Hey there, Every small business owner I know is obsessed with being "better" than their competition, but that's exactly why they're stuck. I’ve spent the last 4 years working and networking with founders burning themselves out trying to compete on quality, service, or price. They pour their hearts into incremental improvements, only to see slight (if any) improvements in sales. The worst part? Their marketing messages all started to sound the same: "Best quality!" "Great service!" "Lowest...
5 months ago • 5 min read
If you're still thinking about your marketing as a funnel, you're leaving money on the table. The secret to business growth isn't at the bottom of a funnel—it's in understanding your buyer's journey. The Funnel Fallacy The idea of “pouring” leads into the top of your marketing funnel, and only a trickle of customers coming out the bottom is flawed. Your business isn't a kitchen appliance, and your customers aren't ingredients to be processed. The funnel analogy—while simple—falls woefully...
5 months ago • 7 min read
“Human nature is perpetual. In most respects, it is the same today as in the time of Caesar. So the principles of psychology are fixed and enduring. You will never need to unlearn what you learn about them.” -Claude Hopkins, Master Copywriter Hopkins wrote that in 1923, in his book Scientific Advertising. (It also happens to be the book I’m currently reading and the inspiration behind this week's newsletter 🤓) Hopkins shared timeless psychological principles he uncovered during his profitable...
6 months ago • 8 min read
“Changes create enormous opportunities if you understand the new playing field.” — Jeff Walker I’ve always been fascinated by massive changes that altered the trajectory of the world. I love reading stories about the people who saw an opportunity in front of them and profited, while almost everyone else waited to see how things would turn out. For example: Sir John Templeton, who bought 100 shares of every NYSE-listed company trading below $1 per share in 1939—at the start of World War II....
6 months ago • 5 min read
The #1 problem I see small business owners face is a lack of direction. Sound familiar? I often hear things like: 👉 "I need someone to tell me what to do." 👉 "I'm just not sure what I should be doing." Or maybe you feel like you need to: Post to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Threads, LinkedIn, X (previously Twitter) Start a blog, newsletter, podcast, YouTube channel Rebuild your website ...and the list goes on! Then you mistakenly correlate your lack of these things with a shortage of leads...
6 months ago • 3 min read
See this? This is the surprising, yet happy story of how I grew my email list by 71% in just 2 weeks. And if you’re reading this email, it’s because you’re a small business owner, like me. I want to be fully transparent with you and pull back the curtain on how I’m growing my small business so that you can do the same with yours. ✊ But first, a reminder: An Email List Let’s You Build Your Income on Demand It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the marketing tactics and wind up thinking that you...
7 months ago • 6 min read
Ever wonder why some marketing campaigns hit the mark while others miss? It all starts with knowing your audience. If you want your marketing to effectively generate awareness, leads, and sales, then you need to know who you’re talking to. Why Buyer Personas Matter When I became a certified Facebook ads buyer, the first lesson was building a buyer persona… …NOT how to use Facebook's ad platform. That’s because the most irresistible offers are always for a specific person. And that’s why...
7 months ago • 4 min read
Most successful business owners understand the importance of using testimonials, reviews, and social media, in their marketing. (A concept known as social proof.) But if you want your marketing to predictably and consistently bring in new customers… …then you need more than a smattering of random testimonials. 👉 The key to successfully deploying social proof, comes from having a system. A system based on the underlying psychology of why social proof works. I call it a Proof Machine. And today...
8 months ago • 4 min read
If you’re feeling confused 🥴 about whether you have the right lead magnet—or if your lead magnet just isn’t working 🔨🧐— then this edition of the Hook is for you. Today I’ll break down: ✅ A lead magnet’s role in your marketing strategy ✅ Lead magnet fundamentals ✅ The Frame & Splinter method for creating bomb @$$ lead magnets Let’s get started. ✅ A Lead Magnet’s Role in Your Marketing Strategy A lead magnet is the front-end of your funnel. Its job is to: “Increase the number of prospective...
8 months ago • 3 min read