There are a ton of valuable voices in the marketing and business space, but it’s important to take advice and education with an understanding that there is no perfect formula that works for every single business. In today’s episodes, I’m sharing why marketing gurus aren’t always right. After nearly 10 years in the entrepreneur and marketing space, I’ve learned that you don’t have to take a marketing guru or professional’s advice as truth. They aren’t always right.
Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com, plus you’ll also find resources, show notes, and more for the Clocking In Podcast.
Everyone Does Things Differently (2:00)
Why This Conversation is Important (3:00)
My Way is Not the Only Way (4:30)
When to Follow Expert’s Advice (6:24)
Why were you doing it differently? (6:38)
Does it work for your brand? (6:53)
Look at The Expert’s Industry (7:27)
Do it If it Works Better (7:40)
Podcast Launch Kit (8:17)
Enroll Now in Podcast Launch Kit
Links
gaffincreative.com
podcastlaunchkit.com
Review the transcript:
Let’s talk about a little bit of a touchy subject. As someone who has worked in the marketing, advertising space for almost 10 years, I’m likely going to get a lot of flack for this conversation—but bear with me.
So let’s talk about why you don’t have to take a marketing guru or professional’s advice as truth. They aren’t always right.
Hey y’all welcome to the clocking in podcast the podcast for entrepreneurs and professionals making their way in the working world i’m your host Haylee Gaffin this podcast is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com plus you’ll also find resources show notes and more for the clocking in podcast so let’s clock in and get to work.
Now, let me disclaim, that there are a ton of valuable voices in the marketing and business space. I don’t want to discredit any person’s experience or knowledge here. But as a solopreneur, you’re likely working on building out a brand all on your own. This means doing the marketing, the planning, the strategy, ON TOP of doing the services and work your business offers.
As someone who focuses 90% of my time on podcast strategy, I would look at myself as an expert… but I also don’t think that the way I do things is the only way.
When I was in college, my advertising program was still being built. We didn’t have a ton of strategy courses or anything that would encourage you to pick a path for your career. That was done in your internship and in the field.
When I got out of college, there was so much for me to learn. I had this really expensive degree and very little knowledge of what the advertising world was really like. It’s funny though, because so much has changed in the advertising space even since then. Not only that, but when I went agency to agency, every single place did things differently. Not only for their workflows and processes, but also in their strategies.
I will never forget that I started working at an agency that had a very set way of doing newsletters.. Every Tuesday, we would send out our client newsletters. Then 3 days later, on Friday, we would send a resend to unopened. This because law to me when it came to email marketing. Therefore, when I went to another company, and their email strategy wasn’t the same, it was instilled in me that they were doing it wrong.
I quickly learned that there are hundreds of ways that companies can manage marketing campaigns, newsletter campaigns, etc.
Just because one person or company or brand says that you should do something one way, that doesn’t mean it’s the only way.
I could go on and on about the examples of this
I was inspired to share this conversation because the other day, I was talking to someone who was really nervous about launching their podcast. She had done some research, taken the steps to turning her idea into a reality, when a very knowledgable and influential marketing guru had said that she shouldn’t use a template for her graphics.
This potential podcast host had used a simple template (I assume in canva) to save her some money. The advice of this guru made her rethink everything about her podcast.. To the point that she was rethinking everything she knew about launching a podcast.
This wasn’t a client of mine and I wasn’t trying to win her over into launching her podcast with me, so I pushed back on it. Do I think your podcast graphic is important? Of course, it’s a first impression of your podcast to your listeners. Do I think you can use a template to save money? Absolutely.. You can always update things you can’t invest in later..
It absolutely broke my heart that a simple comment from someone who presented to know more could completely crumble this person’s plans to launch.
That’s one reason that when I created Podcast Launch Kit, my introductory course for hopeful podcast hosts, I wanted to set the expectations that my way isn’t the only way. While I’m taking you on the step by step process of launching a podcast like I do with my own clients, you don’t have to do it exactly the way I recommend.
Do I think you should hire out the things you aren’t skilled in? Absolutely—if you can afford it. There are so many hidden expenses that come along with podcasting and I don’t think anyone should let the costs of professional work hinder them from launching something they’re passionate about.
Heck, I know plenty of business owners that went years without a website.. I know a few photographers that got started with camera rentals because they couldn’t afford a camera. I even know a few business owners who have deleted their social media accounts and are crushing it in their business.
Just because a professional says that something should be done one way, it doesn’t mean they’re right. You can use a professional’s approach as a starting point, but do what works best for you and your business!
Speaking of graphics, can I let you in on a little secret? I didn’t pay a high expense designer to do my podcast graphics and I didn’t make them myself. I had an intern at the time who had an interest in graphic design, so I gave her a chance to play around with them.
She crushed it. I didn’t change a thing about the graphics and use her designs for all of my podcast graphics and promotional materials.
That intern has gone on to join my team, build out content strategy with me, and even edit this podcast episode. Had I listened to the experts out there and not given my intern the creative freedom to create my graphics, I may not have the awesome podcast graphics I had now.
So how do we know when to follow the advice of experts? Here are a few steps I want you to take next time you’re looking at changing the way you’re doing something base on what an expert says:
- Ask yourself if there was a logical reason as to why you were doing it differently. In the case of this potential podcast host, she was saving money in the launch process that she didn’t have available to spend.
- Ask yourself if the way you’re currently doing that thing is working for your brand? And do you have time to test both ways. Look at my newsletter example. Just because one company had always done it a certain way, doesn’t mean it worked for other companies.
- Look at the industry of the expert you’re listening to…… is it the same industry as yours? Do they have the space and knowledge to know what will work best for your brand?
- Last but not least, if you’re changing something in your business based on what an expert says, make sure that you’re doing it because it works better than what you were doing.
No matter what you’re working on in your business, I want you to keep in mind that when you’re listening to experts share about their knowledge, you have to take it with a grain of salt. While they have the experience to back up what they’re saying, concepts and strategies don’t fit the mold of every single business or industry.
And if you’re thinking about taking the DIY route to launching a podcast, and you want someone who will walk you through step by step (without judgement), check out Podcast Launch Kit, my beginners course for hopeful podcast hosts! Grab your seat in the course at podcastlaunchkit.com! Let’s get to work!
This has been another episode of The clocking in podcast. You can find the show notes for this episode and more at Gaffincreative.com. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. If you love this episode, I’d be so honored if you leave me a review in Apple podcast app. Until next time, I’m your host Haylee Gaffin, clocking out.
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