The Captain Coder Podcast

Creating content can feel like a giant chore. Every day, it’s a new post, a new blog, a new Reel to create.The machines and algorithms just keep telling you to create more, more, more.Worse, the “experts” are out there telling you that you need to create 3 videos per day to stand out, release a podcast, video, and blog weekly, and you have to be in your stories all. of. the. time.Oh, and don’t forget those email blasts!If this is already making you tired, that’s honestly the correct reaction.What most of the experts don’t tell you is that they have a team of people and a system helping them to churn out all of this marketing content.How can you, with yourself and a VA, create excellent marketing content without burning you out?Let’s talk about that.Mentioned Resources:Get More Leads from Your Website

You’re great at what you do and so you thought, “I’m going to go out and do that for myself.”Then the reality of having to get clients settles in and it can seem incredibly hard to grow your business.Can I be honest?I was stuck in that pattern for years. Over 10 years in fact.What finally worked and “clicked” three years ago?It wasn’t anything I did or could learn.

There are so many misconceptions about marketing. Especially for those of us doing our best to bootstrap and grow our business, it can be all too easy to piece together what we find online and try to figure it out on our own.The reality? Strategies that worked for someone else might not work for you. That’s because your business is different and unique to you.But another reason that rarely works?To adopt a marketing strategy, you need to understand how it worked for them and how to tweak it to work for you.All too often, business owners don’t understand marketing basics to allow them to tweak a strategy. And honestly, there are a lot of mistaken ideas about marketing.These common misconceptions about digital marketing often hinder your success in growing your business online.Here’s what you need to look out for and how to improve your own marketing.

Not many people can take a blank canvas and create a beautiful website. Believe me, it took me years of observation and practice to start seeing how a design could come together.While I know that not everyone can afford to hire a professional web design agency for their first site or even an update, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a beautiful website either.If you’re trying to DIY your website just a little bit longer and aren’t satisfied with how everything has come together (but you can’t quite put your finger on what’s wrong), I’ve got some tips for you.These 5 web design secrets are ones that very few professionals would share with you (and they’re even issues I see in some professionally designed websites).Ready to take your website from blah to beautiful?

Picking out the colors you want to use in your business can be an incredibly personal experience. You’re choosing how you want people to see your business, how they feel when they come to your website or view your social media, and you’re expressing something about your unique business.Choosing colors, however, can’t just be about what you think looks good.Did you know that the colors you choose can actually exclude customers from interacting with your business?One of the easiest ways to make your digital presence more accessible is to be mindful of the colors you’re using - especially on your website.Given that 1 in 4 adults live with some kind of disability, you have to be mindful that your website and everything you create online can be used by everyone.And yes, that means even the colors you choose to use in your business.In this episode, learn what you need to know to choose colors that are accessible for everyone.Mentioned Resources:WebAim Contrast CheckerCaptain Coder Website Audits

Do you think that a website can’t do anything for your business? I’m going to tell you a dirty little secret that most agencies won’t tell you - building a website is not a magic fix to your online presence.I often hear from my customers that they built a website and “nothing happened.”Well of course not.This isn’t Field of Dreams. You can’t just build a website and hope that people will come to it.You have to bring people back to your website over and over again.There are many ways you can drive people to your website to (hopefully) get them to convert and become a lead or customer.But in my nearly twenty years in this industry, I often see business owners missing this one key tactic to drive continual traffic to their websites.Mentioned Resources: Create 90 Days of Content Cheatsheet

Are your ideal customers spending more than a few seconds looking at your website?I’m talking - don't fill out a single form, schedule a call, or even make it off of your homepage.If you feel like your website does nothing for your business, it’s because you’re not actually telling the people who visit your website how to work with you.Today, we’re going to learn the strategies that keep customers on your website and actually get them to take action.Hint: it’s all about clear communication.Mentioned Resources:Find Gaps with a Website Audit

One of the best sales tools that you can use as a service-based business might surprise you. It’s trust.When your potential customers feel like they can trust you, they’re far more likely to buy from you. Building trust - or credibility - with your clients is easy when they can see you and shake your hand. You’re a real person! You have a real office they can visit!But what about building trust with your online audience? How do you build trust with someone who has to interact with you in a totally different way?If you want your entire sales process to be easier and get more leads, then you may need to take a look and see if you’re doing these 5 things that help build trust in your business.

You have a website and you know that you want to get leads from that website. But how do you get people to visit it? You need to optimize it for SEO.Your website can be the best lead-generator for your business when it’s not only built correctly but built to bring in traffic and the right people from Google.If you’re looking to get more clicks, attract high-quality leads, and grow your business, then you need to unlock the power of SEO to boost your website.Listen now if you want to know what to do to make that possible.Mentioned Resources:Google Search ConsoleCaptain Coder Google Search Console GuideSEO Website Audit

Do you have a solid plan to grow your business? Did you create an actual business plan with where you saw your growth going, or did you sort of wing it because you were an expert in the service you’re providing your clients?There’s not really a wrong answer here. I’m not sure I know that many entrepreneurs actually put together a full business plan as you might learn in college.Your business honestly tends to grow in ways you might not have been able to foresee, too. Creating a plan can seem, well, like a wasted effort.But it’s super hard to grow your business when you don’t have a clear marketing plan either.Let’s talk about why your sales have been struggling (hint: it’s because you don’t have a clear plan).

The great thing about AI and products like ChatGPT is that they can make our lives easier, giving us more time to connect with our audience.The problem? It can actually prevent us from forming those connections up front.In today’s episode, Rachel Allen of Bolt From the Blue Copywriting joins me to talk about how we can use ChatGPT effectively but still maintain that important human connection with our audience.We’ll dive into:[3:40]: The AI “Apocalypse”[6:19]: How ChatGPT works[7:49]: What ChatGPT is great for[14:08]: The problems you need to keep in mind[22:21]: Human focused marketing[29:34]: Safety concerns with ChatGPTListen to this conversation and you’ll walk away with how to use ChatGPT effectively while not creating a disconnect with your audience in the long-run.Mentioned Resources:Bolt from the Blue Copywriting - WebsiteBolt from the Blue on InstagramBolt from the Blue on FacebookMy Cheatsheet to Make Content Creation easy with ChatGPT

Last week I officially hit 3 years in business as Captain Coder!When I started Captain Coder in the middle of a pandemic, I had a pretty strong vision for what I wanted to create.But the reality of running a business is that things are going to change.I’m not sure any business grows exactly how the founders imagined it from the start.Whether you’ve just started on your own entrepreneurial journey or you’ve been doing this awhile, you’re going to find new things that surprise you all of the time.For me, some of the biggest things I’ve learned revolve around my mindset. It’s crazy to think about, but changing how I viewed things took me from struggling to building a six-figure business.Let’s dive into three mindset shifts I’ve had to make to create the business I always wanted (and that are going to help me keep pushing forward).

Are you keeping 25% of your customers from working with you?You might not know it, but that could be exactly what’s happening if you don’t prioritize #DigitalAccessibility.Ensuring everyone can interact with your website and your content online means that you’ll reach your entire audience and won’t exclude people from working with you.In today’s episode of the #CaptainCoderPodcast, we’re revisiting a special interview with one of my best friends from college.We discuss her journey with the disability community and how she’s learned how important it is to make the internet accessible.Listen now on your favorite podcast app to learn exactly what you’re doing to exclude an entire community.

Being an entrepreneur means that we get to pursue the things that we want and we tell ourselves what to do.The problem with that is we can often forget something else we’d planned on doing before, or we choose the new “shiny” thing to avoid the harder piece in our business that actually needs attention.And of course, sometimes that new shiny thing just seems like a lot more fun to play with than anything else we’re currently working on.Shiny object syndrome can actually be one of the biggest challenges that derail your business. It can not only cause you to waste time and money, but it can lead to frustrated team members and missing out on key goals you set for yourself.How can you tackle it and keep yourself from getting distracted?Find out in this week's episode!Mentioned Resource:Captain Coder Digital Strategy IntensiveCaptain Coder Podcast Ep 049

Have you been struggling to get your dream client’s attention?I want you to picture this scenario: you’re scaling your service-based business, helping only the people you want to help with their services. Your clients respect you, pay their bills on time, and you’re able to help them because they’re exactly who you should be working with.Sound a bit far-fetched?I get it. When you first start your business you often find yourself taking any and every client you can just to get paid.But what if you could get your dream client’s attention and get them to actually buy from you?One of the hardest things about growing your business online is competing with all the noise in the online space and actually getting the attention of your dream clients.In this week’s episode of the #CaptainCoderPodcast, we’re talking about how to cut through that noise and start landing leads from your dream clients.Listen now at the link in my bio.

If you want more leads and sales, then you need to read this.For most service-based businesses, our number one resource of new sales is referrals, but you can’t control how often those come in.What do you do when you need to generate steady leads and sales for your business so you have control over whether or not you can scale?The answer is not posting more often on social media.The truth is that your #1 leads generator should never be a platform that you don’t own or have any real control over.It should be your website.In this week's episode of the #CaptainCoderPodcast, I'll tell you exactly why you’ve probably been putting the emphasis on the wrong parts of your marketing.

You’re probably neglecting this big thing in your business.Website engagement.It’s not all about social media. In fact, social engagement is great, but what really leads to sales is how much your dream client interacts with your website.When your ideal customer is actually spending time on your website, you know that you’re providing something that they actually want to look at.But the average amount of time someone spends on a service-based business’s website is less than 2 minutes!Improve that and your sales with these 10 ways to increase your engagement in today’s episode of the #CaptainCoderPodcast.Listen now at the link in my bio or on your favorite podcast app.

The real secret to marketing online isn’t really a secret at all. In fact, it’s what we all know is a best practice but is hard to do so we look for other shortcuts.But nothing can beat creating regular content that provides free and useful information to your audience. It not only helps to attract new clients, but it can also keep your current clients around for longer.And yet, who has time to create something new and fresh every week? Where even do you get your ideas for that content?Well, thanks to AI tools like Chat GPT, you can break out of your content creation rut and create 90 days of weekly content topics and even outlines in a matter of minutes.Grab your free cheatsheet for this episode at captcoder.com!

Want to get one of the best ROIs you can get in marketing?I’m talking $42 back for every dollar you spend.The answer might surprise you - it’s email marketing!Having a healthy email list can be the key to growing your business online the easiest way possible.The key to growing your email list?A lead magnet your ideal customer can’t wait to download!Learn how to create a lead magnet that will actually get opt-ins in today’s episode of the #CaptainCoderPodcast.Listen now on your favorite podcast app or at the link in my bio.

Imagine this scenario: your ideal customer went to their fellow entrepreneurs and friends and asked if anyone knew a “good” accountant, graphic designer, lawyer, social media manager, etc (insert-your-service-based-business-here). That ideal customer was given your name and three other people that they were told were all excellent. To help them decide whom they might want to work with, they visit all of your websites to get a feel for who you are.The About Us page (or Our Story page, depending on your personal preference) is literally the place to show how you stand out amongst the competition.But I see a lot of my clients make a few similar mistakes and leave some important details off of their About pages.How can you create an About page that can help take that ideal customer from investigating to ready to buy?Today we’re going to dive into some Dos and Don’ts and the best way to approach your About pageAnd pro tip: it’s not all about you.