Make Marketing Suck Less

Can you believe it, rebel? 200 episodes. And whether you just found this podcast last week, or you've been with me since the very beginning, it is time to celebrate 200 episodes of the Rebel Rising Podcast.

And I'll be honest that this episode kind of snuck up on me and it feels really odd to be celebrating such a milestone during a strange and unusual time during our history. But we do need to honor and celebrate this episode because not many podcasts make it to episode number 20 let alone episode 200. And I thought about all the different ways that I could celebrate this episode. I could highlight my favorite shows. I could talk about what it takes to produce 200 episodes of a podcast. I could do a poll of fan favorite episodes. I could ask an introspective question of some of my favorite guests and do a compilation of their answers.

And what I decided to do instead was a bit of a state of the union of this podcast, talk about where we've been and where you and I are going to next. Because yes, this podcast episode today is a celebration, and it's also a call to action to you, my friend, because, rebel, you are done rising and I am done rising.

And, no, this does not mean I'm killing the podcast. So I don't want you to think that this is the last episode of the show, but it is time for your next step of evolution. So what is that evolution? What is that call to action? I can't wait to tell you.

But before I do, I'm not going to tell you right away, I'm going to leave you with that cliffhanger, I want to talk about where we've been and celebrate that past first.

Because this podcast just began an experiment in the days when there weren't so many podcasts and this podcast began as the Rebel Speaker Podcast. And this was when I was still running a public speaking coaching consultancy and I started the Rebel Speaker Podcast for speakers who were a bit different, who had a bolder message, who didn't really fit in with the speaking industry. And I started the podcast because I love speaking. If you're a speaker, podcasting is a great way to put your voice out there into the world.

And I will say, the early episodes of this podcast will teach you everything you want to know about creating a speech, marketing a speech, finding speaking gigs. It's a wonderful masterclass, and, hey, when we can do speaking events again, you should listen to those episodes or listen to them now if speaking is something you eventually want to get yourself into. Because we will be going to events again.

Although, in my opinion, I think events will change. I think events will be smaller, more intimate, and they'll still need speakers. They'll still need people with bold ideas and bold visions to speak at these events and will still need your rebellious voices. And, yes, there are still virtual events happening every single day.

So those episodes, they are evergreen, they're filled with great information. But as I was doing the Rebel Speaker Podcast, I had that moment of, "Holy shit. I can be replaced by Google." And if you are that type of business owner who serves a very specific niche like speakers, it can be really challenging to stand out with your content because the best practices are the best practices.

    And I've told this story a million times on other people's podcasts, I've probably told it once or twice on this podcast, but back, I think it was in 2016, I was wrapping up the last episode of the year for the Rebel Speaker Podcast. And I just had that moment of, I can't talk about speaking anymore. I've always been disillusioned with the speaking industry. If you've listened to the show for a while you know that. The speaking industry doesn't value speakers. They don't value the knowledge we bring. They don't want to pay you for your knowledge. And I was sick of talking about how to get speaking gigs, how to write a speech that gets you paid, how to market yourself as a speaker, and I couldn't create that type of content anymore. And I just felt like I was adding to the noise, that I could be replaced by Google, and I knew something needed to change in my business.

    And that was the time that the 3 Word rebellion was born, and that is the time where the book was born, the idea of creating a one of a kind message, your own Start with Why, your own Five Second Rule, your own Everything is Figureoutable, was born. And that was the time that I stopped niching so specifically to speakers and really was for business owners who were doing things differently, who had bold ideas, bigger visions, wanted to shake up their industries. And that fundamentally changed the trajectory of my business, which meant also this podcast needed to change.

When your business changes, your content needs to change, which means this podcast needed to change. And so I had to serve rebels who were on the rise, and I've always loved the word rise because it means that we're growing, that we are moving from one position to a higher position, that we are learning and thriving, that we are the next generation of leaders who are going to take over, because we are the leaders who are going to take over.

    And that is what this podcast has been about, training you to be ready to rise up and be those leaders with the bold ideas. And during this time of reflection and being at home, I've realized on the occasion of this 200th episode, that I think we are more than ready to rise. This is our time to step into leadership.

So, my rebel friends, we have risen.

So it is a time for an uprising because what I've been observing during this time of stay healthy, stay at home, is I've seen a lot of sameness. I've seen a lot of Instagram ads that are all promising the same things, getting more clients, growing your audience, building your impact. And, hey, I've promised those same things in my copy as well.

    I've noticed a lot of the tiny offers are the new hot thing. I have my own tiny offer, but I didn't do that program and I've done it quite differently. But that's neither here nor there. And while I appreciate people getting paid for their work in those Facebook ads, what I've realized, and even with talking with my clients, I realized that we have all left our corporate jobs and we traded in our bosses for internet gurus who are now telling us how to run our businesses. They tell us what to do, they tell us to create tiny offers with bump offers, and tell us how to write the copy for it so it all sounds exactly the same. And. hey, if we don't follow that exact formula, it's our fault. It's not their fault, it's our fault. And what does that sound like? That sounds like a freaking boss. And we left our jobs so that we wouldn't have a boss, so that we could create freedom.

You know, the freedom that they're always promising you in the copy? Well, you only get that freedom if you let them become your boss.

And after witnessing all the sameness and after going to so many websites and looking at people's copy and seeing how it all sounds the same, I think this is why we need an uprising, why we are so very ready to do something different. And an uprising, it is a rebellion, it's a revolution, it's a revolt. And I am not saying that we don't learn from people, we do learn from people, but we do it with discernment. We look at things and we say, "Oh, that's an interesting idea. And I can learn from that and I can make it my own." Right? It's about making ideas our own.

And it's time that we take back our power because our power is within us. We don't need anyone to empower us. In fact, last year I talked with Danielle Cohen about the word empower, and empower, when somebody says they want to empower you, it means that they have your power. They are the middleman, the broker of your power.

    And no one has your power. You don't have to go to someone for your power. You have your power.
So take it back, learn from people, but with the philosophy of taking what you need and leaving the rest behind.

Because that's when something I've been saying during this COVID-19 period on this podcast quite often is, this is what's working for me. Take what you need, leave the rest behind. And that's how we should be building our businesses, learning from people, take what you need, leave the rest behind. Because that's critical thinking, it's going within to figure out what's right for you. It's about simplifying marketing and selling and building a business on your own terms. That is what a rebel uprising is all about.

So in a few weeks, this podcast name is changing to Rebel Uprising, because you and I have done all the rising we need to do.

    We are ready to burn business as usual to the ground and create business on our own terms. We are ready to lead people to think, be bolder and braver in our own messages. We are ready to make an argument for why our work is not only good, but why we believe our work in the world is the best in the world.

And I realize that what I just said is triggering for a lot of people, but I want you to start seeing what you're creating in the world as the best in the world. Because you can choose to believe that you can choose to believe in that thought. And, oh, my rebel friend, it is so powerful when you do so.

We can say goodbye to all the internet gurus that we've been following like our bosses with their one size fits all solutions and their promises of instant success that have never panned out. And we can say goodbye to bro marketing and manipulation and say hello to marketing with ethics and empathy and ease, marketing that actually stands for something, says something, has an opinion does good in the world.

    And whew, wouldn't that feel great, right? We can be our own gurus. And it doesn't mean we're not going to learn from people, we're going to learn with discernment. And I will encourage you to learn from me with discernment. And let's gather people around us to be a part of this uprising.

So congratulations, rebel, on your rising and thank you for being a part of this podcast for 200 episodes. Now you are a part of why it is successful. So now let's go up there and be a part of the uprising.