075 - Kate Bradley Chernis: When You Have No Off Button (VIDEO)
Why do we often put up a front in our business lives to disguise our real selves? In this episode, Emily and Kate Bradley Chernis, Co-Founder and CEO of Lately, are breaking down that front for a refreshing take on being yourself in the business world. Plus, tips on navigating the psychological impacts of pandemic PTSD.
Whether you’re pitching VCs, talking to your team, or trying to appeal to your audience and customers, it’s okay to let people behind the curtain. So why do we often put up a front in our business lives in order to appear professional?
And how do you send a hug over Zoom?
Garyvee has used Lately AI to automatically post engaging video clips on social media.
Kate Bradley Chernis is Co-Founder and CEO of Lately, a startup backed tech powerhouses including angel investor Jason Calacanis with the LAUNCH Accelerator and Lately user Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerMedia. Kate and Emily Binder broke down the front for a refreshing take on being yourself in the business world.
With her XM radio DJ, fiction writing, and marketing agency background, Kate knows good words. She shares tips for the most effective language for your sales and marketing copy and social posts.
More topics include startup advice from two women entrepreneurs and navigating the psychological impacts of pandemic PTSD.
What is Lately AI?
Lately is an AI-powered social media marketing platform that helps marketers scale their publishing and reach. Lately’s artificial intelligence uses your historical social media data to learn what works with your audience and what to post next.
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About Lately and Kately
Marketers can use Lately AI to instantly transform podcasts, videos, and any online news articles or blogs into dozens of social posts that are automatically pre-vetted to resonate with your target audience.
Jason Calacanis interviews Kate Bradley Chernis about her company Lately on This Week in Startups.
As a former marketing agency owner, Kate initially created the idea for Lately out of spreadsheets for then-client, Walmart, and got them a 130% ROI, year-over-year for three years.
Prior to founding Lately, Kate served 20 million listeners as Music Director and on-air host at Sirius/XM. She’s also an award-winning radio producer, engineer, and voice talent with 25 years of national broadcast communications, brand-building, sales, and marketing expertise.
TOPICS AND TIMESTAMPS:
02:30: Meet Kate Bradley Chernis and step behind the curtain with Emily
05:05: The kindness of strangers and the "translation of a hug"
08:12: Things that are keeping us sane during quarantine and the stress of the pandemic, and the value of self-care
11:30: How the pandemic is impacting body language, facial expressions, and our ability to connect with customers, friends, and family in a virtual space
Lately is an AI-powered social media marketing platform that helps marketers scale their publishing and reach. It can also transcribe podcasts and cut videos into short clips for social.
12:53: Diving into Kate's background and her experience with XM radio
18:55: There's a lot of VC money floating around there is possibly a hunger to do more and invest more to seek entertainment, excitement, and positive influence. Furthermore, companies naturally present themselves as strong or weak investments based on how they perform under pandemic conditions.
Kate Bradley Chernis and This Week in Startups Host and Lately Investor, Jason Calacanis with fellow LAUNCH classmates Taylor Monks and Max Coleman
"If you're surviving now as a company, you're suddenly very attractive. Because this is the hardest time to survive, so it's clear cut. You don't really have to explain the value of your company if you're making it in a pandemic: it's already there." - Kate Bradley Chernis
Most long-form content like blogs, videos and podcasts takes hours to create, then collect dust. Get exponentially more eyeballs on your hard-earned work by unlocking the value with Lately’s AI.
22:00: All about Lately.
It takes the average human 12 minutes to write a social post. In 1.8 seconds, Lately's AI will give you dozens. Multiply that times the hourly salary of any content creator on your team, and you have mind blowing time and money savings.
26:25: Showing personality can be difficult when it comes to your brand and social media.
Related episode: Robert Sofia: What Your Brand Should Say on Social Media
28:00: People spend more time on Facebook's platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp than any behavior outside of family, work, or sleep. That makes for a lot of data for marketers to comb through.
"That's the goal, it’s to learn what people care about, right? Because if you don't know what they care about, then it's pointless. And as I learned over the years, what typical marketing tools look at are numbers, and people can't read the numbers or translate them, and this is a constant problem." - Kate Bradley Chernis
33:30: We had to ask, what does Kate, a fiction major, think about the Oxford Comma?
34:00: Opening the door to your audience and social media trends: what goes viral and what types of posts do Facebook or LinkedIn algorithms favor?
40:00:
What books does Kate recommend?
Prior to founding Lately, Kate Bradley Chernis served 20 million listeners as Music Director and on-air host at Sirius/XM on “The Loft”. She’s also an award-winning radio producer, engineer, and voice talent.
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073 - Mikal Abdullah: Problem Solving With a Jiu Jitsu Master
Mikal Abdullah is an entrepreneur, Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu coach, and competitor, founder of Aces Jiu-Jitsu Club, U.S. Army Veteran, and professional fighter. Mikal’s diverse background makes for some very interesting conversation in this latest episode. Emily and Mikal talked about an array of topics including: entrepreneurship, problem-solving, branding, the military mindset, leadership, and more.
How does the philosophy of Jiu-Jitsu apply to solving other problems? Mikal Abdullah is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach, competitor, founder of Aces Jiu-Jitsu Club, U.S. Army Veteran, and professional fighter. Mikal’s diverse background makes for some fascinating conversation about an array of topics, including: entrepreneurship, problem-solving from a martial arts approach, branding, the military mindset, leadership, and more.
After honorably serving in the U.S. Army, Mikal started training Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. He has competed and won in competitions around the world. Mikal now owns an industry-leading group of companies, including facilities, gear companies, and now an online training academy. Mikal also enjoys helping other business owners and entrepreneurs to reach their goals.
Topics:
Mikal Abdullah is an entrepreneur, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach and competitor, founder of Aces Jiu Jitsu Club, U.S. Army Veteran, and professional fighter.
02:00: Meet Mikal Abdullah, BJJ master
03:13: What is the purpose and thought behind Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)? Why do people practice it?
04:40: Overcoming obstacles: you have to be in a clear frame of mind on the mat and in life.
07:09: What can people’s actions and tactics on the Jiu-Jitsu mat tell you about how they handle problems in real life?
“We call it a Jiu-Jitsu handshake...when you start to roll with each other, how they handle obstacles is how they handle obstacles. If they shy and wilt under pressure, then that is how they handle things.” - Mikal Abdullah
07:53: What do 360 reviews and rolling on the mat have in common?
“One of the greatest superpowers you can ever have is the ability to see yourself as others see you. The other is to see yourself the way you truly are.” - Mikal Abdullah
09:24: While perception can be a weakness, it’s also very important to be aware of in business, relationships, and Jiu-Jitsu.
10:39: Middle of funnel, top of funnel marketing, and Mikal’s company, Aces Jiu Jitsu Club International.
“When it comes to middle of funnel marketing, I think that community is a big deal. Conversations are king.” - Mikal Abdullah
13:00: Some aspects of the military can be incorporated into your marketing strategy. AARs or After Action Reviews allow for you to sort mission aspects for review and posterity. This inspired Mikal’s strategy of tagging conversations for review in defining the customer journey and their marketing/selling process.
Mikel’s marketing background is focused on top of funnel and middle of funnel strategy. “Branding is always adjusting or evolving.” - Mikel Abdullah
15:20: Branding: much more than just logo design
“As humans, when we use a compass to find a bearing and identify where we want to go and where we want to be, we often start walking, and we start moving in a curve or a zig-zag. It’s important to do a repeated check-in on where we are. For us, our branding is always adjusting or evolving.” - Mikal Abdullah
19:04: How do you form a subconscious or unconscious connection to your target audience? The ultimate success is connecting with your customer on this level.
20:26: Netflix, subscription businesses, DTC and virtual offerings. How did Mikal’s company Aces Jiu Jitsu pivot at the onset of the pandemic?
24:30: Harness the power to scale your business. Sometimes entrepreneurs aren’t thinking big enough at the beginning of their business journey.
26:17: The worst interview question: where do you see yourself in five years? Sometimes that can be a limiting approach to conversation and goal setting.
30:10: Words and language matter.
“We are attempting to communicate so many ideas in just a few words, and it’s so important to be effective and efficient so that you don’t have to go backward and correct things, or correct them as little as possible.” - Mikal Abdullah
34:00: Mikal‘s book recommendations
067 - JJ Ramberg: Goodpods - What Your Friends are Listening To
Guest: JJ Ramberg is the co-founder of Goodpods, the new app where you can follow your friends, influencers, and favorite podcasters to see what they're listening to. JJ spent 13 years as an anchor on MSNBC and also co-founded the coupon site Goodshop.com. She is the author of two books -- the Wall Street Journal immediate bestseller, It's Your Business, and the children's book The Startup Club.
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Intro: We all love a little “good” in our lives. In this episode, host Emily Binder and JJ dive into the optimism and simplicity that JJ’s app Goodpods offers to its users. The app provides users a way to give and get recommendations for podcasts from their friends and fellow users in a world where podcasting is becoming more and more popular.
Emily and JJ continue their conversation to discuss the ins and outs of building an app, making money, podcast advertising, the podcasts they’re loving right now, and more.
Topics:
0:55: Meet JJ Ramberg
1:20: What is Goodpods?: Gravitating towards goodness.
“At its core, it’s just a way to find great new podcasts, and for podcasts to find new listeners.” - JJ Ramberg
3:45: Goodpods is Goodreads for podcasts. Download the app and claim your handle now. Follow @emilybinder and @JJ on Goodpods.
Co-founders and siblings, JJ and Ken Ramberg
5:00: The origins of Goodpods. JJ co-founded Goodpods with her brother Ken. They are both big podcast listeners.
“In 2019, 50% of the US population has at least listened to a podcast, and a third of them listen at least monthly.” Via Edison Research
6:05: These days, podcasting offers so much more than entertainment. More people are turning to podcasts for up to date news and information about what’s happening in the world, and sharing joy with those around them.
8:30: Podcasts are “low commitment.” You can consume information and entertainment more simply and easily. It’s a short-form content, and that’s the opposite of what we’re experiencing on social media.
9:20: Social media can be a negative space these days, linked to depression and addiction. But podcasting offers positivity, education, and entertainment.
10:21: Sharing podcast recommendations from the app: Ologies hosted by Alie Ward (check out the COVID-19 episode entitled Virology)
12:10 JJ loves Cool Mules podcast from CANADALAND and 10% Happier with Dan Harris
“These conversations are happening everywhere. We’ve just codified it, so you don’t have to remember them anymore.” - JJ Ramberg
15:55: Designing the Goodpods app: “We wanted it to be familiar” - JJ Ramberg
16:50: Beta testing: Goodpods is constantly adopting the app to be as simple and user friendly as possible.
17:01: So how does Goodpods make money? As a listener, a lot of people fast forward through ads. Is podcast advertising in a good place? Is it effective?
19:00 Podcast advertising is going to change in the coming years. Emily recommends: Six Pixels of Separation #700 – Seth Godin on Podcasting
“It’s not about how many people are listening, but what is the quality of the audience. Are they interested in a really niche topic? Because this medium lets you get so niche.”
21:20: Discussing parasocial relationships. Why do we sometimes feel like we are friends with podcasters, tv characters, etc.?
22:00: Growing podcast viewership is often the number one goal or metric for a podcaster. What is the best way to promote a new or existing podcast?
23:58: Emily and JJ discuss “Calls to Action,” or CTAs. It’s tough to get a reaction sometimes; you have to make things as easy as possible for the listener.
25:20: There are 800,000 podcasts. Don’t try to compete with the top podcasts on the charts, compete within your niche, and build the target audience for your specific brand.
“We weren't trying to be everything to everybody. We were just trying to be what we’re supposed to be for our audience.” - JJ Ramberg
28:38: JJ’s podcast recommendations: WeCrashed, a podcast about the rise and fall of WeWork, and the Ten Percent Happier Podcast with Dan Harris.
Goodpods is always looking for feedback and suggestions for their app. If you would like to submit a comment or suggestion, email JJ at jj (at) goodpods (dot) com.
Goodpods Co-Founder JJ Ramberg
041 - Don't Podfade - Phoebe Mroczek: How You Do One Thing is How You Do Everything
Guest: Phoebe Mroczek of Unbecoming Podcast and New To (Austin) Podcast
Topics: Podcasting, the business of podcasting, entrepreneurs, consulting, brain picking (ugh), commitment, intimacy through audio content
Phoebe Mroczek hosts Unbecoming Podcast and New To Podcast (a show about moving to Austin)
Hear Phoebe and Emily discuss:
Podfading - the overall mortality rate of podcasts or “podfade” comes in at a remarkable 50%
Phoebe Mroczek:
Phoebe Mroczek is a podcaster and marketing strategist who helps online entrepreneurs create a profitable business that is an honest reflection of who they are and what they want most.
ABOUT Phoebe:
She is the host of Unbecoming, a podcast and nationally-syndicated radio show that helps entrepreneurs release the judgments and beliefs holding them back from living a more meaningful life. Her show reaches 350,000+ listeners per month from 40+ countries, 16 AM/FM stations in 20 cities nationwide and across 20 Internet platforms.
She built and ran a six-figure online marketing business for several years before realizing that her real passion was in helping entrepreneurs amplify their message and have a greater impact by being more of themselves.
Phoebe believes that while what we do in the world is important, we’re meant to do so much more in life than just work. As an curious explorer and recovering perfectionist, she’s traveled to 65 countries on 6 continents, been cage diving with great white sharks, camped in the Serengeti and motorbiked across 15 countries in Europe.