Category Archives: Podcasts

BrandingBlog Radio: Paul Boomer on Web Hosting

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:58 — 22.8MB) | Embed

UPDATE:  Regarding the amazing Paul Boomer. A few months ago, I got a nibble from a business owner with a carpet cleaning business who had a gawd-awful web site. I could tell that her crap-o-la site was the sole reason that she wasn’t getting much business through the interwebs. It looked like someone had bedazzled an old pair of boxer shorts and called it a web site. Well, maybe not quite like that, but you get the idea.

She didn’t have enough budget to hire both Paul and I for a full-on web overhaul, SEO and copywriting gig. I looked over the site pretty well. It had some decent copy…buried where nobody could find it. They had a nice pic of their van. Their phone number was almost impossible to find.

I told her that I would try to cash in a favor from my WordPress wizard partner, but that I doubted he would do it. I asked her for a little more budget than she had available and called Paul. I convinced him to create a new site for her and severely limit the scope of client involvement and interaction. I knew Paul could do this one blindfolded and with earplugs in, if needed. He knocked it out of the park, just like he usually does.

He followed up with an email a week or two ago and she finally emailed back with this:

“It’s good to hear from you! I have been meaning to send you an update to tell you how amazing you are. But because you’re so amazing I haven’t had time!

Our website is working just like you said! We’ve been getting quotes and testimonies through the website. Just the other day a gal called to schedule a cleaning and I was taken back because she was talking to me in a tone and as if we had been best friends for many years. She then told me that she reviewed the website and is so happy she was only going to use us!

I know that I still have much to do to get this company functioning properly. But I am so thankful for you and what you have done for us. You have changed the direction of this company and I’m starting to feel the wind in our sails.

I hope all is well with you!”

It was the perfect alignment of project and available time for Paul. He had a brief lull in his pipeline and knocked it out in a day or two. I doubt if I could get him to do it again because he was paid way too little for what he delivered. But, boy did he deliver. He can do it for you too. Let me know if you want to meet The Boom.

About the Podcast:

This week, I’m busy trying to move BrandingBlog to a new hosting company. So…I recorded a conversation with Paul Boomer about what kinds of things a site owner should consider as they contemplate a move.

As we discussed how you should package up your content into boxes and cartons, I inadvertently gave one of my very best lessons on Microsoft Excel as well. I hope you enjoy it.

We mentioned a couple of sites…one being my new host MediaTemple. Check them out.

Another was www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com which is a good place to check first when you can’t get to a web site.

Sometimes it’s just you.

NOTE: That is NOT an editing mistake at the beginning of the podcast. It’s a blooper. I left it in. On purpose.

 

BrandingBlog Radio: Ari Meisel of LessDoing.com

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:42 — 31.6MB) | Embed

This week I got to spend about a half hour interviewing Ari Meisel. We connected a couple weeks ago when I found his “Less Doing” productivity blog and he asked me to be a guest on his podcast to discuss Shortcut Blogging and how we are making it easier for CEOs to blog.

I was fascinated with his approach to productivity and how it sprang from his battle with Crohn’s disease. His victory over his disease and how he approached the battle is the basis of Ari Meisel’s TEDx talk from May, 2011.

In this podcast, Ari tells his story and shares some of his favorite and most effective productivity tools. He is an advocate of doing away with your To Do List and using systems that simply make your tasks appear at the moment you need to work on them. He is also a big advocate of using virtual assistants to take your focus off of your more mundane tasks. Pretty cool stuff.

All of the links we mentioned can be found on Ari’s site in the description of his Achievement Architecture coaching program.

I really like his approach and enjoyed talking about all of these geeky tools with him.

BrandingBlog Radio: Shawn Phillips of Full Strength

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:21 — 40.4MB) | Embed

Confession: I never feel more out of my element than when I’m hanging out with athletes.

I met Shawn Phillips a few years ago and have slowly gotten to know him a bit in the last 6 months. I’m one of those “unfit” clueless people who never heard of his brother Bill’s book “Body for Life” back when it was changing the world. I managed to be totally clueless while they grew their EAS supplement company and sold it. I

Yep, that was me, sitting on my ass watching TV while Shawn was changing the shape of the world.

So, why am I interviewing Shawn? Hey, it’s never too late to start paying attention to getting stronger and eating better and growing older with a bit of grace. Is it?

It’s an admittedly awkward interview on my part. It’s half confession, half therapy session.

Shawn’s passion is men’s health in those “middle” years. We’re not young guys any more and we’re not old-timers.

I like his idea of sustainable fitness. I like his Full Strength protein shakes. I like Shawn’s passion for education and his concern for the state of men’s health.

Here’s a chart from his book, Strength For Life, that will help you understand the phases of fitness that he and I discussed. I hope you enjoy the interview.