The Likeable Expert Podcast

A twice-monthly marketing podcast on getting better clients more easily.

Give More to Get More 11/17/2025

Give More to Get More Business is about creating something of value so that others will pay for it. Understandably, that leads professionals to mostly focus on minimizing cost while maximizing revenue. In practice, it's a bit more complicated. The more value you give to clients, the less likely they are to leave and the more likely they are to tell others about you – both of which lower your marketing costs. Confused? Today's newsletter probably won't change that. But you never know... /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/39061790

Forest Gumped 11/02/2025

Forest Gumped I received an unwelcome surprise this week. Fortunately, nothing super-serious. Still, as today's newsletter explains, a good reminder of the importance of planning for occasional hiccups in our respective businesses. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/38878925

Most Things Don’t Matter 10/13/2025

Most Things Don’t Matter Running a business can feel overwhelming. So much to know and do and think about. The solution? Get a job. I'm kidding; don't do that. Instead, figure out what really matters and stop worrying about the rest. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/38566105

Bear Necessities 09/22/2025

Bear Necessities People like us – small professional service providers and independents – live in a word-of-mouth world. Much of our marketing occurs informally and without warning as we move throughout the day. Which means, as today's newsletter takes way too long getting around to explaining, you always need to be ready. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/38314000

Impersonal Personalization 09/07/2025

Impersonal Personalization Do you use much automation in your work? Me too. It's pretty much a necessity for small firms and solos. But at some point, too much of it defeats the purpose. Today's newsletter explains. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/38118180

I Scream for Ice Cream 08/26/2025

I Scream for Ice Cream Who's your perfect client? If you said "everyone," today's newsletter is for you. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/37958920

Nonobvious Pricing 08/12/2025

Nonobvious Pricing I never raise my fees. Really? Okay, no, not exactly. But sort of. Read on for more. Read off for less. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/37777265

Broken Newsletter Stats 07/26/2025

Broken Newsletter Stats This is issue #600. Only 400 more to go and you have my permission to unsubscribe. Speaking of which, if you publish a newsletter, you've probably noticed the statistics made available by your email marketing vendor (MailChimp, etc.). These can be fun to look at and, since they drop nicely into a spreadsheet, easy to take at face value. Today's newsletter explains why that's not a good idea and largely beside the point anyway. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/37561250

The Sound of One Hand Marketing (7/11/25) 07/14/2025

The Sound of One Hand Marketing (7/11/25) Here's a little marketing secret for us small professional service providers and solos: Consistency matters more than perfection. And yet, lots (lots) of individuals and even small firms pause their marketing when things get busy. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/37400650

Shake It Up 06/27/2025

Shake It Up We humans do many things that seemingly serve little practical purpose (insert your own Congress joke here). And yet, since that's a big part of what makes us human in the first place, taking deliberate steps to incorporate this kind of thing into your marketing it not a bad idea. Today's newsletter explains. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/37180205

Should I Stay or Should I Go? 06/16/2025

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Today's newsletter takes a look at a question that has plagued the working person since the beginning of time: Will they know I am lying if I take Friday as a sick day? Ha, ha, I am kidding. They will definitely know. Rather, I am speaking of this question: Should I stay in my job or go off and work for myself? /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/37025345

Late Night Lessons 06/04/2025

Late Night Lessons It may seem logical to copy "the big guys" when putting together your own marketing approach. After all, they are big and successful; they must know what they are doing, right? Well, yes... but. What works for them doesn't usually work for us. Today's newsletter explains... /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/36846840

Artificial (Lack Of) Intelligence (5/16/25) 05/19/2025

Artificial (Lack Of) Intelligence (5/16/25) Today's newsletter is about AI and the negative impact it is having on our collective ability to think and communicate. Granted, it's a bit longer than usual. So if you want to be ironic, feel free to copy and paste it into ChatGPT for a summary. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/36626450

Nobody Buys Process 04/29/2025

Nobody Buys Process For any business, everything visible to the outside world falls under the heading of "marketing. But it shouldn't be random. Today's newsletter explains how the things you choose to share can have a big impact on your success. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/36351690

Some Guys Have All The Luck 04/14/2025

Some Guys Have All The Luck This is issue number 593. Seven more and I get a toaster. Today we talk about luck – and why you want to ignore it when building your business. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/36121640

Beauty and the Beast 03/31/2025

Beauty and the Beast Most of the time, I offer suggestions about marketing things I think you should do. In today's newsletter, I share two recommendations of things you should not do. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/35932280

Passion Is A Nice-To-Have 03/17/2025

Passion Is A Nice-To-Have Are you passionate about the work you do? I'm glad. But the thing is, nobody but you really cares. In today's newsletter I explain why what you are especially good at – not what you love to do – is the shortest path to everything you want. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/35722080

Lessons From Eleven Newsletters 03/06/2025

Lessons From Eleven Newsletters Recently, I launched a new, second newsletter. I thought it would be easy. I was wrong. If you are likewise at the beginning stages – of a newsletter or anything else that requires putting yourself out there for all to see – today's issue is especially for you. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/35556065

Mind the Gap 02/10/2025

Mind the Gap Today's newsletter is not the least bit funny. So, if that's the only reason you read these each time, I recommend hitting delete now and instead watching this . Everyone else, read on for some AI-themed insights that may or may not be useful. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/35218545

Lessons From a Dishwasher 01/27/2025

Lessons From a Dishwasher Marketing your solo professional business effectively comes with a lot of moving parts ... not unlike a dishwasher. Confused? I don't blame you. Not interested? I don't blame you even more. For everyone else, today's newsletter awaits you below! /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/35022865

Give More to Get More 01/11/2025

Give More to Get More When it comes to solo professional success, finding paying clients is the name of the game. If you can't make that happen, not much else matters. But getting those paying clients – especially the ones who come back again and again – requires more than just being open for business. In today's newsletter, we look at some other things worth doing to start and keep the client ball rolling. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/34816490

Choice Is Overrated 01/02/2025

Choice Is Overrated Today’s newsletter is a little longer than usual. So, for those of you who are too busy to read it, I dropped it into ChatGPT and asked it to summarize the article: “Bald man wastes your time with dad jokes and tired marketing observations.” A bit harsh for a robot, if you ask me. But I can’t much argue with it. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/34694775

Judged By Our Judgement 12/09/2024

Judged By Our Judgement Professional service providers like us are in the advice-giving business. So if you want to be hired as one of those people, it's a good idea to offer prospective buyers a "free sample." /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/34346360

A Simple Writing Fix 11/25/2024

A Simple Writing Fix If you publish a newsletter, you are well ahead of the game. Still... there are some simple things you can do to make whatever you send way better. Today's newsletter shares one secret (shhhhh). /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/34133096

Total Recall 11/03/2024

Total Recall Do you publish a newsletter? Excellent. One thousand bonus points to you. But if that's all you are using your list for, you are missing out on some other opportunities. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/33762607

Time Is On My Side 10/22/2024

Time Is On My Side When it comes to time, we all have an equal amount (other than Keith Richards, who appears to have more than his fair share). Today's newsletter is about the small but often significant role time can play in your business. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/33563092

A Puzzling Situation 10/07/2024

A Puzzling Situation Yikes. Today's newsletter is kind of long. So if you're in a hurry, the point is simply this: figure out what you are naturally good at and find a way to turn that into your career. For everyone else, and now that those "super busy" people are gone, there's some good stuff below. And, admittedly, some of the usual time-wasting commentary, too. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/33359877

Game Time 09/24/2024

Game Time Today's newsletter is about dating. And dancing. And for those of you who actually care about marketing, the importance of getting things off to a quick start. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/33183687

Eye of the Hurricane 09/09/2024

Eye of the Hurricane Today's newsletter is about taking time to slow down and find the "spaces between." In my experience, that's where the biggest business leaps forward occur. /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/32969837

Very Superstitious 08/26/2024

Very Superstitious Working solo is terrific. But, all that time spent alone can lead us to concoct false stories from very little evidence. When that happens, it can throw everything off. Today's newsletter shares three suggestions for avoiding that. (Four, if you count this one: Avoid that!) /episode/index/show/michaelkatz/id/32737007

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