Marketing Your Business - Marketing Strategies for Business Owners

Stu McLaren

Marketing Your Business is a podcast dedicated to all things marketing. It's a behind-the-scenes look at the marketing tactics and strategies that lead to a loyal following, growing sales, and a business that gives you more freedom in your everyday life. Each episode is packed with takeaways to help you get what you have in front of a lot more people. It's about leveraging your marketing to build a business that's high in profit, low in stress, and one that gives you the ability to have the greatest impact on the world. Join leading online marketing strategist and entrepreneur Stu McLaren as he shares what's working for selling products online with product launches, online communities, email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, and more. This is about the marketing that leads to more sales, more profits, and a high-growth business. But this show isn't just about making money. It's about using the power of marketing to give you more freedom. The freedom to work with who you want, where you want, while having time to travel and do the things that matter. It's about reducing the "go-go-go" stress and redesigning your business so you can be more present in the lives of those who matter most to you. About Stu McLaren: For years, Stu has helped experts transform their knowledge and influence into recurring revenue by launching, growing, and scaling 7 and 8-figure membership sites. In 2008, he co-founded the world's most popular membership platform for WordPress (WishList Member). He then went on to partner with New York Times best-selling author Michael Hyatt, helping his company go from a high 6-figure business (with lots of stress) to a high 7-figure business (with low-stress). Michael's profitability soared, his email list grew from 70,000 to over 500,000 and he gained back over 100 days with his family by not having to travel. Today, he's the Co-Founder of Membership.io, helping creators and entrepreneurs build thriving membership businesses. He's also the author of Predictable Profits, which shows business owners how to create recurring revenue so they can stop chasing new customers and start building real stability. If you've got an established business and you're looking for ideas on how to get your products and services in front of more people OR you're thinking about starting a business and want to see the behind-the-scenes of another entrepreneur doing it in real time, Marketing Your Business is tailor-made for you.

  1. 239: Why I'm Betting Big on Summits (And You Should Too)

    4H AGO

    239: Why I'm Betting Big on Summits (And You Should Too)

    What if one event could build your email list, create months of content, AND generate revenue? That's exactly what we're about to try. And in this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes.   Register for the FREE Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10): https://links.membership.io/summit2026   A lot has changed in the creator space. Strategies that used to work really well aren't working anymore. AI has disrupted everything. Algorithms have shifted. And it's left a lot of people confused and unsure of what to do next. So I want to share a strategy that's been quietly producing massive results for creators who are paying attention: summits.   I first got inspired by Tara Phillips, a member of my Impact Mastermind. Tara spent 25 years as an educator working with kids with autism, started selling resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, then built a membership. Two and a half years after leaving her teaching job, her membership has grown into a multi-million dollar a year business. She's added tens of thousands of people to her email list and attracted sponsors like Sesame Street and Melissa and Doug Toys. All from running summits.   In this episode, you'll learn: - Why summits solve three business problems at once (list building, content, revenue) - How we built the Audience to Income Summit step by step - The business model behind a free summit with a VIP upgrade - Two big takeaways every business owner should act on this year   REGISTER: Grab your FREE seat at the Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10): https://links.membership.io/summit2026    RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: - Website: https://stu.me  - Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  - Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  - Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  - Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

    18 min
  2. 237: Experience This - The Marketing Strategy Nobody Can Copy

    5D AGO

    237: Experience This - The Marketing Strategy Nobody Can Copy

    If your marketing feels like it's not cutting through the noise right now, this episode is going to open your eyes. I just got back from a family trip to Japan and I walked away with three marketing lessons that every business owner needs to hear.   My kids planned their entire Japan itinerary from short-form video. The strawberry sandwich from 7-Eleven, the Ichiran Ramen restaurant, the bamboo forest -- all of it came from 15-second clips on Instagram and TikTok. And it wasn't just them. I saw a 30-second reel of the Nike running lab in Tokyo, booked it in advance, and walked in the door as a lifelong Adidas guy. That's how powerful this stuff is. But the lessons go deeper than just short-form content. Japan showed me that the experience you create IS your marketing strategy, and that genuine scarcity and exclusivity pull people in instead of pushing them away.   In this episode, you'll learn: - Why short-form content drives real-world action (and the stats that prove it) - How to think about your customer experience as your best marketing strategy - Why genuine scarcity increases desire and how to use it without faking it - The one question to ask yourself this week that can transform a touchpoint in your business   RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: - Website: https://stu.me  - Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  - Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  - Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  - Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

    17 min
  3. 236: 3 Lessons From a Public Feud

    MAR 18

    236: 3 Lessons From a Public Feud

    Two of the most respected marketers in our industry just had a very public falling out -- all because of a single AI-generated image. And it raised a question every one of us using AI needs to answer. Frank Kern ran an ad for his AI copywriting tool. The ad included an AI-generated image of a woman in a red string bikini. The problem? The image looked almost identical to Alex Cattoni, founder of Copy Posse. People started DMing Alex asking if it was her. She posted a video calling Frank out publicly. Frank responded saying it was a coincidence and he wasn't apologizing. The comments section became a war zone -- people comparing Frank to Jeffrey Epstein, others threatening his family, and ugly things being said about Alex too. It got out of hand fast. But underneath all the noise, there are three lessons here that matter for anyone using AI in their business. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why you are 100% responsible for what AI creates on your behalf (and why "it was AI" is the new "the dog ate my homework") - The review step most people are skipping before they hit publish -- and why it's the real failure point - Why going direct first (before going public) almost always leads to a better outcome when conflict happens   RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: - Website: https://stu.me  - Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  - Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  - Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  - Membership.io: https://membership.io   Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

    12 min
  4. MAR 16

    235: 30 Years of Marketing in One Conversation (Dean Graziosi)

    Dean Graziosi expected 300,000 people at his AI Advantage Summit. 683,000 showed up. 78% had never heard of him before. Here's the 3-day framework he used to go from cold audience to lowest refund rate in 30 years. Dean Graziosi is a 30-year marketing veteran, Tony Robbins' business partner, and former infomercial marketer who built his career reaching millions of people before the internet existed. In this conversation, Dean reveals: • Why he starts every campaign with pain, not product • The infomercial avatar: "Mom puts the baby down, sits on the couch" • How he got 683,000 business owners to a free 3-day event • Why 78% of attendees had never heard of him before • The "12 minutes of selling in 9 hours" framework • Why he NEVER sells on Day 1 (and what he does instead) • "Ripening green fruit" — the patience strategy that doubles revenue • Alex Hormozi's advice that made him rewrite the entire script • Why he condensed a 6-month program to 35 days   📚 FREE RESOURCE: Get Dean's 3-Day Launch Event Playbook + Event Framework Worksheet → https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH DEAN: • Website: https://deangraziosi.com  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/deangraziosi  • AI Advantage Summit: https://aiadvantagesummit.com    CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe for new episodes every week.

    35 min
  5. 234: Why I Wrestled a Sumo Wrestler (And What It Taught Me About Funnels)

    MAR 13

    234: Why I Wrestled a Sumo Wrestler (And What It Taught Me About Funnels)

    What if you could turn one Instagram Reel into actual sales, without ever sending someone to a landing page? About a year ago, I started tracking our drop-off rates and the numbers were brutal. My family and I are in Japan right now (I wrestled a Sumo wrestler — long story), and while I've been here I've been thinking a lot about this system we've been building. We stopped sending people to landing pages entirely. Instead, we kept the entire funnel inside Instagram DMs. Opt-ins more than doubled. Same content, same offer; we just removed the friction of leaving the platform. In this episode, I'm breaking down the exact anatomy of what I call the "One-Post Funnel" from the Reel that hooks them, to the DM that converts them, to the $7 impulse offer that upsells 40% of buyers into your next offer. In this episode, you'll learn: • The 4-part content formula for Reels that actually convert (hook, teaching points, CTA, caption structure) • Why DM automation gets 65-90% opt-in rates vs. 30-40% on landing pages — and how to set it up with ManyChat • How a $7 front-end offer qualifies buyers and leads to membership upsells on the back end • The repurposing strategy that turns your top-performing Reels into webinars, email sequences, and more lead magnets   ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - What if one Reel could generate sales without a landing page? 1:22 - Japan update: I wrestled a Sumo wrestler for the kids 2:40 - Why I started questioning everything about our Instagram strategy 3:08 - The drop-off problem: views but no sales 3:42 - The stat that stopped me cold (DM opt-in rates vs. landing pages) 4:06 - What if we just kept people inside Instagram? 4:38 - We tested it — opt-ins more than doubled 5:03 - Part 1: The high-converting content formula (hook + 3 teaching points + CTA + caption) 6:05 - Why you should never say "link in bio" again 6:41 - Caption structure: CTA as the first line 7:37 - Part 2: DM automation with ManyChat 8:06 - Why DMs crush landing pages (65-90% vs. 30-40%) 8:45 - How to set up the automation sequence 10:06 - Why instant responses build trust in 2026 10:14 - Part 3: The $7 impulse offer 10:58 - Order bumps and membership upsells on the back end 11:42 - The math: 100 opt-ins → $400/month recurring from one Reel 12:20 - Part 4: Repurpose the winners 13:00 - Next steps: Your 3-step action plan 13:36 - Experience this funnel yourself — DM me SUMMIT26 14:13 - Next week: Dean Graziosi's 680,000-registrant launch 14:45 - Full recap of the One-Post Funnel system   📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me  🎟️ FREE SUMMIT: Join Stu and 24 creators for the Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10, 2026): DM "SUMMIT26" to @stumclaren on Instagram or visit https://membership.io/summit    CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

    16 min
  6. 233: Japan Cracked Me Wide Open (What That Means For Your Marketing)

    MAR 11

    233: Japan Cracked Me Wide Open (What That Means For Your Marketing)

    I'm standing in one of the busiest subway stations in the world: Tokyo, rush hour, millions of people moving around me, and I don't speak a word of Japanese. But I knew exactly where I was going. And that experience taught me something about YOUR marketing. My family and I are traveling through Japan right now, and three things have stood out to me that apply directly to how you and I market our businesses. From the Tokyo subway system to a hotel booking gone wrong to our daughter who doesn't love traveling suddenly falling in love with a temple, each experience revealed a marketing principle that most of us are getting wrong. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why simplicity is the ultimate marketing strategy — and how to build a "color, letter, number" system for your business • How the gap between what you promise and what you deliver is quietly costing you customers (72% will switch after one confusing experience) • What Japan's culture of safety and cleanliness teaches us about building communities where members actually engage ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Standing in Tokyo's subway at rush hour 0:42 - Welcome to Marketing Your Business 1:18 - Setting the scene: A family of four in Tokyo 1:56 - Lesson 1: Simplicity is the ultimate marketing strategy 3:13 - The Tokyo subway's color-letter-number system 4:06 - What's the "color, letter, number" system for YOUR business? 4:18 - 7-Eleven's smoothie machine and effortless onboarding 5:00 - 72% of customers switch after one confusing experience 5:47 - Lesson 2: Close the gap between promise and delivery 6:12 - The hotel room that "accommodates five" 7:06 - When trust breaks down in your marketing 7:58 - 65% of customers switch when experience doesn't match the promise 8:27 - Lesson 3: When people feel safe, they open up 8:33 - Marla at Japan's oldest temple 9:27 - Japan's culture of cleanliness and safety 10:03 - What's the "cleanliness" of your community? 10:37 - The three big takeaways recap 11:00 - Your homework: Pick one and take action this week 11:15 - Join us for the free Audience to Income Summit 12:38 - Wrap-up 📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me 🎟️ FREE SUMMIT: Join Stu and 24 industry leading creators for the Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10, 2026) — https://membership.io/summit CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me • Membership.io: https://membership.io Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

    13 min
  7. MAR 9

    232: She Launched a Membership Before Building It (Here's What Happened) - Krystal Schouten

    Krystal Schouten launched her membership before anything was built—and it worked. She helps women stop peeing their pants (yes, really), and in this episode, she reveals the limiting belief that almost held her back. Krystal Schouten is a pelvic floor fitness specialist who helps women overcome incontinence and regain confidence. In this episode, she shares her journey from one-on-one personal training to launching a membership - including the fear that almost stopped her. We talk about: • The "welcome to motherhood" myth she's fighting against • How COVID forced her to pivot (and her mom pushed her to keep going) • The limiting belief "I can't be big" and where it comes from • The $2/day reframe that makes membership pricing accessible • Why she launched her membership before anything was built • How she handles the emotional roller coaster of entrepreneurship 📚 FREE RESOURCE: Get Krystal's Founding Member Launch Checklist + Pricing Reframe Script → https://podcast.stu.me   CONNECT WITH KRYSTAL: • Instagram: https://instagram.com/fitness.reset  • Website: https://fitnessresetinfo.com  • Membership: The Body Reset Method  CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io  Subscribe for new episodes every week.

    33 min

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About

Marketing Your Business is a podcast dedicated to all things marketing. It's a behind-the-scenes look at the marketing tactics and strategies that lead to a loyal following, growing sales, and a business that gives you more freedom in your everyday life. Each episode is packed with takeaways to help you get what you have in front of a lot more people. It's about leveraging your marketing to build a business that's high in profit, low in stress, and one that gives you the ability to have the greatest impact on the world. Join leading online marketing strategist and entrepreneur Stu McLaren as he shares what's working for selling products online with product launches, online communities, email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, and more. This is about the marketing that leads to more sales, more profits, and a high-growth business. But this show isn't just about making money. It's about using the power of marketing to give you more freedom. The freedom to work with who you want, where you want, while having time to travel and do the things that matter. It's about reducing the "go-go-go" stress and redesigning your business so you can be more present in the lives of those who matter most to you. About Stu McLaren: For years, Stu has helped experts transform their knowledge and influence into recurring revenue by launching, growing, and scaling 7 and 8-figure membership sites. In 2008, he co-founded the world's most popular membership platform for WordPress (WishList Member). He then went on to partner with New York Times best-selling author Michael Hyatt, helping his company go from a high 6-figure business (with lots of stress) to a high 7-figure business (with low-stress). Michael's profitability soared, his email list grew from 70,000 to over 500,000 and he gained back over 100 days with his family by not having to travel. Today, he's the Co-Founder of Membership.io, helping creators and entrepreneurs build thriving membership businesses. He's also the author of Predictable Profits, which shows business owners how to create recurring revenue so they can stop chasing new customers and start building real stability. If you've got an established business and you're looking for ideas on how to get your products and services in front of more people OR you're thinking about starting a business and want to see the behind-the-scenes of another entrepreneur doing it in real time, Marketing Your Business is tailor-made for you.

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