This podcast originial aired on Real Business Connections! Thank you, Ben Albert, for letting me publish it here.
Does marketing suck?
For many experts, yes, it does! In this conversation, Dr. Michelle Mazur joins Ben Albert to unpack why so many experts struggle with marketing. Often, their deep knowledge and skill are overshadowed by louder, less qualified voices who are simply better communicators.
Michelle explains that the core problem is not ability but communication. Experts tend to rely on their expertise to speak for itself, but in today’s noisy digital space, that’s rarely enough.
Instead of pumping out generic “how-to” content (which Michelle says devalues expertise and makes you replaceable), she urges experts to craft opinion-based or diagnostic messaging grounded in their Three Word Rebellion, a powerful concept to communicate unique value and spark curiosity.She also emphasizes identifying your ideal clients, not just choosing a niche. Once you know who you serve, you can speak directly to their needs and create a clear path for them to work with you.
Dr. Michelle Mazur is the founder and messaging strategist at Communications Rebel. Listen in to tap into her wisdom and expertise.
If your clients can’t clearly see why your services are essential right now — not just nice-to-have — they’ll choose someone else.
In this short, ranty episode, I break down why waiting to fix your message is the riskiest move you can make heading into 2026. The economy is shifting, clients are tightening budgets, and experts who can’t clearly communicate their value are about to feel the squeeze.
You’ll learn:
If you’ve been waiting for the “right time” to get your messaging dialed in — this is it.
🎧 Listen now, then book your private tour of The Expert Up Club to fix your message before 2026 hits.
400 episodes. That number blows my mind.
Most podcasts don’t even make it to episode 10 before vanishing into the internet ether.
But somehow—through algorithm changes, personal crises, recessions, and a whole lot of terrible marketing advice—I’ve made it here. And I’m still going.
To celebrate, I’m not just popping confetti. I’m sharing the four rebel truths this podcast has been built on from day one.
These are the hills I’ll die on. If you only listen to one episode of my show, let it be this one—because these truths will radically change how you market your business (without hating every second of it.)
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
What if a recession could actually help your business grow?
Sounds bananas, right? But hear me out. In every economic downturn, some businesses thrive. And I believe yours can be one of them—if you position yourself as the expert people are desperately searching for right now.
When budgets tighten, people get picky. They’re not gambling on vague promises or “just one step ahead” service providers. They want someone who knows their stuff. That’s where we come in.
Here’s how to capitalize on this moment—without burning out, selling out, or shouting into the void.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Do you ever get that gut-punch feeling when some bro marketer suddenly “finds his zone of genius” and lands clients left and right... meanwhile you’ve got actual results, actual experience, maybe even a degree (or three), and your inbox is quieter than a library on a Friday night?
Same. And I’ve had enough.
Let’s talk about why the flashy fakes keep winning—and what we, the real experts, can do about it.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Let’s be real: your offer can be life-changing, your messaging can be tight, and people can tell you they love your work—but when it comes time to buy? Crickets.
I’ve seen it over and over again (and yep, I’ve been there too).
Here’s what’s really going on: you’re saying the right thing… to the wrong person… in the wrong place.
That’s why I keep coming back to something Eugene Schwartz laid out back in 1966. It’s called the Customer Awareness Spectrum, and it’s the foundation for how I help clients inside the Expert Up Club—and in my one-on-one work—create marketing that actually moves people.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Let’s be real: it is maddening to be great at what you do and still feel invisible. Years of experience, glowing testimonials, maybe even a PhD… and still, your dream clients are ghosting you.
Meanwhile, someone with half your credentials and a catchy tagline is booked out and bragging on Instagram.
If you've ever wanted to yell, “But I’m actually GOOD at this!” — same. And that moment is exactly what led me to a major breakthrough in how I show up in my business.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Let’s play a quick game. I say a thing, and you tell me if it’s:
Toilet paper? Essential.
Fancy lip gloss? Treat.
A new couch when the old one still works? Postponable.
An app that teaches your cat to manifest abundance? …Expendable (sorry to my kitties cat…you manifest enough Churus).
Here’s the rebel truth:
Your clients are playing this exact same game with your offer.
Right now. Whether they realize it or not.
And if you land in the wrong bucket, guess what? They’re not buying.
So let’s talk about how to make your offer feel like a must-have, not a maybe someday—especially in a shaky economy where “nice to have” just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Here’s a strange but true fact: some businesses actually thrive during economic downturns. Weird, right?
But once I really sat with that, I realized it’s not because these businesses have some BS “recession-proof” product. Nope. They’re thriving because they’ve nailed one crucial thing:
They’ve positioned what they do as essential, not optional.
And that’s exactly what I want to help you do too.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Three years ago, clients came to me wanting TEDx stages and book deals. Now? They just want to make money, simplify their marketing, and stay afloat in a dumpster-fire economy.
Let me break down how I’m dramatically shifting my message to meet the moment—and why you should too.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
AI is everywhere in marketing right now, and I get it—it's tempting to let it do all the heavy lifting.
But if your strategy is just "Hey, Claude, write me 10 LinkedIn posts about email marketing," then we need to talk. Because that approach? It's turning business owners into content-producing robots, all sounding the same. Like the Borg. "You will be assimilated."
So, let’s pull back the curtain. AI isn’t here to replace you—it’s here to amplify your unique thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Here’s how I use AI to make marketing suck less while keeping my voice and message 100% human.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
It’s a shit show out there. The economy is a dumpster fire, the stock market is on a rollercoaster, and it feels impossible to know what’s coming next. And for business owners? That uncertainty can be paralyzing.
Most people react in one of two ways:
Neither works. But there’s a third option that does.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Whenever I tell someone that I work with business owners to do less marketing while creating more demand, more interest in their programs, their offers, their services, and their expertise, these people look at me like I have lost my ever loving mind.
Like I have 27 heads because the idea of doing less and getting more, it just doesn't make sense.
Don't you need to do more marketing in order to get more clients? And, actually, you don't.
So today, we’re talking about the shocking truth behind doing less marketing and why you'll see better results.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Do you freak out a little bit at the idea of narrowing your focus to speak to one specific client?
Because if you do that, wouldn't that mean you're losing out on other potential clients?
So today, we are talking about a word that you've heard a lot about that probably makes you roll your eyes. But in 2025, this word is more important than ever.
I'm talking about niching.
Through my many years in business, I've seen clients flat out reject the idea of getting radically specific about who they serve.
Because what if? What if I'm missing out on potential clients, but I love working with so many different types of people?
Me too, my friend. Me too.
But here's the deal. There's a truth about niching down and the clients you're actually losing by trying to talk to everyone.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Once upon a time, you created a new offer.
You launched it, and at first, it sold like gangbusters.
People are clamoring for it. You have a wait list for it. They're excited, and you feel like this success train is just gonna roll forever. You figured it out, finally.
Except it doesn't. And at some point, the sales, they just peter out.
It's so easy to blame the offer, to think, “Oh my gosh, I need to tweak this thing to make it more appealing so people want it again.”
Sometimes, you might even throw the whole offer out the window and think, “It's just not gonna work. I need to create something new.”
But before you do this, I want you to listen to this episode. Because what if it's not your offer at all? What if your struggle to book calls and get people interested in your product, your program, or your service has nothing to do with what you're offering.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Here's what makes marketing suck for experts. And it has absolutely nothing to do with how smart you are, your nuanced approach, or that you're not curious enough.
You're preyed upon by unscrupulous business owners because you are curious.
You love learning. So when you see that shiny new marketing program, you're tempted to buy it because surely you need to learn more about marketing, right?
You're not an expert in marketing and learning will get you there.
But what if that wasn't true?
What if you don't need to learn anything more about marketing?
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
You've grown your audience.
You've nurtured and engaged them by building a case for why they should work with you.
You've helped them diagnose what problem they're actually having.
And now it's time for the moment. You know, the one where you have to transition from being helpful to actually inviting people to work with you, and that's when shit gets weird.
We are tackling the O in the GEO framework, the Offer phase. Because, let's face it, this is where most of us start squirming in our seats. But it doesn't have to be this way.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
You do all this work to build relationships.
Get the word out about your business and grow your audience.
Then once you have someone's attention and they are finally following you or joining your email list, 95% of the time, they are not ready to work with you.
Surprise!
After you've got someone's attention, how do you keep them engaged and that relationship going strong? Today, we're talking about what's next.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Let's get real. Growing your audience is a huge pain in the ass.
Once upon a time in the wild west days of online business, it was super easy.
Post on social media, run Facebook ads that would cost you a buck, a conversion and instant audience.
Nowadays, forget about it. Finding new people who don't know you exist and enticing them into your world, it's one of the suckiest parts of marketing.
It's such a big job, and it also requires special messaging. I’ll break it down for you today on the show.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.
Remember the horror movie The Blob?
Where this big, massive, gelatinous blob just rolls through a city sucking up everything in its path - buildings, people, trees, pets - it doesn't matter because it's the blob.
Well, marketing can feel exactly like that.
It’s this huge amorphous thing that, if you are not careful, will suck up all your time, energy, and mental health in the process.
But here's the good news.
There is a way to defeat the marketing blob. It's all about putting some structure to it. Because once you understand the structure of marketing, the blob doesn't have a chance.
Want to hear more about The Expert Up Club? Book Your Private Tour Here
Full show notes and transcript are here.