The Proffitt Podcast
Are you thinking about starting a podcast? Launching a YouTube channel? Repurposing your old blog content into something fresh? Hi, I'm Krystal - host of "The Proffitt Podcast." And I'm happy to say you've come to the right place!
Business owners and content creators dream of building a platform where they can connect deeply with their audience, and marketing feels easy. But I also know what it's like to feel confused and overwhelmed.
Join us weekly as we strip down those processes and remove all the overwhelm with new tips, simple strategies, and great conversations with creators like you. Tune in to hear how I help creators start, launch, and market their content confidently. The motto here is, "We all have to start somewhere."
The Proffitt Podcast
Unlocking the Power of Customer Testimonials
Can marketing indeed be ethical and still drive results? Discover how Danielle, a certified StoryBrand guide, has been transforming businesses for over a decade by focusing on genuine, customer-first marketing strategies. Inspired by Donald Miller's "Building a Story Brand," Danielle shares her journey from public relations to becoming an advocate for ethical marketing practices. Her insights on clarity in business communication and maintaining integrity while telling your business's story are indispensable for anyone looking to build a brand that resonates authentically with their audience.
Navigating the maze of modern digital marketing can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Danielle and I explore the timeless principles of the StoryBrand framework, emphasizing simplicity and effectiveness. From understanding the overwhelming choices of digital marketing tools to focusing on what feels comfortable, like starting small or considering new platforms such as TikTok, the conversation is packed with practical advice. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting, Danielle's approach will help you avoid analysis paralysis and keep your strategies customer-centric.
Harnessing the power of customer reviews could be the game-changer your business needs. Danielle offers actionable strategies for obtaining and leveraging detailed testimonials, from timing and persistence to crafting strategic elevator pitches. Learn to incorporate compelling customer quotes into your podcast episodes to enhance engagement and set clear listener expectations. Get ready to overcome mindset hurdles and create content that truly puts your customer first, guiding them through their struggles and aligning with their seasonal behaviors. This episode is a treasure trove of insights on ethical marketing, customer engagement, and compelling content creation.
Join the Podcasters Connect™ waitlist here: https://krystalproffitt.com/podcasters-connect-waitlist/
Click the "Send Krystal a Text Message" link above to send us your questions, comments, and feedback on the show! (Pssst...we'll do giveaways in upcoming episodes so make sure you leave your name & podcast title.)
If you confuse, you lose. This quote is actually hanging up in my office and it's been on. You know those like oversized post-it notes, like the really big ones that are like the sheet of paper, and then they just have like the sticky on the back. I have this bright yellow sticky note taped to or it's not taped, I guess. It's stuck to the side of my bookshelf and it says on there if you confuse, you lose, and that's by Donald Miller.
Speaker 1:I read this book, Building a Story Brand, several years ago and it literally made me think so differently about business, about stories, and I will say, like Donna Miller was right, he has ruined every movie, every show, every story, because now I understand the structure of stories and I can almost always guarantee how a film is going to end. And it annoys my husband so much. You already know what's going to happen, don't you? I'm like yep. And all of that is because of StoryBrand. And so I am so excited because today I have Danielle on the show and she's actually a certified StoryBrand guide with over 10 years of experience, and she specifically helps businesses and nonprofits grow by telling their stories effectively. She also brings calm and clarity to the overwhelming world of marketing by cutting through the noise to create impactful branding. So if you're struggling to define your personal brand or frustrated with ineffective networking, danielle's expertise will help you confidently connect with your ideal audience.
Speaker 1:And this conversation was so fun and I can't wait for you to hear it. So let's get right to it. Welcome to the Profit Podcast, where we teach you how to start, launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, crystal Profit, and I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today, because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation, this is the show that will help be your time-saving shortcut.
Speaker 1:So let's get right to it, shall we All? Right, profit Podcast listeners, we have a special guest today and someone that's not too far from me. Like, I love it whenever I get to talk to people that are in Texas, and you are just right down the road. So welcome to the show, danielle. Thanks for having me. Yeah, this is going to be really fun. We were chatting, you know, a little bit before we started recording and we were talking about the power of reviews and specifically like podcast reviews. So I hope that everybody that's listening and you're, you know you've been trying to get some of those reviews. We're not really going to go into a lot of detail on, necessarily, how to get them, but what to do after you get them. But before we get there, danielle, tell us a little bit about you and what it is that you do and why you love marketing so much.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks again for having me today. This is really exciting. I could just do this all day, just talk about marketing and strategy, and that's what I do. I help people who feel like marketing and sales is this thing that's either slimy and gross and they don't want to do it, or it's just completely inauthentic to their personality, and it doesn't have to be either one of those two things. It can be a really cool way to promote your business in a way that feels really genuine and authentic to you, and so that's what I do all day, every day, is help people feel comfortable with sales.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love this because there's so many people that are like, yes, please, this is me, like I need help with this all day long. But is this something that like, have you always been in marketing? And then you were just like, oh, I want to like tiptoe into digital marketing, like, what's your? When did your love affair with marketing start?
Speaker 2:Well, so I studied public relations in college and worked in nonprofit PR and communications for several years and was sitting in church one day and was like I'm going to quit my job tomorrow and my husband was like cool, and we had no idea what it looked like. It just felt like the right thing to do, and so a friend of mine took me to a networking event and got a client or two there and then just started expanding my network and it turned into a business. And so I've come behind a lot of really shady marketing companies before, and I think that's where my passion comes in is that it doesn't have. You don't have to just give all your money and blindly trust someone to do whatever you don't even know what it is, and so you can grow a business and be really just genuine and authentic and look people in the eye and have a handshake.
Speaker 2:I live in a small town and I just love thinking about that. The way we've always done business. It doesn't have to change. Even though we're in the digital space, the principles are all still there, and I think that's what keeps me going. Every single day is like, how do I help people with that? Like the modern stuff that's happening, but the old school way of like what we're comfortable with and just making it work for them.
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh, like, and I think that that's such a great approach to it.
Speaker 1:Right, it's like, it's the basics, and I think that so many people get overwhelmed with the fancy marketing of like, oh, but now I have to do mini chat, I have to do, you know, dm automation and I have to make sure that I do this and this and these complicated funnels, and they just get so bombarded by what you could do in a digital marketing business or with marketing your content that they forget to just, oh, wait, I could just be very simple and keep it very streamlined.
Speaker 1:It doesn't mean that it has to be, you know, boring or something that is like, oh, you know, like, I want to do this fancier thing later, but I think that they get so overwhelmed that they kind of get into that like analysis, paralysis of I could do all these things, but some of them feel good, some of them don't, so I'm just therefore not going to do anything, which is not the way to go. It's not the way to go, but, um, you know, kind of like what we talked about earlier. I know that you are a story brand guide, which I think is so cool, so can you tell people what that means and um how you got into that as well.
Speaker 2:So story brandrand is a seven-part framework that was written, developed by Donald Miller, and it's just a really simple way. I'm all about simple, right. It's a really simple way to think about your target audience, the product or service that you offer, and how you put your customer first. So a lot of times we think about sales and marketing. It's like I want to sell this, I want to grow my business, I'm going to push all this stuff out, and that's where it gets slimy and inauthentic. But when you put your customer first and you think about what are they struggling with? Why would they come to me? What are they experiencing? How can I help them? How can I be the guide in their story, where they're the hero, not me, come in and say I'm the hero of the story, I'm just here to guide you to success. That's the story brand framework is putting your customer first and positioning yourself more as the guide.
Speaker 2:And so the book was recommended to me several years ago and I read it and I couldn't. I was listening to it on audio book and I kept having to pull over and record these voice notes because I was so inspired, like every other paragraph, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing, and I just wanted to be able to do that for all of my clients all the time. So now you don't work with me without doing a story brand exercise, because that is the foundation of your marketing strategy. You need to have something like that to be successful, and so I've been a guide for 2.5 years. I love it. It's an incredible community, so many resources and tools and, just again, that super duper simple approach to how we're positioning our products and service in the marketplace.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's one of those frameworks. I mean I read it. I don't remember when the book originally came out, probably 2017, 2016.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's what I was thinking, cause I found it it was after it had already been out and there was, like some other you know, uh, online marketers, like digital professionals, that I was following. And then I came across the book and I was like, well, this is interesting. It is one of those that I still go back to, even though technology has changed. Like there's things in there that you know weren't readily available at that time or maybe they weren't as easy to get started. But now, like anytime I think about redoing a page of my website or I look at sales pages, I'm like, oh wait, let me go back to the story brand framework. And I've done.
Speaker 1:I can't even tell you how many times I've like filled out one of those like create your story brand. Like where you know Donald Miller, he has the free resources, like all that stuff. Like I am such an evangelist for story brand. Like I think that it is such a fantastic framework in the way that you set up your business and your content, like you said. You know it's like you're the guide. You're not meant to be the hero You're. If you are the know-it-all of everything, then that gets boring over time, and to me from a perspective of someone that's creating content. It just gets like I get bored with it.
Speaker 1:Not only does the audience get bored. But if it's only about my story, my experience, then it's like okay, yeah, we've heard your story. Like we, the audience can only care about that so much. So I want to switch gears, kind of from that perspective of someone that is creating content. Maybe they're at that place, right, they're at that crossroads where they're like okay, I started content because I just wanted to share these thoughts and ideas that I had had for a while. I feel like I've done that and now what am I supposed to do? I don't, I don't really know how to kind of foray into that next step of my content. Do you have any advice for them?
Speaker 2:So so much Like enough for a whole other episode. But if I had to distill it down, I would say start small and pick one thing that you feel really comfortable with. So TikTok is the question I get asked about a lot Should I get my business on TikTok? Well, tiktok is an incredible tool for promoting a business or podcast, but if you're not comfortable with it, if you're not comfortable being on video, then don't start there, because you have to be there. And if you're showing up in a place that you're uncomfortable with, you're not going to be authentic, or you're going to do all the work and then never put it out there, and both of those are losing scenarios.
Speaker 2:So I would say, start with one platform that you're comfortable with. Nobody's totally comfortable on any platform, so you have to stretch a little bit outside your comfort zone. But just pick one. Just pick one. I'm all about small wins and snowballing those small wins into a bigger success. Pick one, start there, set a goal, keep going and then, when you feel comfortable with that, either increase your frequency or add another platform or another channel or another way of doing that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I really I love this because those bite-sized pieces really are the thing that I think so many of us need to like keep going or to feel that inspiration or just hear from our audience. So let's get into this, because you know we were talking about, oh, you know we talk about podcast reviews and it is a strategy and you know, I I help people see, like, the importance of social proof and podcast reviews, but I think that they're only thinking about it as like oh well, this will help me on the podcast apps or the platforms, but what's another way that people could use podcast reviews? Let's talk to that podcaster that maybe has like 20 to 50 reviews and they're like yeah, these are great, these made me feel good, like it's my confidence booster, it's my validation that I needed. But what else can I do with them besides that?
Speaker 2:So reviews from your audience are a gold mine. There is. There's so much you can do. First of all, you can refine things. So if you're getting reviews where people say how much they love one part of how you're handling your podcast or how you do interviews, lean into that. That's incredible feedback from your people. And if you feel like you're doing something that's super amazing and people aren't speaking to that, I'm not saying it's not amazing, but maybe pause that a little bit or slow it down and don't push that part. Just listen to what they're saying, because you can make the experience even better when you lean into those things. Because you can make the experience even better when you lean into those things. So you can learn a ton. You can refine what you're doing. You can use podcast reviews as market research.
Speaker 2:So what are people saying? What are keywords that they're using? And you can use those to promote the podcast, right? So people I don't know what the latest statistic is, but people always look online, right. They look at reviews before they decide to connect or engage or buy a product or service. So if they're looking at reviews for a podcast, they only have an hour in the car. Are they going to choose yours to listen to. They're looking at that. When they see really good reviews that are spoken from someone, spoken by somebody that is in the same situation as them or sounds like they're doing the same thing, then that's an automatic yes for them. They've got that social proof, like you said. So those are two really, really cool ways that you can use other people's words to promote your stuff. So you take that from your reviews, put it on your landing pages, put it in your podcast episode, the descriptions. There are so many ways that you can take what other people are saying about you and put it in your own stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love this so much and I think that, again, it's so simple but it's often not done because people are like, well, of course I'm going to do that, of course I'm going to do it, but at the end of the day, promote on social or in your email list or wherever you're promoting your content. But when you use your audience's words or, even cooler, whenever you could take a snapshot and you have that social proof and you say this is what Shelly recently said on the podcast, like, and you read their review or you, you know, stick it in your email. When you're promoting, it's other people being the advocate for you. So I'd love to hear, you know kind of, your thoughts on that. It's like, how important or how special is it for your audience to do the marketing for you?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, it's, it's, it's critical, right, like there is. There's no other way. I mean, I can sit here and talk all day long about how great I am, but that's me saying that my mom will tell you how great I am, but that's my mom. She has to say that. So, beyond me and my mom and maybe my immediate family, who are my biggest champions, they have to say that because they love me and adore me. And so when you can see that other people who have worked with me are having that same experience, the experience that I'm saying worked with me, are having that same experience, the experience that I'm saying, it gives me that credibility and that trust.
Speaker 2:You know, if you're in somebody's inbox, if somebody is listening to your podcast, you have an incredible valuable real estate in there. You're in an intimate place. If you're on their phone, if you're in their phone somewhere, they trust you. And so if they're going to let you onto their phone and onto that you know. Next, latest downloads portion of the podcast app. Like, they have to know you, they have to like you and they have to trust you. And part of how you can they they get to that point is with other, from hearing from other people.
Speaker 2:The other thing is that you hear about. You want people to put their identity transformation in those reviews, so you want a really solid review that talks about that. So when somebody says I was thinking about starting a podcast, I was thinking about it, thinking about it, never pulled the trigger, and I just started listening to Crystal and was ready to do it, and now I've got 100 downloads after my first episode a day in, or whatever the statistic is. You can see that transformation and somebody who's like, okay, I've been on the fence, I want to start. Well, she did it and she started and Crystal helped her to do that. That's exactly what you want. You want people to be inspired by other people's transformation, and so those reviews can be an incredibly, incredibly valuable way of I mean just from a case study perspective. People don't case study, but you can make your own case study with, again, just so much value here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I actually I was going to ask you do you have like a brand that maybe you like as a consumer, that you're like, oh my gosh, like here's a great example of like I saw this review, or you know whether it was something that you bought recently or a piece of content that you consume like? Do you have a personal example from your own life?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, um, probably couldn't think of on the spot, think of a specific brand or anything, but I will tell you that if I know you, if you're in my circle, in my network, and you say something that you you know, you bought a book or you purchased this course or did a product or whatever, I will do it hands down. I won't even look for other reviews, Like if I trust you and I know that you're in the same place as me, I mean I buy, I probably have an Amazon deliver two books a week, because somebody in my network was like, oh my gosh, I read this book and it was great. I'm like sold. Here it is.
Speaker 1:Amazon like get it delivered Audible download it now.
Speaker 2:no-transcript, like so many, so many things. Um so yeah, I will like sight unseen by anything, at pretty much any price. If somebody in my network tells me it's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. And I mean I'm the same way, especially whenever it comes to, like you said, books or podcasts or something. And I'll all of a sudden get obsessed with the topic and my husband's like this is so out of left field, like why, why are you even interested in this? And I'm like, well, I heard it on a podcast and they must be right.
Speaker 1:I'm so convinced because I'm just like obsessed with these people. It's like they're in my ear, like they like I know them, they know me, which, of course, they don't they don't even know my name but at the same time, it's that relationship of like trust and understanding and I'm like no, they get me, though, and they made this suggestion just for me, so I think it's so powerful. But I want to talk about a framework you have. You know, you have the six back to basic ways to use customer reviews to grow your business, and I think that when we're looking at you know, content and marketing, there's so many different ways that you could use customer reviews, but I don't know. I just want to hear your thoughts on, you know, really using social proof and customer testimonials or case studies, like, I just want to hear all your thoughts, yeah, so, um, I've got a resource for asking for reviews and testimonials, um, and I'm gonna share that with your audience at the.
Speaker 2:You know, at the end we'll put that in the show notes. But, um, what you asking for the review is really important. So the first thing that you have to do is ask Okay, so generally people are not going to go out of their way to write a review Not a good one, at least unless you know, unless they had just a completely powerful experience. And there's somebody like me who knows how important reviews are. Like, I will drop everything to review a great experience, because I know how important it is for business. Not everybody's like that, and that's totally okay.
Speaker 2:Life is busy, so the first thing is making sure that you're asking for them and making sure that you're asking frequently. So when you're, let's say, you're talking to a guest to come on your show, you want to ask them to write a review. In those first interactions, when you let them know that it's live, you want to ask for a review. Follow up after you do the interview ask for a review. So you want to ask for a review, um, follow up after you do the interview. Um, ask for a review that. So you can't ask too many times because people do it in a different. People have to. They have to go out of their way, right, like they have to take the time to do it, and so you want to ask regularly. They're they're happy to do it. It's just you have to catch them at the right time to do it. Um, so, making sure that you're asking, and so the resource that I'm going to share with you guys, it gives you the words to say, like, put this in and ask for that review, and what it also does is gives you questions that you can use to ask your person that you're asking for a review so that you get a good review. So I've gotten reviews from people before where they're like Danielle was amazing. We love her. While I appreciate that so much and love them also, it doesn't talk about the experience they had. It doesn't talk about the transformation that they overcame, the growth that their business saw. So I love those five-star reviews and love and appreciate them. What I want is them for them to talk about what they were struggling with before, how they overcame that after interacting with me or working with me, what put them in the position that they needed to be there. They were just completely stuck and didn't know what to do. They were desperate to grow their business where they were, and that helps people to write really compelling reviews that connect to those people. So we talked about that a few minutes ago.
Speaker 2:You want people to see themselves in the review so they can see that transformation happen to them before it even does. And so, providing these questions, where you're asking people to answer these specific questions, it gives you these bulky not bulky in a bad way, but just these like this gold mine of information. So you have to ask, you give some value, provide some scripting, if you will, or suggestions for questions to answer, and then, once you get those reviews, you or suggestions for questions to answer, and then, once you get those reviews, you want to be so quick to respond. This is, it's obvious, right, we all know this, but it's so, so important. It's easy to skip. So you want to be very quick to respond as you can, and sometimes you know it could just be sending an email saying thanks so much for the review, really appreciate it. That goes a long way. And Thanks so much for the review, really appreciate it. That goes a long way and from there then you want to pull it and synthesize that information.
Speaker 2:You can use chat, gpt, you can paste a handful of reviews in there and say, hey, give me some insights. What do you know? What trends are you seeing, what keywords are coming to you? And so that's where you start to pull some of that too. So OK, so what is the experience?
Speaker 2:Am I speaking about the podcast or the service? That way, if not, make some refinements, you can pull specific quotes to go. You know, as you introduce an episode, I mean, what better way? I mean, there's so much gold in a podcast episode and you put that in the show notes, right In the description.
Speaker 2:But I feel like what if you could set it up with somebody's you know somebody a quick quote about the podcast beforehand, like getting people primed for the transformation and then this beautiful promise of what's to what they're going to find in there. There's just incredible value in that. You can use this to enter as you send emails and, as you know, as you're sending an email about the latest episode, you can use this on. I mean, you've talked about some of these things like social media and emails, but when you set that up so, specifically, I create content from when I see reviews like oh man, I didn't realize how important that was to them, so let me pull out and write a full article, or you might find topics for the next couple of episodes based on the things that people are saying are so meaningful and so valuable to them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I have been recently Nathan Berry, who's the founder of ConvertKit. He talks about flywheels a lot and this, like when you were talking about this, I'm like, oh, this could actually be a flywheel and so what it is? You know, for anybody that doesn't understand this concept, it's like someone enters you know your atmosphere, they find your podcast, they find your YouTube channel, whatever. Then they see reviews about it, then they start listening and then they eventually are compelled because, like Danielle said, maybe you made the ask and asked for a review. Then they share their own review and then the cycle kind of continues. And that's what I think about. You know, when you're talking about including reviews in these very specific strategic places, I mean, it can make all the difference. If you're just sharing it on your website already, that's fantastic, like you're already like above and beyond, like doing incredible things.
Speaker 1:But I love to think about that person that's creating maybe their first welcome sequence for their podcast and they're like I don't know what to write. It feels weird to just say listen to the show, make sure you're listening to the show. Listen to the show. You could say, oh wait, danielle listened to the show and here's what she had to say and you can paste that you know, review in there. Like there's so many different ways and I'm sure Danielle and I we could sit here for an hour and talk about like all the possible places to put like customer stories. But I'm curious, like where is like a place maybe for you or one of your clients or somebody you've worked with, like where's been like a really fun place that you see someone you're like oh, that was really unexpected or that was something that we didn't think that was gonna work as well as it did. Like do you have any examples of that?
Speaker 2:You know I have seen them really go really well in the PS of an email. So people jump to the PS and so you know you gave an example just a minute ago, like you know. Yeah, crystal, really if you're on the fence about this, hear how, hear what Crystal said about you know, the transformation or about the experience that she had. So PSs I've seen as really strong calls to action, um with with um reviews supporting them. It's been a cool thing to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I like that. I like that. Well, I want to think about, you know, reviews and story. And actually I want to go back to the testimonial piece that you were talking about, like collecting testimonials and being very strategic about your questions. Okay, Because this is something I've.
Speaker 1:Actually, I use the StoryBrand framework for this for my own. So if, like, if anybody's ever left me a review and you're like, oh, these are very strategic questions, Well, it was taken directly literally from the playbook of StoryBrand. But I'm so curious, like, if someone feels a little overwhelmed, like they're like, well, maybe that feels a little long to do something like that, or I don't know, you know even what y'all are talking about. Can you kind of revisit that for a second and break down, Like I guess the if you were to step it out as like there was a problem then there was a solution? Like what does that actually look like when someone's offering something up as a review? That's a little bit more than just writing something on Apple like maybe this is a Google form or a type form or something like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I have the my quick and dirty, like if you had get to StoryBrand in just super simply, it's this formula that I use for a one-liner or an elevator pitch and it's problem solution, success. So if you can do nothing else, you point out the problem so that people can relate and say tell me more about that. You introduce your episode or your product or your service as the solution and then you paint a picture of what success looks like. So what is life like on the other side of listening or doing business with you? And so that is again. We're thinking about putting the customer first. That's the down and dirty of it and that's what we usually start with I talked about. I like to start small and celebrate little wins. We always start with a one-liner, the elevator pitch, because you can use that anywhere. You can use it in your email signature, on your business card, in public. You know you can use it in a lot of ways. So if you think about I mean a review, that could be an easy thing to use from a review formula perspective.
Speaker 2:What was the problem they were experiencing that led them to either start listening to you or to reach out? What is the solution. So how did your? You know, how did the podcast help? And then what is success? You asked for not specifically on podcast, didn't you Just generally?
Speaker 1:in this, it's fine, it's fine.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, keep going, keep going. I think it's great Either way, so introduce the solution and how it can help you. And then what success like? What does everybody want? They want freedom, they want flexibility, they want more time, they want to spend more time with their family, they want a vacation. So that's what success looks like.
Speaker 2:So when I'm out in the world in the wild and somebody says, danielle, what do you do? I don't say I'm a marketing strategist, because people go, oh, okay, and then we move on. What I say is that most people are completely overwhelmed by marketing because we put digital in front of it and there's so much going on. I help people slow it down, make sense of it and make it feel comfortable to them so that they can keep growing their business and still be authentic to themselves. And people are like tell me more about that, how do you do this? And then they're inviting me in. Right, they're inviting me to talk more about my product or service, instead of when somebody says what do you do? And you just like regurgitate every single product, service, offering that you have, because you want to make sure that you encapsulate everything and don't miss anything. No way, let them, invite you to tell them more, and then I keep going. So, um, so, problem solution.
Speaker 2:Success is like the, the, the down and dirty of it. If you can't do anything else, um you know, can't, you can't do anything else, um you know, can't, can't. Get into the full story brand book right away and and and work on the framework. But that's the. I mean you can use that in reviews, you can use that in business. Like I said, that's my elevator pitch formula. It's a. It's a great and powerful little three tool.
Speaker 1:Oh well, I mean, like I just want to say Bravo, like Bravo on your elevator pitch, because I feel like I was leaning in like, oh, tell me more, like that does. Like if we were chatting like at a coffee shop or like a dinner party, I'd be like I want to know more about that. So I think that was so well done and I think you know what we preach here on. You know the podcast is. You need an elevator pitch because it's also the thing that makes it less awkward, especially in today's world of you know, everybody has a podcast or everybody has a YouTube channel. It's like, you know, if you are out somewhere and you say, oh, I have a podcast and you don't follow that up with who it's for or what it's about, it is just it's a missed opportunity. And even if that person isn't your ideal listener or your ideal customer, I always find that as an opportunity to get better at my elevator pitch.
Speaker 1:Even though I've been doing this for so many years now, I still like to refine it and tweak it.
Speaker 1:And this happened to me recently at a conference and I was introducing myself as a content therapist and I was like, oh, because coach is like one of those where, like, people's eyes glaze over If you say you're a coach or they're like, oh, okay, like another coach, someone's going to offer me something or try to pitch me. I was like, no, I'm a content therapist, I help people work on their relationship with their content. And they're like, oh, like, tell me more. Like I need some content therapy in my life. So I love this so much and I can't encourage everybody like enough to go do exactly what Danielle just did and, like she said, we're going to link to her freebie and the show notes because it's going to help you really lay out what this can do for you. But I'm just curious, like Danielle and your own business and what you do to help other people Like, can you kind of walk us through with that, what that looks like? Like, how do you help you know entrepreneurs or content creators get better at telling these stories in their business?
Speaker 2:Sure. So, um, like any coach or strategist, they've got a couple of options. We can do one-on-one, we can do done you know, done with you, done for you. I also have group options, but what we do is we really deep dive into what your offer is. Then we do that story brain framework. So a lot of times I find that as we dive deep, it's Monday morning as we are recording this y'all. As we dive deep, sometimes the offer isn't clear or you're not charging enough. I don't know that I've ever had a client where I didn't tell them you need to charge more for whatever this is it's. My favorite thing to do is to be able to pay, charge more, because they get excited, it's more money and they have that confidence. So clarify the offer and make sure that we're clear there. Then we dig deep into who the audience is. We build out the story brand framework.
Speaker 2:Everybody needs to have a lead generator because social media is people's default. When they start a business or start a podcast, go to social media and that's a great tool. However, it's rented land and so if meta crashes, you're stuck. You can't reach your people if you don't have an email list. So that's the next thing we develop is a lead generator to develop an email list, and then you've got to have a balance of nurture and sales. So you can't always be selling but you also can't always be nurturing. You still have to ask for the sale occasionally. And so that's what we do, is we refine all of those things and then we build that out so they have the lead generator, the email list, the nurture strategy and the sales campaigns, and social gets incorporated into that.
Speaker 2:In-person networking. There's lots of ways we do that, but that's where we really get that personal touch. So who are you as a person? Are you comfortable on camera? Would you prefer in person? Do you prefer virtual? And we pick out the platforms and the ways that that works for the individual's personality Because it can be custom. There are tons of best practices, there's tons of marketing advice out there, and it's all great, but it all doesn't work for everyone. And so I've read all the books, I've taken all the courses, I've done all the research and I help you figure out which of these things work for you. So it's a really fun fun call myself a translator sometimes, you know just like kind of putting all of that together and figuring out the right one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that that's such a great descriptive word for exactly what you do, because it is like there's so many different paths, right? I mean you could go this way, you could go that way, you could try this, you could try that, but I think, at the end of the day, it is so helpful and this is what I look for when I'm looking for guidance or mentorship on, like, what's the next thing that I need to do in my business. I want to see someone that's gone through it. I want to see someone that has seen the ups and downs, the good, the bad, the ugly of what it looks like to start an email list or to put out a lead magnet and then realize, oh wait, this one isn't the one for my business or it's not the one for my audience right now. And I think that having someone like you, especially with the digital marketing prowess that you have, is just it's so powerful and so helpful.
Speaker 1:So I want everybody to go check out your freebie. I want them to come follow you on Instagram. I'm a brand new follower, I just started following you and I love how simple your tips are. I'm like it's like hey, this is again. It's probably the same framework that I. I'm like, I'm like now, oh wait, she did the problem, the solution and you know the success in your content. But I want to go back to one quick thing that you said, because my audience I'm sure they picked on up on it too and they want to know what's like a good mixture of free stuff versus selling or just plain education and not pushing too much Like. I kind of have my own thoughts, but I would love to hear your thoughts, like in your podcast or your content. How much should you just be sharing valuable information versus selling?
Speaker 2:It's a big question and when I get a lot and I don't have a, I don't have a number, I don't have a percentage that I tell people. I believe that when you put your customer first and you're always creating content, thinking about them, what are they struggling with right now? Is there seasonality to consider? I've seen a decline in responses to podcasts over the summer and I hadn't thought about that. Yeah, but people are off and kids are home and all of that stuff, and so thinking about seasonality, not launching something during the summer? So when you think about who your audience is and what they're experiencing, it makes that, it kind of does that for you. So in the summer, people are a little bit more interested sometimes in professional development and learning. So I would lean into that education type stuff because they're more flexible. They might be able to take a book to the, you know, on a plane with them or whatever the case is. So it starts to happen organically. So then you say, okay, so I'm launching.
Speaker 2:I believe in working backwards, right? So if you want to launch something, when do you want to launch it? Okay, now let's work backwards from there. What is it going to take to get there If you want to launch something that's a 10 or $20,000 offer, you're going to need to lead up to that for six, eight, 10 weeks ahead of time and it's going to be a combination. You know you're going to start with the giving right Giving, giving, giving, ask, giving, giving, giving, ask, giving, giving, giving, ask. So I don't know, two to three parts nurtured to every one part, sales maybe would be. You know, if somebody needs like a, I need a number, danielle, give me something.
Speaker 1:That's what I would say yeah, and that's about the camp that I fall into too, because I think that when I look at my own purchasing habits, you know, when I have purchased something that's several thousands of dollars, right, it's not a $27 product or something that's like a quick, you know, impulse buy, you know from Instagram ad or something.
Speaker 1:It's something that really takes time, like I get to sleep on it and really decide. I mean, it's because of that free content or the educational content that I'm like, oh, this is the person that I want to learn from, or they do have the experience that I'm looking for, or they've been, you know, through the ups and the downs and the valleys of everything and they have the solution to what I'm really looking for and I think that that. I think that's perfect, like the two thirds to one third, or, you know, 80, 20,. However, however, you want to work out your percentages, I think that we both kind of fall more into the giving value, and then it makes the decision easier for your audience too if you back it up with those customer stories or testimonials and then just really hit them up with that and love them up with man this is a great, great solution for someone that's in this situation.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I think that's awesome. Well, danielle, this has been so much fun. Are you up for some rapid fire questions?
Speaker 2:Sure Can I add one thing, though, that might be burning for people before we do.
Speaker 2:If you are someone who is thinking about starting a podcast and you're like cool, love all of this. When I get to that level, you know how can I have reviews without that or without a podcast? You don't have to, um, you don't have to have one to use reviews, okay. So think about what value are you providing on the podcast, what is the purpose of that and how have you done that, had that intent or that outcome in other areas that you can use a review for? So I just want to just tee that up.
Speaker 2:So, thinking about you know, talk to the people who are close to you, ask them questions about how you show up, how you talk about these. You know the topic that you want to talk about. There are ways to get some reviews. And if you're that person, you're like in that camp where you're like, okay, yeah, I don't totally see how this can be done, shoot me an email. If you download this freebie, you'll get my contact information. I love to be like who's the one in the room who thinks this won't work for them? Like I will win you over, like we can make this work.
Speaker 2:So if you don't have a podcast yet and you feel like you're going to let this be an excuse to like not do the thing or get the review go after reviews. I can totally help you with that. Like, we can get some reviews for you so that you have something to start with.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, I love that. I'm so glad we paused to go back to that, because I do think that that can be the mindset trip. That's like, yeah, but I'm not you know ex-podcaster who's been doing this for years and years and years. This is going to take so long, or maybe there's a mindset piece that is really tripping someone up. So I'm so glad that you added that and I agree message Danielle and say this is my business, this is who I serve. Like I want to see how this can actually work for me, because I just know you're going to get some great resources there. So, yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for going back to that. Okay, so well, you kind of actually answered the first rapid fire question but maybe I'll give you.
Speaker 1:I'll give you a second to think about this. Maybe you have something else to add. The first one is what piece of advice would you give to a brand new podcaster or content creator?
Speaker 2:Just start. That is always my advice. Just start, do something, keep going. I love it.
Speaker 1:Okay. The second one is a two-part question. So what is the dream podcast you would love to be on and who is a dream podcast guest you would love to interview?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, okay, dream podcast. I have so many. I listened to so many podcasts, I really could not even pick one. If I could just go on any podcast and help one person to take that first step, that's an amazing day for me. Dream guest you know who is. This is funny. So I've actually been interviewed by JJ Peterson, who's part of the StoryBrand family, and I would love the roles reversed. He's a very cool guy and I would love to interview JJ because you are all guaranteed to laugh. You probably are guaranteed to cry, like it's. He would be so fun to interview yeah, and their it's.
Speaker 1:I know it's rebranded a few times. Is it business made simple? Is that what it is now?
Speaker 2:So they've just started adding arms. It's not actually a rebrand, so he's over. The marketing made simple, aspect of story brand.
Speaker 1:That's what it is, okay. Yeah, y'all have to go check that. I have to agree, jj is so much fun Like I've loved listening to him. He has the best laugh Like he has such an infectious laugh. So, yeah, you'll go check that out. We'll link that into the show notes as well. Okay, danielle. My last question is do you consider yourself a perfectionist?
Speaker 2:Yes, I do, I do, um, and I struggle with that. Um, I work really hard to overcome those things. Um and uh, if anyone else considers themselves a perfectionist, a book recommendation. I love to recommend things. Um, the perfectionist guide to losing control. Um, can't think of the author right now. So good, I cried listening to it, crystal, like I was like my gosh. I cried listening to it, crystal, like I was like my gosh.
Speaker 1:She is speaking out of my body and head and soul.
Speaker 2:So good, so good.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, I'm going to check that out personally and we're going to link to that in the show notes, cause that sounds like I mean, we have so many people come on the show and they're like, oh, I'm a recovering perfectionist or you know I'm. I definitely live in the land. We have so many people that skew more to the side of being a perfectionist or recovering perfectionist, so I know that so many people could benefit from that book. So we're going to link to that in the show notes but, Danielle, this has been so much fun.
Speaker 1:Can you tell everybody where they can learn more about you or work with you and find more just information?
Speaker 2:Yeah, my favorite place to hang out is on LinkedIn. I'm Danielle Bornowski, b-o-r-n-o-w-s-k-i Also hang out with the business at DQB Strategies on Instagram and then, if you want that freebie what to ask and what to say, it's dqbstrategiesmarketing forward slash reviews. So dqbstrategiesmarketing forward slash reviews. So DQB strategies dot marketing forward slash reviews.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we're going to have all of that linked in the show notes. So we'll make sure and link that. We'll link the book, we'll. We're going to link all kinds of podcast information, like we're going to have so many fun things. But thank you so much for coming on the show today, danielle. Thanks, crystal.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:I just love it when we find other people that are just as obsessed with marketing and storytelling and connecting with your audience and all the things. Like Danielle was a perfect fit for the show and I'm so grateful that we had her on today because it was just, it was so good. It was so good Like talking about reviews, talking about you know, telling your story, talking about having your audience tell your story. I mean it just it was so helpful and such a great reminder that, no matter where you are in your journey, you can apply these principles, Like if you don't tell a ton of stories right now or you don't have really effective stories, like this is something and we've talked about you know Donna Miller multiple times in this show. But building a story brand is such an incredible book and I recommend, if you're going to buy this, like, get the hard copy, because I have written in that thing. I have gone back to it time and time again Anytime I want to redo the website or look at a lead magnet like it's so, so helpful. So go grab that book, but also go check out Danielle and all the incredible things that she does and I just again, I'm so grateful. Thank you again, Danielle, for sharing all of your wisdom and the fun conversations that we had today, but that's all I have for you.
Speaker 1:So make sure that you are subscribed or following wherever you are listening to the podcast and I actually want to go. I thought I had it open. I'm like real time. Y'all are hearing behind the scenes. I want to do a fan mail, shout out. So let's go over here and y'all are hear me talk through this like in real time, because there was a really good one that I did not want to miss. So if you haven't done this, you can go to the audio version of where you're listening and click send crystal text message. And you can send me a text message, and so this one right here is so fun.
Speaker 1:So this is from Mobile, Alabama, so shout out to Mobile. It says hi, I just wanted to try this feature out. I'm starting a podcast soon with my mom. Oh, I love that. And it says thank you for all of the valuable information you provide. So I can't see who sent this. I don't have a name. I don't have a podcast. I don't have a name. I don't have a podcast. I don't have any other information other than you're from Mobile, Alabama. So thank you so much, Mobile, and I appreciate your fan mail. If you want to be featured on the show, submit a fan mail for us. You can submit a question, you can just submit a shout out and get featured on the show, but I would love to hear from you. But that's all I have for you today. So, as always, remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.
