2020 was an unpredictably eye-opening year that brought forth swift change, lots of uncertainty, and a shift in perspective for many. Even though 2020 immediately conjures words like “challenge,” “hardship” and “crisis,” there are many lessons learned that will impact and shape the future of business and small business marketing moving forward.

I chatted with some incredible guests on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. I wanted to take a look back at the most popular episodes we aired in 2020.

If you enjoyed what you heard here, check out the full line-up of shows.

Tim Staples – Creating Shareable Content for Your Busines

Tim Staples is the CEO of Shareability and co-author of Break Through the Noise: The 9 Rules to Capture Global Attention. Staples has developed a reputation in the marketing industry for being a creator of viral content. In the past few years, several of his video campaigns have amassed more than five billion views, and 35 of them have landed on the first page of YouTube.

Biggest takeaway: Today everybody has a megaphone. But now that everybody has a megaphone, they’re shouting into it all day long, every day, to the point where most people have tuned almost all of it out. You’ll hear from Staples on the five positive emotions that are the most effective in content to get people to lean forward and share: happiness, awe, curiosity, empathy, and surprise.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Michael Margolis – Storytelling Around Disruption and Innovation

Michael Margolis is the CEO and founder of Storied. Storytelling has become a business buzzword of late, but there’s a lot of complexity behind the term. Margolis’ focus is specifically on storytelling as it relates to disruption and innovation. It’s often hard to tell stories about change—audiences grow wary or defensive—but Margolis helps leaders in Silicon Valley and other hotbeds of innovation make that change feel exciting and achievable.

Biggest takeaway: We are taught to lead with data and conclusions. But if you lead with data, the story is dead on arrival. Margolis shares his three-step narrative framework that will help you capture your audience’s imagination, attention, and relate to your story about what you’re selling.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Alison Levine – How to Treat an Opportunity Like Your One Big Break

Alison Levine is a leadership expert, polar explorer, and mountaineer who is no stranger to extreme environments. She has survived sub-zero temperatures, hurricane-force winds, sudden avalanches, and a career on Wall Street. She is one of the most in-demand keynote speakers, delivering resounding leadership messages that transcend her extreme climbing expeditions and remain relevant in today’s fast-paced business environments. She is able to draw relevant, authentic parallels between mountaineering and business because she has experienced both first hand—on multiple mountains, in multiple organizations, and in multiple industries.

Biggest takeaway: Alison Levine shares her story of starting her journey at 30. Levine shares how progress happens when you get uncomfortable, and how to treat an opportunity like it’s your one big break.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Steven M.R. Covey – Timeless Habits for Cultivating Success

Steven M. R. Covey is the former CEO of the Covey Leadership Center, where he helped his father, Stephen R. Covey, launch his classic book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He is also a New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author himself. His book, The Speed of Trust, is designed to help leaders build a collaborative team and environment on the basis of trust.

Biggest takeaway: Steven M.R. Covey shares his insights on why it’s so important for people to feel understood, how a paradigm shift can change your reality, why spirituality doesn’t need to be religious, and how it can help you in challenging times.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Ben Shapiro – Uncovering New Possibilities in the World of Marketing

Ben Shapiro got his start at eBay, where he served as their manager of business development and SEO. He then went on to found his own business and run marketing for a number of early-stage startups. In more recent years, he transitioned into marketing strategy consulting and now runs several popular podcasts, including the MarTech Podcast and Voices of Search. 

Biggest takeaway: Shapiro shares why companies should consider getting into a content business. what really matters when it comes to creating a successful podcast (or great content in any format), and how to approach going independent whether that’s the next big step in your career, or you’re doing it for the time being.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Seth Godin – Tips of the Trade with Seth Godin

Seth Godin is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 19 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, and What To Do When It’s Your Turn (And It’s Always Your Turn). His most recent book, This is Marketing, was an instant bestseller in countries around the world.

Biggest takeaway: You’ll get insights from best-selling author, teacher, and entrepreneur Seth Godin about what it takes to create a successful podcast and produce one at that, the difference between the homemade and the professional approach to media production, and where conferences will stand on being relevant in today’s world.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Kara Goldin – How to Find Inspiration in Doubt

Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of Hint Water, a flavored water brand founded in 2005. She is also the author of Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters. Kara is an active speaker, writer, and host of the podcast Unstoppable with Kara Goldin where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and other disruptors across various industries.

Biggest takeaway: Don’t let anyone crush your dreams! Kara Goldin shares her story about the incredible risks she took and how she overcame huge challenges in founding Hint amidst all of the doubt from herself and others.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Solo Show – Google Analytics Simplified for Small Business

Closing the loop on your marketing investment, on your channels, on your customer engagement, are important. This allows you to focus, spend less money, and invest in what really works. I work with a lot of small business consultants and small business clients and this is one of the biggest challenges to get them excited about. It’s a lot like telling people they need to like math. Especially when you go to this tool, one that I believe is one of the best tools on the planet, and it’s free, but it’s really easy to get lost. In this podcast, I’m going to spend some time trying to simplify this.

Biggest takeaway: You’ll learn why you should care about Google Analytics, how to set it up, and what goals you should have when you set it up.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Todd Henry – How Motivation Can Drive You to Produce Your Best Work

Todd Henry is the founder of Accidental Creative, and author of The Accidental Creative as well as Die Empty. Todd Henry’s latest book he wrote with Rod Penner, Todd W. Hall, Ph.D., and Joshua Miller, Ph.D. – The Motivation Code: Discover the Hidden Forces That Drive Your Best Work.

Biggest takeaway: Todd Henry has created a new framework for understanding what motivates us and why. Henry shares tips on how you can use your motivation to produce your best work.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Shaina Weisinger – Repurposed Content Can Increase Your Traffic 300%

Shaina Weisinger is the CEO of Repurpose House. Shaina Weisinger is an expert in social media marketing, specifically optimizing content through repurposing. Repurpose House takes all of the content your business produces and adds the social media bells and whistles. They trim video and audio, create text motion videos of blog highlights, add headlines, captions, size them for all platforms, and more.

Biggest takeaway: You’ve spent effort and time creating content, you should get the most out of it. Shaina Weisinger shares how you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel, and you can use repurposed content to increase your traffic significantly.

Click here to listen to the episode.

Is your favorite episode on the list? If not, we’d love to hear which one you enjoyed listening to the most!

For our podcast audience, we can’t thank you enough for your support over the years! If you like the show, click on over and subscribe and if you love the show give us a review on iTunes, please!