709 - Podcasting, Networking, and Relationship Building with Jason Resnick

02/18/20 • 16 min

In this episode, we’re going to do something a little different. Instead of talking to a guest, I want to answer some questions about podcasting and marketing, and share how it’s helped me grow my business.

After publishing 358 episodes across three different shows, as well as appearing as a guest on hundreds of other podcasts, I’ve collected a few skills, tips, and reminders that are helpful if you’re thinking about creating your own podcast.

Podcasting has helped me not only position and grow my business, but build important relationships with other people. I think podcasting is one of the best marketing tools we have as freelancers and small business owners, and my hope is that you’ll realize how powerful it can be for your business as well.

Here are some of the things we’ll cover:

How I got started learning about the full potential of podcasting.
How podcasting can be an incredible way to market your business and gather leads.
How to build relationships and networks from podcast guests that are mutually beneficial.

"I realized the power of the relationships that were built from meeting people on the show. It’s where I met amazing folks that I still talk with today."

Main Takeaways

Marketing is an often underutilized benefit of podcasting. As you continue podcasting, you’ll start generating new leads organically. Because of this, it’s important to be intentional about your subject matter and plan accordingly.
Podcasting is a great way to connect to and build high-quality relationships with people. The more people you meet through podcasting, the bigger your referral network becomes. This creates mutually beneficial relationships with other business owners.
If you own a business, podcasting is the perfect tool to promote growth. Even if it’s a loosely scheduled show, it can be highly beneficial in growing your business.

Important Mentions in this Episode

For full show notes and resources

Live In The Feast - Episode 9 of Season 7

Here are some of the things we’ll cover:

How I got started learning about the full potential of podcasting.
How podcasting can be an incredible way to market your business and gather leads.
How to build relationships and networks from podcast guests that are mutually beneficial.

"I realized the power of the relationships that were built from meeting people on the show. It’s where I met amazing folks that I still talk with today."

Main Takeaways

Marketing is an often underutilized benefit of podcasting. As you continue podcasting, you’ll start generating new leads organically. Because of this, it’s important to be intentional about your subject matter and plan accordingly.
Podcasting is a great way to connect to and build high-quality relationships with people. The more people you meet through podcasting, the bigger your referral network becomes. This creates mutually beneficial relationships with other business owners.
If you own a business, podcasting is the perfect tool to promote growth. Even if it’s a loosely scheduled show, it can be highly beneficial in growing your business.

Important Mentions in this Episode

For full show notes and resources

Live In The Feast - Episode 9 of Season 7

Previous Episode

708 - Empathy, Client Education, and How To Shift Your Ideal Client As You Grow with Kate Gilbert

Today’s co-host is Kate Gilbert. Kate is a WordPress expert, an online marketing coach, and has spent the past decade building and supporting custom WordPress websites. In that time, she’s helped launch more than a hundred websites, and teaches website owners how to launch their own websites and maximize their online reach.

Kate’s been a web consultant since 2005 and her ideal client has evolved along the way. Currently, she works with female business owners at a critical stage of growth. Their businesses are big enough that they need some help getting to the next level, but still want to be involved in the process. Kate specializes in partnering with these kinds of founders and business owners.

Kate focuses on personality, more than industry or revenue, to identify her ideal client. And this has given her a lot of confidence in knowing what kind of person will be an ideal fit for her business.

In this episode, we dive into how to shift your ideal client as you evolve, and what that means for existing clients. We also talk about the importance of empathy and being a good listener. Finally, we dive into how to be flexible with your ideal client.

"I realized along the way that it’s more about the personality of the site owner, than it is about the industry that they’re in. A lot of times you can tell the way a project is going to go from that very first discovery phone call, before you even write the proposal."

In this episode Kate talked about:

Who her ideal client is and how she keeps the pulse on that segment of the market.
Why the decision to work for herself was such a big deal in her life, and how it put her on her current path.
How she used post-launch analysis of her clients to define which ones were ideal, and which ones weren’t.

Main Takeaways

Trial and error is a massive part of defining your ideal client. After going through enough clients, you’ll be able to pick out which clients have “red flags” and which ones will be a good fit. It may take time, but it’s the most foolproof way to understand who you want to work with.
Sometimes the most rewarding or impactful work may not be doing the work itself, but empowering others to do things for themselves. Work will always be available, but making a lasting change can be greatly rewarding.
Teaching your clients how to solve their own problems, or inviting them to be a part of the process with you, can not only save you time, but significantly deepen your relationship with your clients.

Important Mentions in this Episode

For full show notes and resources

Live In The Feast - Episode 8 of Season 7

Next Episode

710 - Improving User Research and Asking the Right Question with Michele Ronsen

Today’s co-host is Michele Ronsen. Michele has been teaching design and user research for more than 20 years, and is the founder of Curiosity Tank, a design and user research firm in San Francisco.

Michele partners with companies and individuals to improve and grow businesses using a data-driven, consumer-centric approach. She’s worked with companies like Slack and Zillow, and she’s a regular instructor at General Assembly.

One of the primary ways she does this is by helping people ask better questions. It’s not rocket science. But there is an art to asking the right questions, and setting them up in a way where your customers will answer honestly.

In today’s episode, we talk about how you can apply these principles in your own business. Michele also helps us better understand the fine art of digging deeper in a meaningful and effective way.

In this episode Michele talked about:

The differences between working with solo entrepreneurs and more mature companies with established user experience knowledge.
Figuring out what you want to learn, understanding where you are in the learning process, and applying that knowledge.
The core follow-up phrases she teaches in her The Art Of The Interview class.

"User research to me is part art, part science and part improv. And that improv to me is a lot of acting, getting into that beginner’s mindset, and exploring and mining these areas with that mindset". ~ Michele Ronsen

Main Takeaways

There are two ways to gather information: listening and observation. Listening helps us understand the “why”. Observation helps us understand habits, behaviors, and actions.
Talk to customers and get their feedback. It can be scary to reach out, but it’s worth it.
Don’t shy away from criticism. Even critical feedback can help us understand how we can improve our customer experience.
Be fully present in all of your interactions with people. Be engaged and make observations about things like body language. There is a difference between what people say and what people do, and if you’re distracted during interactions, you might end up missing these nuances.
Practice and get comfortable with essential follow-up phrases.

Important Mentions in this Episode