In The Trenches

Roosh Valizadeh is a contreversial men's dating advice writer. Recently, Amazon has banned and removed nine of his books from their bookstore. Immediately after Amazon banned his books, many other platforms (though much, much smaller than Amazon) like Kobo did the same. It's important to note that many of these books have been selling for years, with thousands of sales and dozens of reviews. Amazon did not give Roosh a reason for the removal of his books, including his new release (and Amazon bestseller before it was banned and removed) "Game," which you can purchase directly from his website (see links below). For years, I've been telling my readers and listeners to start their own business or creative pursuit on their own platform, and not to 'rent' the space of a platform like Facebook, or Amazon, or Google - because they can decide on a whim how they operate, which could crush your business. Now, the threat is greater because it's not just a change in the algorithm of a platform that could tank your b

    Charlie Houpert is the co-founder of Charisma on Command, an educational platform where he teaches people how to grow their confidence and charisma. His YouTube channel of the same name has over 1 million subscribers, and his videos routinely generate hundreds of thousands of views.   Charlie got his start online by building an education business focused on parkour. However, Charlie didn't get the traction he was looking for, so he shifted gears to a new interest: confidence. Charlie is a self-proclaimed introvert who struggled in social situations. He decided he would scratch his own itch, and began blogging on the topic of confidence, dating, leadership, and more. But it wasn't until Charlie started his YouTube channel that things really took off. In less than a year, Charisma on Command generated tens of thousands of subscribers and hundreds of thousand of views on some of his most watched videos. He has since scaled that to 1.5 million subscribers in less than 3 years.   My big takeaway from tod

Regina Anaejionu is the creator of ByRegina.com. She has been writing, growing online communities, and selling products and services online since 2008. She's done everything from full time writing, to design work, to Wordpress website creation, to publishing her own courses and ebooks. In today's conversation, we talk about 'sensative sales.' In a nutshell, it's a way to market and sell your products and services by being fully transparent. Instead of hiding your offer behind a webinar, you share the offer right away, and give the potential customer everything he or she needs to make a purchase. That way they have the time to think it over and won't be blindsided by the offer when you share it on a webinar (or however else you might share it). We talk about this and much more on today's broadcast. In this broadcast, Regina Anaejionu and I talk about: Transparent and ethical scarcity and urgency (if you find this subject ineresting, definitely check out my interview with Jack Born of Deadlin

Megan Reamer is the co-founder and CEO of Jackson's Honest, a healthy foods company. Megan and her husband Scott started Jackson's Honest as a way to share their son Jackson's story and the delicious snack foods they made for him. Jackson's Honest makes potato chips, tortilla chips and grain free puffs all cooked in organic coconut oil. Their son's autoimmune disease defined the types of foods he could eat and when they started addressing his disease through diet and nutrition in 2003, specifically a paleo and ketogenic diet, they couldn't find the foods they needed so they made them all from scratch. These delicious products were some of those foods. My main takeaway from my conversation with Megan was this idea of "Product-Channel Fit." It’s not something we talk about directly during the interview, but it’s something that is present in the way Megan has gone about marketing and selling her healthy snack food products. What I mean by Product-Channel Fit is that specific consumers want to

Akira The Don is a British musician, DJ, and producer. Akira has produced and co-written 3 UK top 40 hits and makes music for movies, video games, ad soundtracks, and more. More recently, Akira has developed a new series of lofi music remixes featuring audio clips from lectures and podcasts of people like Jocko Willink, Dr. Jordan Peterson, and Alan Watts among many others. In fact, Akira produced one of these lofi remixes based on my interview with Dr. Jordan Peterson. You can listen to this special production below in the show notes. My greatest take away from my interview with Akira the Don is his attitude on continued education and self improvement. I found this a consistent theme throughout the interview; how he embraces this idea of always learning; at mastering whatever it is that he’s working on. Whether it’s mastering the art of rap when he first started out as a rapper, or how he’s now working on these lofi remixes - he’s constantly trying to improve and level up his own skillset.

    Eric Bakey is a direct response copywriter and conversion copywriter who uses visuals in cartoons to communicate direct response marketing strategies for small business owners. He helps bridge the gap between strategy and results. In today's conversation we talk a little bit about direct response copywriting, but where we really dig in is how Eric made the transition from being an Army veteran to the world of self employment business owner.   Among the many things I found interesting in today’s conversation was how Eric generated his first few high paying clients. The first thing he did was create a list of his top 100 potential best clients. Next, he sent each of them a handwritten letter explaining what he loved about the work they were doing, and how he could be of value to them. He ended up booking out his entire calendar with new clients.   So we dig into that and so much more into today’s conversation.   In this broadcast, Eric Bakey and I talk about:   The secret to effective direct respon

Bnonn Tennant is the founder of InformationHighwayman.com. He's a copywriting expert who uses archetypal narratives to create captivating content that sells. In this broadcast, Bnonn Tennant and I talk about: Vicarious transcendence (a term Bnonn coined that will help you write better copy) How to use movies and tv shows to write better email newsletters How to implement archetypal themes and narratives to grow your audience and sell more products and services152 And much more. Additional Resources and How to connect with Bnonn Tennant online: informationhighwayman.com copywritinglaunchcode.com/epic Get the Latest Broadcasts of In The Trenches Subscribe to In The Trenches on iTunes How You Can Support In The Trenches Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advan

Damion Lupo is the founder of Total Control Financial, a company with a mission to empower people to transform their financial future by taking control of their retirement funds. Many people treat their saving and investing as a side thought, storing their money in traditional 401k and IRA accounts. According to Damion, this is not the best way to save nor to grow your wealth. Instead, he recommends entrepreneurs in the United States who are serious about growing their wealth consider using a QRP. QRP stands for qualified retirement plan. A QRP is eligible to receive certain tax benefits that you can't get with a 401k or IRA, and allows you to invest your savings into everything from gold and silver, real estate, and more. In today's conversation, not only do we talk about this subject, but wealth in general. One item that really stood out to me is how Damion is able to evaluate what someone values by looking at the 3 "C's": Cash: what you're spending your money on - addictions, habits, etc. Credit card: ho

Chris Badgett is the co-founder of LifterLMS, learning management software that allows you to create and sell online courses. Chris is a veteran of In The Trenches, making an appearance on episode 95. On that episode, we broke down what it takes to ensure student success. This topic is so important because most course creators think they can simply create and sell their course, and that's that. But the data tells a different story: course creators who emphasize student success (and all the things that lead to student success, like engagement, support, the structure and flow of your course, etc.) are responsible for the most lucrative ecourses across time (e.g. these courses are usually the top perennial sellers). So if you haven't listened to that episode, and you're a course creator, go listen to that now. In today's conversation, we go into the backstory behind LifterLMS - how Chris got his start, how he bootstrapped the software, how he got his first 42 customers, and what he's done to grow it to thousands

Vincent LoTempio is a registered patent attorney. He helps entrepreneurs, artists, writers, and creators understand, create, and file patents, trademarks, and copyright. In today’s conversation, we discuss the differences between patents, trademarks, and copyright, including what they are, how they’re distinct from one another, and what they actually do for you. We also discuss common misconceptions around copyright, what you need to consider if you’re starting a business around a brand or product, the truth behind satire, derivatives, and fair use, and more. Whether you’ve already filed patents, trademarks, or copyright, or you’re just getting started and trying to figure out what you need to do to protect your intellectual property online, today’s conversation is going to be a game-changer for you. In this broadcast, Vincent LoTempio and I talk about: A simple way to understand the difference between a patent, trademark, and copyright When you need to file a patent, trademark, or copyright Common misconc

Tom Schwab is the founder of Interview Valet, a podcast booking service. So if you’ve ever wanted to get interviewed on a podcast, Tom and Interview Valet can help. In today’s conversation, Tom and I talk about the art and science of podcast - specifically in terms of how we can use podcasting to market and sell our products and services. First, we begin with the state of podcasting. This includes what's happening in the podcasting space right now, from the types of podcasts people are listening to, to how people are consuming podcast content, and more. Personally, I view podcasting as a subset of content marketing. Content marketing, as the name implies, is using content to get traffic, leads, and sales. For instance, if you're an author, you'd want to use content marketing to build an email list so you can grow your exposure and book sales. There are big changes happening in the content marketing landscape, including a big shift toward audio and video content in the form of podcasts and video consumption o

Whitney Johnson is a speaker, podcast, and author of "Build an A Team," published by Harvard Business Press. In "Build an A Team," Whitney explains her "S curve" framework - a methodology for understanding competence and mastery in the context of personal and professional development. Whitney Johnson developed her "S curve" framework and methodology when she co-founded the Disruptive Innovation Fund, along with Clayton Christensen (author of the one of my top 11 books for entrepreneurs). Using the "S curve," you can better facilitate the development of employees (and yourself) - and it's even a great tool for identifying and hiring amazing employees. The following are four recommendations from Whitney on organizing yourself and your team to reach a state of optimal challenge: Are you taking on market risk or competitive risk? Be willing to play in the spaces where others aren't playing. Taking on market risk is good; taking on competitive risk is bad. Are you playing to your strengths? Discover what you do

Kim Walsh Phillips is the CEO of Elite Digital Group, a direct-response social media agency. Kim has helped her clients bring in more than a billion dollars through direct-response marketing. She is author of “No B.S. Guide to Direct Response Social Media Marketing: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Guide to Producing Measurable, Monetizable Results with Social Media Marketing” with Dan Kennedy. I met Kim at an event we both attended last year. At that time, she shared a way to rapidly grow your Facebook Page to more than 10,000+ 'likes.' Normally, I'd ignore this advice because I'm not a big proponent of social media (I think it's fleeting and doesn't produce ROI near what you can get with email marketing or content marketing, but I digress). However, Kim showed me how she then turns these new fans into customers. And she backed it up with numbers. That piqued my interest, and I decided to dig deeper. What I found was that Kim has a system for building an audience on Facebook and then generating sales from that a

Hey everyone, welcome back to another broadcast of in the trenches. I'm excited to have on the call today Jack born who's the CEO and founder of Deadline Funnel. Deadline Funnel is automation software that lets you add urgency to your marketing funnel so you can sell more in less time. In today's call, we talk a about Jack's origin story (how he got into software in the first place as a non-technical founder) and how Deadline Funnel software works. However, the majority of our conversation is focused around this idea of adding urgency to your marketing funnel, and how you can do so in an ethical and honest way. I've written a lot about urgency and scarcity on this blog and via my newsletter, often in the context of launches. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that you need to leverage these psychological principles if you want get the most out of your launch or any marketing campaign you run. However, one of the questions that always comes up is how can we introduce things like urgency and scarcity, espe

Alexa Bigwarfe is the founder of WritePublishSell.co, Kat Biggie Press, a book publishing imprint, and creator of the "Women in Publishing Summit." Alexa began her professional career in counter terrorism and Homeland Security, but due to the demanding nature of the job, she decided to stay at home with her two children. Shortly thereafter, she found out she was pregnant with two twins, who were diagnosed with a rare disease. She lost one of her children shortly after birth, which prompted her to write and share her experience to help other grieving mothers who suffered from the loss of loved ones. Through her blogging, she connected with a community of other writers, and she published her first book "Sunshine After the Storm: A Survival Guide for the Grieving Mother." From this collaborative effort, she received many inquiries from aspiring authors who wanted to publish a book. So Alexa started a book publishing company, Kat Biggie Press, and began to offer book production and marketing services. As things p

Charlie Wallace is the founder of guitarmasterymethod.com, an online guitar lesson company that supplies online lessons to guitarists all over the world. Through GuitarMasteryMethod.com, Charlie has helped tens of thousands of guitarist around the globe improve their guitar skills. In this broadcast, Charlie Wallace and I talk about: How Charlie got started playing guitar, and his transition into the business space of teaching guitar Why Charlie focuses on value and member success first, before anything else Why he doesn't use the word customer (member instead) How Charlie creates free resources that are so valuable he could charge for them, but doesn't, and why How Charlie runs more than 6-figures / month in paid ads to grow his business to multiple 7-figures a year And much more. How to connect with Charlie Wallace online: www.guitarmasterymethod.com @Guitar_Method Charlie Wallace on his "value first" philosophy: “I changed my thinking from 'how can I make more money from these campaigns' to 'wha

Dr. Jordan Peterson is a professor at the University of Toronto, a clinical psychologist and the author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, and many scientific papers which have been cited literally thousands of times (according to Google Scholar Citations). As a Harvard professor, he was nominated for the prestigious Levinson Teaching Prize, and his classroom lectures on mythology and psychology, based on his book Maps of Meaning, were turned into a popular 13-part TV series on TVO. I first stumbled across Dr. Peterson's work via his Maps of Meaning lecture series on YouTube. Within minutes I was hooked, and proceeded to binge watched more than 24 hours of these lectures, which use the story of Pinocchio to articulate the way in which you and I act in the world, the deeply biological origin of "meaning" and "sacrifice," and how we can better navigate the world through understanding stories, meta-stories, and archetypes. If you had told me two years ago tha

Travis Phipps is the CEO of Battle Bridge Labs; a digital marketing agency who works with several large-scale companies. In this episode, Travis dives into how he built his agency, the various business models he’s tried, some Facebook features he thinks are game-changers, and lots more. In this broadcast, Travis Phipps and I talk about: What led Travis to his current business How Travis landed his first digital marketing client How Travis grew his business from a one-man shop to a full agency Travis’ thoughts on how to best price agency work Why Travis suggests every entrepreneur has an assistant How Travis prices and sells his more labor-intensive services The importance of choosing the right clients The various business models Travis has tried for his agency Why Travis has increased his Facebook ad spend for his client from 15% to 50% in the past two years Why your ads and calls-to-action need to be optimized for mobile devices The Facebook feature Travis thinks is going to change the way we crea

David Kadavy is the bestselling author of The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. He is also the host of the Love Your Work podcast. In this episode, David and I talk dig into how his curiosity has led him down some unexpected paths and opened the door to knew opportunities. In this broadcast, David Kadavy and I talk about: Why David felt compelled to write his book, The Heart to Start Can we cultivate an action mindset in those around us? The importance of creating something of your own even if you don’t want to be an entrepreneur Why we need to embrace curiosity and never stop learning Why the cliched advice of following your passion isn’t always the best idea How David’s curiosity has shown up in his writing and various projects over the years And so much more. How to connect with David Kadavy online: David Kadavy's Website David Kadavy's Book: The Heart to Start David Kadavy's Podcast: Love Your Work @kadavy Great quote from David Kadavy: "If you want to have purpose in your life, you’ve

Warren Hogarth is the Co-Founder and CEO of Empower Finance; which includes the Empower app. In this episode, we talk about Warren's time at Sequoia Capital, the criteria he uses when determining what companies to invest in, and how his new app can save people thousands of dollars each year by allowing them to take control of their finances. In this broadcast, Warren Hogarth and I talk about: What led Warren to work at Sequoia Capital What the environment was like at Sequoia Capital and what Warren learned from it The criteria Warren uses to determine if a company is worth investing in Why Warren focuses only on tech companies (or companies that are technology-enabled) What is the Empower app and how does it meet Warren’s criteria? How Warren is growing his customer base in a market with big-name players How entrepreneurs and small business owners can benefit from using the Empower app And so much more. How to connect with Warren Hogarth online: Warren Hogarth's Empower Website The Empower Podcast