Persuasion Lessons from the Political Trenches

By Sonia Simone

the dance between listening and speaking

Whew. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but it’s been an intense election season in the U.S.

And if you haven’t noticed … I hope your visit to rural Mongolia has been enjoyable and productive.

Wherever you may happen to live, watching political campaigns is a fascinating — and sometimes nerve-wracking — way to see the art of persuasion in action.

Now that we’re (thankfully) just about wrapped up with the U.S. election, I thought it would be interesting to look at how political persuasion works, how it’s being used, and how it entwines itself through our daily lives.

We’ll start with the most …read more      

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The Power of Not Being Stubborn

By Brian Clark & Jerod Morris

un-ed-feng

What do advanced sports analytics have to do with digital commerce? Well, everything — at least when it comes to the story of Ed Feng and his site The Power Rank.

In this 31-minute episode, Ed shares a number of lessons he has learned in his half-decade as a digital entrepreneur:

  • Why he’s so committed to “doing remarkable things”
  • How not being stubborn was the key to turning a hobby into a thriving business
  • The important advice from Sonia Simone … that Ed ignored (and later regretted)
  • Why he’s struggling to move forward with a podcast
  • The classic book that has made a huge impact on …read more      
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Why Podcast Advertising Works (and How to Get Started), with Glenn Rubenstein

By Jerod Morris & Jon Nastor

sr-glenn-rubenstein

Up until today, we’ve exhaustively covered the topic of podcast sponsorships and monetization. But each time we’ve covered it from only one perspective — the perspective we know as showrunners.

Today, we are talking to an absolute expert in podcast advertising.

In fact, our guest spent years selling podcast ads for TWiT. As the Director of Marketing, he ran strategy and implementation responsible for selling ad spots across 20+ podcasts with more than 70 million annual downloads and streams.

Our guest today is Glenn Rubenstein of Adopter Media, a full-service podcast advertising agency, and in this episode we discuss:

  • Why podcast advertising works
  • What you …read more      
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Leveraging Social Media to Build a Creative Brand

By Brian Gardner & Lauren Mancke

sp-bill-kenney-2

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Bill Kenney. His unyielding passion for design began at a young age, but has been developed and honed over his decade in the industry. As a business owner, Bill has developed both the design acumen and business knowledge necessary for success. He’s the co-founder and creative director of Focus Lab.

In this episode Brian Gardner, Lauren Mancke, and Bill Kenney discuss:

  • Bill Kenney’s path as a creative
  • Running a creative agency
  • The importance of team
  • Using Dribbble to build a creative following
  • Repurposing content across platforms
  • Complementing a service-based business with products
  • Finding your tribe

Listen to this Episode Now

The …read more      

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What the Porn Industry Can Teach Us About Running a Membership Site

By Sean Jackson

mo-hyper-competitive

This episode is an insightful look at how to thrive in a hyper-competitive online environment, with lessons from an unconventional industry …

Running a membership site can be difficult, especially if you are in a highly competitive space. And this appears to be especially true in online porn.

What once was a very lucrative business category has completely transformed into a low-margin business with numerous competitors. But even in this highly competitive space, there are tactics that some sites use to grow and thrive.

So how do they do it?

Jessica Frick and I take an analytical approach to the challenges faced in this …read more      

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