Building Business Authority Through Behavioral Economics and Podcasting with Melina Palmer

 

“The Brainy Business is all about communication and the psychology of how we make decisions.” Melina Palmer Share on X

Today’s Episode:

What is behavioral economics and why does it matter to you? Melina Palmer, the host of The Brainy Business Podcast, has dedicated her career to seeking answers to these questions for herself and for her clients. Melina always thought she would be a singer, but decided to major in something more practical. After getting a degree in business, she discovered behavioral economics and is the founder of The Brainy Business. 

Her business is all about branding, pricing, communication, and the psychology of how we make decisions. She uses her business and marketing background to help businesses with pricing, branding, and conveying their message in the best way possible. Melina started her podcast about a year ago, and it has been a huge factor in growing her business, reputation, and making connections. She shares some insights into her amazing podcast and teaches us a thing or two about business and behavioral economics. 

“The podcast has helped so much more than I expected. Even in my dreams of what I thought it could do, it has exceeded that. It’s been really amazing.” Melina Palmer Share on X

Show Notes

  • [03:26] Melina has some amazing artwork for her podcast and website. 
  • [03:46] Melina has a background in marketing and branding. She wanted artwork that would showcase fun. 
  • [04:33] Melina’s artwork includes a rocket and a brain. 
  • [05:33] Melina has two brains in her office, but the third glitter brain is coming. 
  • [05:57] The brainy business is about behavioral economics, which is rooted in psychology, but marketing is prevalent in every episode that Melina does. It’s also about branding, pricing, and communication. It’s about the psychology of how we make decisions. 
  • [07:02] Framing is so important. Think of 90% fat free compared with 10% fat. Messaging matters.
  • [08:20] Melina started her podcast because she wanted to help people understand what behavioral economics is and share it in a way that is useful to people.
  • [10:02] Podcasting takes a lot of time, you need to know that you are ready and willing when you commit to it. 
  • [11:09] Melina already had a lot of ideas, so starting the podcast was the right move for her. She also wanted to be the first behavioral economics podcast.
  • [11:44] She was also shifting from doing really hands on work with clients to more strategic work. 
  • [12:34] Melina’s podcast has been out for about a year now. It has helped so much more than she expected. 
  • [13:08] A big connection Melina made through the podcast was the Texas A&M Human Behavior Lab who is using the podcast to supplement their learning. Other people are using it to teach their students.
  • [14:03] She is building research with Texas A&M and multiple corporations have reached out for possible projects. 
  • [14:17] This year she is working on transitioning her time out of the business. 
  • [14:57] Melina looks at her download numbers. Reach is important for her, because she wants to become an influencer in her space. 
  • [15:46] Multiple open doors and speaking engagements have come from the podcast. It also adds credibility. 
  • [16:41] She intentionally built her podcast to be ingrained in her business.
  • [18:17] Melina can’t use a script for public speaking, but she uses one for the podcast. 
  • [19:36] She also started condensing her intros after they were getting longer and longer. 
  • [20:13] She also looks at reviews. 
  • [21:59] The most common thing people say to her in person is that it’s weird to watch her mouth move while talking. It’s not about the cookie and cotton candy grapes are also popular topics brought up. 
  • [24:00] Melina makes hand written notes and checklists. She likes how PPS uses Basecamp to make uploading the audio easy. She does all of her art herself and uploads the podcasts to YouTube. She uses Canva for artwork and Headliner for audiograms. She also uses Active Campaign and Audacity. 
  • [26:33] When Melina was young, there was no question that she would be anything other than a singer/actress. She still sings and is singing the national anthem for the Seattle Storm game tonight. 
  • [27:44] In college, she thought she would major in something more practical like business and that is where she discovered psychology and behavioral economics.
  • [29:12] Her favorite book is A More Beautiful Question by Warren Burger.
  • [30:40] Melina is hopeful that one of her near future book recommendations is her own. She’s also working on small focused courses on one topic. 
  • [33:55] Darrell’s takeaways: Lack of existing podcasts on Melina’s topic encouraged her to start sooner rather than later. She considered her own optimism bias when it comes to content creation. She defines success by download numbers, revenue, and credibility. She listens back to her own episodes to refine and improve.
“I look at any marketing message, and there’s a way to make it sound good and a way to make it sound bad. Messaging can help people make a choice.” Melina Palmer Share on X

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