4 Reasons You’re Not Consistent With Your Content Creation (and Online Marketing)

Yes, we’re talking about consistency again this week!

For four years I’ve surveyed my audience and do you know what the number one struggle is?

Actually showing up.
Not just once.
Not twice.
But, consistently.

But, dang it’s hard.

The reality is creating content can actually be overwhelming. Most people go through the typical cycle of, “Oh, I've got a great idea! Wait is this actually valuable? How do I know if this is valuable? Maybe I should think of another topic!"

And even when we start to figure it out, we find ourselves repeating the cycle month after month.

This is why it’s important to pinpoint and correct why we’re not consistent in the first place, so today’s post is going to share 4 of the most common reasons you might be lacking consistency in your business.

1. LACK OF COMMITMENT TO YOUR BUSINESS

Ok, I’m bringing this up with so much grace and love because I want you to know that you’re not the only one who is sitting in this in-between, but we've talked about this lack of commitment a lot with time management conversations.

For example, I always say that one of the reasons time management is a big struggle, especially when growing your business, is because your business isn’t taking top priority in your schedule.

I know it can be easy to see entrepreneurs who are “making it” and think, “Wow, they're so lucky.” But the truth is that the people who have done this and are doing it successfully have done it with intention. This success didn’t happen by accident.

This intention comes from making a commitment and in this case a commitment to your business.

Have you made this commitment? Here are three questions to help you determine if you’re downplaying your business, even if subconsciously.

QUESTION #1
Have you told anybody about your business?
Really consider if you’ve told the people that you love most about your business and if you’ve had conversations with them about what you imagine your business can be.

QUESTION #2
How do you refer to your business?
It’s time to really think about how you refer to and think about your business, yes this includes calling it a side hustle. For me, the term side hustle carried a heavyweight and made me think of my business as something less important, which absolutely wasn’t true.
This way of thinking subconsciously made my business less important and not a time priority. So when I had time, I’d work on my business as opposed to making the time to work on my business.

Really consider the way you view and openly talk about your business. Are you talking about it as a fun side project, or is this a goal that you're working towards? How bad do you want it?

Entrepreneurship requires work, yes, but most importantly it requires a commitment. One thing to consider is having a specific time on your calendar for your business, especially as it relates to content creation.

If you do not have designated time on your calendar we're running into a problem, because that means that your business is not a priority. We use our calendars to prioritize the things that we have to do all the time, think the dentist, meetings at work, soccer practice for the kids.

The beautiful part of this is there isn’t a right or wrong way or number of hours you need to work on your business, it always comes down to your goals, timeline and availability. So your scheduled time might only be two hours a week or five, but having the time carved out is part of this commitment.

#2 A LACK OF SYSTEMS = A LACK OF CONSISTENCY

One of my favorite quotes from James Clear in his book Atomic Habits is, "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

I love it so much we talked about it last week, but I truly don’t think there is a more important conversation to have in regards to consistency than your systems.

If you’re already pressed for time, and only have so many hours to come up with content, ideas, and so much time to write our content and then so much time to get it out there, we have to get our systems in place. 

These systems in your business look like clear and defined workflows, thorough weekly checklists and frameworks for getting your content written and out for distribution.

One of my favorite parts of my business is taking one piece of content and repurposing the crap out of it, seriously I wrote an entire blog post on my process. The art of repurposing not only allows you to spend less time creating content, it allows you to create a weekly workflow that can be repeated week after week.

This repetition takes the guesswork out of marketing your business and gives you more time and energy on fine-tuning and improving your craft.

Every week I take one video, the one you can watch below, and I turn it into a blog post (yes, this one), 3 social media posts, an email and multiple videos for Instagram. And every single week this workflow is repeated.

This type of system and there are many to choose from, allow you to rinse and repeat, minimize the time and energy you’re spending and maximize output.

Inside The Consistency Guide, I share an 8-part framework for showing up more consistently in your business. One of these pieces is centered around your workflow. I walk you through my process of determining your core content and repurpose schedule, then you get a behind the scenes look into my business and my workflow so you can implement it in your business with ease.

Content might be Queen, but if your content isn't consistent it won't do you much good. The Consistency Guide teaches you how to release beliefs holding you back and put systems in place that allow you to succeed in business week after week after week.

Get the consistency guide now

#3 STOP TRYING TO BE ON ALL THE PLATFORMS

One of the most popular reasons for not showing up consistently in business is that you’re trying to be too much, create too much and show up too much! 

“What?! Michelle you teach marketing and you’re telling me I’m doing too much?”

YES! As with all things we need to be strategic and I’d rather you show up fully on a few platforms then stretch yourself thin with mediocre content on a bunch.

The truth is when we start our businesses, and even in that first year, shoot, even in your fourth year, it can be really easy to look and see where everybody's showing up and think to yourself, “Well, I should be there too. I definitely need to be there. Um, I'm not on Pinterest, I need to be on Pinterest. I'm not on Instagram, I need to be on Instagram. I need to be doing a weekly live stream as Michelle does.” Sound familiar?

We feel we have to do #allthethings because we’re comparing our Chapter 1 to someone’s Chapter 10. Look, I was not doing all of this four years ago, I focused on the areas that felt most comfortable and where I could show up fully and then I continued to grow from there.

In my business, it looked like Facebook Groups and my Facebook Page first, then I added Instagram, then I got serious about Blogging and Pinterest, adding podcasting, weekly live streams, etc... came next.

No one is expecting you to do it ALL right from the start, that’s just crazy!

If you’re trying to do all of the things, all of the time, and find yourself consistent for a week, and then nothing on again for two weeks and then off again because you’re stretching yourself too thin, you’re not going to be able to give your full focus and energy to the areas you absolutely need to see growth, think high-value content.

I recommend two to three platforms most when you’re first starting out and when choosing these platforms you need to consider what is required from that platform.

For instance, if you don’t have a lot of time then you might not want to focus on Instagram or Facebook to grow your community which requires daily posting. Using your blog and Pinterest might be a better option for you and better use of your time in the beginning. Then as you understand and implement repurposing you can take that blog and expand it on social media.

So that's why it's really, really important to create a strategy that works for you. This is why I love authentic marketing and what it’s truly all about. It's about really looking at your life, your schedule, your audience, where you want to show up, how much time you have and create a workflow and a content creation plan to match that.

So much of this comes from your system and workflow. I’ve mastered this with my Repurposing Plan and I’m giving you my strategies to build your own system that you can rinse and repeat inside the Consistency Guide.

#4 YOUR PURPOSE ISN’T DEFINED

Now, I don't mean your life purpose, although that could easily fit into your business if you know that go for it, but if when you hear the word purpose and instantly start to feel overwhelmed it’s not necessary.

What, I want to encourage you to think about is the purpose behind your business and how it’s deeper than your why.

Let me explain. When I started my business I remember my first coach asked me my “why”. I listed out a ton of reasons like being home with my son, bringing my husband home from his job, traveling more, paying off debt, shopping at Whole Foods.

It felt great! But then business got tough and I found myself no longer motivated by these very surface-level reasons for running my business. So I took the time to think about the true purpose behind my business, my mission, which is so much more than me and even my family.

It can’t be because of money.
It can’t be because of fame.

You can achieve those things working a 9 to 5, it has to be bigger, it has to focus on impact.

There will be months when you don't make as much as the month before, and you might have social media posts that do really, really well and then social media posts that don't.

You might have launches that do really, really well and then have launches that don't.

And when you're focused on the money, or the fame, or the, you know, influence or publicity, or whatever you want to call it likes followers, then you're going to struggle because you're going to question if you should be doing this! 

When you think about your audience and impact, the reason you’re showing up you’ll keep going, you’ll keep creating and you’ll continue to be consistent.

If you haven’t already ask yourself, 
What is the mission behind our business?
What is the purpose of you showing up every single day, even when no one is there?

Having this information at your fingertips, being deeply rooted in your purpose, allows you to pull yourself back up. As an entrepreneur, no one is going to do that for you!

Inside The Consistency Guide, there is an entire section on defining your purpose. I ask the questions needed to determine your purpose and feel deeply rooted and connected to it.

I've used my Consistency Framework to create consistent high-performing content for four years.

This has included weekly emails, weekly blog posts, at least two videos a month (now it's weekly), multiple social media posts on both Facebook and Instagram and so much more.

I've generated half a million dollars in cash from showing up consistently in my business, delivering what my audience wants and sharing my expertise in a way that is authentic to me.

This isn't another plug n play template, this is going to set the foundation you need so you STICK WITH IT.

Because plug n play is just a band aid, it doesn't solve the problem.

Get the consistency guide for $60 off!

The goal here is to make deep changes in your business both with your systems and mindset (because we both know it's needed).

My clients have used my Consistency Framework to break free from their blocks and get results.

...Romy has created weekly live streams, blogs and emails (all from one piece of content) to generate $3k - $5k cash months.

...Ariel shows up for her audience every week, posting multiple times on Facebook to create a 6-figure photography business.

...Kinsey has grown a following on Instagram by releasing weekly podcasts, posting consistently on IG to successfully launch her first group program and 1:1 coaching.

I know you can follow this simple framework and do the same.

I typically sell this guide for $97, but I wanted to give my readers the opportunity to get all the goodness of the guide for less. You can grab the consistency guide by clicking right here for just $37!

CONCLUSION

Remember consistently showing up in your business is essential. You want to find a pattern and routine that works for you, but also be aware of areas, four specifically, where you might be blocking your own success.

So much of what we do as a business owner is equal parts strategy and mindset. Find the area where you’re lacking and focus on building it up so you can start showing up!

If you want to grab The Consistency Guide you can learn more about my 8-part Consistency Framework, you can do so by clicking here!

P.S. If you made it this far my guess is you’re ready to create consistent content and a sustainable business. So much of this starts with your marketing workflow which I’m giving you inside my free Repurposing Guide. You can download it here.

WATCH THE TIPS AND MORE FROM THIS POSTBELOW.

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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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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 Online Marketing as a Female Entrepreneur

3 Ways to Improve Your Online Marketing as a Female Entrepreneur

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

A core pillar of a successful marketing strategy is branding.

When we start our business we typically dive into both simultaneously, but I promise your marketing strategies (like the ones we will talk about in this blog) will work better if your brand is ready to rock and roll.

Your brand allows you to determine your niche, ideal customer, core messaging and your signature offer because you have to start somewhere, 

If your branding is lacking you’ll struggle with your…
...Facebook ad strategy
...email marketing strategy
...advanced funnels and evergreen
...content creation
...and so much more.

So, I’m encouraging you to take a quick pause, think of your brand, and determine if that’s where you need to start.

If it is, then you can hop right into my free class where I’ll teach you the Build a Better Brand Method. You can get signed up at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.

Save this post and come back to it after your brand feels ready.

Ok, if you’re still with me and are ready for three awesome ways to improve your marketing let’s get into it.

THE PURPOSE OF MARKETING

The purpose of every marketing strategy should be to build trust.

Trust is why people not only buy from you over another brand but also why they keep coming back and refer you to their friends and family (aka marketing gold).

So the reason we actually show up, create content and market our business isn’t just about making money...that is a byproduct of building trust.

The question we need to start asking ourselves, and what we will discuss further in this blog, is “How are you building trust with your audience?”

How are you saying, “I know that you've seen like maybe six other people who do the same thing that I do. You've probably seen like six other ads today of people who do the same thing that I do, why should you trust me?” 

And that's essentially the question you want to answer with your marketing.

You want to make it a priority to build trust with your audience at every single step of the client journey. 

Zig Ziglar states, “If they like you, they'll listen to you. If they trust you, they'll do business with you.” And this quote has stuck with me since 2016 because truly that is what I want you to remember from this blog.

It’s one thing for people to like your content.
It’s one thing for people to think to themselves, “this is great!”
It’s one thing for people to message you and say, “thanks so much for your content!”

It’s another thing for people to trust you so much, having never met you in person to pull out a credit card, or a debit card or whatever kind of card they use, and pay you for your products and your services! 

When we actually think about what we're asking people to do as an online business owner, it's kind of crazy. We’re asking people to trust us enough to pull out their card without having met us or physically seen or touched our products and services and pay us...online!

That’s why the next three things I’m going to share with you around improving your marketing are going to change the game for you. It isn’t another strategy that you do once and forget about. These are three proven ways to build trust quickly with your audience and increase your sales.

3 Ways to Improve Your Marketing

1. Become a Better Storyteller

2. Take Care of Your Clients on Their Journey

3. Consistently Show Up and Deliver Value
   
   

Now that you have the overview let’s dive into each point.

1. Become a Better Storyteller

If you’ve read my blogs before then this tip shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, it’s literally how I’ve built the half-a-million-dollar business I have today.

Learning how to tell better stories is going to improve your marketing across the board, whether it's on your website, in your freebie funnel, live video, social media, blog, Pinterest, I can keep talking and going on and on about every single aspect, but you get the idea. 

And there are a couple of the core reasons storytelling works so well in marketing.

Your content is 22 times more likely to be remembered If you incorporate storytelling.

I know you spend time creating content, right? It is probably the most time-consuming part of running your business and it's an important part of running your business. So don't you want to make sure that when you take this time, and you put the content out into the world, that people actually remember what you said? Don’t you want to know it’s making an impact? That it’s not just consumed and forgotten in 48 hours?

Incorporating storytelling allows you to do that. 

In addition, storytelling does some cool stuff in our brains

When we read or hear a story dopamine is released in our brains. This release makes us feel an emotional connection to the story instantly. If it’s a great story it might even allow us to connect with the storyteller. This emotional connection is important because it’s why people decide to buy.

It has been proven that logistics aren’t enough on their own. When we share the price, the savings, the number of modules, etc...it isn’t going to get someone to commit. The emotional connection, what’s happening on the subconscious level, is the reason someone makes a purchase decision.

And, finally, if you’re not already convinced, one of the fundamental pieces of storytelling that I love to teach is that your story is actually not about you as the marketer, it's about your ideal customer. 

One of the ways to become a better storyteller is to remember that every single story that you share needs to be about your audience and connect to your audience in some way and invite them in. When we do this with our storytelling, we continue to neural coupling.

Neural coupling is the firing of mirror neurons that create coherence between a speaker's brain and the brain of his or her audience members. And inviting your audience into the story is actually quite easy. Look for ways to ask questions like, “Have you ever felt this way?”
“Does that sound familiar?”
“Have you had this experience?”

Just those simple one-liner questions can Invite your audience into your story.

These are just three reasons why integrating storytelling into every aspect of your marketing is so important, because it will actually allow you to build trust quicker, leading to the sale. 

2. Take Care of Your Client’s on Their Journey

Yes, I mean every single step of the way. Your client journey doesn’t just start when they purchase a product from you, it starts the second they learn about you and your brand.

The client journey isn’t talked about enough and as a result, people market the crap out of their business and they do an amazing job, but after the sale, the client is just not satisfied. It’s because they didn’t spend the same level of care on their client as they did selling.

So, I want you to think about a couple of things.

• When someone opts into your freebie, what happens? What do they get? What do they hear about?

• When someone gets an email from you or sees on social media that you have an offer and they go to your sales page, what does that process look like?

• When someone buys from you, what does that process look like?
  
  

You want to really break down each of these different processes every step of the way.

I'll give you an example of the onboarding process for my program Brandmerry Academy.

When someone is ready to join The Academy, during a launch, they go to the sales page, they choose their offer, then they go to the checkout page.

On the checkout page, I have a video of me walking them through the process. After they enter their payment information, they are immediately taken to a confirmation page that says, “You did it! You're in!” and it includes another video from me sharing the next steps.

Under the video, I tell them exactly what they need to do, which includes checking their email for their login and looking for another email from me with all the details they need. Then, while they wait for the emails, I’m directing them to the New Member Survey. 

After the survey, they check the email and have everything they need to get started. They have a link to the Facebook Group. They can log-in to the membership site. They have a walkthrough video of the membership site so they can get started. They have a New Member Roadmap.

There is no guessing as to what they need to do and as a result, my clients feel 100% supported from the second they choose to buy. 

Do you see how powerful this is? I made it a point to maintain trust the entire way through the process.

A few questions to start asking yourself to clean up your process:

• How can I make this a memorable and easy experience for people from the second they hear about my business?

• What happens when someone lands on a sales page? Do my buttons work?

• When someone wants to schedule a call, what is that process? 

• When someone buys a product what is the step-by-step process?

3. Consistently Show Up and Deliver Value

If you want to make it in marketing, people need to know who you are.

Consistently showing up for your audience, is just another way to build trust with them. And no, consistency does not mean posting every single day, that’s so old school, what consistency means is finding a rhythm that works for you and sticking to it.

Building trust and credibility with your audience so they know you’re showing up during the week. When you focus on consistency you are less likely to get lost in the mix of information.

This is one of the reasons I love email marketing and I make it a goal to send at least one email a week. Email marketing allows you to get directly to your audience without having to compete for space on social media. And when you’re showing up on the same day every week, they know to look for you!

When we’re talking about consistently showing up, no matter what platform you choose to share your content, you need to have core systems in place to make your life easier. Consistency is a really big struggle for so many entrepreneurs and that’s because they don’t have clear systems in place to create content weekly.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, states, “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”

This line spoke to my soul because it's not just about hitting your goals, it's about having the systems in place so that you can get back on the horse when you inevitably fall off. It’s going to happen so having these systems allow you to pick back up and get right back into it.

If you don't have these workflows and these systems and you don't know how to create consistent content, you don't know how to write content quickly, and you don't know how to come up with content ideas, and you don't have these systems that you can essentially rinse and repeat you will struggle.

It’s one of the reasons I created The Consistency Guide for entrepreneurs. I’m finally solving the problem so many entrepreneurs have by addressing the mindset and systems of it all. You can learn more about The Consistency Guide here.

CONCLUSION

Marketing is so much more than just a cool new strategy, it has to be rooted in trust. If you focus on these three elements in conjunction with some of my favorite tools like video marketing, Pinterest and SEO you’ll be setting yourself up for major success as an online entrepreneur.

If you want to learn more about the importance of storytelling because I know it’s such a hot topic, and rightfully so, I’ve got a blog post on The Art of Storytelling in Business here.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out The Consistency Guide and learn The Consistency Framework that has supported me in creating a half-a-million-dollar business, but also my clients in reaching $5k+ months. Learn more and grab your guide at brandmerry.com/consistent.

WATCH THE TIPS AND MORE HERE.

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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.

5 Tips to Increase Your Website Conversions

5 Tips to Increase Your Website Conversions

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

The truth is websites are completely underrated. There has been a movement in the past couple of years from mentors and coaches saying that websites aren’t necessary when building a business.

I call BS on that one and here is why.

From a personal standpoint, I attract over 10,000 visitors to my website every month using Google and Pinterest.

In 2019 every private coaching client I signed (a minimum $5,000 investment) came from a simple Google search.

Today, I’m making sales every week from people who find me on Google and Pinterest. 

Without my website, none of that would be possible.

However, I get it! When I started my business I had zero traffic and therefore started to believe the lie that a website was pointless.

I’m glad I didn’t fall for that though and instead dedicated my time to not only driving more organic traffic to my website but also optimizing my website for conversions.

If you’re looking for ways to increase traffic to your website, check out this post here.

So, now that we understand how freaking cool websites are, let’s talk about how to optimize them. But, before we dive into these conversions let’s make sure we’re both on the same page.

I’m not promoting you spending the next 6 months trying to build your website, or playing with your website. This is not the answer. 

What you want to do is build your brand foundations, you can learn more about that in my Build a Better Brand Masterclass, and then create a simple website to start driving traffic to. You can always improve your website as more and more people find it.

So read through this post and if you don’t have a website bookmark it and start with my Build a Better Brand Masterclass and if you have a website then let’s get to work.

Website Conversion Tip #1

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY

The average person will make a decision if your website is right for them in 15 seconds. Yes, that is the average time someone will spend on your website, so grabbing their attention and the first impression is crucial.

I look at this like the subject line of an email you want your audience to open or the photo on Instagram that you want your audience to see so they read your post.

This same approach applies to your website. My secret sauce for this is Emotional Branding.

I’ve been teaching the idea of Emotional Branding for years and it’s one of the most powerful pieces you can have in your branding, but more importantly in any situation where you want your audience to stop what they're doing and take action, or in this case explore your website.

Let’s assume for a moment we are talking about your homepage, since this is where most people from Google will land. The easiest way to see how your website is performing is to explore it yourself. 

Head to your website, as a viewer, and write down that you see. What do the images say to you, what is the first language you see, are you excited, stressed, happy, comforted, etc when you first get there? You can also ask two or three of your friends or family to tell you what they see and feel when landing on your site as well.

When you get this information ask yourself, “Is this on-brand for me? Is this correct based on the limited time they spent on my website?”

You’ll start to notice that the more emotionally-charged your images and words are the more likely people will be to stick around. 

Pictures of people work really well in this scenario, strong language or a mission at the top and pointing out the problem your audience is facing are great ways to get started.

Website Conversion Tip #2

CLEARLY STATE THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BRAND

Speaking of the first 15 seconds and the top of your website, the second thing you want to clearly state is the purpose of your brand. This will drastically help you improve website conversions because it gives people the opportunity to say, “Yes, this person is for me or no, I’m not feeling it!”

Despite what people say you actually want the wrong people for your brand to peace out. Why would you want someone who isn’t in alignment with your brand, not your ideal client and likely never going to buy from you hanging out? You don’t.

Having this clear brand statement at the top allows you to state what you do, who you serve, what problem they are facing and how your service or product helps them solve that problem.

For instance, my website says, “As a personal branding consultant, I teach female entrepreneurs who struggle with building a revenue-generating business, how to brand and market their mission and message online to make more money and impact.”

Right away you know what I do, who I serve, what they struggle with and what I help them accomplish. This is important because as a branding consultant I don’t do the physical branding work for you. So when people land on my website I want to make that clear that I’m not a designer. If they know right away there isn’t confusion or false expectations on how I can support them.

Website Conversion Tip #3

HAVE A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

If someone is on your website, what do you want them to do? It’s a really important question that we don’t often think about. 

Typically there are two options:

Option 1 - Buy your product or service
Option 2 - Join your email list (the inner circle)

This last option is important because if you don’t have this call to action you might miss out on a potential sale. 

Let’s say I visit your website and I love it but I’m not in the market for your services. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll never be in need of your services, but if I have no way to stay in contact with you or learn more about you the odds of me remembering you are slim.

This is why we should always, I repeat always, have an email opt-in. You can learn more about building an email list here.

I prefer to have one core lead magnet that someone can receive in exchange for their email address. When you have one clear call to action it’s easier for people to say yes or no. For instance, my Personal Brand Roadmap is my only call to action on my home page and since making that change we’ve seen an increase in lead magnet conversions of over 60%.

The same is important for your blog as well, always have a lead magnet available on every single one of your blog posts so if someone finds you on Pinterest they can join your inner circle.

Website Conversion Tip #4

TELL A GREAT STORY

This is my specialty and the core foundation of my business. Storytelling is so important, but so many people reserve it for social media and email marketing and completely miss the mark on their website.

Up until this point we’ve talked a lot about your homepage, but there is another important page on your website that gets the majority of your traffic and that’s your ‘About Me’ page.

Your ‘About Me’ page is typically the second most viewed page on your website and rightfully so, people want to know what you’re about, they want to know your story. This is essential because what they are ultimately saying is, “Can I trust this person?”

Your ‘About Me’ page should, in fact, be about you. I know there is a lot of misinformation about what to include on this page and people often say it should only be about your audience, but I disagree.

If I’m going to your ‘About Me’ page then I want to learn about you. If you don’t tell me about you then I’m going to lose interest. So your page should include a clear brand story, as well as more information about you, what led you to where you are today, why you do what you do and who you serve.

By following this framework you’re more likely to convert readers and visitors into community members and paying clients. I know from experience that people have signed up for my programs because of what they read on my ‘About Me’ page.

For your page to perform and increase conversions you have to know your story. This is one of the core pillars of my program You! Branded, in fact, it’s the first module.

You! Branded helps women identify the different chapters of their book, aka ‘About Me’ page. It’s about introducing people to you, sharing your journey and building authority and trust and finally bringing it home to share how you can support them.

There is a fine art in writing your story while also keeping your audience engaged and inviting them in. I’ve got an entire blog on writing your ‘About Me’ page which you can check out here.

Website Conversion Tip #5

SEND A COHESIVE MESSAGE

And finally, let’s talk about a cohesive message for your website. This is where your branding work really gets to shine, and no I don’t mean your logo. 

What I mean by your branding work is how consistent are your images, your brand emotions and your overall messaging? Break this consistency and you’ll break the trust of your website viewer.

If I land on your homepage and discover you are a Relationship Coach for women healing from a toxic relationship and I’m intrigued. So then, I hop over to your blog and your blogs are about building your email list, there is a disconnect and now I’m confused and the trust is broken.

You want to make sure that everything you’re sharing on your website follows the theme of your brand and speaks to a very specific person. One of the pieces to a strong brand is messaging and I believe in building core brand messages for your brand as a whole so you can share those messages everywhere, including your website and always be on-brand.

If your message on your homepage is different from your message on your About Me and your blog it’s going to be hard for me to understand what exactly you do and how you can help me. 

An example would be that you don’t do any core messaging work and you start building your website. You sit down and write your homepage. Then the next day you write your story. Then an individual sales page. If you piece these together they don’t flow and feel like three separate standalone pages.

The reason we want things to flow is that we don’t just want to keep people engaged for 15 seconds as we talked about in tip one, but we also want to keep them on your website for an extended period of time. 

Those visitors are more likely to convert.


CONCLUSION

I know that if you implement these five tips on your website and my top tips for increasing traffic you’re going to find that your website can be a valuable part of your business.

As I mentioned in the beginning and throughout this blog so much of your messaging, story, visuals, etc come from your branding work. If you want to dive deeper into building your personal brand, I have a free Personal Brand Roadmap that you can download here.

P.S. If you want to learn more about the importance of storytelling because I know it’s such a hot topic, and rightfully so, I’ve got a blog post on The Art of Storytelling in Business here.

WATCH THE TIPS AND MORE HERE.

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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.

4 Steps to Create Consistent Content for Your Business

If you’d like to watch the full video, you can do that here.

Content creation, you either love it or hate. I freaking love it and over the past four years of running my online business, I’ve shown up every single week with content for my audience.

I have over 200 blogs on my website, I’ve emailed my list at least once a week and the number of videos I’ve created is crazy. I do it because I love it, but I’ve also found a way to do it without spending all my time on it.

And content has gotten a bad wrap, people are talking about how you don’t need it, but in this blog, I’m going to share why it’s important and how to consistently show up for your audience without feeling stressed and overwhelmed with the process. 

3 LEVELS OF CONTENT CREATION

There are three levels your audience passes through, that you need to be aware of when creating content.

LEVEL ONE IS AWARENESS.
It’s the level in which people learn about you, your brand and maybe your service for the first time. Suddenly you’re on their radar and their awareness is heightened.

LEVEL TWO IS ATTRACTION.
After someone has an awareness of your brand, we then move our attention to attracting them to our inner circle/ or tribe. The goal here is to get people to sign up for your email list. Attracting them with a signature piece of content or, as I prefer, a lead magnet where they have to join your list to get it.

LEVEL THREE IS CONNECTION.
At this phase, we are putting the emphasis on nurturing your growing audience. The goal is to show up for them, connect with them and ultimately lead them to the sale.

Now, of course, someone could see your brand and go straight to the sale.

Somebody could join your list and go straight to the sale, but the majority of the people (think 90% need a little more nurturing and trust building).

Each of the levels shared above relies on content.

You can't really bring people to your brand, make them aware of your brand and what you have to offer if you're not showing up.

You can’t attract the right people and get them ready to join your email list if you’re not creating the quality content they want.

And, we can't really connect with people and build that relationship if we're not showing up and connecting with them consistently. 

So everything that we do as an online entrepreneur is really centered around content.

CONSISTENT CONTENT DOESN’T MEAN POSTING DAILY

When I talk about consistent content people’s immediate reaction is that I’m asking them to post every day, when the truth is far from that.

I actually hate this strategy and don’t use it in my business. I teach a very, very different method inside of Brandmerry Academy that relies on the art of repurposing.

But, what I want to drive home is the element of consistency. Consistency doesn’t mean daily, it means being consistent in your scheduling.

If you decide that you want to show up twice a week, consistently show up twice a week

If you decide you want to show three, four, whatever it is times a week, consistently do that. 

One of the worst things you can do is break your consistency, yet so many entrepreneurs fall off the wagon once or twice and then stop. Rather than hoping back on, it becomes this whole thing of, “Do I hop back on? How do I get back into it? Where do I start again?”

We put too much pressure on ourselves that if something happens, and we don't show up, or you know, we don't write a blog that week that we have to start over from the beginning and that is so not the case. 

That’s why so much of consistently showing up online and sharing content is reliant on our mindset. 

The tips below will only work if you understand that life will happen, you might fall off the schedule a few times, but the best thing you can do is get back up and work on your content creation habits.

Remember the more that you show up, the more consistent you are, the more your audience hears from you. 

The less you show up, the less consistent you are, the less your audience hears from you.

It’s not science.

Ok, on to the 4 Tips to Create Consistent Content in Your Business.

1. STAY INSPIRED TO CREATE CONTENT

You have to stay inspired and motivated. The key to being excited about creating content is to always look for ways to be inspired.

Let me give you an example. 

I know that if I need to create content, my butt goes outside.

If I know that I need to create content, let’s say I want to brainstorm and map out 90 days of topics I head to Starbucks.

I know the type of environments and resources that get me inspired and motivated. What are yours?

We have to put ourselves in places that inspire us if we ever hope to be inspired.

If you're sitting In bed, on your laptop, you're probably not feeling very inspired. 

So not only do we need to put ourselves in situations where we're feeling inspired, but we also have to get excited about what it is we are doing.

So much of getting excited ties back to the purpose of your business. 

Why are you doing this? 
Why should you show up and create content?
Who is it for?

If you haven't figured out the real purpose and mission behind your business, today would be a great day to write that down.

When I tap into my purpose of empowering women to own their story and show up and share that with the world through their brand that keeps me motivated. So, even if I am tired or don’t feel 100% in it, I root myself in my purpose and excitement hits.

The core part of consistently thinking of content topics, consistently showing up and delivering that content and consistently engaging comes from being inspired and being motivated. 

2. LOOK AROUND FOR CONTENT IDEAS

When we start thinking about creating content we sit down with a notepad, in a quiet room and write our ideas.

I'm telling you, I've had the best content ideas in the shower, or walking through the grocery store, listening to podcasts, or scrolling on Instagram, which is not in a dark room with a notepad.

I’m using the everyday moments around me to think of ideas. For instance, when I hop on Instagram I won’t just do it to waste some time, but I’ll set the intention to see if anything inspires me outside of my industry.

Then I use that inspiration to create a piece of content.

This is why I’m a big fan of using Trello or Google Docs as a way to organize a content idea bank because as I’m going about my day, with the intention to look for ideas, I can pause and add my idea to my Trello board and then go back about my day.

What I’m doing is I’m creating a resource of content ideas every single day, rather than sitting down to “try and write” and feeling incredibly lost and stuck.

The biggest mistake I see entrepreneurs make is feeling like it's 100% up to them to come up with topics for their content.

Look around you.
Get inspired.
Don’t be afraid to Google topics and see what comes up.
Search on Pinterest for a topic and see what comes to your mind.
Look in a Facebook Group and search for topics to see what people ask.

Shift the way you go about getting ideas away from sitting down and brainstorming, to setting the intention to always look for ideas.

3. MAKE CONTENT CREATION A PRIORITY

Your content creation and your business in general, shouldn't just fit in where it fits in your schedule. Make it a priority and move the other things to fit around it.

You will get results if you’re carving out a dedicated chunk of time at least once a week to create your content if you’re not then you're doing yourself a disservice.

You don’t need to create every single day, many of my clients have one designated content creation/ writing day a week. And if you do it, for let’s say two weeks, and still don’t find you’re able to create the amount of content you want in that time frame then cut back on the content or master your repurposing workflow.

Do what you can in that time frame and then as your business grows, as you hire more team members, as you get faster and faster writing content and blog posts, then you can start to create more and show up on more platforms.

So many people fall off because they're trying to do way too much when it comes to content creation, they can't keep up with it. 

I am a big fan of bulk scheduling. I bulk create and write my content on Monday’s.

I don't do calls on Mondays and pretty much my entire day is carved out to create my content.

I use this time to write my notes for my weekly live stream, Mondays With Michelle, schedule my social media posts and choose the graphics.

4. CHOOSE YOUR CONTENT PLATFORMS WISELY

When you’re starting your online business you’re thinking, “Ok, I’m going to create a website and hope someone comes to it and then I’ll show up on social media. I’ll create a Facebook group or I'll join some Facebook groups, and I'll show up on Instagram.”

Sound familiar? I know it was exactly what I did in the beginning.

This is why so many entrepreneurs get overwhelmed because in order for your stuff to really get seen on those platforms you need to consistently post, which means daily on Facebook and Instagram.

I used to do this and found myself overwhelmed with the amount of content I needed to create, so I don’t do it anymore and that's because social media is no longer my top tier platform.

Remember back to the beginning where we talked about Awareness, Attraction and Connection? Another way to look at this is through Cold, Warm and Hot Leads.

The majority of people in the Awareness phase are a cold lead, so you’re creating content that pulls them into your brand, if this is social media you’re going to feel like you’re constantly climbing a steep hill.

In my business, I pull in cold leads through my blog, which I optimize for Google and share on Pinterest. Another alternative is Youtube and podcasting. The reason these platforms work so well is because they are Search Engines; your audience is going to them with specific questions and looking for answers, this is not the same for social media.

In addition, your content lives longer on these platforms than say a post on social media, which might last 24 hours if you’re lucky.

If you're not already considering things like optimizing your website for SEO, and you aren't blogging, and you are not using Pinterest or you’re not using YouTube (if you like videos), really consider switching up where you are showing up, it will make a huge difference and will allow you to consistently show up with less content.

Again, if you want more of a deep dive in how to repurpose your weekly video or blog post, check out this blog.

CONCLUSION

Consistently showing up in your brand is important, but it doesn’t mean you have to post daily. Consistently showing up is about having smart marketing in place with systems and workflows that allow you to create content in a shorter amount of time and optimize your content so it lasts longer.

Brandmerry Academy is where I teach my clients how to improve their marketing without relying on social media. To learn more and join the waitlist visit brandmerryacademy.com

If these tips were helpful let me know over on Instagram. I’m hanging out at @michelleknightco.

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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- 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.

3 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website

3 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

So you have a website, but little to no traffic. The struggle is real, and something so many entrepreneurs, including myself have experienced.

It took me monthly to build my website and an additional year before I realized that my website meant nothing if I wasn’t getting people to actually view it. Now, just a few years later, I’m getting thousands of organic website visitors every month using the strategies I’m sharing today.

So if you have a website, one you probably spent a lot of time and maybe even money on, and no one seems to see it, today’s blog on 3 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website is for you.

WHY YOU NEED A WEBSITE

There are a lot of online educators and course creators saying that you don’t need a website and I disagree. If you’re running an online business you NEED a website, for one main reason...people are searching for your services online and if you don’t have a website, well they won’t find you.

In addition to showing up in search results, websites serve as a valuable resource for your business.

CENTRAL LOCATION: People want to find what they need and having a central location with the information for your business and services is a great way to do that. Someone doesn’t want to search through your Instagram profile or your Facebook page to learn more about you, they want a one-stop-shop, this is where your website comes into play.

FIND WHAT THEY WANT RIGHT NOW: In addition to having your information in one central location, people also want what they want right away. So if someone is looking for a particular service or resource you want to give it to them, that’s where your website and a collection of resources come in.

A PLACE TO REFER PEOPLE: I don’t know about you, but I love having a place to send people that I know is going to support them at the highest level. This is my website. My website is a resource for anyone interested in learning more about my brand, business and services. Having the information available and in one space makes it easier for me in growing my business.

METHOD #1

HOW TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE FOR FREE

One of the most effective and simple ways to drive traffic to your website for free is by using our friend Google.

Think about it, when you have a question or a problem you turn to Google. So every single day your ideal customer is doing the same, looking for your product or service and a solution to their problem that you solve.

If you’re not taking the time to set up Site-Wide SEO (not specifically talking about blogs here) you’re missing out on free traffic.

Today, we’re getting hundreds of organic traffic from Google thanks to landing on page one for multiple keywords.

The best part about Site-Wide SEO is it’s something you can set up for your business on the backend, or hire someone to do it for you, and you don’t need to touch it every single week like you do content.

Today, I blog every week which helps rank for multiple keywords, but in the beginning, I only had optimized my main page SEO and still landed on page one.

If you want to learn more about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) check out this blog.

METHOD #2

MY FAVORITE WAY TO DRIVE CONSISTENT TRAFFIC TO MY WEBSITE

I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it. If you’re not already aware of how Pinterest can improve your online marketing, you’re in for a treat!

Pinterest is how I’m consistently driving traffic to the content on my website. 

While the main purpose of my Site-Wide SEO was to rank my home page for specific keywords my audience is searching for, think Personal Branding Consultant, Branding Coach, etc...I’m using Pinterest to drive traffic to my blog.

Pinterest, like Google, is a search engine, so while many people think Pinterest is a social media platform like Facebook and Instagram they are wrong. Pinterest was designed to get people off the platform, not to stick around and socialize.

Because of this, it’s great for every online business, as it’s experienced experimental growth over the past few years.

The key to Pinterest is content, which I create in the form of my blog posts. Every blog post gets pushed out to Pinterest and using our Pinterest Strategy from inside Brandmerry Academy (http://brandmerryacademy.com) we’re consistently driving traffic to my website (even blogs from 2017 still get consistent traffic today).

So you can see why Pinterest is such a valuable tool in driving traffic to your website and the best part, it’s free (although there is an option to promote pins on Pinterest as well).

**Did I mention Pinterest also helps you rank on Google? Well, it does! When Google sees that you’re getting traffic to your content they love it and it tells them it’s valuable so they’re more likely to move it up.

METHOD #3

HOW TO DRIVE TARGETED TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE

You’ve probably already guessed I’m going to talk about blogging, but we’re going to get a little bit more specific here. It’s not enough to just blog random topics and to just post content without doing a little research.

In fact, taking just a few minutes to map out your blog content ahead of time and think strategically about what content you want your ideal customer to have their hands on will help with website traffic drastically.

So Method #3 is Do The Research. One of the best ways to improve traffic to your website is to create quality content your audience is searching for. This is why I love Ubersuggest and use it in my own business.

Ubersuggest allows you to do thorough keyword research, as well as see what people in your industry are creating content around.

Taking this time before you start writing your content will help. I suggest mapping out 90-days worth of blog topics with keyword research and repeat every 90 days.

SEO, Pinterest and blogging doesn’t have to be overwhelming, we show you how to do it step-by-step inside Brandmerry Academy.

CONCLUSION

Driving traffic to your website should be a top priority. Let’s face it relying on social media to build your business is inconsistent and unreliable, but optimizing your website and using tools like Pinterest can not only bring in the consistent traffic, but also save you time as well.

Inside Brandmerry Academy, we teach marketing strategies that don’t rely on social media. It gives you VIP access to monthly marketing courses on Email Marketing, SEO, Pinterest, Blogging, Video, Podcasting and more.

Learn more about Brandmerry Academy at brandmerryacademy.com.

P.S. I’ve got some other cool blogs and videos for you, that I’m linking below. I mean you’re already here you might as well keep reading.

HOW TO BUILD AN EMAIL LIST

3 MARKETING MISTAKES TO AVOID AS AN ONLINE ENTREPRENEUR

WATCH THE TIPS AND MORE HERE.

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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.