The Best Marketing Podcast Ever

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Join my free Christmas Content Workshop hereWatch the replay of my Big Fish Energy workshop here I used to think jealousy made me a hideous monster but now I think it’s one of the most useful pieces of information you can get about what you actually want.In this episode of The Best Marketing Podcast Ever, I’m talking about why jealousy (or, more accurately, envy) is a good thing and how to turn it into a plan. This conversation has come up more and more with my friends and clients. It’s also now part of my Big Fish Energy talks and workshops because it’s how I help people work out their goals.In this episode I coverThe real difference between jealousy and envy, and why I think “I want that too” isn’t a bad thingMy “good for you, and same for me” mantraWhy I got jealous of creators going on a Boots brand trip, and what it actually showed me I wantedWhy people resist the question “Who are you jealous of?” in my Big Fish Energy questionnaireWhy the thing you’re jealous of is rarely what you actually want (the swimming pool story)What to do when you’re jealous of someone speaking on stage but have no desire to speak on stage yourselfThe “5 whys” technique for getting to the real goal underneath your envyWhy you can get visibility for your business without a big talkWhy the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special has been making me envious for years, and what I’m doing about it this yearYour homework: notice it, write it down, get stuck into itKey takeawaysEnvy is information, not a flaw. It shows you what you want in your business and your life.Look below the surface. The thing you’re jealous of often isn’t the thing you actually want.Keep asking why. The 5 whys technique takes you from “I’m jealous of someone speaking on stage” to the real answer: wanting to be someone who’s confident, visible and taking action.Then take action. Once you know what you want, you can make a plan. For the rest of the week (or month, or year!), notice every time you feel jealous or envious, write it down, and dig into why. Message me when it happens!!

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Welcome to my first video podcast! Catching up on speaking at SISTALAND, the things I learnt at CreatorFest and what I'd pitch to speak there next year. I also talk about our Summer Content Sprint in The Best 90 Days Ever, my 10 minute marketing membership. You can sign up to join us here - https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/best90daysever

What is Atomicon? How do you pitch to speak there? What's the best advice for getting on that stage? I'm answering all your questions and sharing how I spoke on stage at Atomicon 2026! Join my marketing membership The Best 90 Days Ever here - https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/best90daysever Work with me on your Big Fish Energy goals here - https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/bigfishenergy

How to stop romanticising to the point of not taking action.Join the free Big Fish Energy Challenge here - https://noble-lab-369.myflodesk.com/arab5bzvr7 Find out more about The Best 90 Days Ever here - https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/best90daysever

Sign up for Xero ⁠⁠⁠using my link here⁠⁠⁠! http://www.xero.com/hicommunications Sign up to The Best 90 Days Ever here! https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/best90daysever Are you feeling the pressure to have your entire year figured out before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve? In this episode I break down my stress-free approach to annual planning.Learn why I waits until January to start her own strategy and discover the five essential categories you need to map out to ensure your marketing supports your life—not the other way around. In this episode we cover: The Permission to Wait: Why you don’t need to "hit the ground running" on January 1st to have a successful year. The "Holidays First" Rule: Why mapping out vacations, school holidays, and birthdays is the non-negotiable first step of any marketing plan. Dates Set in Stone: Factoring in pre-determined events like public speaking engagements and recurring membership launches. Audience Growth Strategy: How to plan lead magnets and challenges before your big launches so you aren't always selling to the same group of people. Business Milestones: Using anniversaries and awareness days to create easy, pre-planned content.

Sign up for Xero ⁠⁠using my link here⁠⁠! http://www.xero.com/hicommunications Sign up to The Best 90 Days Ever here! https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/best90daysever Episode 166: Being a Person Who is OrganisedIn this episode, Hannah Isted explores what it truly means to be "organised" in business and marketing. While she admits she hasn't always felt like an organised person, she shares the specific systems and mindset shifts that allow her to stay consistent and avoid the overwhelm of content creation.Hannah explains that organisation starts with a clear structure, beginning with a year-long marketing overview that identifies upcoming launches, holidays, and growth goals. She emphasises that planning ahead makes a person much more likely to follow through with their intentions. To support this, she highlights the importance of content batching sessions, which provide a "bank" of ideas and posts for an entire quarter, effectively removing the daily stress of wondering what to say.A central theme of the episode is the necessity of a dedicated "home" for your content. Hannah shares her personal reliance on Trello for organizing launches and seasonal content, though she notes that tools like Notion, Google Docs, or even a large sheet of paper can work as long as a consistent system is in place. She also discusses the benefits of using templates in Adobe Express or Canva, explaining how keeping these projects labeled and organised saves significant time when repurposing content from previous years.The episode concludes with a call to make a conscious mindset shift toward becoming an organised person. Hannah encourages listeners to gather their scattered ideas from notebooks and phone memos into one central place where they will actually be used. By putting these systems in place now, business owners can ensure that "future them" is grateful for the preparation and ease created for the year ahead.The Best 90 Days Ever: The next round of this marketing membership starts January 1st, featuring daily 10-minute tasks, goal setting, and community support via Slack.Year of Marketing in a Day: An exclusive workshop for members held on Thursday, January 8th, to plan out the entire year.Content Batching Session: A three-hour deep dive on Wednesday, January 21st, to create a quarter’s worth of marketing material.Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Xero, the small business accounting software designed to help you save time on admin and stay on top of your finances.

Sign up for Xero ⁠using my link here⁠! http://www.xero.com/hicommunications Sign up to The Best 90 Days Ever here! https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/best90daysever The Best Marketing Podcast Ever - 165. The Art of UnderthinkingHost: Hannah Isted In this episode, Hannah Isted dives into the concept of The Art of Underthinking and how it is the key to overcoming procrastination, perfectionism, and the common business paralysis that comes from overthinking your marketing and content.Hannah shares her personal struggles with overthinking, from the ironic procrastination of recording this very episode to worrying about wind speed after a greenhouse incident. She argues that the problem isn't the thinking itself, but the resulting lack of action.Discover how simple boundary-setting tools, like a 10-minute timer and the structured approach of The Best 90 Days Ever program, can help you bypass the overthinking cycle, get content out quickly, and achieve your business goals.Underthinking is about Action: The core message is that perfectionism and overthinking often lead to procrastination and "paralysis," stopping you from doing the thing you need to do. Underthinking is the deliberate choice to take action instead.The Power of the 10-Minute Timer: Set a timer (like the yellow one used in The Best 90 Days Ever) for just 10 minutes to focus on an intimidating task without overthinking it. This is how you "get past that stuckness" and get out of your own way.The Marketing Overthinking Cycle: Many business owners believe marketing must take a long time, so they don't set limits, which makes the task take longer, thus confirming their initial belief and leading to overwhelm.Practical Underthinking Tips for Content:Simplify Visuals: Don't overthink the look of your content. For a carousel post, consider using the same photo for every slide to save significant time.Reuse Templates: Duplicate a successful social media template (e.g., in Adobe Express), only change the text, and post it again to avoid designing from scratch.Be 10% More Annoying: Stop overthinking the need to be repetitive. Hannah's most popular presentation slide was "Be 10% More Annoying" as a call to action—most of your audience won't notice the repetition anyway.Practice in Life: Practice making quick, low-stakes "underthinking decisions" in your personal life, such as deciding what dessert to have or what route to take on a walk. Hannah even successfully haggled £20 off her Christmas tree by choosing not to overthink it.

Sign up for Xero using my link here! http://www.xero.com/hicommunications Join my free Christmas content workshop here - https://noble-lab-369.myflodesk.com/ze3s8lznjxThe Best Marketing Podcast Ever - Episode 164: The content system that will save your business this ChristmasIn this episode, Hannah shares the "Christmas Content System" she has developed that has been a game-changer for reducing stress and saving time during the busy festive season. The goal of the system is to create a foundation of reusable content that saves "future you" time and allows for strategic flexibility in December.The Purpose of the SystemSaves Time and Prevents Stress: The end of the year can be stressful, especially for product businesses focused on sales or service businesses trying to make their offers seasonal. This system is built to help you look after your future self.Enables Flexibility: Having a bank of ready-to-go content allows you to choose your strategy for the upcoming year—whether you decide to push hard on launches (like last year) or pull back into "maintenance mode" (like this year).Creative Freedom: When the foundation is sorted, you gain the brain space to come up with new, creative ideas.Focus on Audience Sentiment: Even if your service isn't seasonal, the way your audience feels will be seasonal. The system helps you address their current thoughts around end-of-year tasks, Christmas content, or January planning.Building Your Content SystemChoose Your Platform: Hannah uses a Trello board to store all her festive content. Members of The Best 90 Days Ever also use platforms like Notion, Air Table, and Google Docs. The key is to pick a platform that works for you.Capture Reusable Concepts: The system is for capturing content ideas that resonated with people in previous years.Go Back Through Your Work: Look at content from previous festive seasons that either grew your audience or resulted in sales.Repurpose, Don't Just Copy: You don't have to copy and paste old posts. Use the system to save a good concept, hook, or visual that can be reused and updated (e.g., turning an old idea into a new Reel).Current Offers and PromotionsFree Workshop: Join the free workshop, "Help, I've got no Christmas content" , on Wednesday, November 19th, at 12:00 UK time. It's designed to help you create a library of content you can reuse every year. If you miss it, you can still sign up for the recording.The Best 90 Days Ever Membership: The next round of the membership starts on January 1st. You can join the wait list to receive a weekly email with one of the tasks currently being done by members to get a taste of the community.Episode SponsorThis episode is sponsored by Xero. Xero helps small business owners streamline and supercharge their business by simplifying admin like invoicing, expenses, and chasing payments. Use Xero to get paid twice as fast and make tax simple.