AMY PORTERFIELD: Welcome back to another episode of The Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast. I’m your host, Amy Porterfield. Today I’m bringing you a little tough love.
I’ve got tough here because we are going to be talking about your consistent content creation. This is a hot topic because most of my students are not creating original content on a weekly basis.
If that’s you and you have struggled in this area (I know I have so I totally get it) I want to give you a mindset shift on creating content every single week.
This is actually going to be a short episode but I think it’s going to be one that I’m going to send my audience to again and again when I see that they don’t really have a weekly content strategy.
To be really clear, I believe you need to have an original content strategy where every single week, on the same day (let’s say a Wednesday or Thursday, whatever day you want to choose) you are sending out an original blog post your wrote or you are sending out a link to a new podcast episode or sending out a link to a video you recorded.
You could even be sending out a link to an FB Live session that lives on your Facebook page and you want to drive traffic to it. The key word is that it’s original and it’s your core content and is happening every single week come rain or shine.
Every single week, come rain or shine, is the area I have struggled with again and again. I’ve been very open with all of you about it but I still do it. It’s something I’ve done for over a year now and it’s very doable no matter how busy you are.
I know that all of you are working on big things right now. Whether you’re working on a brand new project, you are creating an online course, your working on a webinar strategy, you’re trying to figure out Facebook ads, whatever it is that you’re working on, all of that can still keep happening.
There has to be some time in your week where you are creating original content that you are using for your blog, podcast, or videos and it’s going out to your audience for free. This part is so incredibly important.
Here’s the deal. When you do that it sets you up as a leader. It builds respect and affinity and trust with your audience. It kind of sets the stage for your messaging and it allows people to know they can go to you as their go-to sources.
Right there I just listed a bunch of reasons why it’s so incredibly valuable to create consistent content. For those of you who are not doing it, you’ve just heard me, you probably totally agree with me. Trust and affinity, you become the expert and leader.
You believe it but it’s not going to shift your behavior. That’s why I wanted to drill down on this with a little tough love. I want to go a little bit deeper with you in terms of your mindset around creating original consistent content and why you’re not doing it every single week.
Let me take you back to a moment just last week. I was at the hair stylist and was flipping through a magazine about health and fitness. There was an article that talked about all of the benefits of working out and all of the benefits of drinking water and all of the benefits of eating your vegetables.
Basically, the article said that you know the facts. Most of us do. When it comes to health and fitness we know that stuff is good for us. We know we are going to have more energy and are less likely to have heart disease and we are “this” or “that” depending on whatever it is we’re talking about. We know the health benefits of doing all that stuff.
A lot of us, including me, don’t necessarily always follow those rules of working out and drinking enough water and getting my veggies even though I know all the facts.
The article flipped the script and went for a different approach. All of us, at one point or another are probably a little bit vain. The article gave all of the reason why eating good and drinking more water and eating veggies can affect how you look.
One of the tips was that if you drink more water it will help your belly go down. You won’t have a belly as much if you are constantly drinking water. I forget why, I just remember the point was that you have a flatter belly if you drink more water.
That is sometimes going to be more powerful than all of the other benefits I’ve heard about water if I want to look good.
The article went on to give a lot reasons why you can look better in your jeans or look better in a dress if you follow the guidelines for eating healthfully and moving your body.
They kind of took a different approach and the point of the whole story was that no matter what gets you to do it, the whole goal is that you are doing it. You are eating better, drinking water, eating veggies, and moving your body. That’s the end game.
That’s awesome. No matter how you get there it’s awesome that you’re doing it. That’s what the point of the article was.
I thought it could apply to your consistent original content strategy.
Let me give you a little mindset shift if you’re struggling in this area. Here’s what I know a consistent content strategy can do for your business.
Spend Less Money on Facebook Ads – You keep more money in your pocket. The reason for that is your content strategy is going to attract a bigger audience which, in turn if you do it right, can help grow your email list. When you have people on your email list you don’t have to attract them via Facebook ads, you’ve already got them and you communicate with them via email and get them to buy your stuff that way.
You are spending less money on Facebook ads when you’re attracting your audience with your free original content.
You Get To Hustle a Whole Lot Less – When you actually have a content strategy you get to hustle a whole lot less. Specifically, you get to hustle less during a launch.
During a launch, when you’ve already attracted a solid audience with your free content strategy (original content grows your audience) you will work less during that launch. We all know how stressful launches can be.
My launches over the years have gotten a whole lot easier now that I have an audience that’s already following me and they are genuinely interested in what I’m selling.
There is Less Guessing How Much Money You’re Going to Make – At the end of the year there is less guessing how much money you’re going to make when you have a built- in audience in your business.
Instead of guessing the whole way to the end of the year and hoping this launch will work or that launch will work, when you have an audience you can speak to every single week, you can start making really educated predictions about what a launch will do.
We typically always pass those goals we set for ourselves but we know we are at least going to hit “this.” A lot of you can’t really say that yet because you don’t have an email list and an audience that comes to you on a weekly basis and follows what you are doing.
When they have already bought into your messaging the next step is to get them to buy into your products, programs, and services. It is a whole lot easier when they respect you, like you, and trust you.
I’m trying to tell you that when you have a consistent content strategy where you are actually emailing your list and going out to social media every single week with your original content you, my friend, can make more money.
Just like I was attracted to the idea of drinking more water to get a flatter belly, fine, I’ve been drinking a lot of water lately. I don’t even think about the other benefits of it because that just sparked my interest lately.
For you, if you are looking to make more money online and you’re looking to hustle less during launches and spend less money on Facebook ads and stop guessing what the end of the year might look like in terms of revenue, get your content house in order.
I promise you, there is a direct correlation. If the fact that you could make more money if you were to do this is the one thing that will spark you to say, “Okay, Amy, I’m finally going to listen to you, I’m going to do it,” then heck, I don’t care how you get there, I’m just excited that you’re going to get there.
Believe me, you will see this direct correlation but it takes time and some patience. You’ve got to just write it out. When I think of those people that I trust impeccably and know they are making good money in their business, people like Marie Forleo, Pat Flynn, Michael Hyatt, Melanie Duncan, and so many more I could list, these are people that have a consistent content strategy.
These are people I know personally are making a lot of money. That is no coincidence. Look at Marie Forleo. Marie does one video a week. She’s not incredibly active on social media. She does some of it but is not on it ten times a day. She doesn’t have a crazy social media strategy.
She is not putting out a bunch of products that she sells on a regular basis. She has one main program right now. She actually has two, she has something called The Copy Cure, an amazing copywriting program, but she doesn’t actively promote that right now.
Once a year she promotes B-School. This is a woman that has a brand new video come out on her blog every single week. She then promotes one big program a year and makes millions. She has never declared that but I’m guessing, based on what I’ve seen inside her launches, that is true.
There is something to be said about somebody that’s just staying consistent. She only has one program and kills it in terms of revenue. We can’t all be Marie Forleo. I know I could never be Marie Forleo. I don’t even like to do video once a week. However, you can definitely find your own thing.
I’m going to get off my soap box but I hope just having you look at the consistent content creation in a different way will help. It’s okay to think about wanting to make a lot of money. I make no bones about it that I love to make a lot of money.
Of course we all want to make a bigger impact and serve people and make sure our skills and our knowledge really impact other people’s lives. Of course that is a given. But don’t hesitate to say you want to make some cash.
If that is going to fuel you to do this right I really feel this is the right way to go about building a business online. So be it. I don’t care how you get there, I just want you to get there.
With that you might be thinking that I am telling you to make more money, hustle less on your launches, spend less on your Facebook ads, stop guessing about how much money you’re going to make at the end of the year, and this would be really nice to help you meet some of your revenue goals a whole lot faster.
You hear me and you are in. You like it but want to know what you have to do next.
You have to make sure you have a platform you feel really comfortable with. I have talked about this in past episodes but I want to really hit home with the fact that you either need a blog, you need a podcast, or you need some kind of video show.
You could do a mix of all of them but for me, with the podcast, I really tout the idea that you need to do it weekly. I just know it dramatically changed my downloads, my listeners in general, and my overall audience. There was really something different that happened when I started to do this weekly.
Let’s say you want to do some blogging and some videos. That’s great. I have really been listening to Gary Vee (Gary Vaynerchuk) a lot and I do believe everything he says about the power of video. I could go on and on about stats related to doing video in your business.
Adding a component of video, whether it be through Facebook Live sessions or just recording videos for your blog, or whatever you’re doing, I think the numbers speak for themselves. I wrote some notes…In the next three years videos are expected to reach 79% of all online traffic.
One in four consumers actually lose interest in a company if it doesn’t have video. If you want to attract a younger audience, 72% of millennials and 82% of teens are actually on YouTube.
The numbers speak volumes when it comes to doing video in your business. But you don’t have to do a video show like Marie to make an impact. You can do some video, some blogging, or if you want you can go out with a podcast episode every single week like I do.
Then I do a Facebook Live video every single week on my Facebook page and a Facebook Live in two of my private Facebook groups every single week as well. I have video going and I have this podcast. I rarely do a written blog post. It is very rare, usually only during a launch.
During a launch I write an epic blog post and drive Facebook ad traffic to it. Podcasting tends to be my thing. So let’s talk about that. You’ve got to choose a platform if you haven’t done so already.
I created a freebie that breaks down the pros and cons of each of the platforms and helps you decide if it’s right for you. Specifically, I get into blogging and podcasting and creating videos as your original core content platform.
If you want to check that out go to http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/122download. I think that will shed some light on choosing your platform and really sticking to it. I think a lot of it comes down to what your audience will actually engage with. Most audiences will usually engage with blogging and podcasting and video. It’s kind of a safe bet these days.
Also choose what you feel comfortable with. I am doing a podcast regularly in my business because I do not feel comfortable doing a lot of video. I will do it because it makes an impact. I know it’s important but it’s not going to be my core thing ever.
Also, I don’t write blog posts quickly. Blog posts take me a lot of time. It takes a lot longer than podcasting. With podcasting I do spend at least a good hour preparing for each of the episodes. So that takes me a while. But blogging takes me even longer.
I chose the one that I’m good at and feel comfortable with. I can do it as quickly as possible and still make an impact with my audience. I know my audience listens to podcasts. It’s kind of a win-win for me.
I will say that podcasting and having a weekly show, for me (it might not be true for others), it definitely feels like a lot of work. I had to get some people to help me with it. I have Lindsay on my team running the whole back end with 40 different steps from start to finish to get a podcast live.
We do freebies and we go above and beyond with this podcast so it might be more involved than some other people’s podcast. I have an editor that edits the podcast and all of that good stuff. I also have people helping me figure out content ideas and writing the emails to get people to listen to the podcast.
There is a lot that goes into it. I don’t need to make it so complicated but it’s my core thing. This is the backbone of my business so I put the effort there. It’s never easy. I’m always trying to catch up on my batching.
I’ll get ahead a little bit and then we get behind. Then I will get ahead. I do it even though this is not the most streamlined thing I’ve ever done in my business. I think my launches are way more streamlined and easier for me now than just getting out a really good value-packed episode every single week. But I still do it.
Even if it’s difficult and even if it feels a little bit challenging or not totally streamlined in your business, but you know it’s going to make an impact and you know it can make you more money, you want to do it….if you enjoy it.
I love podcasting. Yes, I do equate my podcast episodes with making more money in my business. I’ve noticed throughout this entire year, and even a lot last year, that when we launch we definitely spend a lot of money on Facebook ads and do a lot of webinars.
But I noticed that it’s easier for me to convert. This is where it’s hard for me to give you stats and those that are super analytical won’t love this, but I believe it’s easier for me to convert during my webinars and during my email marketing because this audience I’ve attracted has gone on a journey with me for a while.
I’m not convincing people every minute I try to do anything in my business. I’ve already got their trust. Now I’m just putting an opportunity in front of them and they get to decide. I never feel like I’m selling really hard, ever.
I think that has to do with the relationship I’ve built with my original consistent content. It definitely plays out in the bottom line. Again, I’m not ashamed to say I love to make money in my business so that is definitely one thing that fuels me.
Another thing, sometimes you might need to invest a little bit of money. I talk about this in the freebie. If you’re going to do a podcast there is probably some equip you are going to need. If you’re going to do a video show you definitely want to invest in some good lighting or a tripod. I think you can do most of it on a smart phone.
There is some money you might need to invest and I break that down inside the freebie. Finally, you want to commit to your content every single week.
What does that look like? How do you do that in addition to launching and in addition to trying to figure out Facebook ads. Maybe you’re going through somebody’s program right now to learn something.
Maybe you have a service-based business so you have a lot of clients. Plus, you are trying to have a life. You may have a husband or wife or kids. So how do you do it all?
One of the things I do is that I have “tiger time.” So many of you have heard me talk about this. I love when somebody comes up to me on the road if I am at an event and says, “I do tiger time!”
If I’m with my husband, Hobie, he looks at me like, “What the heck are you teaching these people?”
Tiger time is that time I am fierce about. I don’t let anybody mess with that time on my calendar. It is a time when I am creating content. I really have some strict tiger time rules when I’m creating a new program.
Every week I also have to have tiger time to create my podcast episodes. It’s time on my calendar that never gets moved. I know the only thing I’m doing is creating content. I’m not looking at social media, I’m not in the sauna, I’m not in Slack, I’m not on the phone. I am creating content.
It is blocked out. If you saw my calendar today there’s tiger time every single day. If I need to move things around I can. I’m not in a huge big content creation mode right now so I can have some flexibility. But it is always there if I need it.
That episode all about tiger time is #102. It’s probably my favorite episode. I give you a handout to teach you how to figure out your tiger time and how to plan it in your own calendar. There are some nuances around it. You can listen to tiger time and get the freebie at http://amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/102.
There you have it. This is one of the shorter podcast episodes but I really wanted to give you a little tough love around the fact that if you were not emailing your list and going out on social media with original content every single week I feel you are missing a huge piece of the online marketing success puzzle.
I know it’s bold to say that you should be doing this because I hate to make you feel like doing that. But if you trust me, please trust me on this one. This is something you definitely need.
To put a little mindset twist on it, this can make you more money. This can take the stress and guess work and frustration out of not making enough money online. Look at the people that are doing it right. Follow what they’re doing. Learn from them. This is just as important as webinars and launches and Facebook ads.
Once a week, get original content to your email list no matter how big or small that list is. You also want to use it on social media. There’s my little tough love for you.
Thank you so very much for listening in today. Remember, you can get the freebie all about the platforms and what you want to invest in and all that good stuff at http:// amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/122download or you can go to my show notes at http:// amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/122 and get all the details from this episode and any links I might have mentioned.
Thank you so much for tuning in. I cannot wait to connect with you again next week. Let me give you a quick little hint. Next week is with me and Rick Mulready, my Facebook ads go-to guy.
We already recorded that episode earlier this morning so I’m a little backwards in my batching. We were so over the moon excited about this episode. We sat down and created a formula to answer the question, “How much money do I need to spend on Facebook ads to have a successful webinar?”
You heard me right. That’s a good one. We literally have done a formula for you. You get to punch in your own numbers. We’re going to answer the question, “How much money do I need to spend on Facebook ads to have a successful webinar?”
It is so good. There are awesome freebies in that episode. I can’t wait for you to hear it next week. I’ll see you then. Have an amazing week. Bye for now.
