Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, I'm answering a question I've been asked a lot recently; "What are the most impactful books you've read to fast-track my marketing career?"

So today, I'm running through my top 10. The books I return to time and time again, and the ones that have shaped the way I think about marketing and have influenced the programs I've developed.

As you're thinking about your business and marketing, taking inspiration from others and applying them to your situation is the fastest way of progressing. There are some great lessons here, and I'm excited to share what I took from them.

Be on the lookout too for a genuine surprise. Neatly folded in one of the books is an original ad response I received over 20 years ago. So as an unexpected bonus, we can break down one of my first ads!

I can't wait to hear the lesson you take from these books.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking to Kelsey Reidl from Toronto, Canada, where she offers one-on-one marketing coaching services that help small to medium-sized businesses build evergreen systems to clients buy their services as soon as they're ready.

Kelsey started her marketing career in the corporate world, working for health food brands before becoming a freelancer and building an online course called the Visionary Method, helping business owners build online and offline marketing strategies.

We talked about all the ways she can scale her existing business and really developed this idea of maximizing the relationships she's already building to create sustainable results for both her and her clients.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking with my great friend Mike Koenigs. We've known each other for more years than I care to remember. He's a brilliant marketer and has always been on the leading edge of new marketing technologies.

We had a great conversation about all the buzz around AI and how it will affect every element of our lives, our business, how we write copy, and how we think about marketing. Mike has a great take on the value and importance of now having a solid brand to stay ahead of everyone else.

We ended by talking about the importance of having a bigger, better personal brand because, as businesses come and go, being seen as an authority elevates you as an individual and creates opportunities.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking with Kim Baillie, owner of FloralArtOnline.com and President of the Australian Florida Art Association.

The association has a great opportunity in 2027 as they will host the World Show for the first time in 40 years and Kim's looking to make the most of this by building an online community of people interested in creating art with flowers. 

We had a great conversation about the different types of artists in the online community and the steps she can start today to share her knowledge and build a list of prospects for a membership program.

By the end of the call, we uncovered a great plan to discover those five-star prospects and how videos and a book can encourage them to raise their hands.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking to Larry Stelley from El Paso, Texas, where he's the President of the Youth Biz Academy, a non-profit helping kids develop an entrepreneurial foundation.

The program started over a year ago and has grown by creating programs to engage young people and get them involved in business and entrepreneurship.

Larry's been looking for different ways to find his market, and we had a great conversation about applying the 8-Profit Activator, using a book to start the conversation, and the approaches we talk about in email mastery to get him in touch with millennial parents who have teenagers and would be keen to join programs on financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.

By the end of the call, we hatched some great ideas for programs that can be created to get more leads.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking with Paul Whately, tax accountant at M.A. Whately based in Ireland.

The firm was started almost 40 years ago by Paul's father, who grew the business by delivering a great service and working with referrals.

Paul's looking to build on this success by cracking the code to a reliable source of recurring new business. We had a great conversation about what he's doing in the before unit to get in front of potential clients, compel them to raise their hands, and patiently educate and motivate them to get started.

By the end of the call, we hatched some great plans to dig a well of potential leads.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking with Derek Menchan from right here in Central Florida. He's a bassist and classically trained cellist who's worked with many great artists and producers, and we had a great conversation about the opportunities musicians have today.

He's also a college professor, and we talk about some of the ways students and artists approach marketing their music. He's currently working with artists who think commerce taints the art somehow, so we looked at all the ways to authentically build an audience.

Derek's a great guy to chat with, and talking about his new project and the lessons he's picked up in the music business is a great way to think about the 8-profit activators.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking with Matthew Coast from Austin, Texas.

You might remember Matthew as a guest on the show a few years ago. He runs a successful dating business, helping women find committed relationships, and today we're checking back in to see how his company has grown since we last spoke.

It's great to hear about the changes he's made, which offers have worked well, and the indicators he started seeing that made him realize it was time to start expanding options.

Matthew's great to talk with, and I love that we get to check back in to get an update from the field.

Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking with Greg 'the moose-man' Johnson from Bear Mountain Quest in Michigan, where he owns and runs a pretty unique hog hunting experience.

He's been a member of our Email mastery group for some time, so I've got to work with him on email campaigns before, and today was a great opportunity to dive deeper into what's working and what's been a challenge.

We spent some time talking about the difference between fans, those people interested in following what he's doing, and the customers willing to pay to be a part of it.

Greg has a great story. He's passionate about his business and the people who come to experience the hunt, and we got chance to narrow in that audience, and the right offers to make to them.