Make Marketing Suck Less for Expertise-Driven Solo Businesses

400 episodes.  That number blows my mind.

Most podcasts don’t even make it to episode 10 before vanishing into the internet ether.

But somehow—through algorithm changes, personal crises, recessions, and a whole lot of terrible marketing advice—I’ve made it here. And I’m still going.

To celebrate, I’m not just popping confetti. I’m sharing the four rebel truths this podcast has been built on from day one. 

These are the h...

What if a recession could actually help your business grow?

Sounds bananas, right? But hear me out. In every economic downturn, some businesses thrive. And I believe yours can be one of them—if you position yourself as the expert people are desperately searching for right now.

When budgets tighten, people get picky. They’re not gambling on vague promises or “just one step ahead” service providers. They want someone w...

Do you ever get that gut-punch feeling when some bro marketer suddenly “finds his zone of genius” and lands clients left and right... meanwhile you’ve got actual results, actual experience, maybe even a degree (or three), and your inbox is quieter than a library on a Friday night?

Same. And I’ve had enough.

Let’s talk about why the flashy fakes keep winning—and what we, the real experts, can do about it.

Want to hear more abo...

Let’s be real: your offer can be life-changing, your messaging can be tight, and people can tell you they love your work—but when it comes time to buy? Crickets.

I’ve seen it over and over again (and yep, I’ve been there too).

Here’s what’s really going on: you’re saying the right thing… to the wrong person… in the wrong place.

That’s why I keep coming back to something Eugene Schwartz laid out back in 1966. It’s called t...

Let’s be real: it is maddening to be great at what you do and still feel invisible. Years of experience, glowing testimonials, maybe even a PhD… and still, your dream clients are ghosting you.

Meanwhile, someone with half your credentials and a catchy tagline is booked out and bragging on Instagram. 

If you've ever wanted to yell, “But I’m actually GOOD at this!” — same. And that moment is exactly what led me to a major ...

Let’s play a quick game. I say a thing, and you tell me if it’s:

• Essential
• A Treat
• Postponable
• Expendable

Toilet paper? Essential.

Fancy lip gloss? Treat.

A new couch when the old one still works? Postponable.

An app that teaches your cat to manifest abundance? …Expendable (sorry to my kitties cat…you manifest enough Churus).

Here’s the rebel truth:

Your clients are playing this exact same game with your offer.

R...

Here’s a strange but true fact: some businesses actually thrive during economic downturns. Weird, right?

But once I really sat with that, I realized it’s not because these businesses have some BS “recession-proof” product. Nope. They’re thriving because they’ve nailed one crucial thing:

They’ve positioned what they do as essential, not optional.

And that’s exactly what I want to help you do too.

Want to hear mo...

AI is everywhere in marketing right now, and I get it—it's tempting to let it do all the heavy lifting. 

But if your strategy is just "Hey, Claude, write me 10 LinkedIn posts about email marketing," then we need to talk. Because that approach? It's turning business owners into content-producing robots, all sounding the same. Like the Borg. "You will be assimilated."

So, let’s pull back the curtain. AI isn’t here to r...

It’s a shit show out there. The economy is a dumpster fire, the stock market is on a rollercoaster, and it feels impossible to know what’s coming next. And for business owners? That uncertainty can be paralyzing.

Most people react in one of two ways:

1. Freeze completely and do nothing.
2. Frantically try everything at once.

Neither works. But there’s a third option that does.

Want to hear more about The Expert U...

Whenever I tell someone that I work with business owners to do less marketing while creating more demand, more interest in their programs, their offers, their services, and their expertise, these people look at me like I have lost my ever loving mind. 

Like I have 27 heads because the idea of doing less and getting more, it just doesn't make sense. 

Don't you need to do more marketing in order to get more clients? An...

Do you freak out a little bit at the idea of narrowing your focus to speak to one specific client? 

Because if you do that, wouldn't that mean you're losing out on other potential clients? 

So today, we are talking about a word that you've heard a lot about that probably makes you roll your eyes. But in 2025, this word is more important than ever. 

I'm talking about niching. 

Through my many years in business, ...

Once upon a time, you created a new offer. 

You launched it, and at first, it sold like gangbusters. 

People are clamoring for it. You have a wait list for it. They're excited, and you feel like this success train is just gonna roll forever. You figured it out, finally. 

Except it doesn't. And at some point, the sales, they just peter out.

It's so easy to blame the offer, to think, “Oh my gosh, I need to tweak ...

Here's what makes marketing suck for experts. And it has absolutely nothing to do with how smart you are, your nuanced approach, or that you're not curious enough. 

You're preyed upon by unscrupulous business owners because you are curious. 

You love learning. So when you see that shiny new marketing program, you're tempted to buy it because surely you need to learn more about marketing, right? 

You're not an expe...

You've grown your audience. 

You've nurtured and engaged them by building a case for why they should work with you. 

You've helped them diagnose what problem they're actually having. 

And now it's time for the moment. You know, the one where you have to transition from being helpful to actually inviting people to work with you, and that's when shit gets weird. 

We are tackling the O in the GEO framework, the Of...

You do all this work to build relationships. 

Get the word out about your business and grow your audience. 

Then once you have someone's attention and they are finally following you or joining your email list, 95% of the time, they are not ready to work with you. 

Surprise!

After you've got someone's attention, how do you keep them engaged and that relationship going strong? Today, we're talking about what's ne...

Let's get real. Growing your audience is a huge pain in the ass. 

Once upon a time in the wild west days of online business, it was super easy.

 Post on social media, run Facebook ads that would cost you a buck, a conversion and instant audience. 

Nowadays, forget about it. Finding new people who don't know you exist and enticing them into your world, it's one of the suckiest parts of marketing. 

It's such a bi...

Remember the horror movie The Blob? 

Where this big, massive, gelatinous blob just rolls through a city sucking up everything in its path - buildings, people, trees, pets - it doesn't matter because it's the blob. 

Well, marketing can feel exactly like that. 

It’s this huge amorphous thing that, if you are not careful, will suck up all your time, energy, and mental health in the process. 

But here's the good ne...

Here's the dirty little secret about creating a new offer that nobody talks about. 

The hard part isn't creating the offer. 

The hard part is figuring out how to market and sell it after it exists. 

I get why experts don't tell you this little truth. Because “create your signature offer in 4 weeks”, and then spend 21 months figuring out how to market and sell it is a terrible value proposition. 

Every single time I...