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My Weekly Marketing

My Weekly Marketing

Hosted by Janice Hostager

BusinessMarketingInterviews guests

Episodes

170

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Join conversations about marketing, business, and life-in-between with marketing strategist Janice Hostager and a variety of world-class entrepreneurs! We will fill you with step-by-step training, marketing strategy, and life experiences from where life and business intersect. We'd love to have you join the fun!

Listen to episodes

60 recent
August 18, 2026Episode 17018 min

What to Hand to AI, and What to Never Let It Touch

A robot answered the phone when I called a local shop, and it instantly reminded me how fragile trust is in small business marketing. That very first “hello” is not a throwaway moment, it’s a brand promise. When we automate the front door of our business, we might save time, but we can also teach our best customers that they don’t matter enough to reach a real person. I walk through the question that matters more than “Should I use AI?” which is: am I handing the right work to AI? You’ll hear the four areas where AI actually shines for marketing and operations: finding patterns in customer feedback, crunching messy marketing data, creating outlines and first drafts, and repurposing one piece of content into many. I also share how to prompt smarter so you don’t end up with generic AI output and how tools like Claude and ChatGPT can sound more like you when you give them the right inputs. Then we get into the guardrails: what AI should never touch. I explain why you cannot outsource judgment, why real customer conversations are the raw material you must protect, and why AI can’t be the final “does it sound like me” check if you want your brand voice to stay distinct. I wrap with practical, creative uses like having AI challenge your sales page, role-play objections, simplify muddy messaging, and spot gaps in your content plan. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Show Notes

August 11, 2026Episode 16911 min

Why Interested Buyers Go Quiet

They told you they were interested. They showed up for the call. They maybe even said, “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.” Then the DM goes quiet and the email thread dies. If you’ve ever stared at your inbox wondering what you did wrong, I walk you through a more useful truth: most of the time, they didn’t reject you. They just never made a decision. In this episode, we unpack the three biggest reasons warm leads stall, and how to fix each one without sounding desperate or pushy. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Show Notes

August 4, 2026Episode 16814 min

Four Marketing Rules I Threw Out (and Why You Might Too)

In this episode, I break down four pieces of marketing advice I used to treat as law and explain why they stop working for me, and for my small business clients. I've replaced them with a simpler approach built on audience fit, owned channels, and small tests that let the results guide the next move instead of trends or best practices. Have a listen! Send us Fan Mail Support the show Show Notes

July 28, 2026Episode 16731 min

How to Send Emails that Stand Out with R.J. Talyor

Marketing is starting to look the same everywhere, and AI is accelerating the slide toward safe, average choices. But that's not what good marketing is. In this episode, we dig into what the data says about email performance and what we can change right now to make our messages connect on a human level. I’m joined by RJ Talyor, Founder and CEO of Backstroke, who’s spent decades in digital marketing and email, and built AI tools that predict what people click. He shares insight on what's really working in email marketing. Send us Fan Mail Download the FREE "What Do You Do?" Formula Guide here. Support the show Show Notes

July 21, 2026Episode 16651 min

How To Build A Brand Story Customers Trust with John Elbing

We are wired to love stories and they are a powerful marketing tool. In this episode, we talk with storytelling and branding expert John Elbing about why most marketing falls flat when it starts with the business instead of the buyer. We share a simple three-step framework that helps people recognize themselves, trust what they see, and picture the outcome before they commit. Click to listen! Send us Fan Mail Download the FREE "What Do You Do?" Formula Guide here. Support the show Show Notes

July 14, 2026Episode 16518 min

How to Write Emails That Turn Subscribers Into Buyers

Your sales email can be perfectly written and still not sell. If it reads like an inventory list of what's included in your offer, people will skim it, shrug it off, and move on–even when your offer is genuinely good. In this episode, we'll dig into the real reason this happens: buyers don’t get excited about modules, coaching calls, and workbooks. They get excited when they can picture a better version of themselves and believe it’s possible for them. We'll walk through how buying decisions actually happen, starting with emotion and identity, then with logic. You’ll learn how to flip the order so your copywriting builds desire first and then uses the specifics to make that decision feel safe. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Show Notes

July 7, 2026Episode 16430 min

How to Sell Something People Want to Avoid with Jermaine Ee

In this episode, I talk with Jermaine Ee, founder of Heirlight, about how to market products and services people actively avoid, using will creation and estate planning as the clearest example. We dig into trust, storytelling, and small first steps that help customers move from “I’ll do it later” to real action. We also cover: problem aware versus solution aware buyers and why education alone fails the real reasons people avoid wills beyond money, including beliefs and past experiences life-change moments that make people receptive, like moving, kids, job changes, and loss using stories to reduce fear and help people see the benefit on the other side trust as the main metric and how early drop-off signals a broken journey using AI tools to prioritize tasks, reduce clutter, and create momentum choosing the “entry price” tasks that come with building the life and business you want growth tradeoffs between B2B partnerships and direct-to-consumer marketing, including CAC to LTV math Send us Fan Mail Download the FREE "What Do You Do?" Formula Guide here. Support the show Show Notes

June 23, 2026Episode 16334 min

Real Reasons Your Pricing Isn't Working

Pricing can feel like the simplest lever in a small business, but it’s also the one that messes with your head the fastest. When a prospect disappears after you send a proposal, it’s easy to assume the number is the problem and start discounting, adding payment plans, or stuffing your offer with bonuses. I take a different angle here: I’ve become convinced that pricing often wears a mask, and until we name what’s underneath, changing the rate won’t fix the real friction. We walk through five common “pricing problems” that usually aren’t pricing problems at all–they are just wearing disguises. Along the way, I share simple diagnostic questions you can use on your own business, plus the “two-week vacation” test that reveals whether your pricing or business model is actually supporting your life. Send us Fan Mail Download the FREE "What Do You Do?" Formula Guide here. Support the show Show Notes

June 16, 2026Episode 16235 min

How To Build Authority with AI with Cyndee Woolley

What happens when AI starts deciding who gets seen, trusted, and recommended? Whether we like it or not, tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews are already shaping how people discover businesses. The question is this: when AI goes looking for information about you, what story is it finding? In this episode, I sit down with PR strategist Cindy Woolley, founder of C2 Communications, to talk about the surprising connection between public relations, AI search, and business visibility. We dig into why credibility matters more than ever, how AI determines who sounds trustworthy, and what business owners can do now to strengthen their digital footprint. Cindy shares what happened when she tested AI-generated press releases (spoiler: they were terrible), why AI should be treated as a tool—not a replacement for human expertise—and how to create an authority blueprint that helps both people and AI understand what you do. We also cover practical strategies like optimizing your LinkedIn profile, using podcast appearances to build authority, creating thought leadership content with real-world insights, and leveraging third-party validation through media mentions, partnerships, and expert contributions. If you've been wondering how to stay visible, credible, and relevant in a world where AI is becoming the gatekeeper, this conversation is for you. For more information about , visit our show notes at myweeklymarketing.com/162. Send us Fan Mail Download the FREE "What Do You Do?" Formula Guide here. Support the show Show Notes

June 9, 2026Episode 16129 min

Bots Don't Buy: How to Spot and Stop Fake Ad Traffic with Rich Kahn

What if a big slice of your ad budget never reaches a real human? If you've ever stared at your digital ads dashboard thinking “the clicks are there, so why is nobody buying?” you’re not alone and you’re not crazy. You might think there's a problem with your content or creative. But sometimes the problem isn’t your offer or your copy. Sometimes it’s ad fraud, click fraud, and invalid traffic quietly polluting your funnel. In this episode, I sat down with Rich Kahn, co-founder and CEO of Anura.io, to put plain language around a messy topic. Rich explains how fraud shows up for small businesses, what the common warning signs look like (high traffic, low conversions, leads that don’t respond, people who swear they never filled out your form), and why “good” KPIs like click-through rate can be dangerously easy for fraudsters to game. You’ll also hear how fraud can hide in places people assume are safe, including partner networks and even “organic” traffic. Send us Fan Mail Download the FREE "What Do You Do?" Formula Guide here. Support the show Show Notes

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