Small businesses who are on a marketing budget can take a quick lesson from Taco Bell. There was a story today about Taco Bell creating at home taco kits that people can purchase that would feed 6 people for $25. Now here's where good marketing kicks in. Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo which is also Taco Tuesday. I'm sure that the marketing team was sitting around when they realized that Cinco De Mayo actually fell on Taco Tuesday and viola' the Taco Kit was born.
 
Now you maybe saying what's so great about this. Well I liked the story, so did the other news outlet where I first heard about it and I'm sure that we're not the only ones that will be talking about this story, so Taco Bell marketing mission is complete. Free publicity for their at home Taco Kits.
 
Is there a holiday that you can get creative with and tie it in with your business? If so make sure to share your big marketing idea with the media. We are always looking for great stories to share with our readers, listeners and viewers.
 
Until Next Time 
Make It Great Day!

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5 Ways To Market Your Business With $0 Marketing Budget 

​If you're thinking about how to market your business online, here are 5 ways to get your name and brand out there even if you have $0 marketing budget.  A lot of entrepreneurs think that you need to have thousands and thousands of dollars to market your business, but that simply not the case.  Here are 5 ways to market you business without any money that are really powerful.
 
1. Write an article and post it on LinkedIn as a post.  If you reference anyone in your article be sure to tag them.
2. Take that same article and change it up a little bit and post it under notes on Facebook.  Again if you reference anyone in the article be sure to tag them.
3. Issue a press release about something major that you are doing.  Now this will probably take some work on your part if you are going to do it for free, because you have to locate the editors you want to pitch the story too.
4. Pitch yourself to podcasters.  Most podcasters are always looking for great guest to be on their show.  The keyword here being great guest.  You must know your stuff, so don't try to bluff the podcaster.  They will see right through you.
5. Host an online event and put it on Eventbrite. Events that are on Eventbrite are syndicated to other online event calendars giving you even more reach.  The best thing about this tip is that you can get visibility and make some money if you charge for your online event.
 
I hope you found these tips helpful.
 
Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

We are stilled sheltered in place, so marketing may be a little challenging if you are the type of person that go networking a lot. The way to stay relevant in your industry is to create a strong content marketing campaign.

Content marketing could be any or all of the following:

• Creating content for your blog
• Creating your own podcast
• Creating marketing videos
• Creating infographics
• Creating memes
• Doing live streams

You have decide which one of these could work for you. Now here is a little tip that will help you easily create 3 pieces of content. Record a video using Zoom. Take the video and put it on YouTube or Vimeo. Take the audio and put it on a podcast platform such as Buzzsprout or Lbsyn. Now you can use Headliners to transcribe the audio and turn that into a blog post for your website where you can also embed the video or the audio to accompany the text.

Now that you have these three pieces of content you can schedule them to post on different days. If you use this strategy on a consistent basis you will always be relevant even when you can't get out and network.

Need More Help Growing Your Business? Click Here To Set Up A Marketing Strategy Session

I recently did a live broadcast from an expo.  There were about 25 vendors there.  I was hired to do this event, because the organizer was trying to offer vendors more exposure for their business, so she hired me to come and broadcast live and interview the vendors that were there.  She made the announcement that I would be doing interviews throughout the day, so they could come over and take a seat at the table to talk to me and to my surprise only about 8 of the vendors stopped by to talk about their business.  I was sitting there like what's wrong with this picture.  Now I get it, maybe they were busy with customers and just could not get a way for a few minutes, however I doubt that was the case.  I think a lot of them just were not prepared to talk about their business.  So today I want to share 3 tips with you to make sure you are always ready to talk about your business, even if you are shy.

• Keep a mini media kit  in your car or have a digital media kit that you can share with someone
• Make sure to carry some type of marketing materials with, be it a business card or a postcard
• Create a 30 second elevator speech to share with anyone who ask you what you do
• If applicable create a mobile app that will allow people to download it to their phones

You want to make sure you are always ready to share what you do with anyone who maybe interested.  An never give up an opportunity to talk about your business.  Even if you think a media outlet maybe small you never know who reads or listen to the host or writer.  I once interviewed Mark Victor Hansen who is the co-author of the Chicken Soup For The Soul series.  Not only did I interview him once he did my show 3 times.  I hosted my show every Saturday morning at 7:30am EST. and he was on the west coast which made it 4:30 am his time.  I asked him why he did my little show and he told me exactly what I just shared above.  Never give up a PR opportunity.  

I hope that this help you move your business forward.
Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

In an effort to do all of the things I love which includes doing Good Morning Gwinnett, I also love marketing and helping entrepreneurs discover strategies, tools, techniques and ideas that will help them grow their business.  I've been tossing this idea around for some time now, because I wasn't sure if talking about marketing would fit in with the show.  But the more I thought about all of the things I was doing to grow the show, the more I realized that I could share the ideas and strategies that I was using to grow my audience for the show and my business in general.  I was trying to fit myself into a box and I was really struggling with not being true to who I really was.  I know that I am sometimes a creative mess and I've come to learn that it's okay that I am sometimes a creative mess.  That being said, it is my goal to blog twice a week about a marketing strategy or idea that I am using or have come across that may be of some help to another entrepreneur to help them to grow their business.  

Marketing and running my mouth are two things that I am passionate about, so I'm glad that I get to share both here on my site with you the viewer and the listener.  I also love reading business books, so don't forget to join my book club especially if you are an entrepreneur.  The books on my list are books that will help you grow as a leader, entrepreneur and grow your business.

So I hope that you stop by often to check out the show and check out my blog that will be all about business and marketing.

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

Man.  I'm finally getting back to normal.  I had such a great time at Podfest 2019.  It's really cool to learn from people who know more than you do.  Not a lot of people will say that, but I have no problems admitting that I don't know everything especially as it relates to podcasting.  I learned so much from people who are touching lives around the world with their voice and their message.  The amount of knowledge that was in the place and the energy could probably be felt around the world.  Chris, John and their team are a class act.  I got to meet some of my podcast heroes like Pat Flynn who I've been listening to for about 5 years.  I got to meet John Lee Dumas also who I've been listening too for about 5 years.  I got to meet YouTube Master Roberto Blake. I mean I could go on and on about my experience.  It was high energy the entire time.  I learned stuff inside of the breakout sessions and I learned stuff in the hallways just sitting and talking to people. 

With everything that I learned it is my sincerest desire to create a show that I love doing and that my audience love listening to.  After attending the Boss Lady session I realized that my show can be what I want it to be.  For me Good Morning Gwinnett is a mix of news and entertainment.  I was trying to make the show into something that I wasn't 100% passionate about.  So moving forward Good Morning Gwinnett will be broken down into 7 segments which are:

• The Daily Horoscope
• People Helping People Shout Out
• County News
• Town News
• Contests & Giveaways
• Upcoming events
• Beyond Gwinnett

I realized that I wanted music incorporated throughout my show, so I have music.  It's not the normal podcast that most of us are use too and love, but I believe it will serve the purpose that I envision of reaching my local Gwinnettians who don't know what's happening most of the time around Gwinnett, because they are at work most of the time and don't get a chance to go out networking or go online to find out what's happening.  I also think about senior citizens who don't get out much, but would love to just here about things in their towns.  I think about people who are visually impaired who can listen to the show to find out what's happening in their own backyard.

I think about when I was younger and used to listen to the radio at work in the mornings, one of my favorite segments were the horoscopes.  I made sure that I was at my desk when it was time for the horoscopes.  I wanted to bring the horoscopes to my show and I will.  I want to run contests and talk about my favorite books and I will.  All of these new changes have become my reality because of listening to Katie Krimitsos talking about making my show what I want it to be.  I shifted my perspective about my show and I am excited.  If you are a podcaster and missed PodFest 2019, you don't want to miss Podfest 2020.  I found my people and I am so glad I went.

"I Realize That My Show Is An Octagon And Doesn't Fit Into A Round Hole"

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

Once a business owner begins to think about starting their own podcast, they will often get nervous because they have so many unanswered questions. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about podcasting.   Check them out to help you make an educated decision on whether or not podcasting can help you accomplish your business goals. 

1. What is podcasting?
Podcasting is a way of creating internet-based audio files for the purpose of offering information and entertainment to a wider audience. 

2. How do I create a podcast?
To create your podcast you will need a microphone, some software to record the audio file, and a place to store the audio file so other people can listen to it. 

3. What kind of microphone should I use for my podcast?
Buy a USB one for under $100 that has high-definition sound quality. I personally use the Yeti which I bought off of Amazon for $99.

4. Do I need special software?
The industry standard is Audacity. It does take time to learn, but it is free to use. You can use this if you will be pre-recording shows that need editing.  I use Spreaker which allow me to pre-record my shows or go live.  Most of the time I go live.  I have the pro plan for $19.99 monthly.

5. What should I talk about on my podcast?
Choose a niche or specialized area or topic you want to talk about. It should be something that you are passionate about and have some knowledge about.  If you try to do a podcast on something that you are not passionate about it will come across as inauthentic.  Then think of how you can help people interested in that topic who have problems that need to be solved. Offer free information that will lead to paid product referrals, your own or someone else’s, that will make you money with each podcast.

6. How do I get people find my podcasts?
There are many ways to do this but the simplest way is to share your podcast on your social media pages with your friends and colleagues.  A content provider will create a podcast channel, or feed. Within that channel, they will create programs or tracks. Every time a new track is created, the channel will automatically update content on subscribers' computers. 

7. How can people listen to podcasts?
Your audience can listen to the files on their computer, cell phone, in their car or load them onto an MP3 player such as an iPod.  Many of the newer cars are now coming with podcast players already installed in them.  I don't have a podcast player in my car, but I listen to all of my podcast in my car by connecting my cell phone to the aux jack in my car.

8. How can people subscribe to my podcast?
There are so many ways for people to subscribe to your podcast depending on where your podcast is syndicated.  Here are three common ways they can subscribe. The most popular way is through an online service with software such as iTunes. Or, people can add your feed to their FeedBurner, that is, program that accepts RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. You can also embed your feed into the pages of your blog or website and they can listen to them there.

I hope that this information help you in deciding if podcasting is right for you.  Podcast is one of my passions and as time goes on not only do I want to share my show with you, I want to share my passion for podcasting with you.  I want to be able to help you launch your own podcast, so this is the first in a series of articles about podcasting that I will be writing.  Be sure to check back often for more great information about how to start and grow your podcast.

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey

Gwinnett County (METRO ATLANTA) GA – 2-18-19– Recognized as a leading organization, the Good Morning Gwinnett Podcast & Radio Show has been nominated for an IMPACT Regional Business Award.  
Reflective of Gwinnett and metro Atlanta, the program pays tribute to premier organizations in top industries that are driving economic development and job creation, while enhancing our quality of life.
We are happy to accept this nomination. 

"Thank you to the Gwinnett Chamber for recognizing the Good Morning Gwinnett Podcast & Radio Show." 
​
Recipients will be selected in the following sectors:

• AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction)
• Education
• Healthcare
• Hospitality
• Information Technology
• International
• Nonprofit
• Service
• Small Business

 
An overall IMPACT Regional Business Awards recipient will be selected from one of the above category winners.
 
“Now in its fifth year, the program has provided exposure to more than 1,500 best-in-class businesses. Bringing together leaders across these important industries is another example of how the Gwinnett Chamber can fulfill its mission to serve as a community forum,” said Dr. Dan Kaufman, president & CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber.
 
The awards ceremony will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Infinite Energy Forum. For more information, visit ImpactBusinessAwards.com.
  
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MEDIA CONTACT             
Dominique Hagler | 770-765-7315 | DBHagler@GoodMorningGwinnett.com
 
PROGRAM CONTACT
Cally D’Angelo | 678.957.4958 | CDAngelo@GwinnettChamber.org
 

In this podcast episode of Good Morning Gwinnett I talk to local Duluth rapper Cameron Copeland (AKA) Mr. Swaggs.  I have apologize, because we had some technical difficulties, but I will bring Cam back again so that I can redo this interview.  I want other young guys and girls who are thinking about getting into the rap game to hear what Cam had to say about how he got started and some of the challenges he faced.  This is not the best episode, but you can still hear most of the interview.  I thought about not posting it here, but I said what the heck, someone may hear something that can help them. 

​I working hard on making Good Morning Gwinnett a great show, but sometimes technical things are just out of my control.  All I can do is look back to see what happened and try to fix the problem so it doesn't happen moving forward.  I know that the Podcast Police probably want to come and arrest me, but I will put up a fight and we will have a standoff.  I'm not new to the game, but I am new to this show and I will continue to work hard to make it a great show.  

Listen to the episode and just know that I will bring Cam back to repeat our interview.  In the mean time do me a favor and share the show with your family and friends.

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
Audrey