SDH236: Create Profits by Speaking to a Niche Audience with Maggie Lord

Have you struggled to find the confidence to take the leap? Or maybe you’ve  stretched your legs out and finally jumped into the next stage of entrepreneurship? Either way fears and questions race through your mind. How big should my audience be? Will I be able to keep up with all of the cultural and technological changes? How do I stay true to myself and audience? How do I monetize my brand as efficiently as possible? Today’s guest, Maggie Lord, has answers to these questions based on her experience as founder and editor of Rustic Wedding Chic and Rustic Wedding Guide. Maggie created a website and tools for brides ten years ago, before Pinterest and Instagram inspiration was even a concept, to provide a space for ideas, inspiration, and resources for brides looking for similar things she needed when planning her own wedding. She has published five books and soon to be six. In this episode you will…  Understand the importance of speaking to a niche audience See how working with advertisers and brands has changed Discover the different ways of monetizing your brand  Master consistent methods for dealing with change Hear about the power of flexibility within entrepreneurship Acquire tips for yielding your biggest ROI QUOTES: “We didn’t really have a formal business plan but I knew what we needed to do to make X, Y, and Z to replace my salary.” Maggie Lord “It was only me. We didn’t have a team of people. I didn’t have tech specialists. I didn’t have anyone helping me with social media. I wore every single hat in the company and I was very glad that I did; because now that we are a little bigger, I know how to do everything. I understand each part of the company, why it’s important and why it needs to be done a certain way.” Maggie Lord “Focus on your niche and focus on how to really connect the most amount of people within that niche who really cares about it. Because you want strong consumers. You want strong readers. You want strong investors.” Maggie Lord “We work really hard with our advertising team to make sure we are bringing content we feel our reader should know about, is going to care about, is going to add something to their wedding planning process.” Maggie Lord “Things change. Your Google ranking is going to change. Your social media following is going to change and you can’t rely on one source. You need to be diversifying how you bring in your money to your company, and you need to be able to always know where you are going to go next so that when there’s a shift in the industry you can still monetize your brand.” Maggie Lord “No matter what stage your business is in you need to be able to treat it with this sort of feeling of it’s already a business, whether it’s bringing in money or not. And if you treat it like a business, it’s going to be a successful business.” Maggie Lord RESOURCES: Coastal Living Magazine Country Living Magazine Maggie Lord’s Website Rustic Wedding Chic Website Rustic Wedding Chic Instagram Rustic Wedding Chic Twitter Rustic Wedding Chic Pinterest Rustic Wedding Guide Rustic Baby Chic Style Me Pretty Website