Service-based businesses ultimately sell expertise. Here’s how you can promote yourself as an expert (without sounding like a jerk). What’s the one thing you need to demonstrate to be seen as valuable…so you charge higher prices and clients feel lucky to work with you? In a service-based business, you’re selling…

My podcast is fairly small but I still get pitches from people who want to be guests. I also get queries from people who are ready to recommend others to my podcast. Some are paid to find podcasts that will take guests. I mention those “pay to pitch” people in…

SO simple…and a lot of writers skip it. One challenge I hear from clients and subscribers is, “How do I create profitable content when I’m trying to teach my audience?” Teaching is an especially powerful form of marketing. As you teach, you establish your expertise. You’re teaching when you write…

Storytelling can be a surprisingly effective planning tool. Here’s how. With January looming on the horizon, we know one thing is coming: workshops, articles and products to help with planning for 2024. These days just about everyone has a planning system to sell you… everything from broad programs that dig…

Business storytelling doesn’t always benefit from story templates. Do this instead. Story templates provide a structure for your story. You answer a series of questions or provide a series of phrases. Now you have a story! For instance, you might have questions about the hero’s goal, obstacles, first steps, key…

Recently I was speaking to a group of business people. During the Q&A, many said that “being seen as an expert” was one of the top problems they struggled with. They wanted to come across as the expert, go-to resource. But they didn’t want to describe themselves as “amazing” or…

Business storytelling can support small business marketing…or not. A few weeks ago I came across a fascinating story on a business owner’s blog. The story has the potential to inspire my audience and teach a valuable lesson. I immediately invited the business owner to be a guest on my podcast. …

During a recent website review, the business owner told me, “I’m tired of being a me-too boring brand. But glitz and flash are so not me.” Today, as it’s getting harder to stand out from the crowd, a lot of business owners are trying different variations of glitz, flash, and…

Business coaches can help. But this is what drives your success. If you’ve been following me awhile, you know I’m distinctly left-brained. So I focus on numbers and analysis. I want to know what works and what makes sense logically. In putting together my course on side hustles, I talked…