Make Marketing Suck Less

Happy Election Day, rebel. I hope wherever you are, that you have already cast your ballot. And if you're listening to the sound of my voice on Election Day and you're standing in line somewhere, I just want to say, keep standing! Your vote matters, and this election is so important.

And I'll be honest -- as a business owner, I've been really dreading Election Day because it's hard to market your business right now. Right? There's going to be a lot of noise out there. I keep telling my clients, “You gotta be flexible in November because we don't know what's going to happen.” So instead of doing my regular-type podcast where I share some insights and some reflection with you, I thought today I could share with you one of my biggest passions, which is reading.

I freaking love books. I taught myself to read around the age of four and my nose has been in a book ever since then. And I read a lot of books that could benefit you and your business. So today I'm going to share some of the top books that I've read this past year that can help you grow your business or clarify your message along with a few fun surprises.

So sit back, enjoy this episode, and maybe you'll discover your next read.

You're listening to the Rebel Rising Podcast. This podcast is dedicated to helping passionate business owners become recognized leaders who make more money and impact the world by turning their messy, complicated ideas into thriving thought leadership businesses. I'm your host, Dr. Michelle Mazur, and I'll be your no-BS guide in the art of building a business that gets noticed each week.

Each week, I share strategies, tools, and insights on how to turn your complicated ideas into great messaging and solid business structures. Are you ready to create an uprising in your industry? Let's do this.

Are you ready for some book recommendations? Because I'm super excited to share some of these. Most of them are books, although I threw in one TV show at the end. So listen for that and let me know what you think.

So my first book recommendation for you was the kick in the pants that I needed when I was feeling slightly down about my business. Business was feeling just like a slog. And that book is The Middle Finger Project by Ash Ambirge. Ash is a guest of the podcast (we'll hook up her interview from back in May). I've been a fan of Ash since I started my business. She was like one of the first people I discovered online. What is amazing about Ash and The Middle Finger Project is that she has such a unique voice on the internet.

The top things I took away from The Middle Finger Project was the first following dangerous ideas to become self-reliant. One of Ash's biggest values is that you and I become self-reliant so that we can make our own money, make our own way in the world. And she believes that when we offer our ideas, that people are willing to pay for that.

In fact, I really enjoyed this quote: “The fastest way to get offered $10 an hour for your services is by offering a service. Offer your ideas instead. People pay for your ideas and your insights. Those are so valuable.” She also reminded me that selling is helping. It's not self-promotion, it's being of service.

If you're feeling a little off about money, read this book. And the thing about this book is that you feel like you are sitting down with Ash over a great cup of coffee or a glass of pinot noir and getting your business ass kicked in the best way possible. So if you're feeling a bit of that business slog right now, go check out The Middle Finger Project by Ash Ambirge.

My second book recommendation for you -- and this one, I had this book for a very long time sitting on my Kindle, and I tried to read it before and then I just couldn't get into it. It's always amazing when you can go back to a book and you're like, “Yes, I am ready for this book now.”

And that book is This is Marketing by Seth Godin. This book is so powerful in transforming how you think about marketing. It's one of those books that made me yell “hooray!” and also one of those books that I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room because sometimes Seth says things that just haunt your soul.

So for instance, let's talk about how he was haunting my soul. There is a passage in that book (and I'm going to read to you) about selling and how if we do not show up and sell and market our businesses, Seth believes you're stealing. He writes, “You’re stealing because you're withholding a valuable option. You're keeping someone from understanding how much they'll benefit from what you created. Such a significant benefit that it's a bargain.” Think about that. Let that seep in -- that if you're not making offers, if you're not putting your business out there, you're stealing from people.

And the other reason I highly recommend this book is I love how Seth Godin defines marketing -- his perspective and his philosophy on it. There are no bro marketing tactics or psychological tricks to get people to buy from you. To him, marketing (and this is how he defines it) is the generous act of solving someone's problem. It's helping people become who they want to become.

Now just relish in that thought. What if marketing is a generous act? How would you show up differently if it was in the spirit of generosity versus “I'm going to make you buy my crap with all these psychological hacks.” This book is fantastic if you're looking for a different way to market and sell in your business. You will feel deeply seen and deeply called out. So check out This is Marketing by Seth Godin.

Alright, this next book, my third recommendation for you. This is an oddball on the list. I put it on the list because. I don't remember laughing so hard at a book ever. I mean, I'd be reading this book in bed at night and just giggling and laughing and reading passages to my husband out loud.

This book is called Shit, Actually by Lindy West. And the reason I'm putting it in the business section, because just like Ash, Lindy West has an amazing voice. The way she writes, you feel like you are just having the most hysterical conversation with the wittiest and brightest person you have ever met.

So a little bit about Lindy West. She is the author of Shrill, which also became a Hulu show, and The Witches are Coming. And a fun fact about Lindy is she also used to be a film critic for The Stranger. And The Stranger is a newspaper in Seattle that is the alt newspaper. So it's an alternative newspaper. It's also where I go to get my voting information and recommendations.

So in this book, she picks so many different movies that we have all seen and love and really takes the piss from them, right? Like she talks about Love Actually (which to me was the most hysterical chapter ever), Harry Potter, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Face Off.

Do you remember Face Off? It was John Travolta and Nicholas Cage and it was the weirdest movie ever. But one of my favorite critiques she did was Top Gun. Now I freaking loved Top Gun growing up, but Lindy West makes a really good point: how is Iceman the villain of this film when really it should be Maverick? Because Maverick is reckless. He's kind of an arrogant dick, really.

So this is what she wrote in the book: “Iceman confronts Maverick after breaking the rules, being reckless, and abandoning other pilots to do whatever he thinks will get him the most attention. Iceman: ‘You're everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe, I don't like you because you're dangerous.’ Wow. Some very clear and constructive communication there from Iceman. Maverick: ‘That's right, Iceman. I'm dangerous.’ Maverick: ‘It's bad to be dangerous. You are flying a multi-million dollar war plane, presumably chunky stuffed with weapons that could kill lots of people and potentially cause a global war if used improperly.’ How is Iceman the villain of this movie? Because he likes safety?!”

So funny. I just love this book. It's a great read. It's mind candy for me. It spurned a lot of creative thoughts about how I can improve my own writing as well. So read Shit, Actually if you want to laugh, you love movies, and you want to become a better writer for your business.

And now for something completely different. The fourth book recommendation I have from you is Attention by Rob Hatch (Rob is going to be a guest on the Rebel Uprising Podcast in a few short months and I’m excited to have him). Attention is really about this core question: How do you put success in your way?

Because every single day, we are actually distracted from our own goals, our own success. We're distracted by email and social media, our partners walking into the room and having a conversation about a tweet, our children being at home (I don't have kids, but so many of my clients and friends have kids. I don't know how they're working at all). I mean, with all the distractions, it's amazing that we get anything done.

So Rob explains in his book how we can put success in our way. And what has been really powerful for me in this book is he talks about doing these "success equal" blocks. So you take two hours of time in the morning (or whenever you're most productive and can minimize distractions).

You set three goals, three of your top priorities, things that you want to get done, and then you spend 40 minutes on each. And when I do this consistently in my business. He highly recommends to not look at email before you do this, do not look at social media, have a piece of paper next to you for anything that pops in your head so you can write it down and go back to it later so you can stay focused on your tasks that lead you to success. And when I do this in my business, I feel like I'm the most productive human being of all time.

So the book Attention by Rob Hatch is amazing. There's a lot of ideas for productivity and how to minimize distraction and decision fatigue. So if you're lacking focus, which is quite easy to do, highly recommend checking that one out.

The final hardcore book that I have for you. This one I read actually at the end of 2019, but it has been a game changer for how I handle stress in my business and my life. And the book is called Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski (I hope I'm saying that right).

What I know is that running a business during a pandemic is stressful. And what leads us to burnout according to Emily and Amelia is stress. Specifically, not completing the stress cycle. Because when we are in that state of stress and our body is flooded with adrenaline, fight or flight is kicking in and we feel anxious, we feel jittery, our mind is foggy.

This can happen anytime. Maybe you get an email from a client who says they're just flat out not going to pay you right now. Or someone steals your content or plagiarizes your copy. Or a client from hell pushes your boundaries. Stress hormones flood our body.

And what happens is we typically remove the stressor. Somehow we take care of the problem. We have the difficult conversation, whatever it is, but we don't complete the stress cycle that's happening in our body.

Emily and Amelia write: “In short, emotions are tunnels. If you go all the way through them, you get to the light at the end. Exhaustion happens when we get stuck in an emotion.”

So when we are stuck in fear or anxiety, we have to complete that cycle. They have all of these techniques from breathing to exercise in order for you to complete the stress cycle and avoid burnout. So it's very practical and it's a must read for these stressful times.

Alright. So here are two just for fun recommendations (one's a book series and the other's a TV show).

So last week was Halloween. If you love the paranormal, if you love witches, and you love mysteries, well, I have a book series for you. It's called The Witches of Palmetto Point. These books are everything paranormal wrapped up into one.

It is about a psychic witch named Charlie who solves crimes. She's also a single mom co-parenting with a very conservative ex-husband, especially when it comes to all things magic. Her boyfriend is a reaper, a grim reaper. And I always imagined David Tennant playing him if this was like a movie or a TV show. Charlie and her sisters use their magic, their psychic ability, and all of their paranormal friends to solve crimes. It is so fun and it is so mindless.

The other thing that is also fun and mindless (and this one's a TV show) is Cobra Kai. Now I grew up in the eighties. I remember seeing the Karate Kid, but I will admit I was skeptical when Cobra Kai came out as a TV show. I know at first it was on YouTube and now it's available on Netflix.

For me, the show is nostalgia. It's characters that I like, that I love. It's great karate, full of misunderstandings that they have to work out between themselves. But if you love the eighties, you love the Karate Kid, and Ralph Macchio, you must check out Cobra. Kai. It is one of the funnest shows on TV.

So those are my books and one television show.

And, you know, as always, if you haven't already, or if this book is sitting on your shelf calling to you, you could always read and do the exercises in 3 Word Rebellion, because that's going to help you clarify your message. So grab that book off your shelf, do the exercises, or if you don't have the book yet, you can always go to 3wrbook.com.

And finally, I'd love to know... what book are you going to read? You can DM me on Instagram, I’m @drmichellemazur. I'd love to hear from you. If you have a book recommendation for me, tell me! I love book recommendations, and I'm always looking for something new to read.

So when you're done voting (I hope you are already), go grab a book, curl up with it, and relax.

Thank you for listening all the way to the end of the show. Your support means the world to me. Did you know The Rebel Uprising Podcast has a quiz that can help you pinpoint the number one way to build an audience of superfans while staying true to your unique personality? We do. And it's called What's Your Rebel Roadmap to Exponential Impact and Influence, and you can take it at therebelquiz.com.

If you're loving the podcast, do us a favor and rate and leave us a quick five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. It helps more people like you find the show. Until next week, remember, your ideas matter. And now get back out there and cause an uprising in your industry.

You got this!