#Email Marketing Automation Mistakes

[inklingdd]

7 Costly Marketing Automation Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Strategy

Marketing automation is a game-changer for businesses looking to streamline their marketing efforts, nurture leads, and increase conversions. However, if not implemented correctly, it can become a costly mistake that damages your brand, frustrates your audience, and wastes valuable resources.

To ensure your automation strategy is effective, avoid these seven common mistakes that could be ruining your marketing efforts.

1. Failing to Define a Clear Strategy

Many businesses jump into marketing automation without a well-defined strategy. Simply automating random tasks won’t yield results—it can actually create confusion and inefficiencies.

Why It’s a Problem

Leads receive uncoordinated and irrelevant messages.

Automation fails to align with overall business objectives.

Marketing efforts become scattered, reducing effectiveness.

How to Fix It

Clearly define your marketing goals before setting up automation.

Map out your customer journey and identify key touchpoints for automation.

Regularly review and adjust your strategy based on performance data.

2. Sending the Same Message to Everyone

One of the biggest advantages of marketing automation is segmentation, yet many businesses send the same generic messages to all their leads. This lack of personalization reduces engagement and conversions.

Why It’s a Problem

Customers receive irrelevant content and lose interest.

Engagement rates drop, leading to wasted marketing efforts.

Your brand appears disconnected from customer needs.

How to Fix It

Segment your audience based on demographics, behaviors, and interests.

Personalize messages by using lead data such as name, past purchases, and interactions.

Deliver targeted content that addresses specific pain points of each segment.

3. Overloading Leads with Too Many Emails

Automation makes it easy to send frequent emails, but too much communication can overwhelm leads and drive them away. Bombarding prospects with constant promotions can harm your brand’s reputation.

Why It’s a Problem

High email frequency leads to increased unsubscribe rates.

Your messages may be marked as spam, reducing deliverability.

Leads feel overwhelmed and disengage from your brand.

How to Fix It

Establish a consistent and balanced email schedule.

Focus on quality over quantity—only send valuable and relevant content.

Give leads control over their email preferences and frequency.

4. Ignoring Lead Nurturing

Not all leads are ready to make a purchase immediately. If you focus only on converting leads without nurturing them, you risk losing potential customers who need more time to build trust in your brand.

Why It’s a Problem

Leads who aren’t nurtured properly may never convert.

Your brand misses opportunities to establish long-term relationships.

Potential customers turn to competitors who offer better engagement.

How to Fix It

Set up automated lead nurturing campaigns with educational content.

Offer value through blog posts, webinars, case studies, and industry insights.

Track lead engagement and adjust content to fit their stage in the buyer’s journey.

5. Not Aligning Sales and Marketing Teams

Marketing automation works best when sales and marketing teams collaborate. If these teams aren’t aligned, leads may receive mixed messages or fall through the cracks.

Why It’s a Problem

Poor communication leads to lost sales opportunities.

Leads may get inconsistent messaging, leading to confusion.

Marketing teams may pass unqualified leads to sales, wasting time and effort.

How to Fix It

Establish clear lead qualification criteria agreed upon by both teams.

Use a shared CRM system where marketing and sales can track lead progress.

Hold regular meetings to discuss lead generation and conversion strategies.

6. Ignoring Analytics and Optimization

Many businesses set up automation workflows and forget about them. Without regular analysis and optimization, campaigns become outdated and ineffective over time.

Why It’s a Problem

Poor-performing campaigns continue running, wasting resources.

Opportunities for improvement are missed.

Leads receive outdated, irrelevant, or ineffective messaging.

How to Fix It

Monitor key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

Conduct A/B testing on subject lines, content, and CTAs to improve performance.

Regularly update automation workflows based on data insights.

7. Not Cleaning and Updating Your Contact List

A common mistake in marketing automation is failing to maintain an updated contact list. Outdated or inactive contacts lower engagement rates and harm email deliverability.

Why It’s a Problem

Emails bounce or get marked as spam, reducing deliverability.

Sending messages to inactive contacts wastes time and money.

Poor list hygiene leads to low engagement and fewer conversions.

How to Fix It

Regularly remove inactive or unengaged contacts from your list.

Use re-engagement campaigns to win back dormant leads.

Ensure new leads are properly validated before adding them to your automation system.

Conclusion

Marketing automation can be a powerful tool when used correctly. However, making these costly mistakes can ruin your strategy and hurt your lead generation efforts. By defining a clear strategy, personalizing your messages, nurturing leads, and continuously optimizing your campaigns, you can maximize your marketing automation’s effectiveness.

Avoid these common pitfalls, and you’ll build a strong, automated marketing system that drives engagement, boosts conversions, and ultimately helps grow your business.

FAQs

1. How can I improve my marketing automation strategy?

Focus on audience segmentation, personalization, and data-driven optimization to refine your automation processes.

2. How often should I review my marketing automation campaigns?

It’s best to analyze performance metrics and optimize workflows every three to six months.

3. What’s the biggest mistake businesses make with marketing automation?

The biggest mistake is failing to personalize messages, leading to low engagement and ineffective campaigns.

4. How can I prevent my emails from being marked as spam?

Avoid excessive messaging, personalize your content, and clean your email list regularly to maintain good email deliverability.

5. Is marketing automation suitable for small businesses?

Yes! Marketing automation helps small businesses save time, nurture leads efficiently, and improve overall marketing performance.

By avoiding these costly mistakes, you can create a smarter, more effective marketing automation strategy that delivers real results for your business.

Avoid these 7 costly marketing automation mistakes that can ruin your strategy. Learn how to improve personalization, lead nurturing, and campaign optimization for better results.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI can’t do your job

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in SAN DIEGO at MYSTERIOUS GALAXY on Mar 24, and in CHICAGO with PETER SAGAL on Apr 2. More tour dates here.

AI can't do your job, but an AI salesman (Elon Musk) can convince your boss (the USA) to fire you and replace you (a federal worker) with a chatbot that can't do your job:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/amid-job-cuts-doge-accelerates-rollout-of-ai-tool-to-automate-government

If you pay attention to the hype, you'd think that all the action on "AI" (an incoherent grab-bag of only marginally related technologies) was in generating text and images. Man, is that ever wrong. The AI hype machine could put every commercial illustrator alive on the breadline and the savings wouldn't pay the kombucha budget for the million-dollar-a-year techies who oversaw Dall-E's training run. The commercial market for automated email summaries is likewise infinitesimal.

The fact that CEOs overestimate the size of this market is easy to understand, since "CEO" is the most laptop job of all laptop jobs. Having a chatbot summarize the boss's email is the 2025 equivalent of the 2000s gag about the boss whose secretary printed out the boss's email and put it in his in-tray so he could go over it with a red pen and then dictate his reply.

The smart AI money is long on "decision support," whereby a statistical inference engine suggests to a human being what decision they should make. There's bots that are supposed to diagnose tumors, bots that are supposed to make neutral bail and parole decisions, bots that are supposed to evaluate student essays, resumes and loan applications.

The narrative around these bots is that they are there to help humans. In this story, the hospital buys a radiology bot that offers a second opinion to the human radiologist. If they disagree, the human radiologist takes another look. In this tale, AI is a way for hospitals to make fewer mistakes by spending more money. An AI assisted radiologist is less productive (because they re-run some x-rays to resolve disagreements with the bot) but more accurate.

In automation theory jargon, this radiologist is a "centaur" – a human head grafted onto the tireless, ever-vigilant body of a robot

Of course, no one who invests in an AI company expects this to happen. Instead, they want reverse-centaurs: a human who acts as an assistant to a robot. The real pitch to hospital is, "Fire all but one of your radiologists and then put that poor bastard to work reviewing the judgments our robot makes at machine scale."

No one seriously thinks that the reverse-centaur radiologist will be able to maintain perfect vigilance over long shifts of supervising automated process that rarely go wrong, but when they do, the error must be caught:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/01/human-in-the-loop/#monkey-in-the-middle

The role of this "human in the loop" isn't to prevent errors. That human's is there to be blamed for errors:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/30/a-neck-in-a-noose/#is-also-a-human-in-the-loop

The human is there to be a "moral crumple zone":

https://estsjournal.org/index.php/ests/article/view/260

The human is there to be an "accountability sink":

https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/

But they're not there to be radiologists.

This is bad enough when we're talking about radiology, but it's even worse in government contexts, where the bots are deciding who gets Medicare, who gets food stamps, who gets VA benefits, who gets a visa, who gets indicted, who gets bail, and who gets parole.

That's because statistical inference is intrinsically conservative: an AI predicts the future by looking at its data about the past, and when that prediction is also an automated decision, fed to a Chaplinesque reverse-centaur trying to keep pace with a torrent of machine judgments, the prediction becomes a directive, and thus a self-fulfilling prophecy:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/09/autocomplete-worshippers/#the-real-ai-was-the-corporations-that-we-fought-along-the-way

AIs want the future to be like the past, and AIs make the future like the past. If the training data is full of human bias, then the predictions will also be full of human bias, and then the outcomes will be full of human bias, and when those outcomes are copraphagically fed back into the training data, you get new, highly concentrated human/machine bias:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/14/inhuman-centipede/#enshittibottification

By firing skilled human workers and replacing them with spicy autocomplete, Musk is assuming his final form as both the kind of boss who can be conned into replacing you with a defective chatbot and as the fast-talking sales rep who cons your boss. Musk is transforming key government functions into high-speed error-generating machines whose human minders are only the payroll to take the fall for the coming tsunami of robot fuckups.

This is the equivalent to filling the American government's walls with asbestos, turning agencies into hazmat zones that we can't touch without causing thousands to sicken and die:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/19/failure-cascades/#dirty-data

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/18/asbestos-in-the-walls/#government-by-spicy-autocomplete

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[orbitwebtech]

🚀 Selecting the Right HubSpot Integrations for Your Business! 🔗✨

Your business deserves a seamless, efficient, and scalable workflow! The right HubSpot integrations can help you automate tasks, nurture leads, track customer interactions, and boost marketing efforts all in one place. But how do you choose the best ones? 🤔

💡 Here’s your guide to picking the perfect integrations:

✅ Identify Your Needs: Do you need better CRM management, automated emails, or social media tracking? Define your priorities first! 🎯

✅ Check Compatibility: Ensure your existing tools whether it’s Shopify, Salesforce, Slack, or WordPress integrate smoothly with HubSpot. 🔄

✅ Look for Automation & Scalability: Choose integrations that reduce manual effort and grow with your business. 🚀

✅ Read Reviews & Test First: Customer feedback and free trials will help you avoid costly mistakes. ⭐

Pro Tip: The HubSpot App Marketplace has hundreds of integrations, from email marketing to analytics—explore your options!

[xaltius]

The Dos and Don’ts of AI & ML in Digital Marketing

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are revolutionizing the digital marketing landscape, offering unprecedented opportunities for personalization, automation, and optimization. However, like any powerful tool, AI and ML must be wielded wisely. This blog outlines the dos and don'ts of leveraging these technologies effectively in your digital marketing strategies.

The Dos:

Do Define Clear Objectives: Before implementing any AI/ML solution, clearly define your marketing goals. What are you trying to achieve? Increased conversions? Improved customer engagement? Specific objectives will guide your AI/ML strategy and ensure you're measuring the right metrics.

Do Focus on Data Quality: AI/ML algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on. Prioritize collecting clean, accurate, and relevant data. Invest in data cleansing and validation processes to ensure the reliability of your AI-driven insights.

Do Start Small and Iterate: Don't try to implement everything at once. Begin with a specific use case, such as automating social media posting or personalizing email campaigns. Test, refine, and iterate on your approach before scaling up.

Do Prioritize Personalization: AI/ML excels at personalization. Leverage these technologies to create tailored content, product recommendations, and offers for individual customers based on their behavior, preferences, and demographics.

Do Embrace Automation: AI can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up marketers to focus on strategic initiatives. Identify areas where AI can streamline workflows, such as ad campaign optimization, content curation, or customer service interactions.

Do Focus on Transparency and Explainability: Understand how your AI/ML models work and ensure they are transparent and explainable. This is crucial for building trust and addressing ethical concerns.

Do Measure and Analyze Results: Track the performance of your AI/ML-driven marketing campaigns and analyze the data to identify areas for improvement. Use data to inform your decisions and optimize your strategies.

Do Stay Updated: The field of AI/ML is constantly evolving. Keep up with the latest advancements, new tools, and best practices to ensure you're maximizing the potential of these technologies.

The Don'ts:

Don't Treat AI as a Magic Bullet: AI/ML is a powerful tool, but it's not a magic solution. It requires careful planning, implementation, and ongoing management. Don't expect overnight results without putting in the effort.

Don't Neglect Human Oversight: While AI can automate tasks, it's essential to maintain human oversight. Human judgment is still crucial for strategic decision-making, creative development, and ethical considerations.

Don't Over-Rely on Automation: While automation is beneficial, don't over-automate to the point where you lose the human touch. Maintain a balance between automation and human interaction to ensure a personalized and engaging customer experience.

Don't Ignore Ethical Implications: AI/ML raises ethical concerns about data privacy, bias, and transparency. Be mindful of these issues and ensure that your AI-driven marketing practices are ethical and responsible.

Don't Forget About Data Security: Protecting customer data is paramount. Implement robust security measures to safeguard your data from unauthorized access and breaches.

Don't Be Afraid to Experiment: AI/ML is a field of experimentation. Don't be afraid to try new approaches, test different algorithms, and learn from your mistakes.

Don't Underestimate the Importance of Training: Proper training is essential for effectively using AI/ML tools and understanding their capabilities and limitations. Invest in training for your marketing team to ensure they have the skills they need to succeed.

Digital Marketing & AI Certification Program: Your Path to AI-Powered Marketing Mastery

Want to become a sought-after digital marketing professional with expertise in AI and ML? Consider enrolling in a Digital Marketing & AI Certification Program. These programs provide comprehensive training on the latest AI/ML tools and techniques, preparing you to leverage the power of these technologies in your marketing strategies. You'll learn how to:

Develop and implement AI/ML-driven marketing campaigns.

Analyze data and generate actionable insights.

Choose and use the right AI/ML marketing tools.

Address ethical considerations related to AI/ML in marketing.

Conclusion:

AI and ML are transforming the landscape of digital marketing, offering unprecedented opportunities for growth and innovation. By following these dos and don'ts, marketers can harness the power of these technologies effectively and responsibly, driving better results and achieving their marketing goals. The future of digital marketing is intelligent, and it's powered by AI and ML.

[digitaldetoxworld]

Your Guide to Choosing the Right AI Tools for Small Business Growth

 In state-of-the-art speedy-paced international, synthetic intelligence (AI) has come to be a game-changer for businesses of all sizes, mainly small corporations that need to stay aggressive. AI tools are now not constrained to big establishments; less costly and available answers now empower small groups to improve efficiency, decorate patron experience, and boost revenue.

Best AI tools for improving small business customer experience

Here’s a detailed review of the top 10 AI tools that are ideal for small organizations:

1. ChatGPT by using OpenAI

Category: Customer Support & Content Creation

Why It’s Useful:

ChatGPT is an AI-powered conversational assistant designed to help with customer service, content creation, and more. Small companies can use it to generate product descriptions, blog posts, or respond to purchaser inquiries correctly.

Key Features:

24/7 customer service via AI chatbots.

Easy integration into web sites and apps.

Cost-powerful answers for growing enticing content material.

Use Case: A small e-trade commercial enterprise makes use of ChatGPT to handle FAQs and automate patron queries, decreasing the workload on human personnel.

2. Jasper AI

Category: Content Marketing

Why It’s Useful:

Jasper AI specializes in generating first rate marketing content. It’s ideal for creating blogs, social media posts, advert reproduction, and extra, tailored to your emblem’s voice.

Key Features:

AI-powered writing assistance with customizable tones.

Templates for emails, advertisements, and blogs.

Plagiarism detection and search engine optimization optimization.

Use Case: A small enterprise owner uses Jasper AI to create search engine optimization-pleasant blog content material, enhancing their website's visibility and traffic.

Three. HubSpot CRM

Category: Customer Relationship Management

Why It’s Useful:

HubSpot CRM makes use of AI to streamline purchaser relationship control, making it less difficult to music leads, control income pipelines, and improve consumer retention.

Key Features:

Automated lead scoring and observe-ups.

AI insights for customized purchaser interactions.

Seamless integration with advertising gear.

Use Case: A startup leverages HubSpot CRM to automate email follow-ups, increasing conversion costs without hiring extra staff.

Four. Hootsuite Insights Powered by means of Brandwatch

Category: Social Media Management

Why It’s Useful:

Hootsuite integrates AI-powered social media insights to help small businesses tune tendencies, manipulate engagement, and optimize their social media method.

Key Features:

Real-time social listening and analytics.

AI suggestions for content timing and hashtags.

Competitor evaluation for a competitive aspect.

Use Case: A nearby café uses Hootsuite to agenda posts, tune customer feedback on social media, and analyze trending content material ideas.

Five. QuickBooks Online with AI Integration

Category: Accounting & Finance

Why It’s Useful:

QuickBooks Online automates bookkeeping responsibilities, rate monitoring, and economic reporting using AI, saving small agencies time and reducing mistakes.

Key Features:

Automated categorization of costs.

AI-driven economic insights and forecasting.

Invoice generation and price reminders.

Use Case: A freelance photo designer uses QuickBooks to simplify tax practise and hold tune of assignment-primarily based earnings.

6. Canva Magic Studio

Category: Graphic Design

Why It’s Useful:

Canva Magic Studio is an AI-more advantageous design tool that empowers non-designers to create stunning visuals for marketing, social media, and presentations.

Key Features:

AI-assisted layout guidelines.

One-click background elimination and resizing.

Access to templates, inventory pictures, and videos.

Use Case: A small bakery makes use of Canva Magic Studio to create pleasing Instagram posts and promotional flyers.

7. Grammarly Business

Category: Writing Assistance

Why It’s Useful:

Grammarly Business guarantees that each one written communications, from emails to reviews, are expert and blunders-unfastened. Its AI improves clarity, tone, and engagement.

Key Features:

AI-powered grammar, spelling, and style corrections.

Customizable tone adjustments for branding.

Team collaboration gear.

Use Case: A advertising company makes use of Grammarly Business to make sure consumer proposals and content material are polished and compelling.

Eight. Zapier with AI Automation

Category: Workflow Automation

Why It’s Useful:

Zapier connects apps and automates workflows without coding. It makes use of AI to signify smart integrations, saving time on repetitive tasks.

Key Features:

Automates responsibilities throughout 5,000+ apps.

AI-pushed recommendations for green workflows.

No coding required for setup.

Use Case: A small IT consulting corporation makes use of Zapier to routinely create tasks in their assignment management device every time a brand new lead is captured.

9. Surfer SEO

Category: Search Engine Optimization

Why It’s Useful:

Surfer SEO uses AI to assist small businesses improve their internet site’s seek engine scores thru content material optimization and keyword strategies.

Key Features:

AI-pushed content audit and optimization.

Keyword studies and clustering.

Competitive evaluation equipment.

Use Case: An on-line store uses Surfer search engine marketing to optimize product descriptions and blog posts, increasing organic site visitors.

10. Loom

Category: Video Communication

Why It’s Useful:

Loom lets in small groups to create video messages quick, which are beneficial for group collaboration, client updates, and customer service.

Key Features:

Screen recording with AI-powered editing.

Analytics for viewer engagement.

Cloud garage and smooth sharing hyperlinks.

Use Case: A digital advertising consultant makes use of Loom to offer video tutorials for customers, improving expertise and lowering in-man or woman conferences.

Why Small Businesses Should Embrace AI Tools

Cost Savings: AI automates repetitive duties, reducing the need for extra group of workers.

Efficiency: These equipment streamline operations, saving time and increasing productiveness.

Scalability: AI permits small organizations to manipulate boom with out full-size infrastructure changes.

Improved Customer Experience: From personalized tips to 24/7 help, AI gear help small groups deliver superior customer service.

[mymentalitytraveler]

A STORY OF HOW I BECAME A SUCCESSFUL AFFILIATE MARKETTER

(SOMETHING YOU MUST LEARN)

Click here

Hello there! Let me take a moment to share my journey with you—how I went from being a complete beginner to where I am today as a successful affiliate marketer.

When I first stumbled upon affiliate marketing, I was skeptical. The idea of earning money online, from the comfort of my home, sounded too good to be true. But I was tired of my 9-to-5 grind and wanted something different—something that could give me the freedom and financial independence I was dreaming of. So, I decided to dive in, despite not knowing much about the industry.

Click here

In the beginning, it was tough. I remember spending hours on Google, learning everything I could about affiliate marketing. I read articles, watched videos, and joined forums. I tried my hand at a few affiliate programs but didn’t see the results I hoped for at first. It felt like I was doing everything right, but nothing was clicking.

Then came the turning point. I realized I wasn’t focusing enough on the right strategies. So, I doubled down on learning and took my training seriously. I started to focus on building my niche, creating valuable content, and understanding the psychology of my target audience. Slowly but surely, my efforts began to pay off. My commissions started coming in, and I could see the potential affiliate marketing had to offer.

Click here

Now, as someone who's been in this game for several years, let me share some tips to help you avoid the mistakes I made and shorten your learning curve.

Choose the Right Niche One of the most important lessons I learned is that picking the right niche is crucial. It’s not just about what you’re passionate about, but also about finding a market with demand, but not too saturated. It’s better to focus on a specific, smaller niche that you can dominate, rather than trying to compete in a broad and competitive market.

Understand Your Audience As an affiliate marketer, you're in the business of solving problems. The more you understand your audience—their pain points, desires, and struggles—the better you'll be at recommending products they need. Research your audience through surveys, reading reviews, and interacting with them to understand what they truly want.

Quality Content Over Quantity It’s not just about putting out a ton of content. The key is to create high-quality, value-packed content. Whether it’s blog posts, videos, or social media content, your goal should be to educate and provide value. When you do this, trust and authority follow.

Leverage Multiple Traffic Sources While SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is great for organic traffic, I learned early on that relying solely on Google isn’t wise. I diversified my traffic sources—social media, paid ads, email marketing, and even YouTube. More traffic means more potential conversions.

Use the Right Tools Now, tools are a game changer. When I started, I didn’t realize how important they were. There are essential tools that can streamline your affiliate marketing efforts, including:

Email Marketing Tools: Platforms like ConvertKit or MailChimp help you build an email list and automate your email marketing campaigns.

Landing Page Builders: Tools like Leadpages or ClickFunnels let you create high-converting landing pages without needing to code.

SEO Tools: Ahrefs and SEMrush are great for keyword research and competitor analysis.

Analytics: Google Analytics is crucial to understanding your audience and optimizing your content for better results.

Consistency Is Key Success doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it can take months or even years before you start seeing significant results. The key is consistency—continue learning, experimenting, and improving every single day. Keep a long-term perspective, and you’ll get there.

Learn From Others One of the best things I did was to surround myself with successful affiliate marketers. I joined online communities, attended webinars, and learned from others who were already where I wanted to be. Collaboration and learning from others can dramatically accelerate your growth.

So, if you’re just starting your affiliate marketing journey, don’t get discouraged. It’s going to take time, effort, and dedication, but the rewards are worth it. Focus on continuous learning, invest in the right tools, and stay committed to your goals.

I’m living proof that anyone can go from beginner to master with the right mindset and strategies. Take action today, and soon, you’ll be sharing your own success story!

Good luck, and remember, consistency and perseverance will get you there!

[gonzalez756]

Unlock Your Marketing Potential: Powerful Tips for an Effective Content Strategy

At Imagency Media, we understand that a well-crafted content strategy can be the key to unlocking your brand’s full marketing potential. In today’s competitive landscape, simply creating content isn’t enough—you need a strategic approach that aligns with your business goals and resonates with your target audience. Here are some powerful tips and guidelines to help you craft a content marketing strategy that delivers real results.

1. Document Your Strategy for Success

The foundation of any effective content strategy starts with clear documentation. Without a documented plan, your efforts can easily become disjointed and less effective

.

Set Clear Objectives: Define your content marketing goals. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or establish thought leadership? Your goals will guide your strategy.

Understand Your Audience: Develop detailed buyer personas to gain insights into your target audience’s needs, preferences, and pain points.

Map Out Content Types: Choose the types of content (blogs, videos, infographics) that align with your goals and audience preferences. For instance, if you’re targeting tech-savvy entrepreneurs, consider creating in-depth whitepapers and how-to guides.

Create a Content Calendar: Plan your content schedule in advance to ensure consistent delivery. This not only keeps your audience engaged but also helps you stay organized.

2. Amplify Engagement with Video Content

Video content is a powerhouse when it comes to capturing attention and driving engagement. Here’s how you can incorporate it into your strategy:

Explainer Videos: Simplify complex concepts with explainer videos. For example, a short video on how your branding services can transform a business can be more engaging than a lengthy article.

Customer Success Stories: Showcase real client testimonials in video format to build credibility and trust. Hearing positive experiences directly from satisfied clients can be a powerful motivator for potential customers.

Educational Tutorials: Offer value through educational videos or webinars. Whether it’s a tutorial on the latest design trends or a deep dive into the benefits of a strong brand identity, educating your audience builds trust and positions your brand as an authority.

Share on Social Platforms: Leverage platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn to share your video content and reach a wider audience.

3. Build Lasting Connections with an Email Strategy

Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for nurturing leads and driving conversions. Here’s how to make the most of it:

Segment Your Audience: Personalize your emails by segmenting your list based on demographics, behavior, or interests. This ensures that your messages are relevant and timely.

Send Value-Packed Newsletters: Keep your subscribers engaged with regular newsletters. Include tips, industry news, and links to your latest blog posts or case studies. Don’t forget to add a compelling call-to-action to drive further engagement.

Automate Lead Nurturing: Set up automated email sequences to guide leads through the sales funnel. For instance, after a lead downloads a resource, follow up with a series of emails that provide additional insights and highlight your services.

Analyze and Optimize: Continuously monitor your email performance. Track open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to identify what works and what doesn’t. Use this data to refine your approach.

4. Educate Your Audience to Establish Authority

Educating your audience not only builds trust but also positions your brand as an expert in your field.

Create Insightful Blog Content: Regularly publish blog posts that address your audience’s pain points and offer solutions. For example, a post titled "5 Branding Mistakes to Avoid" can attract business owners looking to strengthen their brand.

Develop Comprehensive Resources: E-books, whitepapers, and guides provide in-depth information that your audience can refer to over time. Offering these resources in exchange for contact information also helps you generate leads.

Host Workshops and Webinars: Interactive sessions, whether in-person or online, allow you to engage with your audience in real-time. A webinar on "Effective UI/UX Design Practices" can attract those interested in improving their digital presence.

Share Quick Tips on Social Media: Regularly post bite-sized tips and insights on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. This not only keeps your audience engaged but also drives traffic to your website.

5. Boost Reach with Paid Promotion

While organic content is crucial, paid promotion can significantly expand your reach and accelerate your results.

Utilize Social Media Ads: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer highly targeted ad options. Promote your most valuable content, such as videos or in-depth articles, to specific audience segments.

Invest in Google Ads: Google’s search and display ads can help you reach potential clients actively searching for services like yours. Use retargeting ads to bring back visitors who have shown interest but haven’t yet converted.

Explore Sponsored Content: Partner with industry influencers or authoritative blogs to publish sponsored posts. This can increase your credibility and expose your brand to new audiences.

6. Measure, Optimize, and Re-assess for Continuous Improvement

No strategy is complete without regular evaluation and optimization. Here’s how to keep your content marketing efforts on track:

Track Key Metrics: Identify the KPIs that matter most to your business, such as website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates, and social media engagement.

Use Analytics Tools: Leverage tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, and social media analytics to monitor your content’s performance. Look for patterns and insights that can guide your strategy adjustments.

Conduct Quarterly Reviews: Schedule regular reviews to assess your strategy’s effectiveness. Identify what’s working well and what needs adjustment. For example, if video content is driving high engagement, consider increasing your investment in video production.

Stay Agile: Content marketing is dynamic, so be prepared to adjust your strategy as needed. Stay informed about industry trends and be ready to pivot to new tactics that can drive better results.

Conclusion: Maximize Your Marketing Success with a Strategic Approach

By implementing these content marketing tips and guidelines, you can create a powerful strategy that not only attracts but also engages and converts your target audience. At Imagency Media, we’re committed to helping you elevate your brand through strategic content that delivers measurable results. With the right approach, your content can become a driving force behind your marketing success. Contact us and visit Imagency media to get more tips .

[techpartnerdeals]

The Affiliate Marketing Accelerator Program is a comprehensive training and support system designed to help individuals and businesses effectively use affiliate marketing to generate revenue. This program typically includes a range of resources such as educational materials, expert guidance, tools, and community support to accelerate the process of setting up and optimizing affiliate marketing campaigns.

Key Components of an Affiliate Marketing Accelerator Program

Educational Content: In-depth tutorials, webinars, and courses covering the fundamentals of affiliate marketing, advanced strategies, and the latest industry trends.

Tools and Software: Access to specialized tools for tracking, analyzing, and optimizing affiliate marketing efforts. This may include analytics platforms, keyword research tools, and automation software.

Expert Guidance: Personalized coaching and mentorship from experienced affiliate marketers who can provide insights, answer questions, and offer strategic advice.

Community Support: Membership in a community of like-minded individuals where participants can share experiences, ask for advice, and collaborate on projects.

Case Studies and Real-World Examples: Examples of successful affiliate marketing campaigns, providing practical insights into what works and what doesn’t.

Templates and Resources: Ready-to-use templates for emails, landing pages, and other marketing materials to streamline the creation process.

Benefits of an Affiliate Marketing Accelerator Program

Accelerated Learning Curve: By leveraging structured training and expert advice, participants can quickly acquire the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in affiliate marketing.

Increased Revenue Potential: With better strategies and tools, affiliates can optimize their campaigns to drive more traffic and conversions, leading to higher commissions.

Networking Opportunities: Engaging with a community of peers and mentors can open up opportunities for partnerships, collaborations, and new business ventures.

Up-to-Date Knowledge: Staying current with the latest trends, tools, and techniques in affiliate marketing ensures that participants remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.

Efficiency and Productivity: Access to templates, tools, and automation can significantly reduce the time and effort required to manage affiliate campaigns, allowing participants to focus on scaling their efforts.

Risk Reduction: Learning from experts and successful case studies helps participants avoid common pitfalls and mistakes, increasing their chances of success.

Conclusion

An Affiliate Marketing Accelerator Program can be an invaluable resource for anyone looking to enhance their affiliate marketing skills and achieve greater success in the field. By providing a blend of education, tools, and community support, these programs help participants navigate the complexities of affiliate marketing and realize their revenue goals more efficiently.

Click on the affiliate to get started and improve your affiliate skills

[artwork-management]

13 BENEFITS OF ONLINE PROOFING SOFTWARE

In the whirlwind world of product launches, where timing is everything and perfection is non-negotiable, it's crucial to have your artwork proofing process locked down tight. The goal? To catapult your products into the market spotlight with impeccable labels, free of errors, and resonating with your brand's essence. Let's face it, the traditional route of manual proofing is a relic of the past—cumbersome, time-consuming, and fraught with the risk of errors slipping through the cracks. Enter the modern solution: online proofing software, a tool that's rapidly becoming indispensable in our fast-paced industry. Online proofing software revolutionizes the way creative teams collaborate and finalize projects. By streamlining the review and approval process, it offers a plethora of advantages that enhance productivity, improve accuracy, and foster seamless collaboration.

Here are 13 benefits of online proofing software for creative team:

1. Streamlined Review Process

 Online proofing centralizes feedback, making it easier for all stakeholders to review and approve content, from anywhere and at any time.

2. Faster Project Turnaround

By eliminating the back-and-forth of emails and physical proofs, projects move more swiftly from concept to completion.

3. Reduced Errors and Revisions

Real-time feedback and clear, centralized revisions lead to fewer mistakes, reducing the need for multiple rounds of changes.

4. Enhanced Collaboration

Teams can collaborate more effectively, with tools that allow for direct annotation and comments on the work itself, making feedback specific and actionable.

5. Accessibility and Flexibility

With cloud-based access, team members can review and approve content from any device, offering flexibility to work from anywhere.

6. Version Control

Keeps track of all versions and changes, ensuring everyone is working on the latest version and reducing confusion over document versions.

7. Time and Cost Efficiency

Cuts down on the costs associated with printing and mailing physical proofs and saves time otherwise spent on manual coordination.

8. Increased Accountability

Tracks changes and comments by user, ensuring accountability and clarity on who said what, and when.

9. Customizable Workflows

Allows teams to customize approval workflows to suit their specific project needs and organizational structure.

10. Improved Client Satisfaction

Facilitates a smoother approval process for clients, with less effort on their part, leading to a better client experience and stronger relationships.

11. Automated Notifications

Keeps the project moving by notifying team members and stakeholders of required actions, deadlines, and updates.

12. Better Project Management

Offers an overview of project status at a glance, allowing for better project management and planning.

13. Environmental Benefits 

Reduces the need for paper, printing, and physical mailing, contributing to eco-friendly business practices.

The charm of online proofing software lies in its precision and efficiency. Imagine this: your content undergoes a rigorous vetting process, emerging spotless, polished, and ready to dazzle your audience. No more post-launch hiccups or red-faced retractions. Instead, you're setting the stage for a flawless debut, every single time. But the magic of online proofing doesn't stop there. It's a catalyst for enhancing teamwork, streamlining your workflow, and boosting overall productivity. The digital platform becomes a collaborative arena where ideas flourish, feedback is instant, and revisions are executed with laser-like precision. Therefore, embracing online proofing and brand asset management software, such as Cway, is not just a wise choice—it's an essential strategy for those looking to refine their process. Simplify your journey from concept to market with the smart, efficient solution that online proofing offers. It's time to let your brand shine, error-free and with absolute confidence.

Explore additional related topics on our blog:

A 6 STEP GUIDE TO THE PACKAGING DESIGN PROCESS

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PACKAGING ARTWORK MANAGEMENT

7 PREPS FOR TRULY SUCCESSFUL PACKAGING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

[accountsend]

Transform your sales game with these insider tips

Thankfully, there are insider tips that can help you transform your sales game and achieve better results. Here are some of the most effective strategies to help you take your sales efforts to the next level:

DOWNLOAD THE INSIDER TIPS INFOGRAPHIC

Know Your Customer One of the most critical factors in sales success is knowing your customer inside and out. This means taking the time to understand their needs, pain points, and motivations, and tailoring your sales pitch accordingly. By doing so, you can demonstrate that you understand their unique challenges and show how your product or service can address them.

Listen More Than You Talk Another key to sales success is being a good listener. Many salespeople make the mistake of talking too much and not giving their customers enough time to speak. By listening carefully to your customer's concerns and questions, you can better understand their needs and build rapport with them.

Be Persistent Persistence is a vital trait for any successful salesperson. It's important to follow up with leads and prospects regularly and not give up after the first rejection. Remember, a "no" today doesn't necessarily mean a "no" tomorrow. By staying persistent and consistent, you can build trust with your prospects and increase your chances of closing a deal.

Use Social Proof Social proof is a powerful tool in sales. When a customer sees that other people have had a positive experience with your product or service, it can make them more likely to trust you and make a purchase. So, be sure to showcase customer testimonials, case studies, and other social proof to build credibility and trust with your prospects.

Leverage Technology Finally, technology can be a game-changer when it comes to sales success. Tools like CRM software, sales automation platforms, and email marketing tools can help you streamline your sales process, stay organized, and reach more customers more efficiently.

By following these insider tips, you can transform your sales game and achieve better results. So, what are you waiting for? Start implementing these strategies today and take your sales efforts to the next level.

[aloneharper]

300 Days After Layoff: I Built a Business That Replaced My Income

What I Did, What I Learned, and What You Can Steal From My Playbook

On the day I got laid off, I had no backup plan. No side hustle. No hidden savings. Just a severance check, a LinkedIn update, and a quiet panic. Fast forward 300 days, and I now run a small, profitable business that replaced my full-time incomeand gave me more freedom than I ever had in a job. This isn’t a “get-rich-quick” story. It’s a step-by-step journey, full of mistakes, pivots, and practical strategies that anyone can follow. Here’s exactly how I did it.

🔥 Day 1–30: Grieving, Reflecting, and Taking Stock The first month? Honestly, it sucked. I gave myself permission to rest, reflect, and not rush. But I also asked myself a few key questions: What do I actually enjoy doing? What skills do people already pay me for? What problems can I solve faster, better, or cheaper than others? I realized: I had been helping coworkers with writing, automation, and productivity tools (like Notion and ChatGPT). Maybe there was a business hidden in that.

🚧 Day 31–90: Testing Micro Offers and Getting Paid to Learn I didn’t start by “launching a business.” I started by solving problems and charging a little for it. I created: A \$49 Notion template and listed it on Gumroad A “30-minute ChatGPT audit” for small businesses A \$200 1-on-1 productivity coaching offer for LinkedIn solopreneurs I promoted them through: Cold DMs LinkedIn posts Indie communities like Product Hunt and Twitter (X) By the end of month 3, I had made \$2,350 — not a lot, but enough proof to believe this could work. 💡 Key lesson: You don’t need a business idea — you need a way to get your first \$1 online. The rest evolves.

📈 Day 91–180: Building Systems, Doubling Down on What Worked I doubled down on what people liked: templates + teaching. I launched: A small course on “Notion for Freelancers” A bundle of pre-built client dashboards A weekly newsletter (free) that gave tips on automation + AI tools

I reinvested earnings into: A better website Email marketing tools Freelance help for design and editing By day 180, I’d made just over \$17,000 total, and income was becoming predictable. 🛠️ Key shift: I moved from chasing gigs to building systems that sold while I slept.

🚀 Day 181–300: Scaling with Content + Community By now, I had three growing pillars:

Digital products — evergreen Notion tools & AI prompts

Consulting — higher-ticket strategy calls for businesses

Content — a growing audience through LinkedIn + email

I stopped trying to “do everything” and focused on: Weekly valuable content Launching one new offer per month Building an audience I could serve long-term

Revenue snapshot: \$4,200/month average 30% from products, 50% from consulting, 20% from partnerships

💡 The 7 Best Lessons I Learned

Start selling fast. Your first \$1 is worth more than 100 hours of planning.

Focus on transformation, not features. Sell outcomes, not templates.

Use your past as a niche. My corporate experience became my brand edge.

Audience > algorithms. Write to help 100 people, not to chase likes.

Automate early. Use AI tools for admin, writing, and systems.

Don’t build in silence. Share your journey — people want to support humans, not logos.

You’re closer than you think. You don’t need millions — just enough to make a living on your terms.

🧭 Where I Am Now 300 days in, I’m not “retired.” I still work 4–6 hours a day. But now I work: On my own schedule With clients I choose On products I own Without begging for permission or chasing job boards

I matched my old salary — and gained back my time, energy, and peace. If you're staring at a layoff, a plateau, or a quiet desire for more freedom, here’s my advice:

Don’t wait to be ready. Start with what you have. Sell what you know. Build from there.

Your next chapter might not be a job. It might be the business you didn’t know you were capable of.

[recampsblog]

💼💡 7 Proven Lead Generation Strategies for Insurance Agents That Actually Work

In the competitive world of insurance, lead generation for insurance agents is the lifeline of success. Without a steady stream of quality prospects, even the best sales skills can fall short. Whether you're a seasoned Property & Casualty agent or just starting out, having effective strategies to attract and convert leads is essential.

The right approach to lead generation for insurance agents doesn’t have to involve cold calls or wasting money on generic leads. Instead, smart agents rely on systems, tools, and relationships that bring in warm, qualified prospects consistently.

Here are 7 proven strategies that actually work—and how you can use them to grow your client base fast.

1. 🤝 Build Referral Partnerships with Real Estate Pros

One of the most powerful lead sources for insurance agents is referrals from mortgage brokers, loan officers, and realtors. These professionals are constantly working with new homebuyers—many of whom need insurance coverage quickly.

How to get started:

Attend local real estate networking events 🏡

Offer value, like fast quotes and reliable service

Set up a simple system for mutual referrals

💡 Pro tip: Programs like RECAMP help automate these connections and generate 15–20 new referral sources per month!

2. 📱 Optimize Your Social Media Presence

Your potential clients are already on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. If you're not active, you’re missing out on a major opportunity.

How to make it work:

Share insurance tips, success stories, and FAQs 🎥

Use video to explain common coverages

Run local targeted ads to reach homeowners and renters

📊 Consistency and engagement are key—show up often and provide value.

3. 📨 Use Email Marketing to Nurture Leads

Many insurance leads won’t be ready to buy right away—but that doesn’t mean they won’t buy later. A strong email follow-up sequence can turn a cold lead into a client down the road.

Action steps:

Collect emails through your website, social media, or events

Send weekly or bi-weekly newsletters 🗓️

Include tips, policy info, and a clear call-to-action

📧 Email keeps you top-of-mind and builds trust over time.

4. 🌐 Leverage Google My Business & Online Reviews

When people search for “insurance agent near me,” you want your name to show up—and with glowing reviews.

To boost local visibility:

Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile

Ask happy clients for reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Post updates and photos regularly

📍 Location-based SEO can drive highly motivated, local traffic.

5. 🛠️ Use Lead Generation Tools and CRM Software

Manual follow-ups and tracking can cost you time—and leads. Smart agents use automation tools to streamline the process and never miss an opportunity.

Best tools to try:

A CRM like AgencyZoom, Zoho, or HubSpot 📋

Lead gen programs like RECAMP for automated referral systems

Chatbots and forms on your website to capture interest instantly 💬

🧠 Let tech handle the grunt work while you focus on building relationships.

6. 🏢 Host Educational Workshops or Webinars

People are more likely to do business with agents who educate rather than sell. Hosting free events positions you as a trusted expert.

Workshop ideas:

“First-Time Homebuyer Insurance 101” 🏠

“How to Save on Auto Insurance” 🚗

“Small Business Coverage Basics” 🏢

📹 You can host in person or online via Zoom or Facebook Live.

7. 📝 Create Helpful, Localized Content

Blogging and content creation might sound time-consuming, but it pays off in the long run. By targeting local keywords and answering common questions, you’ll attract organic traffic.

Content ideas:

“What Type of Home Insurance Do I Need in [Your City]?”

“Top 5 Insurance Mistakes Oklahoma Drivers Make”

“How to Bundle Policies and Save in [Your State]”

🔍 Write what your clients are Googling, and you’ll become their go-to expert.

Final Thoughts 🎯

Generating insurance leads doesn’t have to be complicated—but it does require strategy and consistency. By focusing on partnerships, automation, and value-driven outreach, you can create a sustainable pipeline of prospects who are ready to buy.

Start with one or two of these lead generation methods and build from there. The key is to stay visible, valuable, and easy to work with.

🌟 Remember: The more people know, like, and trust you—the more likely they are to choose you as their agent.

[anviltaxinc]

The #1 Tool Every Business Professional Needs (Save Time + Scale Faster!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9N-spm9fXU The #1 Tool Every Business Professional Needs (Save Time + Scale Faster!) If you’re tired of repeating yourself to clients, training your team manually, or wasting time answering the same questions—this video is for you. Discover why every business owner and professional should have a Learning Management System (LMS) to streamline operations, boost marketing efficiency, and transform onboarding and communication into repeatable, automated systems. Join me at Mark Kohler’s Tax & Legal 360 Conference where I’ll be teaching a session on how to use LMS and unified platforms to reduce time waste, increase productivity, and create lasting business systems. 🎯 Learn how to: Automate your client onboarding Manage knowledge and content at scale Reduce repetitive tasks Boost marketing with integrated SMS, email, and video Reclaim your time and focus on high-impact work 📍 Timestamps: 00:00 Why Every Professional Needs an LMS 00:49 Invitation to Mark Kohler’s Conference 01:06 Marketing and Communication Integration 01:26 How to Learn More and Get Started 👉 Learn more at https://ift.tt/sNpSx5G 🎟 Get your ticket to Mark Kohler’s 360 Conference – Don’t miss it! 🧠 Learn how to set up your business now—even if you’re not ready to sell yet. The earlier you prepare, the more options and money you’ll have later. 📞 Let’s clean up your books and prep for a profitable future: https://ift.tt/szJMPC5 📚 Free tax & exit planning guide: https://ift.tt/sNpSx5G 🔔 Avoid overpaying on taxes and maximize your wealth! Subscribe now for expert Portland tax advice, retirement planning, and strategies to grow your wealth! https://www.youtube.com/@TaxAnvil/?sub_confirmation=1 🔗 Stay Connected With Me. 👉 Facebook: https://ift.tt/oaHlmyA 👉 Twitter (X): https://x.com/AnvilTax 👉 Linkedin: https://ift.tt/qrZsB6C 👉 Website: https://ift.tt/TPsreaQ 📩 For Business Inquiries: team@anvil.tax 🎬 Recommended Playlists 👉 Tax Planning Insights with Daveed Tuck https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNQ5Z_646DO8_79h1DovpYC8HYUJnOLX 👉 Avoiding The Biggest Tax Mistakes Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNQ5Z_646DObYKvEGg-Rdz-zo18I3vvn 🎬 WATCH MY OTHER VIDEOS: 👉Secrets The Wealthy Use To Save Millions: Real Estate Tax Consultant Portland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWEh4gpAmII 👉Why Switching Payroll In Q4 Saves You Time And Money? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LhISn-tVGE ⚠️ Disclaimer: I do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of my publications. You acknowledge that you use the information I provide at your own risk. Do your research. ⚠️ Disclaimer: I do not accept liability for any loss or damage incurred from acting or not acting based on my publications. Use this information at your own risk and do your research. ✖️ Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain content owned by Anvil Tax, Inc. You are authorized to share or embed this video with proper credit and a link back to my channel. © Anvil Tax, Inc. Oregon Licensed Tax Consultant 31902-c via Cut Tax + Grow Cash = Reclaim Control https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUoFv7UTag1d1H9RoZ5wqmw May 09, 2025 at 01:43AM

[unitedstatesrei]

The Million-Dollar Marketing Mindset to Create Authentic Relationships and Success with Luke Acree

Key Takeaways Building strong client relationships through consistent, emotionally engaging content is more powerful than high-tech automation. Print marketing, when done right, can outperform digital efforts in memorability and ROI. Persistence, authenticity, and storytelling are the keys to long-term referral-based business growth. United States Real Estate Investor The REI Agent with Luke Acree https://youtu.be/-MJ8nBx3Jbg Follow and subscribe to The REI Agent on social Facebook Instagram Youtube .cls-1fill:#fff; Linkedin X-twitter United States Real Estate Investor It's time to have an investor-friendly agent on your team! It's time to have an investor-friendly agent on your team! United States Real Estate Investor A Personal, Purposeful Introduction to Real Estate Marketing Greatness On this compelling episode of The REI Agent Podcast, host Mattias dives into the brilliant mind of Luke Acree, President of ReminderMedia and serial entrepreneur. Known for building a $70 million empire helping agents and small businesses build unforgettable brands, Luke brings a no-fluff, high-impact strategy to marketing that flips the industry norm on its head. His core belief? “Marketing is not about getting your name out there, it’s about getting your name remembered.” In a world flooded with digital ads and short attention spans, Luke shows us how real human connection—and good old-fashioned print—still dominate when used with intention and consistency. This episode isn’t just a masterclass in branding; it’s a soul-level wake-up call for agents and investors who want to build businesses that last. The Foundation: Faith, Family, and a Vision Luke didn't start with venture capital or a ready-made empire. He built ReminderMedia alongside his brother, learning through relentless trial and error. “We started cold-calling. We believed in it enough to keep showing up when no one answered.” That gritty beginning taught Luke the essence of real marketing—it’s not flashy, it’s foundational. It's the same reason he still makes 30 cold calls every day despite being a multimillion-dollar CEO. Why? Because “If you want to lead people, you’ve got to do what you’re asking them to do.” The Fatal Mistake Agents Make Every Day Most agents focus on transactions. Luke urges them to focus on transformations. “The reason most agents fail? They treat relationships like transactions. They don’t follow up because they’re chasing closings, not clients.” He introduces a mindset shift that could change your entire business: Stop trying to look professional. Start being personal. Stop showing stats. Start telling stories. “People don't remember the top producer with the most graphs. They remember the one who told a story that touched them.” Storytelling Is the New Selling Luke drops golden insights around content: “Sticky content is emotional content.” He explains why your marketing must be personality-infused, emotionally charged, and delivered with consistency. His standout method? Personalized lifestyle magazines that outperform email marketing by an astonishing margin. In a culture dominated by digital scrolls, print becomes powerful again, not because it’s old-school, but because it’s rare. “When someone keeps something you send, you’ve earned a place in their home and in their life.” 100 Referrals a Year Is Not a Fantasy—It’s a Formula Luke shares a roadmap that’s as strategic as it is heartfelt. With a 12-month follow-up plan built around providing value and emotional touchpoints, any agent can generate consistent referrals without ever sounding salesy. “The top agents don’t wait for referrals, they systematize them.” His advice? Commit to one marketing system for a full year before you judge its ROI. Persistence beats pivoting. Closing the Gap Between Who You Are and How You Sell As the episode wraps, Mattias reflects on Luke’s wisdom, emphasizing that successful agents today are the ones who live their values in business.

Luke’s strategies don’t just grow businesses—they build legacies. “You don’t need a new lead. You need to serve the ones you already have better.” This episode reminds us that the best real estate marketing isn’t about automation, it’s about authenticity. It’s not about looking the part—it’s about being the part. Final Thoughts from The REI Agent Luke Acree doesn’t just drop marketing hacks. He redefines what it means to serve in real estate. With his relentless commitment to authenticity, persistence, and real human connection, he proves that success isn’t reserved for the flashy or the fortunate—it’s available to anyone willing to show up and care deeply. “If you love people, you’ll win. And if you love them enough to stick around, they’ll love you back—with their referrals, their loyalty, and their trust.” Let this episode be your call to return to the heart of why you started in this business—and to move forward with fresh fire and strategy. Stay tuned for more inspiring stories on The REI Agent podcast, your go-to source for insights, inspiration, and strategies from top agents and investors who are living their best lives through real estate. For more content and episodes, visit reiagent.com. United States Real Estate Investor Create healing and connection within yourself, your family, and your community. Create healing and connection within yourself, your family, and your community. United States Real Estate Investor Contact Luke Acree ReminderMedia United States Real Estate Investor Mentioned References Start with Why by Simon Sinek The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Atomic Habits by James Clear The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber Good to Great by Jim Collins The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki Stay Paid Podcast (hosted by Luke Acree) United States Real Estate Investor Transcript Welcome to the REI Agent, a holistic approach to life through real estate. I'm Mattias, an agent and investor. And I'm Erica, a licensed therapist. Join us as we interview guests that also strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing. Tune in every week for interviews with real estate agents and investors. Ready to level up? Let's do it. Welcome back to the REI Agent. I had the honor of interviewing Luke Acree today. I've been saying that wrong, even though I had a fun little way of saying that that helped me remember. Anyway, Luke is a really interesting person. He owns a marketing company that started off primarily using or servicing agents. He's not the only owner. He joined with his uncle, but he is very, very smart and driven and has many brothers as he gets into that now he owns is in a partnership with a real estate sales company, a property management company. They invest together, have over 200 doors. We started off the conversation really focusing in on marketing. And then we get into some of the investing and things like that as well. But marketing is such a great thing that if you can find the right vein, if you can find the right way of doing it, the way that you like, that fits with your brand, I think that's such a great thing to get off your plate. I think many people don't do marketing well. And it's one of those things that you can outsource that should be giving you an ROI and you should be tracking it. So I think it's one of those things that if you analyze what brings you the most money in your business, where you should be spending the most time, marketing is a powerful one. And maybe you're really good at it. I've interviewed a lot of people that are awesome at social media. And that's great, but there's a lot of people that aren't. And I think that that's a great thing to outsource. You know, that might be, I'm not sure if that would come before something like transaction coordinating or admin support, but it's definitely up there.

And it's just a great thing that you can find a good company to take it off your plate, to focus in on what you do best and know that this is gonna help you bring business in going forward so that you don't have to worry about the ups and downs as much. And hopefully, you'll have to worry about having enough time to support all the business it brings in. And maybe you gotta look at building a team to support all the business it brings in. But yeah, it was a great conversation. We could have had three probably episodes with him. We could have talked about three different topics, marketing, maybe just real estate sales tips in general. He's not a realtor, but he's worked with a lot and helps, he kind of owns, co-owns that firm with his brothers, property management, investing. I mean, there's so many different things we could have talked about. But yeah, it was a great conversation. So I'm gonna leave it at that because it's a longer episode, but it's well worth it. So stay tuned for the whole thing. Without further ado, it's Luke Acree. Welcome back to the REI Agent. I have the honor of having Luke Acree. Did I say it right? Yeah, you got it right, my man. Yes, my little trick worked. Luke, tell me a little bit about how you got into the real estate space and I guess more specifically, what kind of space you're in in the real estate game. Yeah, for sure. And first, thanks for having me. Love being here, love podcasting, have one myself. So excited to talk to you in the audience. And I got into real estate through marketing. So about 14 years ago, I joined up with a company called Reminder Media. It was a company that my uncle owned at the time. Was doing mainly print marketing. You might've heard of the concept of like customizing a personally branded magazine. We kind of are the creators of that space. So the small business arena doesn't have the ability usually to have their own magazine because it's too expensive. So I think a real estate agent wants to send a better home than gardens to their sphere. They don't have the funds to be able to create their own. So we create them a version and they're able to white label it. So make it look like it's their magazine. We send it to their database. It's been a home run for us. So we've worked with about 150,000 real estate agents over the years. It's been awesome. And then that led us into digital marketing because people want a digital version of their magazine. And how do you distribute that? Well, email, text, social media, magazines filled with content. What do you need for your Instagram, for your Facebook? You need content. So we got into social media content. And so now we kind of have this marketing platform that if you're looking to generate, acquire, nurture and retain your leads, which business is not, that is what we help people do. And we do it from paid advertising like Facebook and Google all the way to the magazine for referral generation. And then there's a bunch of things in between. I've been doing it for about 14 years. Love it. Very passionate about it. And so we even work with some investors because investors have relationships. I always tell people, who are your relationships and how are you keeping in touch with them? Because you wanna create your clients into raving fans. And the only way you do that is by doing the unexpected. So people nine times out of 10 usually do the expected, but there's that 1% of people that tend to do the unexpected and they get raving fans. And people rave about them and that's what we're in the business of doing is helping people create raving fans. Yeah, that's perfect. Yeah, and I mean, just kind of staying in touch is can be a challenge if you don't have a system in place. And in this space, I mean, things are changing constantly. I mean, Instagram's algorithms. Yeah, frustrating is what it is. It's different all the time. So I guess, tell me a little bit. I need my marketing. I need to step that up.

I'm looking to, I have a goal this year. I'm gonna sell over 50 homes and I've been slacking on my newsletter, been slacking on posting anything on social media. I've been just burnt out for a couple of years. I wanna come to you and I want you to take over. Is it an a la carte kind of service? Can I pick and choose which of these items I wanna use or what's that look like? Yeah, it's a great question. So it is a la carte in the sense of like, depending on your need, we're going to consult and help you based upon that. So maybe you're looking for geographic farming and you wanna be the dominant agent in a neighborhood or I know a lot of investors listen to this show, that's where it's geared towards. So maybe, like my brother and I do investing, we target absentee owners. So it's like my first phase is, okay, what's your end goal and who's your ideal target audience? Because you market to people based upon where they're at, not where you're at. It's a huge mistake businesses make is they tend to sell and preach and market based upon where they're at, not where the client is. So we gotta determine who your ideal target audience is. Nine times out of 10 for real estate agents, it usually is their sphere because their sphere is gonna bring them referrals and repeat business. And that's where I think it was NAR that said 65% of all listings came from referral and repeat business. So 2 3rds of listings are coming from referral and repeat. So that tends to be the ideal target audience. How do I get in front of my sphere? And then we will basically help you from a product standpoint, depending on what you wanna do. I believe in Omnichannel. So Omnichannel is just a fancy way to say, Facebook, email, mailbox. I want you to be everywhere. So I'm gonna set up a drip to where they're getting a piece of mail from you like the magazine every two months. They're getting an email from you either bi-weekly or monthly. I hope bi-weekly because the more the better. And then I'm gonna take all this content and post it out on your social media. Social's tricky, like you said, because the algorithms are always changing. And then the content that usually crushes it on social media is personal content. And so it's very hard to automate and curate personal content. In fact, it's impossible to usually do that. You have to be in the moment. And so we'll help you subsidize your social media. I usually recommend, hey, I could post three times a day, every day for 365 days a year for you. We have that much content that we're creating, but that won't give you a great social media strategy. What I would rather do is post for you two to three times a week. So you're consistent. Everybody feels you're active. And in the mind of a consumer, activity a lot of times makes people think productivity. So I want you to be seen as a productive agent by being active, but I still need you to do the personal stuff. You with your family, you out and about, doing what you love, your passions, your hobbies, because that's what will draw people in and attract kind of that tribe, as they say. And so that's kind of how it would look. You would come to us. You would say, hey, Luke, I'm doing a terrible job at keeping in touch with my database because I don't have time. So I want to provide you an automated system that does it for you. I want to provide you exclusive content that only you can send because only you can send the magazine and stuff like that. And then I want to obviously generate you an ROI because none of it matters without an ROI. So all of our content, we link out to landing pages. So the goal of that is, and you probably know this, but it's just to get a hand raiser. I want to provide an item of value. So a very popular one right now is home equity reports. What's your home worth? A free CMA, things like that. Like our last mailing we did for Acri Brothers, which is my brother and I, the real estate team that we have down in Lynchburg, Virginia.

We sent a, Lynchburg homes have gone up like 30K. I want to know what your home's gone up. We sent it to, I think it was 429 people in our sphere, got 33 scans on that QR code on the magazine. That then turns into phone call conversations and such to funnel them down. Does this service then go with or integrate with other CRMs? Is it kind of like its own CRM that you would have to check separately or how's that work? Yeah, great question. So it is its own, it's not its own CRM, but own content manager or contact manager, I should say. We are integrated now with followup boss and we are working to integrate with some of the bigger ones like a bold trail and Moxie and all them were in the works of trying to get in with all of them. But right now it's standalone where you can kind of do it and we integrate through, you can download and export things or text in email to you. Okay, and if somebody were to have their own funnel, for example, could that be integrated and you could link that to the QR code? Yeah, you can link out to your funnels. A lot of people will do that because they have maybe their landing pages or funnels through like ClickFunnels or Regal Geeks or something like that. So we have people do that. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, I think that the key piece there that you're talking about, and I think it's one of the maybe one of ones that real estate agents miss often or just in general. I mean, like I think when people get a real estate license, they're not expecting to have to become an expert marketer on top of knowing how to sell real estate. And I think one of the things that I see a lot is people don't really put out content that in my opinion, others would care about. That are like you talked about, you got to think about what the consumer themselves want. And so getting something out there that is enticing, a value that either gives them good information that they might appreciate consuming, or like you're talking about, it's actually something that would give them, that would get them to take action to actually scan a QR code, to look into something deeper, to give out contact information if you probably have it, if they're marketing to them. But yeah, some sort of hand raising. And so I think that's the intentionality that I think a lot of people miss. And that's where your company can obviously help a lot. It's a big pain point of normally we tend to market for instant gratification, but anybody who's built a successful business realizes that it's a long-term game. It's about consistency. It's about relationship building. You usually can't build a relationship unless you're on one of those weird dating shows like Married at First Sight. You can't usually build one overnight. It takes time because the foundation of somebody working with you is that old slogan of no like and trust. So we've all heard it till we're blue in the face. And so what I'm trying to do is go, okay, how do you take these principles of getting known, getting liked and getting trusted? And how do you facilitate that from a marketing standpoint to help foster and move that along from a speed standpoint? And I have just found that you get trusted usually from a couple different things. One is through consistency. So you build trust by just being with people all the time. You tend to trust people you're familiar with because you just know them. You've watched them. You've seen them show up. You've seen them follow through on what they say or not follow through, which would be a breaking of trust. And so consistency has a big part of building trust. But another way of building trust is who do we trust? We tend to trust people we learn from. So we tend to trust people like teachers and pastors and coaches and mentors. And so your job in your whatever specialty is to be an educator because education drives trust. So people might not pay attention to what you say all the time, but if you're an investor, like how

do you educate the clients on what you want them to know based upon what you're going after? And how do you put out that content? Now, here's a problem. You can't just educate 100% of the time because it's boring, right? So the insurance salesman cannot educate you all day long on insurance. You'll just tune it out because you don't care about insurance until when? Until you have a need, until you have a pain point. So the trick is there's no magic formula to it. But I've always said like 50, 60% of your content that you're putting out to the world through email, through social, through print should be educational content, elevating your credibility as the subject matter expert. But then you have like 30% of your content should really be what I call is entertaining, like value driven. That is just about connecting. And if you think of the know, like and trust, known comes from just getting out there in front of people and through consistency. Liked is if you are a student of Tony Robbins, it's about rapport building, right? Likeability is usually off of, we have things in common, both shared values and shared interest. And so how do you showcase to people shared values and shared interest? And this is why like, you know, I've tried to think of an example for you guys. It's like I was homeschooled all the way to college. I grew up in a family of eight kids, homeschooled all the way to college. I was the third of eight. My dad's a pastor. I'm married right now to my high school sweetheart, Megan. We have two children, Evelyn and William. I go to church, I play on our praise team. So I'm mentioning all these things about me. So anybody listening to this right now that is a believer, was homeschooled, is married, has kids. Like if I said the sports team, like I'm actually a Washington Commanders fan. I know it's kind of, well, last season was a great season for us. So let's go hail Jaden Daniels. But the point is anybody who's a Washington Commanders fan is connected to me more, right? And the people who hate the Washington Commanders is now they don't like me as much, right? So it's those things that build subtle trust, like subtle likability. And you cannot have trust without this familiarity and you can't have familiarity without frequency. And so it's this idea in marketing, and sorry, talking long, but it's this idea of how do I help you, Mattias, be consistent and educate everybody that, hey, if they need help buying, selling, or investing in real estate, Mattias is the subject matter expert. He is so passionate about it. He obsesses over it. He knows it because he's lived it. He is the Sherpa. If you want to climb Mount Everest, he's done it 20 times, right? So how do I do that? That's 50, 60% of the content. Easy hack for everybody. Write down your FAQs, your frequently asked questions that you get all the time and what you do every day. That is your educational content. You're an expert in it and you just need to produce it and put it out there. But then I want to 30% of the time get you to post about you and your family, you at church, you at maybe at local events that are going on. And then you take it a step further. Gifting is a way to, you know, encourage likeability and getting to know people. The Ford acronym is the perfect acronym. Family, occupation, recreation, dreams. Like put out content on your family, your hobbies, your work, your dreams of what you're trying to do. You'll connect with people. And then build trust by, I call it education, but there's also three other ways you can build trust, which is testimonials. So what your clients say about you. So you can claim you're a great educator, but it's better if a client tells the world you're a great educator. Accolades, you can claim you're an educator, but it's better if a third party endorser says, Luke Acree has been on the Inc 5000 list with Reminder Media four years in a row. Fastest growing companies. So I can tell you I love marketing,

but it's a lot different when Entrepreneur Magazine or Founders Magazine or these places that you get featured. This is why PR is a thing. It's like, I've been on NBC. I've been on Fox. I've been up, right? It's an endorsement of the educator. And then the third way that a lot of people don't think about, which I guess you could say is the fourth way. So content, right? Education, then you have accolades, then you have testimonials. The fourth way is what I call partnerships. So like you have a trusted audience right now with the REI agent podcast. They don't know Luke Acree from anywhere. So I'm earning trust through you by association because they trust you because you've been educating them. They know you personally, all this stuff. They now will give me a window. They'll lower their guard and trust me a little bit because of the trust that you have. So I'm earning trust through association. So I always encourage, and this is huge in investing, like Tim Bushnell, an agent on our team, has two clients that feed him. I mean, they might feed him 30 real estate deals this year. They're investor clients. And he's earned a lot of trust, but he joined up with an investor group in Lynchburg, Virginia to build that. And so he earned trust by association in that group. And it's turned into a great lead source for his business. So it's like, that's a long ramble to say that is what you have to do in marketing in order to be successful. And we're gonna try to help automate that for you so you can spend time closing deals. No, that's really, really great. I mean, and you just also succeeded at educating and getting us to know a little bit more about you, building trust, et cetera. I have to say, I had this pet peeve and I don't think it's fully founded, but amongst all of what you just said, you did not say you were posting just sold pictures of your clients. Yeah. I'm not opposed to it. I just don't think you should do it all the time. That should be your only thing. Yeah, so, because I think about this all the time is just how different real estate marketing is or what most people do for real estate marketing compared to what other industries do. And I think that, like for example, you mentioned insurance. Nobody's out there wanting to watch a Geico commercial where they talk about how many successful policies they wrote. Who cares? I mean, sure, there is the element of they're big and all these other people trusted them and surely they're a good option for you. Yeah, it needs to be framed differently. Clients helped. We were able to help X number of families this year. Like here's how we do it at Acre Brothers. It's like last year we sold 269 homes. I shouldn't say that. I should say we did 269 transactions buy side, sell side. Right? But so 269. And so we're able to say thank you to our sphere for helping us serve 269 families this year. So it's a humble brag to a strategic way, right? And that's how I would encourage people because you're exactly right. You don't want the doctor posting number 10 of a successful surgery of removing this person's organ, right? That would be the weirdest post from the doctor. From the surgeon, but real estate agents do that. But it is a glaring example of if you feel awkward posting that it means you haven't done the other work necessary to be able to post the just sold, to be able to post the I just helped Susan and John because you haven't built relationship and it's all just about marketing. Everybody sees through that and goes, that's just, you don't really care about Susan and John. You're just bragging because you haven't been consistent in actually doing it all day long. And you can know things head knowledge-wise and not do them yourself heart knowledge-wise. I've been guilty of it myself. It's where it's like, I constantly am posting stuff about all the successes, wins, things like that. But I haven't been posting the failures. I haven't been posting the content that's relatable and that's about relationship. And that's where we fall down.

Yeah, no, and to your point, there is a place. Like it's not like, I just, I think that's where it's the low hanging fruit that I think a lot of people will take on and the only thing they share. And yeah, it does just feel like it's bragging. And again, it doesn't really focus on what your client actually or what your target audience actually cares about or is interested in. So yeah, it's super fascinating. Doing it over the years too, I would tell people because I talk a lot about obviously what you should send and do, but I've actually found over 14 years of doing this now with a bunch of people is the biggest problem in the industry is they don't curate and cultivate their list. Like they have no idea who's on their list right now. They have a list that is not well-maintained, that they are not weeding. Like they're not pruning and taking care of the garden. Like they are not doing the work and it's like your marketing is only as good as your list. And everybody who's done email marketing knows that for a fact. And there is so little time. I actually had to build a team out of 17 people that you know what they do all day long. This is their only job. You guys could save me so much money if you get this. They just call real estate agents and business owners to help them put their list together and stay on top of them to get their photo into us. It's literally a team of 17 people, 17 paid people that get commissioned when they get Mattias to actually get his list to us. And you would think that would be the thing a business owner has at the tip of their finger because it's their most valuable asset. But this is why like one of my mentors, Alan Dalton, he was the past CEO of Realtor.com. He says, Luke, the biggest problem is you have an industry calling people past clients. And he goes, what are you, a past agent? He goes, you're not a past agent, you're a past client. The reason why real estate agents can't retire and can't sell their practice, but financial advisors can, doctors can, lawyers can, they can all sell to PE firms, to other competitors, strategic partners. Real estate agents can't, why? Because real estate agents do not maintain and cultivate their client list and they treat people as transactions. And even though they don't say it, they have the head knowledge, they know, oh, no, no, it's relationships. Oh, no, no, no, they're not past clients, but they don't act fundamentally that way. And so they have no value in their book of business that people can buy. And if you go talk to all top producers, they do do that. And that's why they're top producers. Yeah, yeah. I mean, so you mentioned Ford earlier. That's definitely mentioned in the Ninja Selling book. And I think it's a really great- Yeah, I love that book. That's a great resource. And I think what you're talking about is exactly the mentality that I like to say I do. I'm not perfect, I don't always. But just, yeah, building up long-term relationships. We want those clients to refer us. We want to new people, to their friends, their family. We want them to come right back to you as soon as they have any questions about even thinking about selling or anything, just getting their house painted, what's the best colors these days, et cetera. You want to be that person that is on top of their mind. And they felt like they had a great experience, they could trust you, all those stuff. And yeah, what you're saying is basically you should have established that in the process of selling the house, but you need to maintain that as well. You need to kind of stay top of mind and do so by producing content that is hopefully valuable, not just, hey, look at me. Well, I'll give you a perfect example. One of my clients, and also I would call him a mentor now, I've learned so much from him. I've had him on our podcast, Sean Carpenter. He is a real estate agent, he was a coach and trainer, still is a speaker, he speaks all over. But he sent me a video

chat the other day on April 9th on my son William's birthday, saying, Luke, calling in, I think he was at Nebraska. I think he was speaking to Nebraska's National Association or something like that, I can't remember, they're realtors. But he goes, hey, Luke, just wanted to wish William a happy birthday. I mean, it's one thing to send me a video message on my birthday, he's doing it on my son's birthday. Like that's how good, this guy's like a freaking ninja as you referenced the book, right, using that language. He is a ninja because he lives it. Like every day he writes, I think it's four or five handwritten notes to clients. He engages with like 20 people or so on social. Like the guy's a freaking assassin, doesn't even have to work for his referrals. He's doing mostly speaking and training these days, but he's still selling real estate because it just comes to him. And that's an example of doesn't cost him anything but his time. And who do I talk of on an REI podcast? I talk of Sean Carpenter, right? I think of Misty, Medicare Misty in the Medicare space, right, absolute beast. When William was born, sent me a little onesie, my dad owns a magazine and like she sent me that and I still remember that. And you just go, it's those little things that like that's all you have to do. I call it like a five for five, take five minutes every single day, pick five people in your database and just text them. Text them or DM them on social, it will help you with the algorithm because they'll engage, you'll engage and it will boost you. But like just personally reach out to them, say, hey, Mattias, thinking about you today, brother. Thanks for having me on REI. I can't believe it's been six months since I was on the show. Hope it's been going well. And then Easter just happened, hope you had a great Easter and boom, that's it. And now who's on Mattias's mind? Luke Acree. And now when that email comes through for my drip, I elevated the email. Now I stand out in the inbox because you remember the text message. The personal human interaction elevates all passive marketing. So the billboard stands out when you have gotten a phone call from the person on the billboard. Never forget that in marketing. You can market the crap out of people, which I do, but you've got to elevate your marketing by building a real relationship. This is why influencer marketing is all the rage because an influencer puts a face, a personal relationship to a brand. And that's why it's all the rage because people connect with people. Yeah. I mean, mic drop. That's brilliant. It's perfect. It's exactly right. And yeah, people haven't ever done this. If they haven't actually ever sat down and written postcards or sorry, letters every day, or systematically went through, I mean, you can go through your contact list and divide them out by, you could do met, not met. You could do A, B, C, D. You can do all sorts of different things to kind of organize your contacts. And what I like to do is A, B, C, D. A's would be people that would be kind of my promoters, the people that would either be repeat buyers or be like singing my praises at the top of the mountaintop and be sending me referrals all the time, et cetera. And those people probably deserve like a lunch or something every year. And to keep track of that kind of thing, you'll be amazed how just nurturing those relationships. And usually these are people you like too, right? So it's not, it's actually kind of fun to do this. And it's kind of an intentional practice that it becomes like a thing you enjoy when you get into it. But yeah, that is so much better as time spent than in my opinion, paying for leads, which I just, I would rather have, hey, my buddy- The data backs you up too. And we do lead for people, but I can speak to that. The data backs you up. You're spot on. That is a way better use of your time. And if you know, like would you rather be answering 16 calls a day and hoping that one

out of a hundred might answer or meet with you? Or would you rather be spending time talking to people you have a relationship with already? And then, you know, you get a call that says, hey, you know, my sister is moving into town and she needs a house. Can you help her? Yeah, spot on. And you're not like begging to get their attention and to please don't hang up on me, please. It's exhausting. My philosophy on that, cause we do for context for everybody listening. So we do Facebook advertising, Instagram, doing some Google. So lead gen is that side. Postcards is also what I would consider a form of lead gen. It's about a 2% conversion over 12 months, two to 4%. And then you have referrals. I am such an advocate of your first and most important pillar for leads is your sphere. And you only should move to the next pillar when you have an excess of money coming in or time on your hands. So where most people, this is where I think people fall down. It's not that you should not do lead generation. You 100% should go after and do leads only if you have an excess of money coming in from your referral business that you want to invest back into your business and you can't invest it back into that referral same pot that's going to generate more referrals or you have an excess of time and where most people find themselves as an excess of time. What do I mean by that? Well, when you come in today at 8 a.m., hopefully you guys started at least by 8 a.m., right? You came in at eight, you make your follow-up texts, your follow-up calls, you're going to run out of friends to call, sphere to call. There's not that many if you're doing it every single day unless you are just like extremely popular. So guess what you find yourself with? Time. And what are you going to do with that time? Most people are unproductive and the phone is too heavy to pick up at that point and call cold people to go out and door knock and actually door knock people. So they tell themselves that's a waste of time and it's not good conversion. It's like, absolutely. I would much rather do a referral, but I don't got no more sphere to call coming in. I need to go do this. And that's our philosophy at Acre Brothers is 51% of our 269 last year came from referrals. But then we have pillars of, we have geo-farming going on, we have Facebook advertising going on, we have some investing clients things going on. And so we use the excess of time to pick up the phone and make an hour of phone calls every day to that circle prospecting list. And that's what I would encourage the audience listening is 100% focus all your effort onto relationships. When you find you have some time, don't make an excuse for yourself and work on something that doesn't matter. Actually get prospecting and pick up the phone and call some absentee owners, call a circle prospecting list, right? And do that. Cause you can do a lot with sweat equity without even spending check equity on leads. So anyways, that's my philosophy on it. No, I agree with you completely. And actually this is one of the things that I have thought about AI being really helpful with. So having a AI chat bot that isn't trying to pretend to be me, and you can do it as a caller to AI, like voice caller, where they are responding to a lead on the internet, for example, and basically just trying to vet and set up an appointment with that person. So they click on something. I think every time I've had like a lead thing kind of coming to me, half the time I feel like people or more than half the time, I feel like people kind of clicked on something curious about what their house was worth or whatever. And then all of a sudden they like are getting bombarded by a bunch of agents calling them. Like I didn't really sign up for this. And it's just a painful process. And I- It is, yep. So, but let's say like instead, you have a chat bot, you have an AI voice caller, you have AI saying, hey, I'm Mattias's AI assistant that

is wanting to see if you have any questions to start and then have like, is there a good time for you to meet, depending on how you set it up exactly. And basically getting them on the calendar, going through all that process to begin with is likely gonna mean they're gonna show up and actually have some serious interest. And so if you can get a hundred people screened down to one through not having to call. I agree. I am much more into that, just from my personal philosophy. Yeah, we're testing that right now with our Facebook lead program. We've launched a bot where the bot basically does exactly what you're talking about. Hey, got your request for the list of homes. Just wanted to narrow down. Are you looking for new construction or, you know, and that type of texting, we've had some decent success with it. It is confirming. What it does for you right away is anybody who responds, you know, is a real person that's actually interested. And so that's working. I think you're spot on that. These AI bots are a great, these chat bots are a great way to funnel. Facebook leads, which are usually majority top of funnel, which means they're not actually ready to buy. Zillow leads tend to be way more bottom of funnel, which is why they're so expensive and everybody wants them. Because, you know, it's someone actively looking to go see a property a lot of times, not all the time, but a lot of times. But, you know, Facebook leads, they're probably top of funnel. Google leads are top of funnel to middle of funnel because it's at least intent-based versus an interrupt, right, they're actually searching for something. But these chat bots are a great way to take it from top of funnel to interest, middle of funnel. Well, and my thought with it all is that, you know, why not take, why not add to your marketing plan of a house that you're listing, saying that you're going to be giving, putting out Facebook ads for it. And then with that, you know, try to funnel in some extra business that way. That could be targeting new buyers, et cetera. And just, you know, you're doing, you're kind of getting a win-win there. You're marketing your client's property better and you have another metric to go off of. You can say how many clicks it got, all that kind of stuff. But then on top of that, you're then also potentially getting new business from it and you're not having to deal with as much of the headache. Yeah, that's well said. Yeah, it's well said. Yeah, no, this is fun. I have been, so I'm forming a team. And so, you know, looking at increasing my, what I do as, you know, kind of the director of marketing as part of it, for sure. And so thoughts about, you know, really just taking advantage of each listing as an opportunity to gain other listings and other buyers. I think, you know, one interesting thing I've heard is I'm actually taking a under contract postcard and sending it to the neighborhood. So, you know, you can see like, you know, just listed, just sold, but you could also be a buyer where you're in a neighborhood and you say under contract and you kind of allude that, you know, they might be able to find out what the price was under contract for, but it would be more targeted towards like, what would your house sell for? That kind of thing. And you can potentially get some more activity. And like you said, I think this is all, you know, if you're doing this at different levels, let's say you're, you know, Facebook marketing, you're doing a postcard. If you're getting out there in different ways, you can really be becoming more familiar, becoming not quite the met phase, but you're becoming more trusted. You're like, okay, this person is like marketing this place. Like I would see how, you know, I would wanna use them to list my house. And yeah, it's, there's a lot of opportunity. I think a lot of times we are too bogged down with the actual getting the house sold process to really take advantage of what an opportunity is.

You know, each time you get a house under contract, each time you list a house to try to gain more business. Yeah, cause your next deal should always come from your current deal a lot of times. It's like your next listing is there. It's within the listing you have, even the buyer you have. I know with like our team, you know, when we have a listing, especially for the good ones, right, you're gonna throw the open house. And one of the things we do is door knock, right? The closest in the neighborhood. And we go there strategically to ask the neighbors what they love about the neighborhood. Cause we can use that in our material to basically go, you know, here's what the neighbors love about this neighborhood. And you get a lot of insight, but at the same time, so it's a non-salesy door knock that has a sales value added, which is, hey, would you like to know what your home's worth based upon this home selling? Would you like an update on the price? I'd love to keep in touch with you there, collecting email addresses. And then, so it gives you a bunch of different avenues. One, to meet the neighbors, to hear what they say, to help you market the current listing. And it's a strategic way to get to know them. So that's one thing that's been working for us. And then this idea of, which is kind of crazy, circle prospecting is working right now. And my theory on this, cause it's not just Acre Brothers, but across the nation, I'm hearing this from people. I'm actually gonna interview a guy out of Michigan soon that is doing a very similar thing to what we're doing and having the same success, calling on these neighborhoods, right? And you're picking the neighborhood based upon some activity that has happened. You know the neighborhood, a listing has come up or something like that. But I think it's working because inventory in most markets is still sparse and prices are high. And 70% or so of the US is sitting on a 4% or less interest rate. And so they want to move. I have employees that want to move, but there's just no way they're gonna move without prodding, without someone literally making them feel like, I guess it's meant to be, I'm supposed to move. So there's a lot of this pent up demand. I just interviewed the co-CEOs of Next Home. So they have one of the largest, fastest growing real estate brands right now. I think it's like 600 offices plus. And they were saying, Keith, who's like their numbers guy, was saying he believes when rates hit like 6%, that there's going to be a ton of buyers that come onto the market. And I think we are almost discovering those people sooner by circle prospecting. But the problem with circle prospecting is the sweat equity. 12,000 calls to 3,000 unique people for 12 deals so far this year. Ton in the pipeline, but 12 deals so far. Closed already this year from that. And it's like, but it's a lot. Who's going to want to make 12,000 calls to 3,000 unique people? Spread out, guys, though, over four months is really not that much, but it's still that. It's that level of intensity. And the added benefit though, and Steven, you know, my brother, can speak to extremely well, is you get a lot of people who will sell their listing off-market. And they don't want to go to market, but they'll sign a listing agreement with you for off-market deal. And so we have a, I forget what Cody said, he's the director of Ops. I think he said it was like 18, maybe a little bit more of off-market listings right now that we can share with our buyers that come into the open houses that, hey, look, you know where you find deals is before they come to market. We have a list of 18 plus homes already, let alone through our whole network that we can connect you to. And it helps you solidify that person that comes into your open house. So that's just a couple like strategies that are working right now for us, I hope helps. Oh, that's fascinating. Yeah, that's great. We had talked a little bit about how a lot of

agents don't invest in real estate themselves and how it can be a really good retirement plan, but there's just a really, we talked about this a bit off air, but just how it's a good retirement plan. I mean, honestly, we're just put in front of opportunities as well. So there's that, but how, it just makes a lot of sense as an agent for many reasons to invest in real estate. You also mentioned to me off air that you invest with your brother as well. You want to talk a little bit about that? So I've been investing now for, I guess it's been like five years. So we've learned a lot. We're up to about 200 properties, mainly, say what? So you've been aggressive. That's a fast growth, that's awesome. Yeah, so we obviously got into it because we love real estate. Steven knows the Lynchburg market really well. And so I always wanted to be in it. So him and I, and then our other brother, Mark, joined up and we just actually got my uncle to get in too. So we're starting to syndicate a little bit, but so smaller portfolio, I guess it just depends who you're talking to, but so we mainly what I would call single family, some duplexes, triplexes. We just started in recent year and a half, two years, started to buy some 12 unit, seven unit deals. I think our biggest deal has been 24 units, I want to say that we got. We've bid, like I told you off here, we've bid on some big ones. We just can't get them because capital's too rich. And people will take a cap rate that we won't take or they'll take a return that we don't want to take. We want to beat the stock market where they're willing to take just 6% because they're looking for a place to hold their money. So there's a lot of these funds and stuff like that out there. I'll tell you, we got up, we did a lot of flipping too. So this year we'll probably flip 15 to 20 homes, but at one point we had 13 flips going on at one time and that was a lesson of disaster is what that was. It's like, man, to manage the subs, the contractors, to keep that, ugh. I mean, Luke, you must be a master of systems because that's a lot. It was crazy. I mean, right now, even right now we have, I think like five jobs going on, but some of those are holds versus flips. But yeah, it's a pain. And I give all credit to my brother, Mark. He's the one who's managing the day-to-day of that. So he's kind of our, luckily I came from a family of eight kids, like I mentioned. So there's a lot of brothers, six boys, two girls. My brother, we just started our own property management company, 127 Rentals. So it's just early, like last four months. We got my brother, Josh came out of the military and he's going to run that. And so, you know. With 200 units of your own, I mean, it makes sense. Yeah, we need to get, we were saying we need to get like a hundred more units for it to really make sense. And that might be just our math of where we want to be. But we said, so we're, we just started managing a couple other people's properties. Here's a pain point that I think will be, you know, relevant to the audience is my brothers, Josh and Mark are operators. Stephen and I are visionaries. So not that they don't, that sounds bad when you say it out loud. Mark and Josh have a lot of vision, right? But they're more operators. They care way more about the, dotting the I's, crossing the T's, being prepared. Where Stephen and I are like, ah, we'll figure it out. You know, just, you know, buy it, do it. And so it's like, it's a real struggle of, you know, hey, what do you do first? Do you get the operations together or do you buy the, or like in this scenario, do you take on other clients before you have it fully operated out? And my experience has taught me, you learn the most through application. And so you can prepare and you should use wisdom, but most people wait too long. And I would encourage people that you will have pain no matter what. Just step into it because there's this thing in software development that I think translates really well, which is kind of MVP.

So it's called minimal viable product. And if you wait for the perfect product to bring to market for software, you're too late. You need to bring the minimally viable product to get feedback from the market. And the market then tells you where to invest your time and energy. And that's, I think, true for your real estate investing, for property management. It's like, go to market with a minimally viable product. I can find candidates or people to tax, applicants to go in and I can lease the property and I can collect the paychecks and I can evict them out. And then from there, let the market tell you, wow, I'm not getting enough applicants. I need to focus my time, energy, and money on marketing. Oh, we're getting too many maintenance calls. I need to focus my time, energy, and money into the maintenance aspect of the business. Like let the market dictate how you iterate versus trying to think of it all. And this has been a healthy debate within our own organization that I think can help and translate to people. So Josh, Mark, if you're listening to this, man, we just need to go, baby. I mean, that's also such a beautiful combination though. It's like, I think that's, in the team building that I've been doing, we actually had Rosie Noel on the podcast a while back. My wife and I did the CliftonStrengths Finders examination or whatever it's called. And we did it separately and we didn't know each other's results. We waited until she was able to do how we work well together on air live, which was a lot of fun. But it was also really powerful and really true. And it went through our different strengths and vision was the futuristic was the way they worded it, was one of my top strengths as well. And anyway, so in building the team, we've had everybody that's joined on also do this Strengths Finder. And a really cool thing too is you can take the results of that and you can make a custom GPT where you're going to be a perfect, whatever it's called, like a business consultant based on strengths and all that kind of stuff. And then you can just kind of ask it questions while they have the data uploaded of these people and how they best fit. And so we're kind of trying to form the whole company based on that. And so it's $50 to do this exam. What is it called? Clifton Strengths Finder. Okay, I'm going to take note of this. That sounds phenomenal. I use something called the predictive index, which is like the PI. It's kind of like the disc, but you can take it pretty fast. But yeah, okay, I'm going to write this down because that's pretty awesome. It's a really cool, I'm blanking on the word, it's not an exam, but like, so basically it will, it gives you 20 seconds to answer each question and how fast you answered will actually impact your overall score as well. So there might be some things that you answer immediately because you know right away. And she knows, Rosie knows this because she actually took people, or she had somebody take it in English and Spanish was her native language. And they were like kind of like slow to answer a lot of stuff and they were listed as very undecisive basically. I mean, they focused on strengths, not like weaknesses. So like decisiveness was low. But then when she retook it in Spanish, she had a completely different result. But anyway, so it's a really cool thing. And I think it's a really fundamental way of trying to understand where people are coming from. And you can then also communicate to them knowing where, how they're probably seeing things, versus how you're probably seeing things. And you can kind of make jokes about, oh, that's Mattias living in the clouds again, or whatever. That's so true. Cause I was telling Steve and my brother that, hey man, you're trying to motivate, Josh and Steve and, or sorry, Josh and Mark by motivating them towards the vision. And all that is saying to them as operators is more work, more problems, more you don't understand the reality. You

need to speak towards the day to day and go, hey, where are we at today on this one task? Cause that is more where they live, not because it's right or wrong. We need them to do that because we're not doing that part, you know? And so it's, that's such good advice. I wrote that down. I think I'm going to get everybody to take it. The four brothers to take the CliftonStrengths. It's been super interesting and well worth it to me. Cause there's 32 different strengths and then there's four different categories of each strength. So you can see like strategic is like a bigger category, relationship oriented. And there's just, it's also like you use, if you're high strategic, but not good at a different area, you might have a strategy to compensate for that weakness. And again, we're not really focusing on weakness, but it's just a really interesting way of kind of being intentional about setting things up. And I've enjoyed it immensely so far and hope to kind of continue to build it and see where, you know, what's needed on the team. Like, what do we need to fill in the gaps that aren't there? And, you know, I think we are a very relationship oriented team so far, which is great. And I think that's going to be good, but we probably need some doers, some executors as well. Don't, don't undervalue the doers. Exactly, which is not, you know, like you need both. Cause like sometimes if you only have executors, if you only have executors, they're probably not going to give a crap about how the people are feeling. And then there's just going to be this ongoing tension that just like, that builds up. And so you kind of need that. It's like everything in life is a push and a pull. It's such a give and take. And also you have the effect of seasons as well. So there's different seasons that come in and one skillset is better than the other. Yeah. And it's not because it's more valuable. It's just in this moment and in this season it is. I know as we've grown the company, Reminder Media, you know, growth is not a straight line. It's more like the staircase, right? You grow and then you flatline cause new problems arise. And the craziest thing to me has been that the thing that helped us overcome that one hump back at like 10 million is the actual strength that is killing us at, you know, 60 something million right now. And it's just like, you're like, wow, what I valued back then, even though it's still just as valuable, it's an amazing thing, is actually killing us at this stage cause it's a different season. And so this is where comparison really kills entrepreneurs because we're comparing ourselves to the Alex Ramoses or the, you know, you name it, like whoever your choice of person is. And you're not realizing that, hey man, advice is so nuanced. And that is why it is so critical to get mentors who are doing what you are doing or have done what you are doing little bit further ahead of you than, you know, and so they can speak to it. Cause sometimes like it's hard to speak back to the earlier stages because, you know, that hasn't been my most recent memory. So, you know, memory a lot of times is false. I don't know if you've read that same stuff. It's like a lot of times what you remember is actually not true. A lot of it's a lie. You just made it up in your brain. So it's like, you want that mentor that has the life you want, but it's not too far ahead of you. It's like just a little ways ahead of you cause they can remember the nuance of what it takes at that stage of the game. No, that's really well said. I agree completely. But the point of it all is keep growing, keep learning about yourself and don't forget that you probably want to retire one day. So you might want a business you can sell and probably- If there's a deal, the money will show up. Realtors tell themselves the lie all the time. I don't have money for it. Oh man, if you find the deal, the money will show up. You know how many people want to invest

in real estate? You just got to do your part, which is build relationships, get out to the investor forums. You'll find other investors that will help get in on that deal with you. And maybe you have to keep a smaller part of the pie to begin with. But Hey man, you know, at least you're in the right room, right? I think it was Grant Cardone who said, if you can't afford a ticket, serve, right? Be the janitor, carry the water, right? At least you're in the right room at that point. I love it. And to your point, you know, like we talked about off air, I'm actually in a syndication in Lynchburg. Yeah, that's so funny. That's so great. Wouldn't it be hilarious if you were in the syndication that Tim Bushnell, the agent on our team, is that he's in like a couple of investor groups there. That would be so funny. Yeah, that would be amazing. I don't think these operators are actually based out of Lynchburg. Okay, so probably not then, yeah. But anyway, it's, you know, to your point, like, you know, if you're just kind of making moves, like so they found the deal and I'm happy to pay into it because it gives me an amazing benefit. And the beauty about that on top of it is I have no headache to worry about really. I mean, I had to do analysis to try to figure out if the deal was right. And, you know, I have luckily really good friends with one of the operators. So I, you know, trusted that it was a good deal. You know, as a real estate professional, the first year that we got a K-1, actually we were, we like had just invested in like November or December, and then we got a K-1 for $66,000 to write off the taxes because of the bonus depreciation because of, you know. Man, that's sick. And we invested 50. And you can claim it all because you're a real estate professional. Well, I'm not a tax accountant, so don't take my advice, but I'm not a real estate professional because I do marketing, reminder media, where my brother is. So I don't get all the benefits. Only my K-1 can only go towards my real estate income. So I have enough real estate income now that, you know, the depreciation and the, you know, cost segregations and stuff like that helps a ton, but I don't get the full benefit on all my income. Right. And so it's like, yeah, if you're a real estate professional, man, how can you not be investing in real estate? Good gosh. Cost segregation, you could pay zero taxes. Imagine that, people. Yeah, so first year, invested $50,000 first year, which only was really a month of owning it. $66,000 written off the taxes. Second year, 23. So we're almost doubled the amount we invested in tax write-offs. And that's at the same time getting almost an 11% return on investment. Mattias, man, hit me up. I'm local to you. Kindly hit me up on those deals, bro. Don't be selfish, man. Don't be selfish. I do think this one was a little bit better than a better performer than others have. Every year is going to be a little bit different. They might not have as much to write off. I mean, I'm expecting the depreciation to not be as high the next coming years, but at this point, you know. It doesn't matter, man. You're up. I mean, it doesn't matter at this point. It's all gravy at that point. Yep, and then, you know, once they do a cash out refinance, get your money back and still have a 1% ownership in the deal is what I think my stake will be. So much less at that point, but again. What I love about real estate is we've never lost on a deal in terms of buying a, like a lemon, like buying like something where it's like, oh, wow, we totally screwed up here. But we have lost on two properties in terms of time. Like one actually very recently in this past couple months where the time it's taken us to flip the property and the foundation problem and the septic that came back, put it to where we're still going to make money, but instead of making the 30 grand on the flip, right? You're going to make four grand. And if you calculate your time, you lost money. So we have lost money on two deals specifically.

And what's interesting about both of them, both of them, we had what I call is biased because we lived in the areas that we bought the property. One was on the same street that Steven and Mark lived on. So they had a bias that they didn't realize. And we didn't learn, I guess, from the first one because we made this. Now, granted, we got a little screwed because we had some homeless people come and strip out all the wiring after we had just put it in. So that really hurt us. But yeah, I'm saying that to the audience knows, yeah, you will lose on something we've lost. Hopefully not, not everybody does. Some people are smarter than us, but if you want to go with speed, you're probably going to lose. So trying to build this up over the last five years, we've been trying to move fast. And so there's mistakes with speed. So you can go more conservative, but I love real estate because it is math. Like it is the numbers. Like if you just do the numbers on paper and then do worst case scenario and always go worse than you think, like worst case scenario. And if you still make money then, then you're probably safe. And you don't have to, I'm not, I mean, I went to community college for two years and that's not a knock on community college. It's just like, I'm not the best student. You know, and stuff like that. But- I think entrepreneurs often aren't. Yeah. Yeah. But it's just in the doing, it's in the doing. Yeah. And because, yeah, to that point. And I think it's because you see your real results. It's a lot more tangible than, you know, somebody assigning you some work that doesn't really seem like it matters. But not to digress, I would agree with you completely. And I think that also some people are fearful when they first get into like something like flipping because they think it's like almost a zero sum game. I'm investing $200,000, I can lose it all. And it's rarely the case. I mean, certainly you can lose money. Certainly there can be huge headaches and problems and it can take a lot longer than you expect. But normally on your losses, they probably weren't huge. And especially since you're at such a big scale, you're doing so many that you probably, you know, overall we're still way ahead. Because you can- And I mean, the biggest mistake we've probably made, honestly, was not getting solid accounting. And you would think with my background with ReminderMedia, we have a VP of finance, all that stuff. I would have paid for that upfront and done that. We didn't do that. We tried to use QuickBooks. We still use QuickBooks today, but tried to learn from these YouTube videos of how to set up classes and all this stuff within QuickBooks to account for the properties. And that has been a nightmare. Really only over the last year have we gotten it to where, you know, you can actually see everything really well. So I would really encourage people if you're getting in, spend the money or do the time on the accounting because it does hurt you in the end. Because it's just so hard. Like, you know at the big picture you're winning, but you want to know at the detail level because the money's in the details. And so that's another mistake we have made on the investing side that I said no to my brother, which I shouldn't have. I told him, I don't know, two, three years ago, he said, we need to hire an accountant. I was like, we don't need to hire an accountant. Are you crazy? We can't afford an accountant, you know, for this business. And I should have said yes right then instead of no, because I was thinking selfishly and thinking I'm going to do the work and figure it out. You got to know when you're not going to do the work. Yeah. You know what I mean? And that, admitting that is a prideful, you gotta be humility. I didn't have humility, obviously, because I should have said, yeah, you're right. We need to pay the money and take less for ourselves and give it because you can tell yourself all day, Luke, you're going

to get in there and figure it out, but you're not going to take the time to do it because you have your other job, family, all this stuff. And if you're not going to do it, you got to pay for it some way. And we're paying for it in lessons learned versus the money out of the door then, so. Yeah, and I think that's kind of where you can, you know, take the concepts of like 10X is better than 2X to heart, where if you think, you know, you're really going to build this to a point where you're not going to have time. Like, I think it is good to have a certain level of understanding so you can kind of check all that stuff. Oh, that's a great point, yeah. But, like, you know, you're not going to have time to do this because you're going to scale to the point where it's, you know, and then you just go ahead and make that higher and free up your time to focus on maybe acquiring more. Well, to tie it full circle goes back to what I was saying with the marketing for real estate agents, for any business, they don't spend the time with their list. Yeah. Right, because the list is the mundane. The list is the boring thing. The list is, I have to reach out to Mattias and get him to give me his address, right? That like, it's all that boring stuff. Accounting is very similar, setting up the classes, documenting the receipts, like all that stuff. It's like, and I should have taken my own medicine. Yeah, it's been painful, man. That's probably been the worst part about the whole business. The bookkeeping of flips is a nightmare, especially if you get into partnerships and stuff too. It's, yeah, it is really hard, but worth it at the end. So don't let that discourage you. Luke, we are, actually, probably, we could probably talk for another two hours, but. Yeah, this is like the Joe Rogan podcast, man. You want a cigar? Yeah, seriously, some bourbon, something like that, no. No, but I did want to ask if you have any golden nuggets that you want to share with our listeners. And I would just encourage you, I mean, you can see probably in the sign behind me, it's kind of my slogan, the difference between mediocre producers and top producers in every industry is top producers take action. So maybe you heard something today that triggered something for you that you know you need to do in your business. For the love of God, please act on it, and don't wait, go do it. That is truly the difference, the separator. I've been interviewing top producers on our show, Stay Paid, for eight years, and they are definitely not the smartest, and that's not a knock on them. It is not a planned thing. It's like some of them have great plans, some of them don't, but every single one of them act relentlessly. Like, they just take action, and I just would encourage you, whatever you're thinking about, that is what it is, and go act upon it. And the freedom that gives you is just immense. Like, the endorphins that come from completing the thing that you know you need it to do, that you've put off doing, is a powerful drug, but it is hard to do that, so go do it. That is such a good life hack, too, is whenever you are not feeling 100% in a day, to knock off something that's been annoying, that's nagging the back of your head. I cleaned the garage yesterday on Easter Sunday. You are a psychopath. No, it felt amazing. What about, let's ask about books now. Do you have any books that you think are fundamental for everybody to read, or just ones that you're currently enjoying? Yeah, the most important book to read, in my opinion, take it or leave it, is the Bible. If you want to apply it in life, right, and maybe you're not a religious person, or not to make it religious, right, just go read the book of Proverbs if you want to get immense wisdom with business, personal development, dealing with people. Book of Proverbs is a super easy read. It's one of the books of the Bible, but go read the book of Proverbs. It will change your life in business. I truly believe that.

Okay, cool. You know, I don't know if anybody's actually just left it at that, at the Bible. I think there might have been a couple that have mentioned it, but yeah, cool. Yeah, I believe it's the best business. One of my mentors built a big architecture and engineering firm. He's passed away recently, but he's an incredible man, and he built his whole business off of Proverbs 31 core values, and it's actually, Proverbs 31 is about a godly woman, but it applies so well to business as well, but he built his whole successful business, multi-million dollar company off of it, and it's pretty incredible. Cool, and then where can people find you? Is it social media, a website for your marketing company, et cetera? So I would love to connect with everybody on social, of course, so Instagram's probably where I'm the most active. It'd be @LukeAcree, so L-U-K-E is Luke, and then Acree is A-C-R-E-E, and then if you are interested in marketing, Reminder Media is the company, so you can Google Reminder Media or just go to remindermedia.com, and we will come up there. Luke, thanks so much for being on the podcast. This has been great. Yeah, thank you. I've enjoyed it. Thanks for listening to the REI Agent. If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week. Visit REIAgent.com for more content. Until next time, keep building the life you want. All content in this show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.

[david-badaro]

David Badaro Shares 6 Smart Ways to Use AI in Business Consulting

David Badaro is a business consultant who focuses on practical results. He helps businesses grow by solving problems with strategies that work. David Badaro believes every consultant should understand how to use AI to deliver better outcomes. AI isn’t just a trend; it’s a tool that can make your work sharper, faster, and more useful to your clients. Here are six smart ways you can use AI in business consulting today.

1. Speed Up Research and Market Analysis

You spend hours gathering market data, reviewing competitor trends, and digging through industry reports. AI tools like ChatGPT, AlphaSense, and Crayon can do much of this work for you in minutes. You can get summaries, forecasts, and competitive insights without reading dozens of PDFs. This means you can spend less time on background work and more time thinking through solutions for your clients.

2. Improve Decision-Making with Predictive Analytics

Clients often ask what’s likely to happen next. AI helps you answer with data-backed predictions. AI Platforms use machine learning to find patterns and forecast outcomes. You can help your clients understand what might happen if they change pricing, launch a new product, or shift to a different business model. Instead of guessing, you’re giving them a data-based plan.

3. Automate Routine Tasks

Consulting involves a lot of repeatable tasks, reports, client updates, follow-ups, and proposals. AI tools can automate parts of these processes. You can set up workflows that send reports automatically or summarize meeting notes without writing them yourself. This lets you focus on client strategy while AI handles the busy work.

4. Customize Client Insights at Scale

Every client wants to feel like the most important one. With AI, you can give each client custom insights without doing everything by hand. AI can analyze their performance data, website activity, or sales numbers and turn them into clear suggestions. Tools like HubSpot, Salesforce Einstein, or even simple Google Sheets with AI add-ons can help you build personalized reports that look like they took hours; but didn’t.

5. Enhance Communication with AI-Powered Writing

Writing is a key part of consulting. You write reports, emails, proposals, and presentations. AI writing tools like Grammarly, ChatGPT, or Jasper help you write faster and clearer. You can get a first draft out quickly, spot writing mistakes early, and adjust the tone depending on the client. The goal isn’t to replace your writing but to make it cleaner and faster.

6. Spot Problems Before They Get Big

One of the best uses of AI is early detection. Whether it’s a drop in employee productivity, a rise in customer complaints, or slow-moving inventory, AI can pick up signals early. By connecting to your client’s systems, AI can flag issues you may not see until they become big problems. This helps you give more timely advice and prevent avoidable losses.

Conclusion

AI won’t replace your consulting skills. It supports them. David Badaro shares tips on how to use AI to get better results in less time. You can too. Start by picking one task you repeat often. Find an AI tool that helps with it. Then move to the next. Bit by bit, you’ll see your work become sharper, faster, and more focused on what matters; helping your clients grow.