Business is business. Many of the same principles of marketing apply to brick and mortar and digital marketplaces. If you want people to buy from you, they need to know you’re out there. They also need to understand what you are offering and how you can solve their problems. Then, of course, they need to know, like and trust you. Today, we are talking about how to use cutting edge digital tools to get more eyes on your business and how to nurture those eyes into eventual conversions.  Ryan O’Connor is the founder of Worth eCommerce a portland based email marketing agency. Where Ryan and his partner Dean Dutro help businesses create a bullet proof email strategy to get the attention of their potential customers. They partner with you to create steady growth and track your ROI every step of the way. Ryan has done research at NASA while getting his master’s in psychology and has also founded a multi-million dollar phone accessory store.  We kick off the show with methods for capturing attention and eventually getting those prospects to buy. We talk about the importance of first impressions, understanding your audience, and the importance of overcoming objections. We move on to current trends in digital marketing. We talk about how email marketing isn’t going away, and we discuss new and fresh ways to use SMS to nurture an audience and build a community.  And be sure to subscribe to The Self-Employed Life in Apple podcasts or follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode. Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com  Ryan O'Connor thank you so much for being here! Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself.  Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world.   Join 17,000 subscribers looking to do "business with a soul" and sign up to receive my Self-Employed Nutshell Newsletter! Sign up here!   Highlights –   [02:08] The thing that Ryan is the most excited about right now is all of the time he has been able to spend visiting his family. [04:01] How do you capture someone's attention with so many competing offers? How do you get them to buy? The same methods used by a store can be used in the digital world. [05:37] Once you've provided value then you can begin to sell or go for the ask. It's up to you to talk about your products and offerings during the right time of your customers Journey. [07:10] Price and psychology of offering a product or service can be different, but it's a similar journey. [09:58] First impressions and the homepage are very important for that first conversion. [13:40] The journey from stranger to customer. Education and trust are important. Once the customer knows it's a perfect fit, they will buy. [16:18] Sales comes down to psychology and understanding your audience. Overcome objections and show the positive things about your offer. [20:01] Current trends in conversions include keeping communication and trust with people who aren't ready to buy yet. The best way to do this is through email marketing and SMS marketing. [21:19] Once you have an email address or phone number, you'll always be able to communicate with your potential customers. [27:23] Sales happen when you talk to people about solving their problems, building trust, and not asking for the direct sale.  [28:54] Ask for an email and then make people who give you their phone number VIP customers. [30:18] Focus on email marketing and building trust and then offer something more to get people to sign up for SMS. Provide value and help people with their lives. [35:53] You can provide exclusive things with extra benefits for those people who really love you and your products through SMS. [40:06] Popular SMS platforms include Postscript, Attentive, and Community. [40:56] With your own text platform, no third-party will own your community. [45:36] Email and SMS is a channel that's not going away in the near future. [47:41] Ryan loves his morning routin