The marketing landscape has changed. Information and communication are bombarding us 24/7. It’s difficult to understand exactly what we should be doing, and easy to switch to the next shiny penny when results aren’t instant. Combine this with the fact that our potential customers are getting jaded and cynical…it’s not surprising that marketing seems more overwhelming than ever.
That’s why I created the Story Led Marketing podcast.
I’m Sarah Archer, entrepreneur, coach, comedian, speaker, writer and host of The Speaking Club podcast. In this show, I’ll be sharing the tools and techniques I’ve discovered that helped me create a new way to do marketing.
Story Led Marketing blends the relevant concepts from the gurus of the past, with storytelling, humour and a simple marketing system that reflects the need to lead with more value and connection to reach even the most skeptical consumer of today.
Whether you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur, or you’ve had a business for a while, if you want to consistently create a pipeline of ideal customers through your marketing, then you’re in the right place.
You know that question… "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" well I have a variation on it for you…
“If you share a message and no-one remembers it, did you communicate at all?”
Stories have been used to help people remember important messages for thousands of years, but some stories are stickier than others. Today I’m giving you the lowdown on four tools you can use to make the important points in your stories and content more adhesive than gorilla glue!
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Resources:https://www.storyledspeaking.com
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
I’ve used webinars and workshops in my business before and not only do they provide a great opportunity to connect with and add value to your target customer, but they are awesome for generating sales! They offer one of the best conversion rates for a marketing tool.
Webinars give you the chance to show off your personality and the value that your product or service can deliver. You will be with your target customer for a minimum of 30 minutes and during this time you are aiming to get them around the customer acquisition journey. This is so that by the time you make an offer, they will have seen how your product or service could work for them, they feel that they can make it work and they are aware of the ROI that it could give back to them.
If you’ve been considering doing a webinar, but you don’t know where to start, then this show is for you.
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Resources:https://www.storyledspeaking.com
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
Webinar Platforms:
https://zoom.us
https://demio.com
Review of 10 Webinar Providers
I’ve been fascinated by human psychology and in discovering how we can use it in our marketing to grow our business. Whether you know it or not, your buying behaviour is influenced by a number of psychological triggers and reciprocity is one of these.
The rule of ‘reciprocity’ is what modern society has been built upon and is a rule that has practically been bred into us to uphold. You will have seen marketers using the rule of reciprocity before in content marketing, as free content and freebies. What you might not know is that its’s also leveraged in other ways in marketing.
Understanding how to utilise ‘reciprocity’, (with a service mindset), is a critical part of your marketing toolbox and that’s why I’m sharing what I’ve discovered with you on this show.
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Resources:https://www.storyledspeaking.com
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
A lot of business owners and entrepreneurs think that their ‘offer’ is the product or service that they sell, but it’s not. At its heart, an offer is your core product or service plus added value. The aim of your offer is to create a compelling proposition for your customer, where the perceived value of what you’re offering is much higher than the price that they pay.
Putting together the right offer for your target customer is one of the biggest factors that influences their decision to buy. In this show, I’m going to be sharing my biggest takeaways from Offermind, a two-day event designed to help entrepreneurs and business owners master this critical aspect of marketing.
The event featured some of the biggest names in business today and I was very fortunate to be able to go. There was a lot of gold shared at this event and I took copious notes so that I could share the goods with you.
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Resources:https://www.storyledspeaking.com
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
I see so many people with a great product or service, struggling to get potential customers to understand how it can make a difference to their life. There could be a number of reasons for this, but the one I want to tackle in this episode is ‘focusing on the vehicle’.
So often with our own business, we’re so proud of what we’ve created, the widget, or framework or method, or program, that we can’t focus on anything else. The problem is that the features of your creation, are not what will get you the sale.
But don’t worry, in this show I’m going to be giving you an analogy you won’t forget to keep you on track, and two magic words that will help you communicate the value every time, so that you get more sales.
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Resources:https://www.storyledspeaking.com
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
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Public speaking is one of the most important and most dreaded forms of communication in life and business. Whether you’re a manager, small business owner, coach or consultant, I believe this is a skill that should be right at the top of your list to develop.
Today, so many aspects of marketing involve us actually talking to our audience, and our success in bringing new people into our world and converting them into customers is strongly correlated to how well we connect with them, engage them and make them believe in our message.
I’ve seen opportunities blown by poor presentations, and I’ve seen them missed because someone wants to avoid public speaking. So, whether you are petrified of public speaking, or you want to up your game, this episode will help.
Since 2011, I’ve been coaching people not only to get over their fear of public speaking, but to become a powerful speaker that gets results. In this episode I’m going to be sharing tips to help you move forward in your speaking journey wherever you’re starting from.
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https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
Positive reviews of your product or service are worth their weight in gold…and that’s why it’s so critical to know how to get them, what should be in them and how to present them to maximise their impact.
In my experience though many of us are losing out on the power and benefits of testimonials for a number of reasons:
We miss opportunities to get them.
We’re so grateful if someone says they will give us one that we don’t tell them what we want them to cover.
We don’t put them in the right format.
We overlook potential ways to leverage them.
Given the impact of social proof to build trust, overcome objections and connect at an emotional level I thought it was worth learning the ins and outs of testimonials for my own business…and of course sharing what I’ve discovered with you too
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Resources:Speaking Club Testimonial Animation
https://judge.me
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
I love a good drama…but I can never switch off my marketing brain. When I recently watched a spy thriller called ‘Summer of Rockets’ by Stephen Poliakoff on the BBC I nearly got thrown out of the living room because I couldn’t stop myself from commenting on the mistakes that the hero, Samuel Petrukhin was making in the marketing of his big new invention.
(This wasn’t immaterial to the plot either because the fact that he couldn’t sell his invention put his business at risk and made him vulnerable to being turned into a spy…see how important successful marketing is!?)
Anyway, although I managed to bite my tongue for the remainder of the episodes, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he could have done differently, and so here we are… I’ve already incorporated Samuel and his story into one of my presentations and my masterclass programme, and I thought I’d share it with you too…
In this two-part show, I’m sharing his story, the marketing mistakes he made and how I would have applied the story led marketing system to his product to create engagement, leads and sales.
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Resources:https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
I love a good drama…but I can never switch off my marketing brain. When I recently watched a spy thriller called ‘Summer of Rockets’ by Stephen Poliakoff on the BBC I nearly got thrown out of the living room because I couldn’t stop myself from commenting on the mistakes that the hero, Samuel Petrukhin was making in the marketing of his big new invention.
(This wasn’t immaterial to the plot either because the fact that he couldn’t sell his invention put his business at risk and made him vulnerable to being turned into a spy…see how important successful marketing is!?)
Anyway, although I managed to bite my tongue for the remainder of the episodes, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he could have done differently, and so here we are… I’ve already incorporated Samuel and his story into one of my presentations and my masterclass programme, and I thought I’d share it with you too…
In this two-part show, I’m sharing his story, the marketing mistakes he made and how I would have applied the story led marketing system to his product to create engagement, leads and sales.
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Resources:https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
I truly believe that the difference between success and failure in most things comes down to three factors. The trouble is that the entrepreneurial personality type, our human nature and society today conspire to make these three things challenging to achieve.
It’s taken me nearly four years to accept that what I previously considered to be big strengths may have a massive downside that I need to actively manage. I’ve recognised if I don’t address these issues, I will never have the success I want in life and business. I think that many entrepreneurs face the same struggles and so I thought I’d share some of the strategies that I’ve put in place so that you can mitigate the downside too!
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Resources:
The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Do Less by Kate Northrup
The 10 Minute Planner
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
I recently met with a business owner who wanted to find out more about sales funnels. When I met with them, they talked me through their business and told me that they were failing to get traction with the courses they were selling, and they thought sales funnels would help. IMHO there was a reason they were failing to get traction and not having a sales funnel wasn’t it.
In this show I want to share about market positioning and category design, concepts which I think could help the business owner I spoke to and maybe you too. There are some great examples of entrepreneurs and visionaries who have successfully made their company stand out through deliberately and in some cases, accidentally, creating a category and putting themselves at the top of it.
I often talk about helping you and your business stand out and I’m hoping this episode gives you more food for thought and another angle to come at this from. I will also cover sales funnels so that if you haven’t come across them you can see where and when they might fit into your business.
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Play Bigger by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead and Kevin Maney
https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
*Please note for links to products I may get a small affiliate commission which doesn't affect what you pay.
My life and business revolve around stories… in my downtime I love reading, watching and listening to them, and in my business, I tell, teach and write them. But it’s not just my life that stories impact… they underpin the fabric of all of our cultures, religions and societies, and they can bypass defences, connect with us, and build bridges like nothing else can.
Whilst the power of stories has always been there, it feels like their potential is just being realised in the world of business and I think it’s true to say that if you are not using them yet in your business to market your products or services and build a relationship with your customers then you are missing a vital piece of the puzzle.
In my experience of working with clients both on the speaking coaching and the marketing side, there are two things that get in the way of people using stories. The first is not being clear on what is meant by story… and the second is believing that you have to be creative to use them. In this show I want to tackle both of those barriers and move them out of the way for you.
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https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
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People’s attention is one of the most precious commodities around today, and that’s why knowing how to get it can make you very rich...and why your Facebook feed is filled with ads from people claiming they’ve found the secret!
After studying direct response marketing and influencing tools and techniques for a number of years, combined with over 17 years of trying to get people to laugh at me, I too have discovered a few secrets to getting attention and I’m sharing them in this show.
If you want to get more sales and grow your business, understanding what is going to making people pay attention and how you go about it is critical.
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https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
https://www.thespeakingclub.com/speakingcourse
Building your email list is one of the most critical activities for business growth and lead magnets, or freebies can be amazing for accelerating results with your list building. The only trouble is that if you get the lead magnet wrong, it can be a big waste of time and money and put off your prospective buyer.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes with lead magnets in my time, and in this episode, I want to share those with you so you can avoid them. I’ll also be explaining why you need to think strategically about how a lead magnet can best serve you and your customer. You’ll also get some ideas for possible lead magnets and a way that you can get them earning revenue for you.
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https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
Again, and again I see people spending time and money to make their website look beautiful…agonising over each little detail to make sure it fully reflects them and their brand. Once that’s done, they think about traffic generation…they think about SEO and social media and even paid advertising…all to send people to see that beautiful website, so that their perfect prospect can buy what they have to offer.
So…you’re probably thinking what’s the problem with that?
Well…nothing… as long as on top of all of that they aren’t missing out the critical marketing strategy and content components, that take account of the full customer journey and guide the prospect to the sale. If you’re worried that might be you…fear not…in this episode, I’ll be helping you to identify any gaps you might have so that you can close them and achieve more marketing success in your business.
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https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
It is unlikely for most of us that we will be offering a product or service so unique that we will never have any competition. That means we have to find a way to make what we do stand out amongst our competition. The most obvious strategy that a lot of people adopt is to reduce the price of our product or service, but whilst this can seem like the easiest route, it most often kicks off a race to the bottom and there will always be someone willing, or able to do it cheaper than you.
So…what’s the answer?
That’s what this show is all about. I’m going to be sharing three secrets to winning business when you are operating in a crowded marketplace. You’ll be able to take these tactics and apply them to your business, so that you can start creating distinction and attracting the right customers to you.
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https://www.standoutpitch.com
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
So many people are struggling with their marketing and getting the attention of their dream customer and communicating the value of what they do in a way that connects. This gets summed up in different problem statements by my clients and here are the most common ones I hear:
“People don’t understand what I do”
“I don’t know where to start with marketing”
“I find sales uncomfortable and awkward”
“My business doesn’t stand out”
“No-one knows my business exists”
“I can’t seem to connect with people”
“I don’t have a USP”
“I can’t communicate the value of what I do”
When you break most of the problems down, in my opinion they all lead back to the 7 biggest reasons why people aren’t buying your stuff. So, I wanted to share these reasons and give you some tips for turning things around.
If you share some of these issues and are looking for some help, then this show is for you.
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Resources:
1000 True Fans article
Origin Story Challenge
https://ww.storyledmarketing.com
You can have a great product or service, and the coolest marketing strategy, but if you don’t have clarity around who your serving and their story, then your business is built on sand. Yet so many of us miss this critical piece of the marketing puzzle.
In this show, I’m going to cover why the customer story is so important, the thinking that stops people from creating it, and I’m going to be giving you the steps you need to take to find and define your customer, and what needs to be in their story.
I hope you enjoy the show!
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Resources:
https://www.originstorychallenge.com
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When I left the corporate world for the last time, I had planned to focus my business coaching on helping entrepreneurs increase their impact and revenue through public speaking. The thing I quickly found was that so many of them didn’t have the fundamentals sorted for their business, and this meant that their message wasn’t relatable, clear or compelling. And the thing is…even if you are the greatest speaker, if the value of your offer isn’t clear, if your message isn’t relevant and if you’re not delivering it to the right audience…you’ll still fail to fulfil the potential of your business.
That’s what happened to me when I started my first business… with a background in speaking, stand-up comedy and writing, I had no trouble delivering a talk in an engaging and entertaining way… but I didn’t have clarity on the business essentials. Since that business failed, I’ve spent years researching, and learning sales, marketing, copywriting and influencing to find out where I went wrong. I’ve now worked with hundreds of businesses on their message and in this show, I’m sharing my ‘Big 3’, what they are and why you need them in place for marketing success.
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The Origin Story 5 Day Challenge
It’s said that there’s nothing new under the sun and in marketing it’s certainly true that we’re still applying the ideas, tools and tricks of some of the direct response marketing gurus of the last century… but not all of it is useful today because some aspects of the game have changed. The information and communication landscape have evolved and now there is so much of both 24/7, that we don’t know what we should be doing, our messages are getting lost and our target customers are getting jaded and cynical.
In this episode I’m going to share the second discovery that changed marketing for me. As I always say marketing isn’t easy, but it can be simple and I hope that in this show you will hear something to help you get clearer on how you might make your marketing work better for your business.
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The Origin Story 5 Day Challenge
Marketing isn’t easy, but it can be simpler. When I launched my first business, I took the traditional advice about what you need to do when you’re starting up, but it didn’t help me get what a new business… what any business needs… and that is customers. In lots of ways the marketing game has changed, the playing field is different, even from what it was 10 years ago… but there is one thing that hasn’t changed, there is one thing that remains constant for success in marketing…and that is what I am sharing with you in this episode.
If our paths haven’t crossed yet, my name is Sarah Archer, I’m founder of Story Led Marketing, a business coach, speaker, comedian, playwright and author. I’m also the host of another podcast called ‘The Speaking Club’ where I help people increase the impact of their public speaking. As I write The Speaking Club has been going for just over a year, is in 108 countries and the feedback has been great. I want to give people the same engaging content and value with the Story Led Marketing podcast and it will be great to share this journey with you.
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The Origin Story 5 Day Challenge