Jeff Bullas

Becoming a better podcast interviewer is a skill that develops with preparation and practice. The goal is to shift your mindset from simply asking a list of questions to actively facilitating an interesting and valuable conversation for your listener.

There are several key techniques that will help you improve. First, thorough preparation is absolutely essential. You must research your guest extensively before the interview. This goes beyond just reading their professional bio. Listen to other interviews they have done, read articles they have written, or familiarise yourself with their work. This deep preparation allows you to ask more insightful questions and avoid the same basic questions they have likely answered many times before.

Second, you should prepare a flexible outline, not a rigid script. It is good to have a list of key topics and potential questions to guide the conversation and ensure you cover the important points. However, you must be prepared to deviate from it. Often, the best moments in an interview come from following an interesting tangent that your guest brings up. Your outline should be a safety net, not a cage.

Third, you need to master asking open-ended questions. This is a fundamental skill of interviewing. Instead of asking questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no,” you should start your questions with words like “How,” “Why,” “What,” or with phrases such as “Tell me about the time when…” or “Can you describe the process of…” This prompts your guest to provide detailed, thoughtful answers and to share stories.

Fourth, you must practise active listening. This is arguably the most important skill of all. Pay close attention to what your guest is saying in the moment, instead of just focusing on what your next scripted question will be. This enables you to ask relevant follow-up questions that can dig deeper into their response. A simple follow-up like, “What was the most challenging part of that?” can often lead to the most insightful part of the entire conversation.

Fifth, become comfortable with silence. Do not feel the need to immediately jump in the moment your guest finishes speaking. A brief, natural pause can give them space to gather their thoughts and elaborate on their answer, often revealing something they might have otherwise omitted.

And sixth, focus on making your guest feel comfortable. Begin with some light, off-the-record conversation before you start recording to build rapport. During the interview, maintain a sense of genuine curiosity and empathy. A guest who feels relaxed and engaged will always provide a better interview.

Your role as the host is not just to ask questions, but to be the surrogate for your audience, guiding the conversation in a way that uncovers the most value and insight. It is about fostering a great conversation, not conducting an interrogation.

Cheers,

Jeff

Using Instagram Shopping tags effectively in 2025 is about seamlessly integrating your products into your content in a way that feels authentic and valuable to your audience, rather than just serving as a direct advertisement.

There are several key best practices to follow. First, you should integrate your product tags into high-quality, lifestyle content. Instead of relying solely on plain product shots against a white background, showcase your products being used in real-life situations. This helps potential customers visualise the product in their own lives and makes for more engaging and shareable content. User-generated content that you have permission to reshare and then tag is particularly effective for this.

Second, do not over-tag a single post. While you have the ability to tag multiple items, cramming too many product tags into one image or video can make it look cluttered and can feel overwhelming or overly commercial to a user. A good general practice is to focus on tagging only the one to three key products that are clearly featured in the content.

Third, utilise product tags across all available formats. This means consistently tagging products not just in your standard Feed posts, but also in your Reels and Stories. For Reels, you can pin a product tag to appear at a relevant moment in the video. For Stories, you can use the dedicated “Product” sticker to make a specific item shoppable directly from that Story frame.

Fourth, your captions should support the shoppable content without being an overt sales pitch. Tell a story, provide a useful tip, or ask an engaging question related to the image or video, and then subtly guide people to the tagged products for more information or to “shop the look.”

Fifth, ensure your product catalogue on Facebook Commerce Manager is fully optimised. This is crucial. Use high-resolution product images, write clear and descriptive product names, ensure your pricing is accurate, and have detailed product descriptions filled out. When a user taps on your product tag, the information they see needs to be complete and compelling enough to encourage them to proceed.

Sixth, you can create dedicated shoppable content carousels. For instance, the first slide could be an engaging lifestyle image, with subsequent slides offering closer looks at the tagged products or different angles, providing more detail all within a single, interactive post.

And seventh, periodically guide your audience on how to shop. You can create a simple Story or Reel that explicitly shows your followers how to tap a post to see product tags and proceed to your shop. Do not assume everyone is familiar with how the feature works.

Finally, it is also good practice to organise products into “Collections” on your Instagram Shop tab, such as “New Arrivals” or “Best Sellers,” to make it easier for users to browse when they visit your profile with the intent to shop.

Cheers,

Jeff

A compelling call-to-action, or CTA, is one of the most critical elements of any marketing email. Its purpose is to clearly guide your subscriber to take the one specific action you want them to take.

There are several key principles for crafting an effective CTA. First, you should always use strong, action-oriented language. Your CTA should typically start with a clear command verb. Instead of using vague, passive phrases like “Click Here” or “Submit,” opt for more descriptive and benefit-driven text such as “Get Your Free Guide,” “Shop the New Collection,” or “Reserve Your Seat Now.”

Second, the language must be clear and concise. The subscriber should have no doubt about what will happen when they click the button or link. Any ambiguity or confusion will reduce the likelihood of a click.

Third, you can create a sense of urgency or scarcity, but only when it is genuine. Using phrases like “Shop Now, Sale Ends Tonight,” “Claim Your Spot,” or “Limited Stock Available” can motivate people to act immediately rather than putting it off. However, using this tactic dishonestly will damage trust with your audience.

Fourth, a strong CTA often highlights the value or benefit for the user. It should reinforce what they are getting in return for their click. For example, “Start My Free Trial” is generally more effective than just “Sign Up” because it clearly states the immediate, positive outcome.

Fifth, the design and placement of your CTA are very important. A clickable button with a contrasting colour that stands out from the rest of the email content will almost always outperform a simple text link buried in a paragraph. You should place your primary CTA in a prominent position, ideally “above the fold” (visible without scrolling down), and it is often good practice to repeat it again further down in the email for longer messages.

Sixth, try to focus on one primary call-to-action per email when possible. Presenting your subscribers with too many different choices can lead to decision paralysis, which often results in them taking no action at all. If you must include secondary CTAs, make them less visually prominent (for instance, as text links) than your main button.

Finally, you should always be A/B testing different elements of your CTA. Test different wording, colours, and placements to see what resonates most effectively with your specific audience. What works for one audience may not work as well for another.

A compelling CTA is clear, benefit-driven, action-oriented, and visually prominent. It removes any friction or doubt about what the subscriber should do next.

Cheers,

Jeff

Properly setting up Google Analytics on your website is a crucial step for understanding your audience and performance. The current version is Google Analytics 4 (GA4), and the process involves creating a GA4 property and then adding its unique tracking tag to your site.

First, you need to create a Google Analytics account. You can do this by visiting the Google Analytics website and signing in with your existing Google account. You will be guided to create a new “Account” (which can house multiple properties) and then a new “Property.” This Property is what will represent your website.

Second, during the property setup, you will provide basic information like your website’s name, URL, industry category, and reporting time zone. This will lead to the creation of a “data stream” for your website.

Third, once this data stream is set up, Google will provide you with your unique “Measurement ID” (which looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX) and a tracking code snippet (often called the Google tag or gtag.js). This is the essential piece of code that needs to be placed on your website to start collecting data.

There are a few common ways to add this tracking code to your site. First, if your website is built on a platform like WordPress, the easiest method is often to use a dedicated plugin. Many popular plugins (such as Site Kit by Google, MonsterInsights, or features within your theme) provide a simple settings field where you just need to paste your “Measurement ID” (G-XXXXXXXXXX). The plugin then handles the task of correctly adding the full tracking code to all your pages.

Second, you can choose to add the code manually. This involves copying the entire Google tag snippet that Analytics provides and pasting it into the section of your website’s HTML code. If you are using a theme that has an option to insert code into the header, you can paste it there. This method is straightforward but does require some comfort with editing your site’s theme files or settings.

Third, a more advanced but highly recommended method for long-term flexibility is to use Google Tag Manager (GTM). With this approach, you add the GTM container code to your site one time. After that, you can manage all of your tracking tags, including Google Analytics, from within the Google Tag Manager interface without ever having to edit your website’s code again. This is a very powerful and scalable solution.

After you have added the code using one of these methods, you should verify that it is working. The easiest way is to go to the “Realtime” report in your new GA4 property. Then, in a separate browser tab, visit your own website. You should see your visit register in the Realtime report within a minute or two, which confirms that the installation is active and collecting data.

In summary, the process involves creating a GA4 property to get your tracking code. For beginners, especially on WordPress, using a plugin is often the most direct method. For greater control and future-proofing, using Google Tag Manager is the best practice.

Cheers,

Jeff

This is a common and important question for new hosts. For the vast majority of podcasts, particularly those with an interview format, it is not standard practice to pay guests for their appearance on the show.

The relationship is typically based on a mutual value exchange, not a financial transaction. First, the guest receives exposure to your podcast’s audience. This provides them with a platform to build their personal brand, discuss their work or expertise, promote a book, a business, or their social media channels, and further establish themselves as a voice in their field.

Second, the host receives valuable, expert content for their audience. A good guest enhances the quality and credibility of the podcast, providing fresh perspectives that listeners want to hear. This mutual benefit is the foundation of nearly all podcast guest appearances.

There are, of course, some exceptions where payment might occur. First, very high-profile celebrities or top-tier professional speakers who command appearance fees for their time might require payment, but this is rare and usually only happens on very large, highly commercialised podcasts with substantial budgets.

Second, some hosts might choose to offer a small honorarium or a thoughtful gift as a gesture of appreciation for a guest’s time, but this is seen as a courtesy, not a required fee for service.

Third, if you are specifically hiring someone to be a regular paid co-host or a recurring segment contributor, that is a different professional arrangement that would involve payment.

Regardless of payment, proper etiquette is crucial. First, your initial outreach should be professional and respectful. The invitation should be clear, explain why you believe they are a great fit for your specific audience, and briefly outline the topic.

Second, make the entire process as easy as possible for your guest. Provide all necessary information upfront, such as the expected recording length, potential questions or themes, and what technology they will need.

Third, do your research and be prepared for the interview. This shows respect for your guest’s time and expertise.

Fourth, after the recording, thank them for their time and give them an estimated date for when the episode will be published.

And fifth, when the episode goes live, send them the direct link and any promotional graphics you have created. Tagging them when you promote the episode on social media is also standard practice, as it helps them to easily share it with their own network.

In summary, paying guests is not the norm. The focus should be on the mutual value of the collaboration. Treating your guests with professionalism and making the process seamless is the best way to build a good reputation as a host.

Cheers,

Jeff

The Instagram “Collab” feature is a powerful tool designed for creators to co-author content, and it works by sharing the post’s visibility and engagement metrics between both participants for mutual benefit.

Here is how it functions. First, one creator will create a standard Feed post or a Reel. Then, just before publishing, on the screen where you would normally tag people, there is an option to “Invite Collaborator.” The original creator sends an invitation to the other account.

Second, the post will only appear on the profile of the creator who originally made it until the second creator accepts the collaboration invitation from their notifications.

Third, once the invitation has been accepted, the post will then appear on the profile grid and in the feed for the followers of both creators. The post header will display both usernames, making it clear that it is a joint piece of content.

The impact on visibility and engagement is significant. First, by being distributed to a portion of both creators’ followers, the post’s initial potential reach is effectively combined. This provides both creators with direct exposure to the other’s community, which is the primary benefit.

Second, all of the engagement metrics are shared and synchronised across the post, regardless of whose profile it is being viewed on. This means the like count, the view count (for Reels), and the entire comment thread are identical and update in real-time for both creators. It is one single post that lives in two places.

Third, this shared engagement can be a very strong positive signal to the Instagram algorithm. A post that receives high levels of interaction from two distinct audiences simultaneously is more likely to be identified as high-quality content. This can lead to it being promoted more widely on discovery surfaces like the Explore page or the Reels tab, further increasing its reach beyond the creators’ combined follower bases.

The core purpose of the feature is to allow two creators to leverage each other’s audience and credibility for a shared outcome, resulting in potentially much greater reach and engagement than if either had posted the same content individually.

Cheers,

Jeff

Moving beyond just using a subscriber’s first name is where email marketing becomes truly effective. Deeper personalisation is about sending the right content to the right person at the right time, based on what you know about their interests and behaviour.

There are several powerful ways to achieve this. First, you can personalise based on demographic and geographic data. This can be as straightforward as sending location-specific event invitations or offers, or if you are in a business-to-business context, tailoring your messaging based on data points like company size or job role.

Second, using behavioural data from your website or application is incredibly effective. You can send highly targeted emails based on specific pages a subscriber has viewed, content they have downloaded, or products they have added to their cart but not purchased. These “abandoned cart” emails, for example, are often very successful because they are timely and directly relevant to an action the user just took.

Third, for any business that sells products, purchase history is a goldmine for personalisation. You can send intelligent recommendations for related products, offer a discount on a repeat purchase of a consumable item, or send helpful content on how to get the most out of a product they have already bought.

Fourth, you can leverage explicitly stated preferences. When people subscribe to your list, or in a subsequent preference centre email, you can directly ask them what topics they are interested in hearing about. This allows you to segment your audience based on their own choices and ensure you are only sending them emails they have indicated they want.

Fifth, email engagement data itself is a useful tool. You can create a segment of your most engaged subscribers to reward them with special offers or early access. Conversely, you can create an automated re-engagement campaign that triggers for subscribers who have not opened or clicked your emails in a while.

Sixth, you can implement dynamic content within your emails. This advanced technique allows you to show different content blocks within the same email template to different subscribers based on the data you have. For example, a retail email could display menswear to subscribers identified as male and womenswear to those identified as female, all within a single email campaign.

All of these advanced techniques rely on two foundational elements: first, ethically collecting relevant data about your subscribers, and second, using your email platform’s tools to segment your list into smaller, more targeted groups based on that data.

True personalisation is about using this data to make every email feel as relevant and timely as possible to the individual receiving it. This approach builds a stronger customer relationship and significantly improves your campaign results.

Cheers,

Jeff

Securing your WordPress website from potential threats is a critical and ongoing process. It involves implementing several layers of protection rather than relying on a single solution.

First, and arguably most importantly, you must keep everything on your site updated. This includes the WordPress core software itself, as well as all of your installed themes and plugins. Outdated software is one of the most common vulnerabilities exploited by hackers, as software updates frequently contain essential security patches.

Second, you need to enforce strong and unique passwords for all user accounts, especially for anyone with an administrator role. A password manager is an excellent tool for creating and storing complex passwords. It is also good practice to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your login page. This adds a crucial second layer of security, requiring a time-sensitive code from your phone or an app in addition to your password.

Third, you should install a reputable security plugin. Well-regarded plugins such as Wordfence, Sucuri Security, or Solid Security (formerly iThemes Security) provide a suite of protective features. These often include a web application firewall (WAF) to block malicious traffic, malware scanning to check your site’s files, and login attempt limiting to prevent brute-force attacks.

Fourth, your choice of web hosting provider is a foundational part of your security. A quality host will have its own security measures in place at the server level, including firewalls and malware detection, which protect your site before threats can even reach WordPress itself.

Fifth, it is wise to limit login attempts. This feature, included in most security plugins, will temporarily lock out a user or IP address after a set number of failed login attempts, which is a primary defence against brute-force guessing attacks.

Sixth, be diligent with user roles and permissions. Do not grant administrator access to anyone who does not absolutely require it. Assign users the most appropriate role with the minimum level of permissions necessary for them to perform their tasks, such as ‘Editor’ or ‘Author’ instead of ‘Administrator’.

And seventh, you must have a system for regularly backing up your website. While this will not prevent your site from being compromised, having recent and reliable backups stored in a secure, off-site location is your safety net. It means that if the worst does happen, you have a way to restore your site quickly.

A strong security posture for a WordPress site is achieved through this combination of regular updates, strict access controls, a reliable security plugin, and a good hosting and backup plan. These proactive steps are essential for protecting your online presence.

Cheers,

Jeff