Daniel J. Lewis

Internet entrepreneur, award-winning podcaster, podcast consultant, keynote speaker

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Review of Scott Stratten’s Book, UnMarketing

June 20, 2016 by Daniel J. Lewis Leave a Comment

Business-owners and content-creators need marketing, at least until that can be delegated to someone else. Scott Stratten's book, UnMarketing, is a concise reference for modern marketing as well as a challenge to overhyped ideas.

UnMarketing may not be your most marked-up book. There aren't amazing quotations on every page. But it does contain page after page of actionable advice, case studies, and inspiration to help anyone who needs to “Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.” (That's the book's subtitle.)

I've seen Scott Stratten speak a couple times before and I greatly enjoy his style. He's straightforward, honest, and filled with insight. But he never takes himself too seriously and his presentations are always fun.

Stratten's writing style is no different. It's both authoritative and entertaining. You'll get great marketing information as well as plenty of laughs, especially from the footnotes. Of course, a book called “UnMarketing” would be a very different approach from most dry marketing books!

While reading UnMarketing, I didn't highlight a lot of things Scott Stratten said, but I did find plenty of new inspiration and ideas I can apply in marketing my own business and content.

Scott Stratten is good at representing common human feelings about marketing and customer service. With that understanding, he's able to present marketing ideas that will truly connect with other people. Some of the ideas seem so obvious that I would think, “Of course that would work!” But most of us have our heads so buried in our work that we miss these obvious opportunities to stand out.

“UnMarketing” is the perfect title. It's like zombies who move like they're alive, but behave like they're dead. That's why we call them “undead.” Stratton's work is the same. It's about marketing, but it's about not marketing. It's really a book secretly about amazing customer service and relationships disguised as a book with “marketing” in the title.

I read UnMarketing within a week and have plenty of ideas to last for years. My favorite chapters were “Hierarchy of Buying,” “Pull and Stay,” and especially “Viral Marketing.” These chapters do have highlights in my copy!

Inside, you'll learn about engaging online and offline; in-person and over the Internet; and attending events and hosting your own events.

I highly recommend UnMarketing, by Scott Stratten. I suggest you read it straight through, and then re-read the chapters that inspired you the most. Most of the chapters are short enough to read in only a few minutes. Scott clearly knew UnMarketing would be a great reference book, too, because he includes a helpful index in the back.

This isn't the “SELL SELL SELL” kind of overhyped marketing. It's practical, effective, and engaging.Get your own copy of UnMarketing and tell me the biggest insights you gained!

Filed Under: Business, Social Media Tagged With: book, business, marketing, review, social media, social networking

What I Need in a CRM

May 5, 2016 by Daniel J. Lewis 8 Comments

My podcasting business and responsibilities have grown enough that I realize I need a customer relationship management (CRM) system.

That feels a little too corporate to me. It's like I'm becoming a robot without a personality. But I'm very quickly overwhelmed with the requests for my attention and this is a way out of that. I really want to be accessible and spend time fully responding to every message, but I can't respond to everything for free, or else I would be a bad steward of my time and my responsibility to provide for my family.

A big source of such stress comes from my multiple inboxes. Requests for consulting, questions about products and services, questions about podcasting, feedback for my podcasts, and more. I can't handle it all, so that's where a CRM can help me and my assistants tag, organize, prioritize, and respond to each important message I receive.

My search for the right CRM has been frustrating. Thus, I invite your suggestions—whether you're a user or employee of a CRM provider.

Here's what I need in a CRM.

Integrate with/take over email accounts (potentially Gmail)

All of my email addresses are merely aliases that forward to a single Gmail account. These messages do receive some automated filtering and tagging within Gmail. Then, I can send from any these aliases.

I need a CRM to take over these email accounts for future conversations, plus integrate with previous conversations I've already had.

Allow collaboration

Many messages that I receive can be answered quickly by pointing to my large catalog of content I've already created. Thus, I would prefer an assistant to have the first view of incoming messages to particular addresses. That assistant could then reply on my behalf, or tag important messages for me to either address personally or consider for creating further content on my site.

Integrate with MailChimp

I use MailChimp as my email service provider. With any CRM, I need it to integrate with MailChimp to at least let me know whether the person I'm emailing is already on my list (and what group/segment they're in). It would be extra nice if I could easily add them to a list and group from the CRM.

Integrate with social

I want the CRM to show me the person's Twitter, Facebook, and other social accounts, plus maybe even their bios and latest messages from such accounts. Then, show me whether I'm already connected with that person and let me choose to connect with them right from the CRM.

So far, so good, right? The following is where most CRMs begin to fail.

Integration with WooCommerce and an API

I use WooCommerce for selling on The Audacity to Podcast™ as well as Podcasters' Society™. The ideal CRM would show me what products, memberships, or services a person has purchased from me. There would also need to be an API for connecting with my proprietary system in My Podcast Reviews.

Social lead generation

An important part of my business is monitoring relevant conversations on social networks. I have saved Twitter searches that help me find podcasters who need podcasting help or should use My Podcast Reviews™. If possible, I would also like to monitor Facebook groups, Google+ communities, subreddits, Quora, and such (goodbye, most popular CRMs).

Let's take Twitter for example. When I see a tweet matching my detailed search query, I need to immediately see whether I have ever tweeted that person before and whether they're already a customer (through integration with WooCommerce and My Podcast Reviews). Then, give me and my assistants the ability to respond and let me see that it was responded to and who did it. Afterward, that account would be marked as having already received a response from me at some point.

Plus, such searches and responses would be different for different social accounts. Thus, the CRM would need to support multiple social accounts (there goes Nimble, if I didn't already disqualify it).

Template responses

For email and social, I need to have multiple templates my assistants can use to respond. Such templates would be great if they were intelligent enough to prefill with the recipient's name. I know TextExpander can do that, but that means extra software.

iOS app

A mobile-friendly website is nice, but it would be best if the CRM is available as a standalone mobile app that provides all the functionality on mobile.

A single platform

I'm not interested in paying for and managing several different platforms to each do separate things. I want a single place to login and have the tools I need.

Simple

I don't want to spend days learning how to use a complicated CRM, and it would defeat the purpose for me to hire someone only to manage my CRM. Thus, the CRM must be simple enough that I can get working with its workflow on the same day I sign up.

Affordable

I'm willing to pay for this solution because I recognize the value in the time and frustration it will save. But to me, “affordable,” means under $100/month for two or three users.

Got suggestions?

I may update this post with additional needs. Is there any CRM that meets all these needs?

I've looked at Nimble, Insightly, Contactly, FullContact, HootSuite, Zoho CRM, Apptivo, Nutshell, PipelineDeals, Salesforce.com, and OnePageCRM. They all fall short in crucial areas (usually the social integration). I'll also be looking at others. But I'm starting to lose hope.

What do you suggest, based on my needs?

Filed Under: Business, Productivity, Social Media, Technology Tagged With: CRM, integration, marketing

7 Great Podcasts You Probably Haven’t Heard

May 3, 2016 by Daniel J. Lewis 1 Comment

It’s easy to find popular websites recommending the same popular podcasts—mostly the “top” podcasts in iTunes. Independent niche podcasters don’t get the recognition they deserve.

While cohosting Podcasters’ Roundtable #70, “What Could Podcasting Be Doing Better?” we got into a discussion about the “little” podcasts with great value that aren’t being featured often. We each decided to do something about that!

I listen to a lot of podcasts (mostly about podcasting, business, or podcasting business). Here are 7 of the “unpopular” podcasts I enjoy and think you might like to try.

That Story Show (formerly Nobody's Listening)

That Story Show (formerly Nobody's Listening)

This is my #1 favorite podcast. That Story Show is clean and always makes me laugh. I save this podcast for listening while I mow the yard or shovel snow because it makes my two most-hated tasks better.

The Upper Memory Block

The Upper Memory Block

I grew up with PC games from the ’80s and ’90s, and that’s what The Upper Memory Block is all about! I love hearing more about the history of some of my favorite childhood games, like Sierra’s adventure games (Police Quest, Space Quest, and King’s Quest), Descent, and more!

ONE Extraordinary Marriage

Hear from a married couple about the struggles, victories, and ideas to spice up your marriage. One Extraordinary Marriage also provides many helpful resources on their website.

Sexy Marriage Radio

Sexy Marriage Radio

Hosted by a separately man and woman who share from their own professional experience as speakers, authors, and therapists, as well as from their own experiences in their respective marriages. Sexy Marriage Radio brings straightforward, open, and sometimes challenging conversations to help you improve every aspect of your intimacy with your spouse!

Bell’s in the Batfry

Bell’s in the Batfry

John Bell is an amazing voice talent! Bell’s in the Batfry is a clean-comedy podcast that showcases John’s vocal skills and script creativity. Sometimes groaners, but always entertaining.

Comedy4Cast

Comedy4Cast

Clinton Alvord created one of the first comedy podcasts and it’s still going! Comedy4Cast used to be only 4 minutes long, but now it has more flexibility. Sometimes, it’s humor from Clinton’s perspective; sometimes, it’s comedy sketches. In recent years, some mild profanity has made its way in, but the podcast is still enjoyable.

What are your favorite unpopular podcasts? Please blog about them on your own site and share a link to your blog post here!

Filed Under: Social Media

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