The Truth About Growing Your Email List (getting subscribers through your freebie)

The Truth About Growing Your Email List (getting subscribers through your freebie)

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

The truth is we're really obsessed with hitting a certain milestone when it comes to our subscriber count, follower count or email list. 

Like, “When I have a hundred subscribers, I will write.”

“When I have 10k followers on Instagram, I'll have the swipe up feature and suddenly my business will explode.”

Well, you guys, that's not really how it works and in fact what's happening is so many entrepreneurs are just working on getting to this *magical* number, this email list size, this follower count, that they're putting all their energy and their attention on doing that, and therefore neglecting all the people who have already said, yes! 

When you’re doing this, then you're not consistently emailing your community and showing up for them.

Your belief that everything will be better when you have that “number”, is actually keeping you stuck.

So we have to switch our mindset and say, I'm showing up for the people that are already here and I don't care if it's just your cousin and your mom right now.

Showing up and being of service for those people is where I want your energy and your attention to go.

Now, if you’ve been spending all your time on just getting to a specific number, you might be like, “Michelle, how am I supposed to spend all this time showing up for my community and being there for my community? I'm trying to grow my community like it's great if I can show up for two people. But if I'm putting all my energy and attention there, then how do I grow my list?” 

The reason you’re concerned about that is because you’re going about growing your list using social media (and social media is not a marketing strategy).

THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR FREE OFFER (OPT-IN)

I see this a lot online. You spend time creating a free offer that is going to be of value to your ideal client. Then you start marketing it, most likely on social media, from the start and you notice that nothing's really happening. 

So you say, “Oh, this freebie does not work. I need to create a new freebie.” 

And you create a new freebie and you go through the same process and you show up on social media and you're posting as many times as you can post without spamming your audience and you're using all the hashtags on Insta Stories. 

And still nothing is happening and you repeat the cycle.

It's not the freebie, it's how you're marketing the freebie.

You most likely lack an understanding of how to create the content to actually sell the freebie and what platforms are going to serve you at the highest level.

So here is the thing with Facebook and Instagram - you should not be relying on these social media platforms to grow your business.

The goal is to grow your community using evergreen strategies so you can show up on social media and be “social” with your audience.

ADVANCED MARKETING STRATEGIES TO GROW YOUR SUBSCRIBERS

Advanced marketing strategies include:

• Blogging

• Pinterest

• Youtube

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• PodcastingGuest Expert Feature (guest blog, guest on podcast, guest interview, interview feature)

• Facebook and Pinterest Ads (investment)

The content on these platforms not only lasts longer than social media, but allows your content to consistently be seen and drive traffic to your website, freebie and ultimately paid offer.

The Lifespan of Online Content

Blogging has a lifespan of 2+ years.
Pinterest has a lifespan of 6+ months.
Instagram ONLY has a lifespan of 21 hours.
Facebook ONLY has a lifespan of 5 hours.

It would take you about the same amount of time to write a blog for your website, as it will to post on Facebook and your content will last longer.

Having these advanced systems of marketing in place allow you to consistently create a stream of leads to your business. 

Example: My website, every single month, gets thousands of people visiting from Pinterest. I am ranked on page one for multiple keywords in my industry on Google. So I'm getting tons of people from there as well. 

I focus on creating one piece of content a week on my blog, which helps with SEO on Google and the content is optimized for Pinterest. As a result, every single day people are finding my content online and my email list is growing.

They're also following me on social media as a way to stay connected with me. So rather than relying on social media to grow my new audience, I get to show up here and have fun with you guys. I get to show up and do a video and post things about my travels and the things that I love that build a deeper relationship with my audience.

All the while, my community is growing without me having to post on social media.

THE GOAL

First, we want to create a free gift, just one, for your audience. An incentive to join your community. Learn more here.

Next, the goal is to use those Advanced Marketing strategies above to consistently lead new people to your website (or landing page) where they can consume your content and grab your gift.

As your email subscribers grow, your social media platforms grow and you switch your focus to building relationships and nurturing your new audience. This is where sales come from!

When you have those marketing strategies in place, you can focus on doing what you do best - serving your audience and making an impact.

Learn more about implementing these strategies inside Brandmerry Academy!

P.S. Here is a helpful blog on improving your content marketing. Read it here.

P.S.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

How to Spend Less Time on Social Media as an Entrepreneur in 2020 and Beyond

You’ve probably heard marketing is changing and while that is somewhat true, I personally don’t agree with this scare tactic. 

The truth is it’s not really changing, but it is going back to its core…

RELATIONSHIPS

And this scares a lot of people because they started their businesses using sleazy marketing tactics and automation rather than focusing on the people who will buy from them.

But, that’s not working anymore. Consumers have become smart. They (we) are constantly bombarded with messages every single day. Think advertisements, articles, videos and more telling us what and what not to do and to buy their product.

Personally, I’ve always focused my business on relationships with my community. Building strong relationships is the core of my business, so I’m not scared.

In fact, focusing on relationships is the new age of marketing. It’s about getting referrals, word of mouth from friends and family, warm searches online that lead to sales on your website because of strong storytelling and so much more. 

Of course, automation still works and I truly believe in automating a large portion of your website, but you can’t automate human connection and that’s what content creation and social media are truly about. 

2 WAYS TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS IN MARKETING

1. Create valuable content. If you’re just starting out this should focus mostly on teaching/ educating your audience and storytelling. This will allow you to position yourself as the expert and go-to brand for their needs.

2. Be Available. It sounds so simple, yet too many entrepreneurs are obsessed with automation that they are missing little opportunities to connect with their audience. Carving out just 10 minutes a day to engage and connect with your audience can increase your profits.

The future of marketing truly is focused on building your community.

SPENDING LESS TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

Now, that we’re once again focused on relationship marketing, we need to spend less time doing everything else so we can focus on actual conversations.

This is where automation in your social media strategy comes into play. There are multiple places to automate in your business and this is one of my favorite hacks for 2020.

3 Step Plan to Spend Less Than One Hour on Social Media

1. PLAN YOUR CONTENT.
   If you’re not doing this you’re going to keep struggling. There are so many methods and strategies available online. My personal favorite is my 30-day Content Calendar which is free to download right here. 
   
   Before the end of the month, you should map out your content for the next 30 days. This doesn’t include making every post, it just means choosing the topic and putting it on a freaking calendar. Decide when you’ll show up and what you’ll be talking about so you can go into the month prepared.
   
   

2. SUNDAYS ARE FOR PLANNING. 
   Use Sundays to plan your content for the week. Again we’re not writing the posts, we’re just taking 15-30 minutes every Sunday to look at your calendar and plant the seed in your mind. 
   
   Did anything change? Can you finalize topics and photos if possible? The idea here is to get your brain prepared and thinking of the content you need to write. This should take no more than 30 minutes every Sunday.
   
   

3. CHOOSE TO BULK SCHEDULE OR POST DAILY. 
   Personally, I prefer bulk scheduling, I find it is the most efficient way to write your content. Many of my clients do this, but if you’re just starting this can be intimidating so I have two scenarios for you.
   
   Option One: Bulk Scheduling. 
   The goal here is to spend 2-3 hours once a week to write, design and schedule your content. This is important - the goal here is to not just write but to also design and schedule. We want to make it so that if something comes up or you’re needed elsewhere your content is still ready to go, without you having to show up. I use a tool like Later to schedule my content and then take just 10 minutes daily to engage.
   
   I like this best because it shortens my daily time that I’m needed on social media. I also find that when I bulk create it takes me less time to write my actual content. 
   
   Option Two: Post Daily.
   In order for this strategy to work you need to be very disciplined with your daily schedule. Be sure to schedule 30-45 minutes daily to write your content. If it’s taking too long at first, that’s ok, the more you’re consistent with it the better you will get.
   
   Schedule 30-45 minutes to write your content, post or schedule (depending on the time of day) and 10 minutes to engage. I recommend engaging around the time you are posting since you’re already on the platform.

When it comes to marketing strategies I’ve got a little secret for you.

You can know all the hashtags to use, engagement secrets, live video enhancements and so much more, but if your content sucks it won’t matter. 

When it comes to creating high-quality and engaging content here are... 

4 Content Creation Hacks to Remember for 2020

1. Be Consistent.
   Consistently showing up will change your business. Recently I read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear and speaks of a study that was done with photography students. Half of the class was assigned to produce as many photos as possible in a semester (quantity). The other half of the class was assigned to produce one piece of work (quality). What happened was the “quantity” group created the best quality. Why? Because they practiced, learned, fine-tuned and improved every time. The same is true for your content.
   

2. Survey Your Audience.
   I know some people don’t encourage surveying your audience because we don’t want to risk you losing your authenticity, that’s not what this is about. This is about high-value content and there is no better way to produce content your audience wants to consume than to ask what they want.
   
   Every 30 days ask your audience via market research survey, Instagram Stories, Instagram Feed, Facebook Groups, email and more what type of content they need most in their life right now Then create it. 
   
   By doing this, you’ll not only remove the pressure to constantly come up with content ideas, but you’ll also build trust with your audience. Don’t underestimate the power of this.
   

3. Create Brand Containers.
   This is another strategy I teach for free in my free Content Planner, which can be found here. Essentially, you’re deciding on 5-7 containers for your content that are in alignment with your brand and the desires and needs of your ideal client.
   
   Hint: These should not just be focused on your product or service and should be more about the brand experience you want to create for your growing audience. 
   

4. Repurpose Your Content.
   Repurpose. Repurpose. Repurpose. I truly can’t say it enough. Stop wasting your content by posting online once. If you’re using social media you’ve got a 24-hour life span for each post, unless you repurpose. For instance, this blog post started as a live video and was turned into this blog, multiple graphics for social media (Facebook and Instagram), posted on Pinterest, IGTV and an email to my community. That’s a lot of content from one hour of live streaming.

By the way, this is why I’m obsessed with platforms outside of social media - think blogging, Pinterest, Search Engine Optimization, Youtube and more.

Implement these hacks and watch your content strategy grow your community without having to rely on showing up every single day on social media.

Don’t forget to grab the free Content Planner here.

Happy creating.

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

3 Simple Steps to Choose Your Brand Colors

3 Simple Steps to Choose Your Brand Colors

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

Choosing your personal brand colors can be the biggest headache of your life, trust me I know! 

I spent months, and this is not an exaggeration, trying to decide on my brand colors. Turns out I was doing it wrong, by looking at others in my industry first and not following this simple 3-step process I quickly found myself with a brand that didn’t light me up.

Why Branding Colors Are Important

The power of the aesthetics of your brand are based on first impressions. As an online entrepreneur, you’re most likely using social media to build your community, spread brand awareness and make sales.

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, the social media space is crowded and first impressions matter. This is where the aesthetics of your brand come into play and color is front and center.

If you want to stand out on social media, rather than blend in, it’s important to understand how to choose your brand colors and the psychology behind color as it relates to your audience.

1. Brand Color Tip #1: Look at Your Daily Inspiration

The idea of personal branding is that you are the center of your brand and use your own personality traits, authentic voice and stories to create a brand that resonates with your ideal audience. If you don’t already know my stance on personal branding, be sure to check out this article here.

So with that in mind, why don’t we start with the things you already love?

When starting to create the aesthetics of your brand it can be really easy to get lost in what other people are doing, other professionals and other brands. The result is a loss of personal brand identity and blending in with others in your industry.

Rather than first looking outside yourself for inspiration, I recommend taking a look at two areas in your life: your closet and your home.

We buy things that inspire us and often that is associated with the psychology of color (more on that later), so why not use this personal color inspiration as a tool to choose your branding colors?

Start by looking at your closet and making a list of the top five colors you see most prominent.

Then repeat the process, by walking around your home.

Do you see an overlap in the specific colors, tone of color or color palette you tend to gravitate towards? This is where you should start when thinking of your branding colors.

2. Brand Color Tip #2: Identify Your Brand Emotions (Emotional Branding)

Just like with all things branding, after you’ve connected with the purpose and story behind your brand (aka you), it’s time to think of your audience.

We never want to create a brand that only takes our taste or style into consideration and we never want to create a brand solely for others that doesn’t connect deeply to ourselves.

So, after you’ve identified the colors you enjoy most, it’s important to think of how you want your audience to feel.

This is referred to as Emotional Branding and is something I teach my clients in my signature programs. You can learn more about Emotional Branding and the process here.

When thinking of your brand colors, you need to know your ideal client very well, the reason for this is if you don’t understand their pain and pleasure points you won’t be able to use the power of psychology to choose your colors.

For instance, if I know my ideal client is feeling overwhelmed, is highly-stressed and struggles with time management, I won’t choose a color that tends to elicit a feeling of anger.

On the flip side, if I know my client is driving to feel pleasure in her home and her health and loves the eco-lifestyle, then I would choose a color like green, which gives a feeling or serenity and organic.

In order to choose the right colors based on psychology, you need to know your audience and use that information to decide how you want your audience to feel when coming in contact with your brand.

So, before moving on to step three, it’s important to identify 5-7 brand emotions to relay to your audience.

If you need support with understanding market research and why it’s important, be sure to catch my Free masterclass on The Build a Better Brand Method. Sign up here.

3. Brand Color Tips #3: Choosing Your Brand Colors Based on Psychology

Ok, no the REALLY fun part and the part I seriously geek out on. This is why emotional branding is so important, because everything that relates to the aesthetics of your brand: colors, fonts, logo design, website layout, brand photos, etc… can be built on the fundamentals of psychology. 

To overview here are the basic emotions associated with each of the main colors:

RED: Dynamic, powerful, love, strength, passion, excitement, anger

ORANGE: Energy, vibrant, fun, playful, friendly, warm, inviting

YELLOW: Bright, happy, cheerful, positive, spontaneous, warm

PINK: Pretty, feminine, soft, playful, sweet, sincerity, gentle, romance

GREEN: Fresh, balance, earthy, calming, envy, organic, healing, wealth

BLUE: Masculine, dependable, corporate, tranquil, calming, peaceful

PURPLE: Creativity, authority, sophisticated, abundance, spiritual, vibrant

GRAY: Calming, sleek, natural, modern, conservative, neutral

BLACK: Power, elegance, formal, bold, classic, dramatic, expensive, fear, boldness

I’ve even created a fun image you can Pin or save for future reference (see below).

PIN THIS

I recommend choosing three brand colors as your main colors and explore complimentary colors to play around with on social media.

Conclusion

Choosing your brand colors can be simple when you follow this 3-step process. 

If you go into choosing your brand colors blindly you’ll feel overwhelmed and waste a lot of time trying to decide what “looks good” rather than choosing colors that will make a bigger impact.

It’s a very similar process to choosing your fonts for your brand.

At the core of branding, you must remember it’s really not about the aesthetics or look of your brand. 

Seth Godin defines branding as, “...the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”

And of course choosing your brand colors plays a role in that, but it isn’t the only piece.

If you’re ready to create a strong foundation for your business and create a brand that truly stands out on social media and builds a community of true fans, then be sure to watch my free training on The Build a Better Brand Method. I’m sharing my 3-step method to create an authentic and revenue-generating brand. Sign up here.

Tell me in the comments, what is your favorite tip from above?

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

How To Find Your Personal Brand

So you want to create a personal brand, but you’re constantly asking yourself, “What is my personal brand?” and “Where do I start?”

A brand that shares your life experiences, stories and authentically represents your style? 

Maybe you’re a coach, mentor, educator or course creator and need support in defining your personal brand so you can create a revenue-generating business!

What is a Personal Brand?

Your personal brand is how you promote yourself. It’s made up of your experiences, stories, skills, and personality.

Building your personal brand is important online, because whether you like it or not your personal brand is being written for you. The way social media works today is if you’re not in the driver's seat controlling your brand, you risk the wrong message getting out.

If you have a business, then personal branding allows you to create a deeper connection with your audience that builds trust and goes deeper than just the product or service you provide. 

So how do you find your personal brand?

I’ve got 4 simple steps and important questions to ask yourself in the process.

1. Create a Personal Brand Identity Starting With You

If you want to create a personal brand identity it’s time to get, well, personal. The idea of a personal brand is that you and your story will be at the center of your brand.

So, before we get into strategy, ideal client work or messaging (which we will cover by the way) we need to take a look at your own authenticity and personality.

What makes who you are? This includes the way you speak and write, the things you like to surround yourself with, what you value most and yes your favorite color. All of this is going to play a big role in building your personal brand.

When you can begin the process by looking inward rather than outward, you’ll better understand how to present yourself in the online space and that is SO important.

With how fast social media is changing and how many entrepreneurs are in your niche, it’s so important that your brand, the core of your business, is not only defined but is also different.

Now, before you freak out and say to me, “But, Michelle I’m not different, nothing exciting happened to me!”

I’d say, “Give me 60 minutes…” just kidding, but seriously, it often takes me just one coaching session to pull out the parts of you that are authentic, different and will set you apart from others in your industry.

And where I start with all of my clients is their story. Every single person has a story and that right there is what’s going to set you apart and build trust with your audience.

You can learn more about Brand Story in this post and take my Brand Story Quiz here.

Questions to Consider:

• What are those quirky personality traits that you possess, that your friends and family are always complimenting you on?

• If you could choose 3 key characteristics you’re most proud of what would they be?

• What’s the mission/ purpose of your life and business?

2. Identify Your Personal Brand Audience and Future Clients

Alright, now that we’ve identified, or started to identify the core of your brand, there’s another crucial part.

I think we can agree that communication is a two-way street and that’s exactly what you’re setting out to do online when posting on social media, creating your website and writing emails. You can create that stuff all dang day, but if no one is receiving your message it kind of means nothing.

This is why identifying your audience is so important and should be done at the beginning of your business.

Identifying your audience consists of three parts:

1. Daydreaming about who you want to work with

2. Justifying your “dreams” with market research

3. Creating a client profile

The key step here, and what so many entrepreneurs skip, is the element of Market Research. Please promise me right now that you won’t skip this step.

Using free tools on social media, via Google, Facebook Groups and personal conversations you can begin to identify the key components of your audience and use that in your branding and marketing down the line.

Questions to Consider:

• What is your audience’s main pain or struggle in their current situation?

• What do they strive for or desire to experience in their life?

• What’s standing in their way? (Hint: They won’t know this, that’s your job, but by asking the right questions you’ll be able to identify this).

3. Map Out Your Brand Offer and Framework

Let’s get one thing clear...I DO NOT MEAN YOUR PRODUCT. 

So many people think that their product is part of their brand, but it’s not that’s all your business boo and without a brand, well you won’t have a successful business.

If you start with your product or service you’re going to miss the mark. You’ll have the logistics in place, but no clear pathway or transformation that you’re providing your client.

It’s important, during the branding process to take time to clearly state the transformation you provide and the overall framework for your product and services.

And, no, I don’t care if you sell soap or an online course, what are you providing your client beyond the individual product.

A Question to Consider:

• What is the transformation you will provide your client?

4. Create an Emotional Brand Experience for Your Audience

Want to stand out online? 

Do you want your brand to do more than just get some followers and look pretty?

Then, you need emotional branding my friend. Emotional Branding is my specialty and something you don’t often find online but can be the difference between a brand that makes money and one that doesn’t.

The idea of Emotional Branding is that your audience will feel a deeper connection to your brand, above someone else's and therefore know, like and trust you...which as you guessed it, leads to business.

If you want to learn more about Emotional Branding specifically, you can check out this post.

Before you decide on your fonts, finalize your colors, create a logo or get your brand photos taken you want to identify the emotional core of your brand.

From here choose the aesthetics of your brand will be a breeze.

Questions to Consider:

• What is the emotional connection your audience is searching for?

• How do you want your audience to feel when they come in contact with your brand?

Conclusion

No matter what you sell, it’s important to focus on building your personal brand. However, so many entrepreneurs struggle with this concept and therefore create a brand and visual  representation that does nothing more than “look good!”

However, I want so much more for you and understand the amazing transformation that happens when you create an authentic online brand.

I watched my brand new business go from zero clients and a tiny community to multiple 6-figures cash in three years by focusing on my brand first and foremost, followed by my obsession and love for marketing my message.

Tell me in the comments, what is your favorite tip from above?

P.S. Ready to harness the power of your story and authentic voice, so you can share it with the world. Listen to the Authentic Brand Builders Podcast.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

---

- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

3 Ways to Improve Your Content Marketing as a Female Entrepreneur

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Content Marketing is King, or Queen in this case and it’s one of the key pieces in spreading your message, creating brand awareness and building a community that actually buys from you…

However, there’s a little something that’s keeping so many female entrepreneurs and online marketers from succeeding online with their current content marketing strategy.

But, before I spill the deets...a little story.

Suzie saw an amazing post in a Facebook Group.

The post promoted a freebie/product so similar to hers.

The post had SO much engagement, I’m talking hundreds of comments and most likely hundreds of opt-ins.

You know one of those good ole’ effective ladder posts.
**If you’re not familiar with a ladder post, it’s essentially a post that encourages people to comment in order to get a special link. Every comment bumps the post up into the Facebook feed, therefore keeping your post relevant for days!

So, what did Suzie do? Suzie studied it.

She looked at the post, the way it was written, the key factors and plugged in her information.

Then Suzie posted HER post into the same group.

Do you know what happened?

Crickets 🦗

Do you know why?

Because the post wasn’t truly Suzie’s it was someone else's.

WHAT WORKS FOR SOMEONE ELSE IN THE ONLINE SPACE WON’T WORK EXACTLY THE SAME FOR YOU!

And I know that’s hard to hear because we want it to be easier.

We want all the answers as to why THEY have it and we don’t.

I know because I’ve been there too.

But, the more you start to mimic/copy/imitate someone else the more YOUR authentic brand and personality blend in.

And the only way to stand out today in your industry is to break through the noise.

Yet, so many entrepreneurs do it and therefore so many entrepreneurs (mentors/coaches specifically) package the idea of Done-For-You Templates.

And I believe there is nothing more detrimental to branding than a template that teaches you what to say to your community and encourages you to copy and paste

Just to be clear, there are a few templates I’m a big fan of:

• Calendars and Planners
• Trackers and Spreadsheets
• Design templates in Canva

And, that’s about it!

When you get into the world of template emails, template social media post and even worse templated photos to share as your own on social media...then we have a problem.

And, this rise of templated content is contributing to what so many entrepreneurs are trying to avoid...sounding like a robot and losing their own authentic voice.

Moving Forward. 

So, what do we do?

We stop.

We stop using templates as a quick fix for our business and develop better ways to tap into our own stories and the stories of our audience to create highly valuable content.

We use our own lives and experiences as an inspiration in our personal brand to deeply connect with our audience.

And we stop downloading free offers that say “Fill-in-the-Blank Social Media Posts to Skyrocket Your Engagement and Get you $10k in a Week!”

If you want to stand out, truly stand out and build a community of fans over followers, then templates and copy/paste are not the answer.

Three things you can do today to come up with more aligned content for your brand.

1. Use a Content Calendar

If you are not currently using a content calendar then you’re flying by the seat of your pants and that is most likely contributing to the need to “search” for answers, rather than trusting your own writing instincts.

You can download my free Content Calendar if you haven’t already.

This will teach you a technique (not a template) I use with my clients to identify YOUR authentic Brand Containers as a way to come up with a stream of content. Then you can better plan for your content over the next month and pull from your own life experiences and needs of your clients in the process.

In addition, can you tell I’m super passionate about this, you’ll get into the habit or pre-writing your content which allow you to find your own voice.

2. Pull Ideas For Content From Your Followers

Want to know the secret to content that converts? Pay attention to what your audience is asking for. Yes, it gets to be that easy, yet so many entrepreneurs are missing this step.

Maybe it’s because they don’t have an audience yet?

Maybe it’s because their audience, although small, is made up of family and friends?

Maybe they don’t know how to ask?

Whatever the reason may be, I want you to remember you have the internet at your fingertips. Literally, anything you need to know is available to you if you take the time to look (and taking the time to brainstorm and research content ideas is huge)!

Use hashtags, groups, forums, connections, heck a simple Google Search to find what your ideal client is looking for and create content that addresses that need in a way that showcases your personality and brand voice.

3. Play up Emotional Branding in Your Content

Not sure what I mean by emotional branding? Be sure to check out this post here.

At its core, emotional branding is understanding the pains and pleasures of your audience and creating strong copy and content that:

1. Addresses the pain and/or pleasure

2. Uses strong emotionally charged language to connect to that pain and/or pleasure

3. Offers a solution

Even in the beginning when you’re testing your copy and your writing style or brainstorming content ideas, you can start incorporating emotionally charged words and phrases into your copy.

This will allow you to connect on a deeper level with your audience and start building an audience of true fans.

I believe that your true voice deserves to be heard and your brand to be seen.

I know that you have everything you need already inside of you to stand out on social media, you might need a little help in tapping into it, but don’t mask it with a generic template.

The goal is to find a system that allows your most authentic qualities to shine through.

Your language.

Your personality.

Your voice.

Your unique characteristics.

Your style.

When you use a template, that probably about 1,000+ other people are using you lose these pieces. Maybe not at first, but over time.

And as Dr. Seuss once said, and about a hundred other movies including What a Girl Wants 🙌🏻, “Why blend in when you were born to stand out?”

If you’re serious about doing the work and creating a brand that stands out on social media, produces high-value content for your audience and building a thriving community that leads to a revenue-generating business, then be sure to check out the Content Planning Blueprint here.

Tell me in the comments, what is your favorite tip from above?

Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!

P.S. Planning and creating your content doesn't have to be a constant struggle. There is a better way to research, plan, and create your content as an entrepreneur and it's all inside the Content Planning Blueprint!

The Content Planning Blueprint is perfect for online business owners who know the power of content creation but are tired of spending all of their time coming up with ideas, organizing their content, and wondering what will attract their dream clients.

In just a few hours, you'll have 90 days of content planned, a repeatable workflow to save you hours on creating and distributing your content every week, and content topics that will keep performing for your brand for years to come! Get your blueprint now >>

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