessons we can take from the attractions to apply directly to your business.
Here are 10 Customer Service Lessons from my time at Kennedy Space Center:
Does the thought of charging premium pricing scare you?
In episode 13, we talked to Kirk Bowman about value pricing. Kirk urged you to move away from charging by the hour and base your price on value. In this episode, Petra Foster joins us to talk about using premium pricing for your coaching or consulting business.
People who have mastered their message charge premium pricing based on value. People who are still trying to determine the value they offer price by the hour.
Petra Foster is a Client Enrollment Strategist who helps coaches and consultants develop premium packages and get high-end clients in six weeks.
In this episode, Petra explains why you need to charge premium pricing and outlines how to structure a premium coaching package. Petra will remove some of the intimidation you feel about charging premium prices.
Click Here to get Petra 6-Step Blueprint to help you discover how to craft irresistible coaching packages. Don't miss this eBook.
Check out Petra's Facebook Group, Enroll High-End Clients With Ease.
Petra's website - petrafoster.com
Petra on Twitter - @petra_foster
Here is one thing you need to know about getting big work done; It is all about influence.
Many people think if you work hard you can make things happen. They are only about 10% correct.
The work you do account for about 10% of making something happen. The right opportunity accounts for about 20% of making something big happen. Influence is 70% responsible for getting big work done.
Yet, many people focus intently on the work they do. They put 90% of their effort into something that will only account for 10% of the results. People with more experience understand this concept enough; they focus more on finding the right opportunities. Sure, things can happen when you find the right opportunity, but big things happen because of influence.
Once you understand the importance of influence, and you know what to do about it, you can begin getting big work done.
If you want to go deeper in a discussion about Influence, CLICK HERE to sign up for a series of emails all about influence.
Thank you to Paul Johnson, host of the God Zone Show, for the review on iTunes.
This episode we are going to take a close look at telling a story with Joe Sindorf.
I discovered Joe when I interviewed him for Great Escape Radio. Doing research before the interview, I admit I was impressed with his record of telling great stories. Better yet, telling great stories people were noticing and paying attention to. Joe has won an Emmy and a Peabody award. But it got better. After our interview for Great Escape, I liked him so much I asked him if he would also do an interview for The Jody Maberry Show. I knew you could learn a lot from Joe about storytelling.
During the interview, Joe suggests the elements of a great story are simply a beginning, a middle, and an end. That has to be in place to build a great story.
Along with the great insights on storytelling, Joe reminds us we need something bigger than our work to be proud of.
Joe Sindorf's website - JosephSindorf.com
Joe Sindorf on Twitter - @joesindorf
One of the wonderful opportunities I have is to host podcasts for other people. Shows like Creating Disney Magic with Lee Cockerell, Catalyst Sale with Mike Simmons and Mike Conner, Great Escape Radio with Lori Allen. There are more shows, I just listed a couple as an illustration.
Because of the work I do, I am often asked a question like this “Why should I have a co-host on my podcast”. Or, “What value does it add to my show to have a co-host”.
People like Jeff Goins and Ken Davis, who would certainly do a great show on their own, use a co-host format. A few popular podcasts used to be solo based shows and now use a cohost. Michael Hyatt did 100 episodes, I believe of his show This is Your Life before he changed formats and added a co-host. The Ray Edwards Show is one of my favorite business podcasts. Ray used to do the show solo and added his son, Sean Edwards, as a co-host.
Here are the five reasons you should consider having a c0-host for your podcast;
On the Jody Maberry Show, we often talk about marketing and branding on this show, but you may be surprised to know the best lesson I learned about branding came on a sheet of ice.
Now, you know some top marketers have been on this show. Ray Edwards and Mike Kim understand branding like no one I know. But they have nothing on Homejuice.
What is a homejuice is what you just thought? Right. Who is Homejuice is the better question.
In this episode, I share a story about a boyhood friend called Homejuice to illustrate a simple, but powerful lesson about branding.
Kary Oberbrunner returns to the show to talk about his new book, The Elixir Project.
After writing several non-fiction books, Kary wrote a young adult fiction thriller. It was a risk to move from traditionally published non-fiction books to write a fiction story. In this episode, Kary will discuss the story behind The Elixir Project, what you can learn from the book and how he is offering a way for people to go deeper after reading the book.
Take the Hackability Assessment HERE.
Sign up for the Elixir Project Webinar HERE.
Get the Elixir Project book HERE.
Connect with Kary on Twitter.
Listen to Kary's first appearance on the Jody Maberry Show.
If you took a flight anytime during 2016, you understand how much of a pain in the neck it has become to fly. Some airports are much better than others, but my home airport in Seattle has terribly long lines to get through security. Sometimes you have to get there two hours ahead of time and barely make your flight, but other times you can zip through security and spend two hours waiting to board your flight. I thought I would apply for TSA pre-check to eliminate the process.
Do you know TSA-Precheck? You go through a back ground check and what not, pay $85, and in return, you do not have to wait in the long lines at the airport. You begin with an online application. The second part of the process requires you to be in person at one of the screening locations. Since I live in a remote area, it took me two hours to get to a location to get the back ground check.
I had an awkward experience during the TSA Precheck process, which is the basis for this episode.
There is no excuse for a customer having an awkward experience with you. You should know the exact experience your customer is going through. The only way to truly know what your customer experiences is to have the experience of your customer.
You have to know what it is like to do business with yourself. You may feel your training has been effective. Or your policies and procedures are working just fine, but you never know how it looks and feels from the customer’s side of the counter until you have stood there yourself.
And things you may not think are a big deal, can certainly turn out to be a big deal. So I had to stand awkwardly at the counter for a couple of minutes before anyone acknowledged me, even though there was someone right there at the desk. No big deal, right? The lady who helped me had an attitude like I was an inconvenience. In the big picture, does this really matter? Maybe the bathroom is dirty, or you hung up a paper sign three weeks ago, and it is all tattered and beaten up now. Does it matter?
All of these things matter.
But this also takes me to a third aspect; we have talked big business, we have talked small business, but what if you are so small, you are the business. This is the case with me. I am the business, I am the one who hosts podcasts, writes copy, or does the consulting. People are working directly with me, so how can I find out what it is like to do business with me? Even if I asked my next door neighbor or my cousin to work with me and tell me about the experience, I would likely treat them differently and make sure I did everything the best I could. So how do you handle it?
For starters, treat everyone like they are your friend, neighbor, or cousin when you do business with them. Everyone is important, and if you act as such, you will not have many problems, unless they ask to sleep on your couch. The other thing you do is ask for feedback. And be open to feedback.
Here are the three things I want you to remember from this episode about improving customer service and experience;
Some stories never die. One of those stories for me has been about an incident with a squirrel from my time as a park ranger.
Usually, episodes of the Jody Maberry Show are filled with ideas, advice, and content you can take action on in business. This episode I want to just have a little fun. Is that OK? You won’t get much advice in this episode, but you will get a good story.
I spent 8 years as a park ranger. As a ranger, you see so much. Most of it wonderful, some it awful, and some of it bizarre. And park rangers love to tell stories. Early in my ranger career, there was one incident that happened that labeled me the rest of my career. In the years since this incident happened, I have been asked to tell the story hundreds of times. It is what I imagine it must be like being a musician and having one hit song everyone wants to hear. Everyone wanted to hear the squirrel story.
Jason Harrod provided the music you hear during the story portion of this episode.
Next episode I will be back with content to help you market, mobilize, and master your message. For now, be careful of those squirrels.
If have a podcast, download my best ideas about building a profitable podcast.
One thing I have run into, mostly working with personal brands, people like myself whos business is built around the person running the business, is the reluctance to offer content for free. Some people are worried about giving away too much. The thought there is that you might be giving away something you could have charged money for. The other concern is the work it takes to create content, and just give it away is wasted time. It is time you could have used to create something that would bring income.
Both of those ideas are wrong. At least in my experience they are wrong. Not giving content away for free will likely have the exact opposite impact you expect it would if you are holding back so you can get paid for your work.
Here are five reasons you should give away content for free;
All of five of those reasons funnel into something Ray Edwards told us, Serve First, Profit Later.
Let me tell you one example I have seen of this in action. Sure, you may know some of the names Ray mentioned like Dan Miller, Michael Hyatt, or Jeff Goins. Maybe you don’t know them, but in internet entrepreneurial world, they are well known. But this idea works with the little guys too. Take Todd Smith. I host the Agents in Action podcast with Todd Smith. Todd put out high-quality actionable content twice a month on the Agents in Action for many months before he ever asked the listeners to purchase anything from him. Finally, he put together some live workshops for Realtors in the Dallas area where he is from. Like most of us, Todd had a bit of fear his workshops would be a flop. But as entrepreneurs must do, Todd moved forward anyway. And what happened? His workshops sold out. Why did they sell out? Is it because Todd is a nice guy. No. Todd is a nice guy, but people didn’t show up to give him a hug. Did his workshops sell out because he has 25 years experience as a high performing Realtor? No. That helped, but it is not why people paid money to attend his workshop. The workshops sold out because Todd had been giving away bonafide content on every episode of his podcast. People who listened to the podcast knew how good he was. They had a free sample and knew what he offered was worth paying for. The concept of giving stuff away for free does not just apply to Ray Edwards. It applies to you. And it applies to Todd Smith. And it applies to me, which is one of the reasons I do this show.
So maybe the secret is out. I do this show so I can serve you. So you will know me and like me. And perhaps someday, you may want to learn more from me in a manner that goes beyond listen to me talk on a podcast. But if you don’t, if you just enjoy hearing me talk, that is fine too. If you find value in this podcast, but never pay me a dollar for anything, that will still make me happy. That is how this works. You have to decide to give no matter what you get back.
And how does this work for you if you are not a personal brand or a business driven by a personality? What if you are a physical store? The principle is the same. Find some extra way to give and serve. If you are a chiropractor, offer education in a newsletter, podcast, or a blog. A local example for me comes from one of the hardware stores; they put on classes teaching kids how to build stuff. The class and the materials didn’t cost anything for the kids. And of course a parent came along with the kid, and when the time comes, it is the parent who is going to decide to shop at the hardware store and spend money because their kid learned to build a birdhouse there.
My last word on this, if people find value in your free stuff, what impression will that leave for your paid content?
It is possible to get too comfortable in business. I was reminded of that on a recent shopping trip.
It is the season to shop, and I recently visited three stores that left an impression on me.
‘First, was the Disney Store. Have you ever been to a Disney store? It is everything you would expect. It is a magical place. Of course, what they sell is outstanding, but it is bigger than that. The displays, the cast members, the layout of the store are all wonderful. Every detail of a Disney store leads to you having a great experience, and hopefully spending money while you are there. You may not be able to have products that are as magical of what is on the shelf at a Disney store, but you can pay attention to everything else they do. Find the Disney store closest to you and spend some time there. Don’t go there to buy anything, just watch. Watch how people flow through the store. Watch how customers interact with displays, products, and cast members. You can learn a lot spending an hour in a Disney store.
Next stop was the Lego store. This was an impressive experience too. Just like walking into a Disney store, you feel like you walking into a special place. They are doing a lot of things right in the Lego Store, too. You can always find an employee. There are more working than you would expect in a store that size, and they are easily identifiable in their bright yellow aprons. There are built Lego sets to look at, there are loose legos to touch, there are some lego sets exclusive to Lego stores. Plus, there is even an interactive display where you hold a Lego box up towards a screen, and right in front of you, the Lego box is instantly built on the screen. There is one thing that really impressed me at the Lego store, though. That was the shelves. They were never empty. If a customer took a box off the shelf to purchase, an employee immediately went into the back, grabbed a new box of the Lego set and put it on the shelf. I don’t know they reason behind this, but it gave the impression that they had everything you wanted. I ever saw when one Lego set sold out; they did not leave the space empty. An employee immediately rearranged the displays on the shelf, so the spot that was empty a moment ago was now full of lego boxes. Within a couple of minutes, there was no trace of the lego set that sold out. Everything they did in that store gave the sense of an abundance of Legos.
My third experience was even more memorable, not because of the store, which was nice, but because of something an employee said to me.
The third stop was Sierra Trading Post. At Sierra, I tried on a pair of dress boots. Once the boot was tied, I stood up and was immediately poked on the heel by something. I took the boot off and, I know this was not my best idea of the day, I stuck my thumb in the boot to see what poked me. Well, it was a nail sticking up from the sole of the boot, and now not only did I have a puncture in my foot, but I also had one in my thumb as well.
Not wanting this to happen to someone else to that pretty size 11 boot, I told one of the workers. I showed him the boot and then he went on to open every box of those boots and check every single boot to make sure no other pairs had that problem. While he did that, I was still browsing shoes, and we talked for a bit. He told me he had a nail come up through his boot once and poke him in the foot. The difference between his story and mine is he is a Marine. He was on one of those long marches Marines do. In the middle of the march, the nail came up from the sole of his boot to poke his foot. I asked him what he did about it. He said nothing. I am a Marine. Pain is just weakness leaving your body. I lost a lot of weakness that day.
How incredible is that? I am a park ranger, but I would have sat down and tried to fix my boot. But this Marine kept on marching.
I thought about the marine the whole way home. Especially what he said about pain is weakness leaving your body. I had never thought of it this way. But I can also apply it to business. The pain you feel in business is helping you get rid of weakness. The pain can come from stretching beyond what you are comfortable with. Pain can be doing something you have never done before. Pain can be rejecting “we have always done it that way.” Pain is making mistakes. Pain was apologizing to a customer when you didn’t perform the way you should have.
All of this pain is weakness leaving your business.
If you are not experiencing the pain and instead focusing on your comfort, you are being left behind. If you are comfortable, you are being left behind.
Think of the Marine who I talked to at Sierra Trading Post, when the nail from his boot was poking his foot he felt pain. He could have stopped to fix his boot and felt comfort, but all of the other Marines would have left him behind.
So think about the pain you feel in your business. Is it a sign of growth? Is it an indicator you need to do something different? You should worry if you aren’t feeling pain because you are being left behind.
You can look great on camera every time. Not long ago, I did not know this. I thought you stood in front of the camera and hoped the photos turned out in the end.
Early in the year, I had a photo shoot. It didn’t turn out real well. I wasn’t comfortable using any of the photos on my website. Yet, I still needed photos, so I scheduled another photo shoot. Luckily, between the first and second shoot I met Val Brown.
Val Brown is an Emmy award winning producer. She has been preparing people to appear on television for more than 30 years. I was fortunate to work with Val before my second photo shoot because she set me up to improve on the first photo shoot, the one where I did not do so good. Now, we are both fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down today with Val Brown. I want to walk through the process Val and I went through to prepare me for the photo shoot. I know you are going to learn plenty from Val, so let’s get to work.
In this episode, Val Brown will walk you through the process we went through to prepare me for a photo shoot. After listening, you will realize you can look great on camera every time. If you want to learn more, don't miss out on more tips from Val. To get Val's guide, How to Prepare for Your Next Photo Shoot, just click HERE.
This week I was given a surprise reminder of someone from my past I am thankful for. Mrs. Warren, Jill Warren, was my high school accounting teaching. She had such a tremendous impact on me. Before I took one of her accounting classes in high school, I had no idea what to do. And I was a bad student. I didn’t even try.
But Jill Warren changed all of that. After taking the first accounting class with her, I took every class I could that she taught. All business related. A few years ago one of Jill Warren’s daughters contacted me. A milestone birthday was approaching for her mother and the daughters had a wonderful surprise planned. They reached out to former students of Mrs. Warren and asked them to write a letter about her.
I begin to write a letter, but sadly, I never sent it. Sorry Mrs. Warren.
But this week I found everything I had written to Mrs. Warren in a notebook in my desk drawer.
So now is the time to thank Mrs. Warren and share this with you.
I call it Everything I need to know I learned in high school accounting. These are the 9 biggest lessons I learned from Jill Warren.
So it may be true that everything I needed to know I learned in high school accounting. Thank you, Jill Warren. I am positive I would not be who I am today without you.
Rachel Ries write songs. She sings songs. And she sells songs.
Does Rachel create art or content? Rachel joins me on the Jody Maberry Show to discuss that and more. We also talked about writer's block and connecting with your audience.
Rachel will help you consider a different approach to how you write and the content you create.
Find more of Rachel at RachelRies.com.
Get more information about your customers.
People buy truth. That is what Monaica Ledell says. What does she mean?
People are attracted to the real you. Authenticity attracts. When you build you brand around the real you, people will feel it.
How can you build a brand around authenticity? Is is possible to implement what you learn from other people and still be authentic?
A couple of years ago, I had the delight of being included in Jeff Goins book, The Art of Work. When Jeff Goins writes about you, people notice. Being in Jeff's book gave me 15 minutes of fame.
This is exactly the type of break we are all looking for right? For someone like Jeff Goins to notice us, right? It could change everything.
All we need is a big name to share our blog post, or to be a guest on a popular podcast, or to have Jeff Goins write about us, and then we can get the success we deserve. That is how it works, right?
No. Fifteen minutes of fame is fun. But it changes nothing. You still have to do the work.
Here is how you handle your 15 minutes in the spotlight;
Enjoy it. Then get back to work.
Success is found by showing up every day and doing the work. Every day.
Check out Jeff Goins' book, The Art of Work. Jeff also has a new eBook out about getting started writing called It's Not Too Late. You can get your copy here.
Ray Edwards has had a tremendous impact on my business. He taught me how to write copy and has given advice and counsel that has drastically changed my business. Ray joins the Jody Maberry Show to discuss six ways you can change your business.
For this interview, we pull the content from the second episode of The Jody Maberry Show and Ray walks through it, point by point, to discuss the six ways you can change your business.
Don't miss Ray's Copywriting Summitt. You can sign up here.
Ray's Website - rayedwards.com
Ray on Twitter- @RayEdwards
Ray on Facebook - Ray Edwards FB Page
Mike Kim is a sought-after copywriter, speaker, and marketing consultant. But if he has his way, when you hear the word Pivot you will think of him?
Why does Mike position his branding around the word Pivot when he is known for copywriting?
In this episode of The Jody Maberry Show, Mike Kim explains why we have to narrow down and be known for one thing. When people think of you, one word, one sentence, or one phrase should come to mind. Mike explains the common mistakes people make when trying to market and brand themselves.
Check out Mike's Brand You Podcast.