Amplify Your Authority

Are you curious about how to level up your B2B marketing using LinkedIn? Get ready to dive deep into the world of LinkedIn with Michelle J Raymond, a leading expert in LinkedIn company pages. With a wealth of experience and a track record of success, she’s ready to share a treasure trove of insights far beyond the basics. While she’s on her way to making a splash at Social Media Marketing World 2024, in this interview, she’s pulling back the curtain to reveal strategies that can truly transform your LinkedIn game.   Here’s what you’ll discover in this packed-full episode:  LinkedIn Myths Unveiled: Michelle’s Insights on B2B Marketing Authenticity vs. Professionalism: Striking the Right Balance on LinkedIn Engagement Mastery: Building Your Presence as a Solopreneur Strategize for Success: Crafting a LinkedIn Plan Aligned with Your Business Goals The Human Touch: Michelle’s Approach to Meaningful Connections Protecting Your Brand: Safeguarding Against Personal Branding Pitfalls on LinkedIn Content That Converts: Michelle’s Proven Tips for Captivating Content   Join us as we uncover the secrets to strategically optimizing your LinkedIn presence for substantial business growth, complete with actionable tips and advice.   Key LinkedIn Takeaways Authenticity is Key: Your unique voice and authentic presence on LinkedIn can help you stand out, attract the right audience, and repel the wrong audience. Company Page Advantage: Regardless of business size, from solopreneurs to larger firms, a LinkedIn Company Page is encouraged and can be a valuable tool for brand legitimacy and growth. Engagement with Strategy: Engage purposefully on LinkedIn, using personal content to enhance your company page’s visibility, but be wary of automation tools that may compromise your professional reputation.   Linkedin Quote “If you don’t have business goals of what you’re trying to achieve, your time on LinkedIn is absolutely wasted. Does not matter how many features you use, you will not get to achieve those business goals. So start with your business goals and then work out a strategy.” — Michelle J Raymond   About Michelle J Raymond Michelle is amazing when it comes to LinkedIn company pages. She shines a light on the untapped potential of LinkedIn for B2B organizations. As a seasoned LinkedIn company page specialist, host of the LinkedIn for B2B growth podcast, and co-author of the LinkedIn Branding Book and Business Gold, Michelle brings a wealth of knowledge and insight. She is a highly sought-after speaker, evidenced by her upcoming Social Media Marketing World 2024 appearance. She’ll be presenting and focusing on the pivotal role of LinkedIn B2B marketing strategies.   Follow Michelle J Raymond Michelle J Raymond (Profile) b2bgrowthco.com/ (Company) Michelle J Raymond (Portfolio) youtube.com/@michellejraymond (Other)   Related Podcast Episode: Clients, Connections, and Collaborations    Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW MARISA ON LINKEDIN  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/   Watch the Podcast on YouTube Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello, everyone. Welcome to the new Amplify Your Authority podcast where I am recording Live on LinkedIn, I’m Marissa Shadrick, online marketing consultant. And today, I am so excited. I have a wonderful guest. Let me tell you a little bit about her Before I have her chime in, because we’re gonna we’re gonna chat, like, as if we’re sitting and having a cup of coffee because we can, like, chat it up a lot. So Michelle Raymond is joining me today, and she is an amazing when it comes to LinkedIn company pages. She simply just shines a light On the untapped potential of LinkedIn for b to b organizations. As a seasoned LinkedIn company page specialist, host Of the LinkedIn for b to b growth podcast and co author of the LinkedIn branding book and business gold, Michelle brings a wealth of knowledge and insight. Marisa Shadrick : She is highly sought after speaker as evidenced by her upcoming appearance As a presenter at Social Media Marketing World 2024, focusing on the pivotal role of LinkedIn in b to b marketing strategies. Welcome, Michelle. What Michelle J Raymond : an intro. Marisa Shadrick : How’d I do? Michelle J Raymond : Oh my god. 10 out of 10. I think I might borrow that one, and thank you for the pinch me moment to reminding me again that I’ll be at social media marketing world in, Like, I think it’s around a month’s time now depending when this goes live, but it just shows you the importance of LinkedIn and company pages that it’s getting recognized to that level. Oh, so, yeah, I can’t wait to come on my US trip. Marisa Shadrick : I know. It’s so exciting. I’m gonna be virtual, so I won’t be able to give you a hug, but I will be looking and watching everything. I had to get a virtual ticket this year because there’s a lot going on right now. But in any I’m excited. I’m so proud of you. I think it’s gonna be amazing. That’s why I’m glad that we got together beforehand because You’re gonna be so sought after and busy. Marisa Shadrick : You’re not gonna have time for little people like me, so I’m so glad we had a chance to connect. So Just to give everybody some background, I reached out to you because I saw you on YouTube And your values, the way you view business, the focus on relationships, not the latest hacks and Tricks and tools, but it just resonated with me. And I said, oh my gosh. I gotta meet this lady. And that’s when I started Stalking you a little bit and we connected, and you could take it from there. What was your experience, and how did we end up working together a little bit When it comes to LinkedIn? Michelle J Raymond : I love a good stalk. I’m guilty of doing that myself. And I think the thing that is my Favorite part. There’s a couple of pieces that you mentioned there. When you show up and just be yourself, like, you know, I don’t know if the word authenticity is is used too much Or not enough these days. But when you just show up as yourself and you are comfortable sharing what you Stand for what you don’t stand for. And, you know, don’t just kind of snuggle into the crowd and disappear into the sea of same. Yeah. Michelle J Raymond : When you kind of just express all of that, then what happens is you’re just like the lighthouse, and you guide in all of those great customers that are the perfect Fit. And so I know when someone reaches out, by the time they get on the call with me, it’s like we’re best friends. Like, you and I, it was like, oh, I feel like I’ve known you forever, and that’s my on all of my calls. And, you know, that’s the part that I love about LinkedIn is that you show up as you, and if you be you and sometimes it means making a Stand against other things. So I handled all of those cheap hacks. I hate people gaming the system with engagement pods. Marisa Shadrick : Yes. And Michelle J Raymond : I am not afraid to say it, and I think we’ve stand up for things that we believe in sometimes. I think that disappeared, and I know it comes with a risk for some people, and that might be too great. And, You know, there’s no judgment, but if I can encourage people to give it a go, it’s definitely something that will make you stand out, and that’s what’s really important. Marisa Shadrick : And it was huge. When I heard that and I heard really your your values and, the integrity that you had, I said, I wanna work with her. It was a done deal. And so when I reached to to you, I was ready. I said, how do we work together? Because I I wanna understand LinkedIn more. And I had already, You know, I’ve dipped my toe for about a year and a couple months. I’d already been doing things and trying to read up on it and but Some I don’t know. I just couldn’t find some, expert that I really aligned with until I met you, and I went like, I finally found somebody. Marisa Shadrick : So awesome. Awesome. So let’s let’s give everybody a little bit of background as far as, you know, Just to give them some context, how you ended up in the space of LinkedIn, especially company pages? Because you don’t hear too much about that. Everybody talks about the profile. Michelle J Raymond : Absolutely. So imagine this, Marissa. I do a LinkedIn post, and I get a new piece of business. I’ve been posting for around 6 So this wasn’t just a 1 post, 1 hit wonder, but I did this 1 particular post, and I was working for someone else at the time, and I ended up winning $2,000,000 worth of business from that post. You can’t even imagine the high that I was on. And to put it in context, the business that I work for, Their annual revenue was around the same. So we’re talking this is high fiving myself, you know, jumping around, doing a happy dance, An amazing. Fast forward 3, 4 weeks later, the person I worked for decided to renege on that deal, Called the company that I’d done the deal with and basically pushed me under a bus and said, oh, no. Michelle J Raymond : Michelle should never have done that. And it was during COVID when, You know, you can imagine. We were making hand sanitizer, and so it was like gold rush time. And so what happened was I was, like, you You know, Shadrick. I felt like I was gonna have a heart attack as I was finding out this news from my customer. And so, you know, coming back to those values and integrity, As I’m processing this information and going through what just happens, I just went, I cannot work for this person. Like, that’s a Deal breaker on levels I’ve never had to deal with in my, you know, career, and so I quit on the spot. I literally never walked back into that office ever again. Michelle J Raymond : I dropped it and never never returned. And because I know that my name is something that I have to protect. My reputation in the industry is something that I’d spent so much work building up, and so I was like, that’s it. I’m out of there. I’m never gonna work for anybody else ever again. Great idea. And then my partner, Lil, she said to me, Michelle, why don’t you work for yourself And build a business for us and work as hard as what you do for everyone else. Like, you’ll be a success. Michelle J Raymond : You’re smart. Yeah. Just go and do something. And say, Oh, okay. I was like, what Marisa Shadrick : will I do? You know, and when you can do anything question. Right? Michelle J Raymond : When you can do anything, it also means Marisa Shadrick : you can do Everything, and Michelle J Raymond : it’s really hard to pick. I don’t encourage people, to kinda go through this method, but, you know, that that was life for me. But Fast forward and I went through, you know, a kind of dark time because it was COVID lockdowns here in Australia. It was winter. I was home by myself, and I’m a True extrovert that gets energized by other people, and time just kept going on as I can’t come up with an idea. Can’t come up with an idea. And then, eventually, what happened was I noticed that my former industry had started to use LinkedIn because the trade shows had been turned off. Customer visits had been turned off. Michelle J Raymond : International visitors couldn’t come, so all the traditional selling methods had gone out the window, and LinkedIn became the cool place to be. Now for me, I’d been doing it for about 6 or 7 years at that stage, so I reached out to one of those connections. And I said, look. If you try this, this, and this, it’ll really help you. And this is one of those moments where I thank god she says to me, Michelle, where did you learn all this stuff? I wish I could learn from you. You know, it is one of those angels going on. I was like, I could write a training program, and the rest, as they say, is history. So now I use My b to b sales expertise and my knowledge of LinkedIn, I bring those together to help people grow their businesses on LinkedIn, and it’s just the best job in the world, I think. Marisa Shadrick : I feel like it’s so fresh, and the way LinkedIn has changed throughout the years and the way it is now, It really, it’s not like, I always say it’s not so suit and tie, but I think you are coming in at an incredible timing Because of the change and LinkedIn is getting more visibility, and you’re right there out front talking it up, and I love it. I love it. I love the fact that LinkedIn is getting that recognition and that you’re leading the way. That makes me excited. I just wanna point out, I finally found where the comments are. But I’d have to tell you guys, I am doing the podcast live on LinkedIn because of Michelle. It’s her fault. And so I’ve been still kind of navigating getting my sea legs. Marisa Shadrick : I was going, Michelle, where are the comments? I can’t find it, but I just found them. So hello To Laura, she is chiming in live, and she said, hello, Marissa and Michelle. So people I know, that in my circle of influence are interested in LinkedIn. They’re trying to still Figure out the profile piece and the company piece and everything else. So as b to b, we’re talking b to b, You know, businesses. What would you suggest, or where would somebody even begin when they’re thinking about LinkedIn? How are some of the ways that LinkedIn is different? I know it’s, like, so awesome, but how are some of the ways just pick some of your favorites that is different, and how would a b to b business begin? Michelle J Raymond : What’s really exciting is LinkedIn’s been around for over 20 years now, and it still feels like it’s just new because Mhmm. I Feel like they’re just finding their feet, and especially in business to business. Like so traditionally, I’ve spent 20 well, probably 5 years now if I think about it in b to b sales. And when I first started, it was all about knocking on the door. I had all the power. Long lunches. And then over time, there was thing called Google and the Internet that just took over, and then all of a sudden that power shift came to the modern buyers. They could Google and get answers at their fingertips, and all of a sudden, they had the knowledge so that it was you know, even things up. Michelle J Raymond : If not, they had more power because they had Access to all of your competitors’ information just as much. And so what we’re seeing, LinkedIn have actually recognized that there was 1,000,000,000,000 of dollars of business that’s happening that they don’t even know about on the platform because business to business, a lot of the times people thought, don’t need to do any marketing. We don’t need to stand out online. We’ve always done it this way. We always go to this trade show every year. We advertise in this magazine, like, You know, and then as those things have shifted and everybody’s looking for answers online, the question is, is your business online? Now LinkedIn is the platform where you come to do business, and I still think it’s amazing that there is no real competitive threat to LinkedIn in this space. We’ve got other platforms like TikTok and Instagram and, you know, x that they take care of other pieces, but you Trust LinkedIn. And I think that’s the thing that I love about it is there’s a certain level of behavior, Professional behavior that protects people when they’re on LinkedIn so you don’t have to deal with trolls. Michelle J Raymond : You don’t have to deal with, you know, Lots and lots of rubbish that you have to sift through to get to the good parts to do business. And so I think that’s why I love it. It’s kinda not the cool kid, But it’s your best friend you can rely on through thick and thin. It’s always there. It hasn’t really changed, and it’s a yeah. Like I said, it is the platform Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : Form Michelle J Raymond : Yeah. Where you come to do business. And I think that’s the important thing. To not be there now is a missed opportunity, and your competitors will just eat up that space, and it’s really hard to play catch up, so I don’t encourage that. Marisa Shadrick : I agree. When I switched over because I never really I knew I we had a LinkedIn account, but I was doing what everybody else did. I was focusing on Facebook and Instagram, and My whole experience there is another story, but I decided, you know, I I’m done. I’m you’ve gotta pivot. When you see things are not working, You should pivot, you know, maybe even before it starts breaking down, but, you know, I waited and I saw some things, and I said, I need To find, really, on b two b, why am I not on LinkedIn? And so when I first started, I was uncovering all of these Amazing features. I never knew LinkedIn had so many features. Can you talk about that? Because there’s a lot there. Michelle J Raymond : There was over 200 new features released last year alone, like mind blowing. Yeah. It’s just crazy when you think about that. So even someone like myself who spends 247 on the platform, it feels like some days is really well connected with the best of the best around the globe, and we Share information, make sure that we’re across everything. I struggle to keep up. So therefore, when I work with clients, They’re often feeling overwhelmed as well. The good part that I love is that LinkedIn is investing so much money into the platform to make those New features come alive because, you know, for a while there, it felt a bit stale. It felt like they were left behind. Michelle J Raymond : Now I think, you know, Because Microsoft’s got shares in bits of AI technology that it’s now trying to rush that through, which is not really their style, and I think there’s a few lumps and bumps that come with that. But as with everything, I think it will get better over time. But there’s so many cool things, and I think my advice to people before they get started on LinkedIn is don’t get lost in the features and functions. You have to start with what are the business goals. If you don’t have business goals of what you’re trying to achieve, Your time on LinkedIn is absolutely wasted. Does not matter how many features you use, you will not get to achieve those business goals. So start with your business goals and then work out a strategy. How do you use LinkedIn to drive your business towards those goals? So it should be supporting you, and Marisa Shadrick : To what end now? Michelle J Raymond : You know? So they’re busy being busy and then wonder why I speak to people all the time. I I spoke to a a lady recently Who’d only had 3 inquiries in a year, and she’d been posting at least 5 times a week. Okay. I was like, okay. Something’s wrong here. You know? Like, You should be getting more people reach out than that, and that wasn’t even converting clients, which worried me even more. And, you know, that’s the thing I’m out to stop, Marissa. I don’t want I know what the stress of, you know, not being fine not having financial freedom is like. Michelle J Raymond : I am blessed that I don’t live in that space now, but that’s why I wanna pass on my knowledge other people because it’s stressful when you don’t know where your next invoice is coming from or, you know, next payment is coming from. So have those goals, And then learn about LinkedIn, stick to the basics, and build relationships. And, you know, that’s what you and I absolutely share in common Is that Absolutely. I don’t think people understand. The real power of LinkedIn is not any feature I can teach you how to use. It’s the relationships you build in nurture. That’s where the real power is. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. And I think you’re right because a lot of people feel like not just on LinkedIn, but a lot of places. If I just post and I just spread it out everywhere, it’s kind of the build it and they will come mentality Where with the algorithms always changing, yeah, the posts are great and you recommended to me. I don’t see you, Marisa. You need more video. You need your He’s out there. I go, are you sure they wanna see this grandma on there all the time? But I took your advice. I said, you know, she’s right. Marisa Shadrick : I always hide behind the post and the images, And that’s why I decided to do the podcast live. And now you might be happy to hear I started a newsletter, but it’s all strategic like you’re saying. What is the outcome you want so that everything ties together and works together? So now I don’t have to post every day on LinkedIn. I can post like every other day because I’m already generating content, like with Podcast and the newsletter and things like that. So you helped me out a lot. So are you proud of me? I I am just thinking of going. Michelle J Raymond : It’s my happy dance is going on right now because there’s 2 things that happen. When you don’t have a goal and a strategy, then what happens is you just be busy, And then you’re doing stuff that maybe you don’t need to do. And often when I’m talking with people and clients, it’s like, you’re doing too much. Like, who doesn’t wanna hear that? Yeah. And the pressure that people put on their selves to try and keep up, and, I’ve gotta be on Instagram. I’ve gotta be on this. I’ve gotta be on that. I’ve gotta be and they’re nearly, you know, driving themselves into the ground on a fast train to burnout. Michelle J Raymond : And what ends up happening is They go out the gate at a 1000000 miles an hour and very quickly can’t keep up. And then all of a sudden, they drop Everything, which is Yes. You know, it’s really gonna have a long term impact. And I see people that are like, I’m really comfortable over on Instagram. I love Instagram, gram, and I’m posting all the time. I’ve got my community. I love it. I was like, okay. Michelle J Raymond : What are you know your audience is over here on LinkedIn. So I know you’re having fun over there, and I know you feel comfortable, and I understand and appreciate and have empathy for the fact that it is sometimes scary for people. More often than not, people have fear of LinkedIn because I’m getting judged by professional colleagues. What’s the impact on my potential clients, My boss, my colleagues, my competitors, and heads go you know, they go to protect us. That’s what our brains are designed to do to protect us and keep us Safe. They’re not there going, this is how you grow your business. Put yourself out there and cheering you on. So I I appreciate that, but the problem is if you’re spending time in the wrong places Or you’re in the right place taking the wrong actions, both have the same impact, and that’s, you know, not generating demand for your business to grow. Michelle J Raymond : And so, You know, it’s easily fixed. You know? As we’ve worked together, it’s really easily fixed. It’s just stop, have those goals in place, and then work out the strategy that will get you there. And I love that you’ve changed things up. I’m so excited because Marisa Shadrick : I have. Michelle J Raymond : It was just a no brainer for me looking at, you know, your content that you put out as far as your podcast, You know, not sharing your voice, not sharing your face, seeing your movements. I said, this is crazy. Like, you are not a 2 dimensional person. Marisa Shadrick : Hi. Yeah. She was teasing me earlier before we went live. I was born to be live. We were singing the song Born to be Live. So that’s me, born to be live. So I’m here. So let’s talk about some practical things for people because they’re probably wondering to have the company page if they wanna use. Marisa Shadrick : Well, let’s just start with the simple let’s get go down to the profile. At what point should a solopreneur I know, like, larger companies that have employees and things like that will have Company page doesn’t make sense. But if they’re more of a small business, maybe it’s just them, their web person, maybe a bookkeeper or something. What would be kind of the steps? Would they start with the profile, and at what point would they create a company page? Michelle J Raymond : I know what it’s like to be spinning those plates, trying to keep them all in the air. So if you are in this situation, it’s about balancing the resources and where will you get best bang for your buck. So first up, you’re gonna make sure that your LinkedIn profile really reflects who you are, what you do, and who you serve. And so once we’ve got that sorted, We can go in and then start taking some other actions on the platform, maybe creating content, maybe direct messaging people. Why do I say that first? Because all roads lead back to your LinkedIn profile. If you send a direct message to connect with someone, they’re gonna go and check that out and find out who are you, you know, just so they make sure That you align with what they’re looking for in some way, shape, or form. Marisa Shadrick : Yes. Now Michelle J Raymond : that’s 1 piece of the puzzle. I also encourage everybody. I don’t care what size business. You need a company page. Now it then becomes around how much time you’re gonna spend on both. And I say you need 1 because it acts as acting It adds legitimacy to your business. Now if you’re a small business, the cool part is you get all the same features as someone that’s got 15,000 employees. The biggest Companies in the world only have access to exactly the same features. Michelle J Raymond : Now if you put some quality content and thought into it over there, Then people don’t stop and judge and go, oh, it’s only 1 person. They look and go, that’s quality, and that helps me, and that’s, you know, what I’m looking for. Now as far as timing goes, because of the way company pages work on LinkedIn for small businesses, so those, you know, You know, 1 to, you know, say, even up to 20. You are probably going to be putting more effort into personal content and profiles than what you are, the company page. Now why bother at all is the next question. Well, if someone googles your business name or pokes around on LinkedIn And they’re considering working for you, Google your business name. The company page pops up in the first few results. So if someone clicks on it, they come across, do you want the red carpet, or do you want a ghost town? Totally your choice how you wanna greet them. Michelle J Raymond : I know which one I want. Now the other part is in any business, maybe not if it’s just 1 or 2 of you, but there’s always staff turnover. And so as people come and go, if you put all your eggs in the personal branding basket And you’re a business, then what happens is as they go, you lose everything, and so you don’t wanna be in a situation like that. And I have been The goose that laid the golden egg at one particular company that I started with, I had 5,000 followers. They had 0, and I went and worked a competitor, and I took them all with me. And so it happens every day. It’s why a lot of businesses won’t get active on the platform because they’re scared of that happening. I say, no. Michelle J Raymond : No. No. Wish them well. Make sure that they look back fondly on their time working with you because they’ll still be an ambassador, and so look at those kinds of things. So Just really comes what’s your goals? How can you use the profiles? How can you back it up with the company page? And, again, it just becomes about time. So company page, I’d say, just keep it ticking over. Maybe 1 post a week, 1 post every 2 weeks. And I love what you said before. Michelle J Raymond : Get involved with repurposing. It doesn’t have to be brand new content. Take the best of the best that you’ve done on your personal profile and pop it over on the company page. Marisa Shadrick : No one will ever know. No. And some of the posts that I have on my profile, if I saw that there was a little bit more engagement or if I saw, I have said more because I I didn’t wanna make them really long in the post, then I just build it out a little bit and create a newsletter. I’ve already got 2. I got one already finished for next one I’m gonna do, and I’ve got an idea for the next one. So, you know, I was gonna do it once a month, and I’m thinking every other week, I think, I’m gonna do it, but It’s great. And one of the things you said about Google, it’s amazing how LinkedIn pops up. When people are searching things, the first thing you see is LinkedIn. Marisa Shadrick : You don’t even often see the website. You see LinkedIn, which I think is an extra little bonus there, the fact that it ranks so well. Michelle J Raymond : Yeah. It comes back to LinkedIn is a trusted platform. You know? And so the more that you put out there and articles and newsletters Also get indexed by Google. So how cool is that? It’s another reason why you need a big tick on getting your newsletter started. Now that’s not right for everybody, but, You know, ultimately, that’s the other thing. How can people discover you not just by being closely connected to because you worked with someone or they’re a competitor or customer currently, how do you get discovered by new people? Because that’s where the real growth comes, not necessarily from the people you’ve already Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Michelle J Raymond : You know, had work with. So yeah. It it’s fun. I think when you can see it as a bigger picture and zoom out Yeah. And then have a look and say, how does this contribute to my overall brands? That’s you can see the magic. When people lose it is when they zoom so close in and get worried about, oh, I got 500 impressions instead of 780. The algorithm’s not showing my stuff anymore. And they go down that rabbit hole. Michelle J Raymond : That’s when you lose sight of what’s really important, and branding is so much more powerful than the number of impressions that you get on a post. Marisa Shadrick : Right. And I think maybe you told me this because I I look at the analytics After a a period of time, like, for the past 3 months or 6 months, you know, the long game, because you always see if you even if, Well, we’re in a new year. Even looking last year, you see it gradually going up and you see how it kinda wiggles its way up. There’s some ups and downs, but it’s got this constant going up, and so that’s what I’m looking at. I’m going, okay. That’s great, rather than looking at Weekly or daily? That could be frustrating and discouraging. Michelle J Raymond : Especially at the moment on the platform. You know, I my numbers of impressions were reasonably consistent over a very long period of time. And then towards, I would say, the last quarter of last year, All of a sudden, they’re roughly half. And I’m thinking, what is going on here? And it’s just the nature of the beast. Like, we’ve got a 1000000000 plus members on LinkedIn now. It’s a crowded space. There’s only 1 home feed, and we’re all fighting for our piece of that, you know, puzzle. Yeah. Michelle J Raymond : How do you stand out is Put some good quality stuff out there, and sometimes it is literally about trying some different things. And so for me, I’ve been having a play around just recently with some with some really bad photoshopping and just some fun things and trying different formats for my videos and just things that I wouldn’t normally do. And it’s funny how much they’re resonating with my audience, and it’s I I’m sure you’re going through something similar. But trying different things from time to Time is something I always encourage. It’s easy to get stuck in the rut and do what’s easy. Guilty as charged. And for those of you thinking, oh, I’m not funny. I can’t be creative. Michelle J Raymond : I can’t do that. Just try something different. Like I said to 1 friend on LinkedIn, I said I I posted a black and white photo of me. Now your listeners, they’ve probably who may not have seen my content. My content is always bright. It’s you know, my branding is It’s all really bright colors, you know, pinks and blues and stands out. There’s nothing subtle. I want it I want you to feel happy when you see it. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Michelle J Raymond : And it stands out. So when I post a photo of myself without my trademark big smile and it’s in black and white, my community goes, Hang on a minute. What’s happened to Michelle? Who stole Michelle? And they all come flocking. Now, you know, the post is the post, But it’s about just trying something different. And for you, it could be something that little as well. How do you interrupt the pattern of people see the same stuff, and they’re Scrolling at a 1000000 miles an hour. How do you interrupt what they see so you stand out? So, yeah, my my, Photoshopping that I did yesterday, which I am a Terrible photoshopper. You know, I am speaking in a conference in Denmark this year as well. Michelle J Raymond : And so it happened to coincide with There’s a new queen of Denmark, and she’s from Australia. She’s the first one. So I put the 2 of us in the photo. Now it’s hilarious because I’ve got my royal wave going. And again, it’s not quality, but it’s funny. And I think we’ve gotta bring in some of those other pieces of us. So Yeah. Having some fun, Trying some different things and values. Michelle J Raymond : Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : And that’s your personality shining too. Michelle J Raymond : Yeah. Absolutely. And that’s what people are drawn to. You know? They’re not Drawn to just us being the same as everybody else, you know, and you will find your people. If you’re worried about standing out and you’re thinking, you You know, I’ve got one of my clients. He is very much into Buddhism, and he’s in a financial adviser. And I was like, how do you you know? But that’s 2 years. Like, I was thinking, how do you put those 2 together? Then I realized what he was doing on LinkedIn didn’t express the other side of him, so it was missing. Michelle J Raymond : And, you know, by just taking that stand and putting little pieces in it because I’m like, when they get on a call with you, you’re gonna be that person. You know, you are you can’t pretend you’re something that you’re not. It’s exhausting. Yeah. And so, yeah, it’s it’s just been fun in the little ways people can show up authentically. Marisa Shadrick : We do have a a question from somebody who’s watching live. Laura asked, as a solopreneur, do I still start and Use a company page just like other small businesses. This was something that I think you just covered. The answer is yes because you encourage me to do it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done it. And I I asked you, I can? Can I do that? Use it? Of course, you can. Michelle J Raymond : Yeah. And the thing that I’ve used is Every time I do my just as a little tip, every time I do my personal post, I get my company page to to come across and like it and write 1 comment every time. So what happens is people see Michelle j Raymond and b two b growth co. We show up in the same places every time. Every My company page, you know, does a post, then guess who shows up? Michelle j Raymond’s always there to comment. Now for some of you, you’re thinking, Michelle, people know it’s just you. Well, some people do. Others have no idea how big or small my company is. Michelle J Raymond : There is no way that you can tell Yeah. Quickly looking at my content, no one cares. They just want answers to their problems. And so, yeah, that’s an easy way that you can leverage both. Marisa Shadrick : Love that. Michelle J Raymond : And That synergy, it’s that whole 1 plus 1 equals 3. You know? Like, it’s yeah. Marisa Shadrick : So I love that. Branding full of your time. Oh, good. But, let’s go into, maybe I’ll skip that one. Maybe I’ll pick another one. Some of the people I I’ve seen a couple of ways that people are using LinkedIn, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Sometimes people will, go to a profile or somewhere where there’s an email, and they’ll go ahead and email that person, wanting them to either opt in into something or they opt them in and they ask them to opt out. What do you think of that practice when people go to a profile and snag those emails without really having consent to send something to. Michelle J Raymond : I mean, do you really wanna start a relationship based on, hey. I went and scraped your email address, or even worse, I used a tool and some or I bought your list. Is that how you wanna start the conversation with somebody? It’s a big no for me on that one. I just think, you know, the easier you think that this is that you can just, You know, wham bam, thank you, ma’am, it’s that’s how you’re gonna build a relationship on the platform. It’s just never gonna happen, or it’s gonna you know, It’s just for me, it’s just yuck. I think that’s Marisa Shadrick : It’s the opposite of building relationship, and we’re playing the long game. Right? We’re not The we’re playing a long game to be able to build, and the thing is every connection has value, and I say that a lot. I mean, it’s a way to maybe we serve someone for a change with nothing coming back to us or maybe it’s opportunity to have a podcast guest or Maybe it’s someone that does wanna work with you. There’s different outcomes when we start talking to people, but we never know until we make those connections. Every person has value. So or you can even give a referral or you get a referral. I mean, you never know the outcome, so thank you for sharing that. I just wanted to get that off my chest because Michelle J Raymond : I suppose There’s lots of automation tools out there now. And just, you know, to put it out there, they look really attractive on the surface. You put your Whole LinkedIn account at risk. It is against the user terms and agreements. You also give access to these tools By enabling a cookie when you log on through Google to use the tools, they can then post and comment on your behalf Without you even knowing That’s scary. A friend of mine, Daniel Hall, is, you know, shedding a light on this, the engagement pods, And you would be very surprised at those top influencers that you see on LinkedIn that seem to have numbers every single time they post. It works like Marisa, and, you know, you’d kinda look at going, I’ve been doing this for nearly 10 years. It doesn’t work like that. Michelle J Raymond : You know? Like, what’s going on? And that They are literally paying for people to do that, but some of them are now discovering that these, yeah, tools comment on their behalf without them knowing. That Imagine that damage that it does to your reputation. Because the comments are not thoughtful. The comments are just generic AI generated rubbish. And so, yeah, I I just can’t understand how people think, oh, wow. I can send 800 messages without doing anything. And then You destroy your brand with 799 of them. It’s Marisa Shadrick : cheaper than Michelle J Raymond : the rules. Add up. Marisa Shadrick : Mhmm. That’s right. That’s right. Okay. The other thing is a big question people have is, how do I minimize the spamming? Even, like, when I Got my company page up and running. I noticed I was getting all these spam messages, and I had not toggled a little setting. I went back and toggled it. But, how do you minimize spam messages? Michelle J Raymond : I wish that there was, like, a magic button we could just block them. Unfortunately, there isn’t. Settings is definitely a good place to start. There is one which you can go in and switch off where people can send you InMails. So that’s one option that you can do. Sometimes it can be about toggling things like your headline Or maybe your work experience, how you describe yourself, unfortunately, those lazy people who use tools then go in and just search for All the CEOs or all the founders or all this, and that’s their only criteria. So if you have a job title that’s CEO, Then what happens is yeah. Like I said, lazy people using automation tools just type that in and send it to everyone. Michelle J Raymond : It’s like spray and pray. Oh, it’s not something I encourage. Do is there a way? I would say if you receive that kind of stuff, always report and, you know, Block people if they’re, you know, really bad and just won’t take a hint, so don’t be afraid to report and block. That is Yeah. Probably the best way that you can do it. So And Marisa Shadrick : and I know connections. Yeah. The connections, when I get a connection request, it’s probably at this point, I can do it, but at some point, it’s gonna be laborers, but I actually go to the profile and I I look to see if they have a website because oftentimes, they don’t fill it out. Back to your point, You know, fill out the profile, make sure everything’s in there. Because if they don’t have a website, why didn’t they put a website on there? If they just have LinkedIn on there, it makes me suspicious, and so I don’t connect Michelle J Raymond : with them. Yeah. So fake profiles, pretty crazy out there. So if you spot someone that reaches out to do that and they’ve maybe got Ten connections and a half filled profile, then report it as well. We’ve you know, LinkedIn do a lot of work to try and stop that from happening on the platform. But the fact is, you know, all of these engagement pods and tools, they rely on having these fake accounts out there, which is Mhmm. Again, if I can stamp that out, It would be my Christmas present coming in. You know, if we got to the end of 2024, we could stamp all of that out. Michelle J Raymond : It would be great. I don’t think it’s gonna happen in my lifetime, but, you know, we can live in hope. But this is the thing. If you are finding that you You know, even in your home feed, if the stuff that you’re seeing irritates you, the stuff that you’re seeing doesn’t make you feel good in any way, for me, I love to be the best, and so coming second at things is part of my personality I’m working on because I don’t particularly like it. But I used to find that with Particular creators and things that if I saw their content, it would trigger that in me, and then I’d be in a bad mood for the next couple of hours. I can’t afford to be in that. And, sure, I should be, you know, more mature, but I’m human. You know? So what I do is if something I don’t like seeing it in my feed, there’s Three buttons in the top right hand sorry. Michelle J Raymond : Three little dots in the top right hand corner of every post, and all you do is click on that and click unfollow. So you’re still connected to the person. You can still message them and build relationships out of the home feed. Consistently, then I suggest you remove connection because you’re never gonna work with them because your values don’t align, you know, and they’re not gonna reach out to you. So Protect your time and protect your mind on Yeah. LinkedIn. It’s it’s really important. Marisa Shadrick : Too because you suggested that to me, and and that helps a lot to have a cleaner feed, so That’s good. Okay. This is my last question, and the question about obviously, when you have a newsletter, you can put links in there, which is so awesome about newsletters, but On a post, do you put the link inside of the actual description or in the comments? Because there’s Pros and cons to both. So what are your thoughts on that? Michelle J Raymond : To explain that to people, there’s, you know, research From, you know, other, people out there that would suggest that if you put a external link in a post, then LinkedIn reduces how many people that that See that post because they don’t want you to send people off LinkedIn. They wanna keep people on the platform. Why do they want that? So that they can show you more ads. That’s how they make money. So, Logistically, that makes sense, and you can understand that. So if we wanna keep the algorithm happy, then we wouldn’t put a link in the actual post. Now I’m a relationship builder. I’m all about what makes being I guess, being in service with my audience and what makes it easier for them. Michelle J Raymond : So my recommendation is if it makes sense to put it in the post and make it easier for people, then put it in the post. And, You know, the reach will be what the reach will be. We’re talking a difference of, I don’t know, maybe 15%. Now for some people, it’s not gonna make any difference, you know, at the be at the end of the day. If I have a post like, for instance, I had a post that I didn’t put the link in the post Much which went against everything that I know I’ve just said, but I have some other reasons. I thought I’ll comment as my company page and put the link in the comments. You know, it’s how I thought I’d Do it. And then what happened was I ended up with 80 comments on my post. Michelle J Raymond : And do you think someone’s gonna go and search through 80 different comments to try and find a link? No. That’s not what’s gonna happen. So this is the thing to Marisa Shadrick : keep going. Right? Gets buried, and they can’t find it. Michelle J Raymond : Yeah. Exactly. Which is the least thing you that you want to happen is someone to be that interested. They wanna click on the link. They can’t find it. They give up. That’s not what we’re trying to do. So I am always driven by being in service of my community, Giving them value every time because I’m trading their time when they’re reading my content. Michelle J Raymond : You know, I’m I understand that time’s precious to people and just making sure that we make life easy for them. And that’s why they stick around and keep coming back for more. Marisa Shadrick : Right. And I noticed in the comments too, if you post, At least in the profile, in the comments, a lot of time, it’s not visible to people if you post the link. Michelle J Raymond : Yeah. So if you have a look, there’s a little setting down in the comments on LinkedIn that says most recent or most relevant. So LinkedIn decides What’s most relevant? You have no control over that. Now if someone doesn’t know what’s most recent or know what that little function is or know that they can change it, Then they default, I’m pretty sure, is most relevant. And, therefore, if the link is somewhere that LinkedIn decides it’s not relevant, Then they won’t see it, and so this is where other problems come in. So I would say, in general, make life easier. Keep the content Altogether, don’t make people work too hard. No one’s got time to go searching. Michelle J Raymond : No one even has the inclination. So Yeah. Make life easy. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. This has been awesome, and it’s been good to catch up with you. I just love you to pieces. You’re awesome. So how would people, get ahold of you? Obviously, they can see you at social media marketing world, but if someone is not going oh, sad. Right? How can they get in touch with you? Michelle J Raymond : Well, you’re gonna find me on LinkedIn. And if you go up to the search bar and type Michelle Jay Raymond, so the initial j. And the reason it’s in there, not to make me sound smarter because someone asked me that one day, is that why you’ve got it in there? Sekhar, no. I’ve got it in there because there are so many different Michelle Raymoms on the platform. So if you have a common name, Little tip. Sometimes you might wanna add your initials so you stand out and are more easily discovered. So Michelle j Raymond, find me on LinkedIn. I would and let us know that you’ve listened to this Podcast, and that’s how you discovered me. Michelle J Raymond : So I can say thank you to Marissa for having me as her guest. Marisa Shadrick : Awesome. Thank you so much, and I’m wishing you well. I know you’re just gonna crush it at Social Media Marketing World. They’re gonna love you. It’s just gonna be amazing. So congratulations on that, and you know Where you can reach Michelle, and thank you everyone for listening today. Any last words or comments, Michelle, for the audience? Michelle J Raymond : I think my best advice that I can give people is when you take actions on LinkedIn, create your digital twin. And what I mean by that is don’t be a LinkedIn version of you and then another version of you offline if I was to meet you at an event. The more that you just be yourself And put things in your own words, in your own way, your own style, your own experience, your own emotions, your own values. Like, there’s so many different pieces to you. The more that you do that, the more fun your time will be on LinkedIn because you’re gonna attract the right people, repel the wrong ones Mhmm. And it’s really draining trying to be someone that you’re not. So just, yeah, create your digital twin, and you’ll have far more fun on the platform. And why do I encourage having fun? Because that’s how you can sustain this Over the long term, just like I have for 10 years now, if you try and be something that you’re not and put on a front, You’ll be out in about 3 weeks, maximum 3 months. Michelle J Raymond : And if you’re trying to grow a business, that’s not gonna work. So, yeah, it’s it’s been really great to catch Chat with you today. I’m so excited that we actually got to talk again. So I know. I hope that that’s helped your audience, but Marisa Shadrick : Oh, I know. It helps. Michelle J Raymond : The place to be. That’s for sure. Marisa Shadrick : I agree. Thank you so much, Michelle. Thank you for everything that you’ve deposited in my life as well and and twisting my arm to Michelle J Raymond : do these lives. No. Marisa Shadrick : You didn’t twist But great recommendation. I’m enjoying it. I’m still feeling like a fish out of water, but it’s all working. Thank you so much. I appreciate you being on the show. Take care, everyone. Cheers.

Whether you’re a seasoned podcaster or just starting, finding the right tool to create high-quality podcast content can be a game-changer for your brand. In this episode of “Amplify Your Authority,” I sit down with Kendall Breitman, community manager for Riverside, to explore the impact of technology on the future of podcasting.   In this episode, Kendall and I discuss the following: 1. My love/hate relationship with podcasting and why I’ve decided to go all in and create more content. 2. How Riverside’s features simplify the podcasting process, including AI-generated content. 3. Advice on podcast content repurposing, quality sound, and consistency. And more! Get ready to elevate your podcasting game and learn from an industry expert.   Key Podcast Takeaway Discover how Riverside’s new features and AI-generated content can streamline your podcasting process.   Quote “Sometimes the most profound moments in life are about understanding someone else’s story.” – Kendall Breitman.   About Kendal Breitman Kendall is a member of the Riverside team focused on supporting Riverside’s community of creators. She has over ten years of experience working in television and video production for places like NBC and Bloomberg News.   Related Episode: Episode #60: Complexity Doesn’t Equal Value    Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/    Watch the Podcast on YouTube Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello, everyone. Marissa here. So glad you’re Here listening to this episode because I have a special guest. If you’ve thought about podcasting or perhaps you are a podcaster and the postproduction work has been A little bit of a chore for you. Maybe it’s caused you procrastinate and not really want to do more episodes because you were really dreading the postproduction. I’ve got a treat for you. With me today, I have Kendall Brightman. And let me give you just a quick snapshot of who she is, and I’ll let her Speak more into her role and what she does right now at Riverside. Marisa Shadrick : Kendall is a community manager for Riverside dotfm. It’s an online recording and editing studio for podcasts and other types of talking head content. Before working with Riverside, Kendall was a political reporter and TV producer for outlets like MSNBC and Bloomberg News. Welcome, Kendall. Thank you so much for being here with me. Kendall Breitman : Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to to have this conversation, to be on your show. So thanks for having me. Marisa Shadrick : I’m really excited as well. I have a a personal, Experience with Riverside, and I’ll tell you, there’s been a lot of things that have changed just in this past year. And it’s caught my attention and it’s made me sort of relook at podcasting and get excited about producing podcast episodes. So first of all, tell us a little bit about yourself. Tell us, like, where do you live and little bit about you, yourself. Like, Tell us a little bit about you. Kendall Breitman : Yeah. So as you said, Kendall Brightman, community manager at Riverside. And we’ll get into everything with Riverside, but A bit about me. I am originally from Pennsylvania, then lived in New York for a bit and DC for a bit doing politics and, Television production. In 2016, I was a political reporter for for Bloomberg News, kinda like Lived out of a suitcase and followed all of the presidential campaigns. Really cool experience. And, about 4 years ago, I actually moved to Tel Aviv, because my wife is Israeli. And so we I made the pivot over to here. Kendall Breitman : And From that, kind of pivoted away from American political news as you can kind of assume from that kind of move. And, started in content When I made that career pivot, I was working in content for Wix for a bit and then kind of realized that what I missed about journalism wasn’t exactly the writing. It was, like, Talking to a bunch of different people and getting the story out of it. Like, understanding, okay. I’ve spoken with 20 voters, and this is the connecting thread. So, Like, really, the community aspect, speaking to other people, forming bonds with their people, that’s kinda that’s that’s really my bread and butter. So that’s really how I ended up in community management. Marisa Shadrick : Wow. What an interesting career. That had been exciting doing all of that. You know? Your your background is extensive. That must have been exciting time. Right? Kendall Breitman : Yeah. It was crazy, especially because it like, I mean, 2016 was unlike any other election. And I was lucky enough to work with a few reporters who also had a docuseries on Showtime called The Circus. And so I got to really experience it, like, that we were on campaign buses with Bernie Sanders and on the plane with Donald Trump. It was It was really just an insane snapshot of the of politics and getting to really experience it like that. There’s there was it was life changing. There was nothing like that. Marisa Shadrick : Wow. Yeah. I bet. And and now the last time we spoke, it was a while ago, and when we originally talked about Having you on the podcast. You’re living in Israel, so we had adjust the time zone to make sure that we can meet at a convenient Time. Right? Because I’m Pacific Coast in US. Yeah. So a lot happened since that first conversation we had, you living there in Israel. Marisa Shadrick : Do you wanna share a little bit. I mean, I I can’t even imagine, how terrifying and difficult it must have been. Kendall Breitman : Yeah. Like, A part of me is worried that there’s, like, a me. Like, when I think about that person that was talking in the like, couple weeks ago to you, that, like, I I really feel different now. It’s crazy how so much can change in such a short period of time. It’s been, yeah, it’s been it’s been a really Heartbreaking, difficult time. But and living here, it’s it’s unlike anything that I’ve ever in the US. It’s so far from anything that I ever experienced in the US. And so, yeah, it’s been it’s been difficult, but it’s It’s completely it’s changed life here, and, it’s, like, in a very, like, apparent way just walking on the street. Kendall Breitman : But I I also when I think about, like, before when we were talking and now, it’s just you you almost feel like a different person despite going through Something something like this. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. It’s so surreal. I can’t even imagine. I’m I’m glad you’re safe, and, hopefully, your friends and people that you know, they’re safe. I know a lot of people, there’s mixed feelings, but just my heart goes out. I am just praying that all of this is resolved quickly and and that everyone stays safe. So, thank you for sharing that. I know you’re still in it, And so, I appreciate your time being on the podcast as well. Marisa Shadrick : But to segue a little bit into the work that you’re doing, I mean, you’re Fortunately, you’re working online. You’re doing a lot of things with Riverside. Tell us a little bit how you got into that role with Riverside, and then let’s talk about because there’s a lot of fun things that we can share. Kendall Breitman : Yeah. So, getting into this role, as I was saying before, it’s I never really thought of community management as something that was a career path for me. But it’s funny because once I actually Got into community management. It just felt like such a perfect fit. So, as I was saying before, what I loved about journalism was collecting stories, Understanding people. And I actually even to relate it to what we were just talking about, I think that behind everything are real People and, like, human emotion and understanding that. So whether that’s something as hot button as, politics in the 2016 election, Whether that’s something of what’s going on right now, whether that’s even just a community of podcasters, it’s really just about like, I really run on on human connection and understanding other people, understanding where they’re coming from, what drives them. So community management was just a really perfect fit for that. Kendall Breitman : As far as, like, what my day to day is, because for marketing, especially, like, community management just It’s kind of a it’s not a new frontier. It’s always really been there, but, like, it’s something that I feel like are is be is popping up a bit more in job postings and things like that about and what is a community manager. And so I really see it as kind of, community manager. And so I really see it as kind of when when you market to customers or potential users, you’re marketing to them. They get the product, and then they have the product, and they have support. But it’s kind of like, what else can you do for them? How can you keep them loyal? How can you keep Keep the how can you earn their trust? How can you make them, in this case, a better creator so they’ll use the product more, but also just feel a sense of connection with your product. Because, like, especially in these days, like, forming connections with people, It’s just so powerful, and it leads to better use of the product if you’re thinking about it that much, but, like, if you’re thinking about it That specifically. But in general, it just creates a much more engaging, exciting, intriguing experience For any product that you’re making, when you feel a sense of connection, when you feel like that company is listening to you, interacting with you. Kendall Breitman : So I like to say that, a bit ago, there was, there was influencer marketing. That was a real push that was kind of new. And community marketing, as I as I kinda segue, it is just the idea that you can hear for you could see your favorite influencer talking about What products they’re using or something like that. But what I feel like really connects with people is asking your friend. Like, what are you using? How did you start this podcast? Or how did you build this? Or, you know, like, when you hear from people, real users, real friends of yours in your circle, in your community, I think that’s a really powerful thing. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. No. For sure. Connection is so important. I I knew we saw eye to eye in a lot of things the first time we had that conversation. And I call it in the copywriting and in the marketing, I do empathetic marketing. There is a real person behind that email, and we have to remember that it’s not a one and done, Which I love what you’re saying. It’s not just enough to sell them the product. Marisa Shadrick : There’s more. And so and it’s sort of like Honoring their commitment to you that you’re continuing to be committed to them. And I Kendall Breitman : thought Yeah. Exactly. And And it’s all about I mean, every community is different, but I’ve kinda laid out a strategy that for this community of creators and podcasters, It’s about making people feel heard and, like, being this kind of connection between the users and product, but then it’s also So about learning. People in this community really want to learn. And so as many learning opportunities to make them a better creator, The the better the better it is for everybody. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Can I share a little bit of how I stumbled upon Riverside, and We can get into some of these features? I started podcasting, and like many, I was podcasting for almost a year, And I got busier with other things and with clients, and it became this chore. And I was only doing audio at the time, And I saw the shift that people were obviously using the content, and they were repurposing it and putting on YouTube. And I thought, Well, I can do that, but then there’s another layer of work there. And it was something there was always tension. Every time I was thinking about my podcast, I kept, oh, gosh. Gosh. There’s so much work to be done there, and I have this other work that I’m doing, fulfilling, you know, a lot of the deliverables for the copywriting clients and then the coaching clients. Marisa Shadrick : And I thought, I just wish I had 1 tool. And then I heard about Riverside. I’m not sure where I found out about it, but I heard about Riverside. I checked it out, and I thought, Well, this may be something that will work for me. And when I signed up, I’m not sure when it was. It was at least Early this year, we’re in 2023, at the end of 2023. It’s been, I think, about a year. They had some cool features, but then They came out with even more features. Marisa Shadrick : So Riverside allows you and correct me if I’m wrong, you’re able to record, And there’s this technology behind it that doesn’t allow the freeze face that you see on On maybe Zoom when people’s Internet connection isn’t very good, and all of a sudden they freeze and then you don’t You can hear them, but their mouth isn’t moving, and you have all these little glitches. And I had a tool before that that would happen a lot. And Riverside has this technology, and you can explain it a little better than I am. But the point is the postproduction work, The way the tool is set up, I thought, okay. This is my answer. Now I can be on video, do audio, Use Riverside, and then they started rolling out all these features that gave me clips and all kinds of things. And now the pro postproduction work is Fun, and it takes a fraction of what it used to. So do you wanna, like, formally give us the background of Riverside and tell us a little bit about some of the features? I gave you kind of the The Yeah. Kendall Breitman : I mean, you just did a pretty good job. Yeah. You just did a great job. I’m like, let me clip that for Riverside. So, yeah, as you were saying, I mean, we can start with What you’re talking about with Zoom and the glitches and things. What Riverside does, it’s kind of the bread and butter of Riverside, is that we record everything locally. So what does that mean? It means that while Zoom well, like, Zoom’s made for online meetings. So it compresses your audio and your video. Kendall Breitman : You sound a bit more tinny than you would on something like this recording. And you can be more pixelated because what what Zoom cares about is, Like, an online over the Internet conversation. Mhmm. For Riverside, like, we’re having this conversation now. You can see me. I can see you. We’re both being recorded. But if I don’t have good Internet or you don’t have good Internet, it records to my computer onto my browser. Kendall Breitman : And so what that means is that it’s not compressed by the Internet. It’s not pixelated or anything like that. It’s made for high quality recording. And then it just uploads it to your online recording studio. So we’re in here recording right now. After that, My file from my computer, which is gonna be crystal clear, have great sounding audio, all goes into your studio. Then from there from there, you also tease that you with all of your recordings, you can get, depending on your plan, you can get an AI transcription of the entire recording that you can search and edit that way. You can edit it all from there. Kendall Breitman : You can create social media clips from it. You can change the layout in a click. So if you want it to be, like, in a reels type of format, you can do that. And, there’s also AI generated clips. So, Really, like, we’re all having this is what I what I say to people who are kinda nervous about podcasting and recording. We’re already having these meetings. So instead, you can just record them even if it’s just the meeting. Like, you can just record it, have that full transcript, be able to clip out certain parts, and send it out to people. Kendall Breitman : I mean, even for user interviews, what I’ll do is if I’ll talk to a community member. I’ll record the meeting. And if they say, hey, this is a feature I’d really love. I can take that clip in, like, 5 seconds and then send it to my product team. So really yeah. So really just, like, Utilizing every aspect of this to be able to get out high quality recordings, but be able to clip them really easily, edit them really easily, transcribe them, all of that. So it’s a powerful tool. But my favorite part of it, actually, is that it opens up every single person’s Living room, office room to be a recording studio. Kendall Breitman : And when you have when you open this door for more people to have recording studios, You inevitably open the door for more people to have conversations and a diversity of conversations and a diversity of stories and perspectives. So I like the accessibility that it gives everyone to have their own professional level recording studio. Marisa Shadrick : It is fabulous. And from the user perspective, The fact when the clips came out and I was able first, I was really wowed with the transcript because that was always an out for me because you need transcripts, you need the SRT for YouTube and, You know, if you’re gonna put everything in your show notes on your website, there’s a lot that you need. And so the the fact that it had that, and you can literally hover over A word or maybe there’s they said something that’s really epic, but it’s too long and you wanna just kinda crop the middle and go right to the meat of it, You can just highlight it and remove that section, and it’s seamless. Yeah. Kendall Breitman : It’s, like, unbelievable. Yeah. It’s video editing like a doc. It’s really cool, especially for somebody like me that’s I’m not I’m never gonna claim to be an editor. That really just it it makes it again, it makes it more accessible for more people to make more content easier. Marisa Shadrick : And I know how to use technology, but I have no idea how it works, but the fact that it’s so user friendly and then they came out with the clips. This is like this is This is huge because, obviously, you wanna share your podcast, but the different platforms, different sizes. Right? Kendall Breitman : Mhmm. Marisa Shadrick : And so being able and you needed another tool, and then you need all these tools Kendall Breitman : to produce Marisa Shadrick : a podcast, which was crazy. You know? I didn’t want 3, 4 tools to Process a podcast. Here, when that showed up on my dashboard and it said click here, and I think you call it Marisa Clips. I think that’s the name of it. Yep. I clicked a button all of a sudden. All these clips came out. And I’m telling you, it is pretty accurate at capturing the best of the best. Marisa Shadrick : And you can take that clip, and you can turn it into a square if you want it for Instagram. You can leave it in a vertical if you wanna do a YouTube short. You can put it on LinkedIn, on your social media, anywhere. It was like magic. I got so excited. I was like Yeah. Doing the happy dance here by myself in my office because it made I mean, that’s what it’s all about. Make it easy For people that don’t understand technology, make it simple so it saves time. Marisa Shadrick : And, you know, there’s there is the fun factor too To see these things produced, it’s amazing. And the little clips that you have, you can actually put the, captions in it. Mhmm. So you can have the captions on it as well. And you can have a nice color frame around it. And when you do interviews, which you’ll see from this interview, it really, That’s where the magic happens because then your, you can size it to where it’s top and bottom or side by side. So whatever way you want it. So there’s a lot of creativity in how you want to cut those, and it’s really easy to do. Marisa Shadrick : You go in the studio, you go into edit, and you decide what you wanna do with the Full version, if you wanna create clips, it’s magic. And it has also and I have a lot of that. I think I have a a basic plan, and I have a lot of features on my plan. Bette, I’m thinking of upgrading because I know you guys now have a teleprompter. Tell them a little bit about that. Kendall Breitman : Yeah. I mean, you can put in so we have this we have a script feature that everyone has where you can write your notes or your script or something like that. So if you have questions before, you can put them, And it’ll show up in your browser right under the video camera for your laptop. So you can look at the notes, but still be just right under the camera so that it Looks like you’re looking at the camera. And then for the pro plan, you’re able to kinda press play on those notes and set the scroll. And so if you have an intro, for example, the intro that you just gave with me, I you’d be able to have that kinda scroll in front of the screen. And the idea is that, you know, when you’re Creating content. You have your notes on the side. Kendall Breitman : You might have something else on another window. It’s to really just bring everything into one place so that you can focus on the conversation. Marisa Shadrick : Yep. No longer do you have to have a Google Doc open with the bio and then drag it over under your camera so it you can’t you’re not looking over to the sign, But I actually read your intro from the transcript section. I pasted it in there, and I used it, and it’s right under my camera. So I was able to read it right there, and it is so Much more convenient to be able to have everything there. So the recording piece is also easy when you have guests, and I think you shared this with me, Kendall, There’s a way that you can create a Calendly link for the day and time that you want to have the interview, And then give them the Riverside link that you created in Riverside for that podcast episode. Put it right in there in Calendly, So then when they accept, it’s all there. And Yeah. Riverside even gives you, like, best practices to prepare. Marisa Shadrick : So I just copy and paste that into my Calendly as well. So they’re completely prepared on what to do, how to show up. They have the link to Riverside, and they accept the Calendly invite and boom. You’re done. It’s so cool. Yeah. It is so cool. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : Yes. So you said there’s gonna be more. I mean, can you tease us a little bit about what else is rolling out? Kendall Breitman : Because you said there’ll be more Marisa Shadrick : features coming out. Is coming out. Yeah. I mean secret? Well, I’m, Kendall Breitman : like, trying to think about when the when the episode’s coming out and what we’ll have. But, I will just say that, Riverside really started as a remote recording platform with those vocal recordings that I just talked about. But what we’re really trying to do, as you had just talked about, is add more features to the editor. So, basically, the direction that we’re moving in is we are trying to Make the entire postproduction process as smooth as possible, whether that’s maybe show notes, AI generated show notes based on your conversation. Whether that is, like, helping you create Even more clearer audio. That could be something that’s coming out. So, basically, like, the The the the teaser that I’ll give that’s a bit more general is just that we’re really working on creating even more opportunities for people to be able to Edit easily, fat more, faster, that kinda that kinda thing. Is that why you’re Marisa Shadrick : talking to customers? Because I think we’ve got on a call because I think you Wanted to just see my experience with Riverside and just kinda chat, which I thought was awesome because I wanted to say, yay. I really love it, And, it was a surprise every time a new feature came out, and it just like I said, it’s it’s made everything so much easier. And one thing I do since I’m a copywriter, Sometimes when I write sales pages, I don’t want, like, a huge, like, YouTube size video on the page because it’s it’s massive. Right? Sometimes I just want, like, A square with some text on the side so that I still have the video, but I can have the text with a button, you know, above the fold. And I thought, why not use Riverside? And so I came back with a web Friday promotion. I used Riverside. I recorded it. I was able to edit whatever I wanted Edit. Marisa Shadrick : I had the square size that I had, and I was able to put it on my sales page, and it looked great. I was just so excited because vertical is a little bit too small, and the YouTube size is too big. I know it’s 69 or whatever it is, but the The square fit perfectly. And so Riverside, I’m finding other uses for it. Like you said, you can record on the rare side and have a transcripts, which is awesome. Yeah. For sure. Kendall Breitman : Yeah. Exactly. And so, basically, when we were talking about the user interviews, I do this all the time. So it’s not even, like, a bad way to feature rolling out. It’s it’s really important for me, first of all, to be able to create connections with people beyond Online avatars. But beyond that, it’s also about I like to stay in check about what’s important to creators, What they’re excited about, what they want to have come up, what’s the most annoying part of the process, what’s their favorite part of the process, It helps me not only be able to, like, communicate that to the product team, but also how we market things, also how we present things in the way that When we have new features coming up, I feel much more comfortable talking about them because I know when I hear a feature that I know the community will be excited about. It just it’s about staying connected with that creator mentality. Yeah. Kendall Breitman : So I like to do that. And then, also, it’s just nice to be able to, like, Do things like this. Like, how like, I we spoke, and now I’m appearing on your podcast. It’s it’s being able to, like, continue a conversation and, like, Collaborate with each other in different ways. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Because we, magic word, connected. So, you know, there’s so much to be said with Connecting and building relationships, and I love promoting tools. I love, you know, sharing about marketing strategies and copywriting, but I love promoting tools that work. And if I love them, then I wanna share them with everyone. I will get an affiliate link, and I’ll share it because I know it’s gonna save them time. I know it’s gonna help them. It’s not so much, You know, the commission you get or the stipend that you get, it’s really about helping them save time and use their postproduction Process, you know, in a in a very, time let’s let’s put it this way. Marisa Shadrick : In a way that’s gonna save them time, but also give them better quality of what they had before because the quality is great. And that happened to me when I interviewed someone not That long ago, their Internet was terrible. And I said, okay. Here’s my test because I kept seeing that their Internet was weak, And then the video that came out was seamless. It was beautiful. Kendall Breitman : I appreciate it. To hear. Awesome. Marisa Shadrick : It was beautiful. So what would you say in the time that we have here, what would you say to someone that maybe first of all, It has a podcast, but has been struggling to be consistent and maybe experience some of the struggles that I was experiencing. What would you say to them? Kendall Breitman : I would just say that, like, you set your own schedule. Like, no one’s asking you. No one’s saying. There’s no set rule that you need to post an episode Every single week. There’s I mean, unless you’re telling your audience every week, we’ll have an episode. That’s the only person that you owe anything to is your audience. You can you can do it biweekly. You can do it once a month. Kendall Breitman : No one’s saying that you need to post every single day on social media. Yeah. Maybe you wanna start by posting once or twice every week, like, and work your way up. I would say to, like, Kinda take bite sized chunks. Another thing that I would recommend is batching. I think that it’s like a that it’s a lifesaver. And by that, I mean, like, Knock out a bunch of interviews 1 week. Like, maybe that’s your interview week, and you do, like, 7 interviews. Kendall Breitman : And then the next The next week, it can be content. It can be okay. Now I’m gonna take all these interviews, listen to them, edit each one of them. Edit 1, edit 2, edit 3. Now I’m gonna write all the content for it. It brings your mind into a certain task. It’s like, okay. My mind’s in writing mode right now. Kendall Breitman : I’m gonna write. I’m gonna bang out all of these show notes for every episode. And when you do it that way, once you’re done, that, in that example, gives you 7 weeks of content if you if you publish weekly. So, yeah, it’s about like, if you are able to kind of click your mind into that, into Kinda back having, like, a a backload of of episodes that you’ve prepared to give yourself those natural breaks, I would say do it. And I also think that with tools like Riverside, but also just in general, it’s difficult to to keep up with a podcast, But at this, it’s it’s what you make of it. So if you want this to be something that you just record for a week And then you put an intro and an outro on it, and you put that up. Like, if that’s what the vibe that you want, very authentic, you can make that your vibe. You don’t need this, like, serial level or, like, these true crime level with with, sound effects and things like that. Kendall Breitman : You can just sit down and have a conversation, record it, use your Marisa Clips if you’re on Riverside, which you should be, and then It really easily create content. So bite off what you can chew. No one’s sitting there telling you you need a weekly podcast. Try monthly if that’s something that you wanna try start out with. Marisa Shadrick : I love it. And you can extract just the audio if you want. I mean, you have the option video and audio or just audio. Nowadays, you know, people are repurposing and putting it on YouTube. It’s a great way to grow your YouTube channel. One of the things that I’m gonna do new in the coming year Is and this is because Riverside has this feature. I am going to stream my recording to LinkedIn, which I’m really excited about doing that on my company page. So I’m excited about doing that because I went through the process, and it’s very easy to connect, very easy to do. Marisa Shadrick : And I’ll still do the postproduction, but I’m going to Cast it live on LinkedIn. Aren’t you, Greg? Kendall, then I’m still just prerecording these right now. We’re not live. Kendall Breitman : I was gonna say I’ll I’ll come back on when it’s live. Let’s do it live. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : So for people that are thinking about maybe starting a podcast, I still think podcasts are very effective ways of creating content because you can take content from your podcast and repurpose it in other ways if you want to because there’s so much value that you have in the podcast. But what would you say to somebody that’s thinking about starting a podcast and thinking about a tool? I know what I would say, but what would you say? Kendall Breitman : I would say for somebody that’s new, it might be easy to kinda just grab the first thing that you already feel comfortable with. I mean, I’ve spoken with a ton of podcasters who just knew Zoom, and so they just kept using Zoom. I would say that the best way the the To grow your podcast, have a successful podcast, like, the most, like, baseline part of it is having high quality content. Like, you can record a 1000000 episodes, and if no one wants to listen to that on their headphones, like, then you You it’s like a if a tree falls in in the woods and no one’s there to listen to it. You know? Like, I would say that you should prioritize High quality, especially if you’re doing only audio, but also with video. And then on top of that, just like user friendliness. If you feel like when you’re having these kind of conversations, you wanna be as comfortable as possible. And that’s for a host. Kendall Breitman : That’s for a guest. So making sure that You are comfortable with a platform that it’s easy to use, that you don’t feel overwhelmed by it. It’s gonna pay off in your conversations. And I find that when I speak with people, that is one of the first things that jumped out to them about Riverside is just how easy it was to to really use. Just kinda press record and go. So I would say that those are 2 things to look out for, something that you’re comfortable with but that gives you high quality. Because sometimes, the thing that you’re comfortable with Isn’t gonna give you high quality, and you might just need to branch out of it and gain comfort somewhere, like, at another, like, with another platform, and it might be easier than you think. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Yeah. And I would add to that if you’re thinking about Having a podcast where you have guests, my my thinking with that was I wanted to have more guests, and I wanted to honor them By presenting a good quality video since I was gonna be on YouTube, I wanted it to be the best sound, the best video Because they were taking time out of their busy day to be on the podcast. So my thinking was, let me set this up in a way that looks very professional. It’s going to capture the best of who they are without interruptions or Internet disturbances or any of that, And we’ll have a clean recording, and I can, you know, have various clips that they can share as well if they want to. So it allows me to be able to honor those guests by providing the best that I and provide. Kendall Breitman : Exactly. And also to honor your listeners. I mean, if they’re gonna come there, you don’t wanna have somebody joining that sound. Like, that it’s I’ve I’ve listened to podcasts that, they’ll like, I would love all of their episodes, and then there’s an episode where you could tell, like, it’s almost like somebody’s on a speakerphone talking to them. And you’re just like, really? Like, why? Don’t don’t publish that. I don’t I don’t wanna listen to it because it’s difficult to listen to. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : That’s true. That’s Once you hear good quality, it’s hard to go back to the tinny sound and yeah. I’m and it it you can correct it fairly easily. And so I just wanna let everyone know that I have been very impressed with Riverside. It was something that I was struggling with really for over a year trying to figure out, you know, what to do. Do I hire somebody? Do I invest and just give them everything to have them produce everything? But I needed to record good quality. So it was an answer to my problem. It it was, you know, solution to my pain, And, I really love it. Marisa Shadrick : I love it. So thank you, Riverside, and everyone that’s involved in the technology and doing everything. I’m a happy camper, and I appreciate it so much. Kendall Breitman : Thank you, Ivy. And this is like the it’s been really wonderful to hear this. I’ve loved talking with you on our call before, and, like, this feedback just helps us create a better product for creators. So I really appreciate any any and all feedback on that. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. And I will put a link in the show notes how you can connect and begin with Riverside if that’s something that you wanna do for the coming year And you want to maybe either up your podcasting game or start a podcast, I’ll put that in there. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Anything That you would like to share with the audience before we close today? Kendall Breitman : I mean, I would just say that if you are Thinking about starting a podcast, you can try Riverside even for free. And then just, like, press record. See how it works. See how you like it. Try just having even a conversation with yourself. I mean Yeah. It’s like the the way that you will become like, There’s no better way to dive into it than to truly just dive in. So, if I would say if you are thinking about starting a podcast, Dive into it. Kendall Breitman : See how you like it. And my 1st recommendation on that would be if you have a podcast show, you’re thinking about 1, Write down 10 episode ideas because that will mean that you’ve kinda gone from, oh, I think A podcast would be fun to, like, I have a real idea. And I also find that once you write those 10 ideas, more and more ideas Come to you. You get more and more inspired, and it’ll push you to finally just press that record button. Marisa Shadrick : Mhmm. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Thank you so much, Kendall, I really appreciate you taking the time and being with me and sharing all your wisdom with the audience. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Kendall Breitman : Of course. Thank you so much. Marisa Shadrick : Alrighty, everyone. We will talk to you soon. I hope you check out Riverside, and you have a wonderful New Year, maybe even podcasting.

Many talented individuals struggle to recognize their authority because of common psychological hurdles that create a barrier to self-acknowledgment. It’s time to go from skills to influence. Authority is not a destination but a journey—one marked by continuous growth, overcoming self-doubt, and breaking through preconceived notions about what it means to be a leader.   In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: The Essence of Authority: Discover a deeper meaning of authority and how it goes beyond conventional definitions. Signs of Leadership: Recognize your subtle yet powerful signs of leadership that will help you become an authority in your field. The Role of Empathy: Implement empathetic leadership to transform your influence and set you apart as a leader. Overcoming Mental Barriers: Learn about unique strategies for challenging negative thoughts and building a mindset that embraces inner authority. Leadership Leads to Authority: Aligning with your core values and mission can transform how you lead and influence others toward positive change.   Recognize your authority by shifting your focus from internal false beliefs to the external impact you can make in the lives of others.   Key Takeaways It’s possible to conquer the hidden barriers holding you back from your inner authority, such as imposter syndrome and people-pleasing. Empathetic leadership is a key to authority; it’s about connecting human to human, especially in the digital world of entrepreneurship.” True leaders are marked by how much they care and not by how much they know. Confident decision-making results from clear values and mission, cultivating influence and trust. Embracing your inner authority involves reflection, feedback, mentorship, overcoming negativity, and continuous learning.   Quotes “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt. “IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.” Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for? “The journey to embracing inner authority mean we shift our focus from self to serving others.” – Marisa Shadrick.   Related Episode Episode 03: Anyone Can Become an Online Influencer & Get Paid   Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/    Questions About “Amplify Your Authority?” CLICK HERE to schedule a call.    Watch the Podcast on YouTube   Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello. Hello. Welcome. We are streaming live to LinkedIn, and hopefully, I cross my fingers everything is working correctly. Hi there. Well, today, we’re gonna talk about Authority. This podcast is called amplify your authority. And what is authority? Do you feel like an authority? So we’re gonna cover a lot today. Marisa Shadrick : I’m gonna give you some tips so that you can tap into your inner authority. I’m Marissa Shadrick. I’m an online marketing consultant and certified brand and copywriting expert, and I love working with clients and really dialing in On strategy, specifically how to improve traffic. And so that is kind of my world and where I camp, But I love producing these podcasts and giving overall information about the internal and external challenges that we face as online entrepreneurs. So let me queue up my notes, and, hopefully, you can see this broadcast. If not, Fear not. I will have a replay of this with all the show notes, all of any links that I discuss, any resources that I mention will all be In the recap, when I post the replay on my website, which is marissashadrick.com. So if you miss any part of this or if you wanna see it in its entirety, if you wanna see the audio, the video, the show notes, the transcript, it’ll all be posted next week on my website. Marisa Shadrick : So we’re gonna start by just looking at a couple of things and take it step by step because I love doing things step by step. And the journey of recognizing our authority is not something all of a sudden we wake up and we say, hey. I’m an authority in something. Right? It’s a process. But here’s the thing. Oftentimes, we have to move past a lot of self doubt, and we have to move past some preconceived d is about authority, and I’m gonna explain at the end why I changed the name of the podcast to Amplify Your Authority. Authority, first of all, we have to realize is not just a title. It’s not a title, Especially in the context of growing an online business. Marisa Shadrick : It goes beyond that. It goes beyond a position. It goes beyond power. It’s really the product of empathetic leadership And the influence that brings. And notice I said empathetic leadership, because leadership is a big topic itself. And a lot of people don’t consider themselves leaders either. So we’re going to take this step by step, and, hopefully, at the end, you’re gonna tap into that Inner leader, that inner influencer that you’ve always been, maybe as a parent, maybe as a friend, Maybe within your community, and then realize that you have authority to be able to speak on something because of your experience and your background and so forth. So we’re gonna take a look at this and realize that authority is not a title or position. Marisa Shadrick : It’s not a position of power, Although it it may seem that way, some people have authority where they have more leverage. Right? But authority in the context of entrepreneurship It’s not really about title or position. It’s really about the empathetic leadership and influence that you have. It’s about People. And I talk a lot about this. The human human connection is so important, especially online When there’s so much automation and there’s so much noise on the Internet, it’s really about people. 1st, when you think about authority, you’re thinking about yourself and not in a selfish way. You’re thinking about personal development. Marisa Shadrick : You’re thinking about how you can grow as a person and be A better person, which in result becomes a better leader, which in result becomes a bigger influencer, which in result becomes an authority on a certain Topic or in a certain niche. So it really is a blend of who you are, and I often say your work and its extension of who you are. You can’t hide it. Who you really are shows in your day to day activities. It’s an extension of who you are, and you start with yourself, and then You realize that it’s a blend of the deep understandings that you have, the experiences, and the competence that you’ve built. Now some of that could be from education or real life experience, but it’s a blend of all of this. But realize first that authority is not a title. It’s not a position. Marisa Shadrick : It really is about how you’ve implemented You as a leader, whether that’s not considered, quote, unquote, a leader, whether you’ve been that voice, that person of encouragement to someone else. So let’s look at the idea of leadership And the blend that you have, all of this has value, and here’s why. Because You’re not only the product of many years of education and experience, but there’s something that’s so valuable, And that is wisdom. It’s really hard to buy wisdom. Right? Oftentimes, we learn the hard way, but when we pass on Nuggets of wisdom to other people, that’s when we begin to make a difference. That’s when we begin to influence people in a positive way, Not in a creepy way, in a positive way, and that’s how we become an authority. And it’s not a name or a title that we give ourselves. It’s just something that’s known. Marisa Shadrick : It’s just something that people the way people respond to you and interact with you is a reflection of that authority that you have, and we never stop learning. We’re always learning, Continuously learning. So here are some signs of a leader, and this will show Many of the hard skills, the things that maybe you learned in in school or in college or maybe through training or certification Programs. So there’s a a depth of knowledge. That’s number 1. The comprehensive understanding that you have in your field or in your industry. And that could be for example, I have a brand certification, a copywriting certification. Those are hard skills, but that certainly Does not give me authority in and of itself. Marisa Shadrick : Right? That is the competency that I have, But it doesn’t necessarily always influence or would say that I’m a leader in that, Because leadership is all about people. Right? You can’t lead people that aren’t following you, and we’re gonna get to that in just a second about audience. But There is, part of the hard skills, part of the things that you have acquired is depth of knowledge in certain areas. Number 2, Some of the other hard skills that you have is maybe problem solving skills. If you’ve been around the block for any length of time, there have been Things that have come up in your life, whether it’s your business life or your personal life, where you’ve had to execute problem solving skills. And you have to also be an expert in identifying challenges and crafting solutions, and maybe even looking ahead and helping people prevent the same type of pitfalls. So problem solving skills are very good to have. These are all hard skills, and this will help you be a better leader and influence people and therefore have authority. Marisa Shadrick : Number 3 is peer recognition. We tend not to think about that, but peer recognition is very valuable. Being acknowledged by Colleagues or industry experts is very, very valuable, and that’s kind of a clue. Those those are signs that you’re a leader When people recognize, especially peers. Right? Peers. And, of course, we have client testimonials and things like that, but when peers recognize The value that you bring, that says a lot. That says a lot. And so that’s number 4. Marisa Shadrick : That may be a sign that you are a leader, And, therefore, you can influence and, therefore, have authority in your area of expertise. The 4th one is The educational ability. You have the capability to simplify The complex so that other people can digest it in little bite sized pieces, That is also a skill, a hard skill. So you have that educational component, that way of making something easy to apply. Right? Application is so important so that you can execute. And so the application piece, if you can do that and help people say, okay. This is how you Apply this concept, that’s very valuable too, and that’s part of a hard skill, and that could mean that you’re a leader. Many teachers have this, right, where they can take a concept and break it down for someone to be able to learn it step by step. Marisa Shadrick : Another number 5 Is you may have a successful track record. Maybe you started with a nonprofit space and you volunteered there. Maybe You volunteered in your community. Maybe those leadership roles somehow find you, and you find yourself Leading. You may not think it’s leadership, but you’re in charge of something, and they’re counting on you and depending on you, and you do it well. So you have a history of positive outcomes based on the things that you have accepted as a project or or have done in the past. So it could have even been in college, you know, leadership opportunities there. Or Maybe maybe when you go on a vacation, are you the one that makes all the plans and schedules everything for everyone when you’re going on a trip? You know, those are all leadership indicators, successful track record. Marisa Shadrick : Number 6 is innovative thinking. Are you one that sees a closed door, or do you look at that closed door and figure out how you can get around it, Over it, under it, are you an innovative thinker? That is very, very helpful Full because many people see an obstacle and they get stuck. And if you can see beyond the obstacle and help people with that, that’s really super valuable. Contributing new ideas is so valuable because sometimes people lose hope when they see an obstacle. But if you can take that and challenge it and figure out a way to get around that obstacle, that breathes hope in other people because they know there’s another way to get around this obstacle. And number 7, confident decision making. There are times that we have to make hard decisions. Are you that type of person that can make a hard decision? Because You see the pros and cons. Marisa Shadrick : You see where this is headed. How is this going to help me as far as achieve my goals? How is this gonna Help everyone else depending on what it is. Sometimes we have to make tough decisions. So are you confident in your decision making? What does that process look like? What is your plumb line for making decisions? Do you have a mission statement? Do you have a value statement that helps you align Your decisions toward that, and that’s important too. Making, informed choices as well. So decision making could be Doing research can involve a lot, but do you have a process for that? So when you make a decision, you feel confident. This was the right choice. This was the right decision. Marisa Shadrick : But hard skills, although they are Very valuable, and we can easily pick up on those. You also need soft skills To be an influence. And I’m not talking about influencer. I don’t even know if I like that name influencer, But just to be an influence where someone respects you enough, trusts you enough to take your advice. Let’s keep it real simple. They respect you. You’ve shown a track record. They trust you enough to take your advice, And you need those soft skills. Marisa Shadrick : I love the quote from John Maxwell. He says, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Really, in all of this, to really amplify your authority, I will say it again. Most important thing is empathetic leadership. You need to empathize with people, and Then you have to realize who are your people, who is your audience, who is it that you’re gonna speak to that’s really, really important because it will resonate with them. If you’re speaking outside of your scope, it’s not gonna it’s not gonna land. And so that’s why we make such an emphasis. Everybody But he says, what is your niche? Who is your audience? What’s your avatar? Because it’s so foundational for everything, For growing a business, for writing a book, it’s so foundational, and we can’t get around that. Marisa Shadrick : We have to always always be talking to our audience and see where they are and understand them even more because that’s part of empathy is really Caring about where they are in their journey. So some of the reasons and I’m gonna cover this because I think it’s important to cover it when we’re talking about authority and being an empathetic leader and beginning to have that Privilege of speaking into people’s lives, which is equals quote, unquote influence, and that’s simply a product of trust, is that there’s there’s some hurdles for us as leaders to embrace the fact that we are an authority. How can you amplify something that you don’t think you have? You can’t. You really have to own it. And so Let’s look at some of the reasons why people wouldn’t see themselves as an authority because sometimes they think, well, There’s somebody that probably knows more than I do. Well, let me just tell you this. There is nothing new under the sun. I mean, if you’ve been online at all, you hear similar things everywhere. Marisa Shadrick : There’s nothing new under the sun. And most people today are reaching back in history and looking at those that went before us that had those valuable Gold nuggets of personal development, of strategy, of productivity. We go back to those great leaders. Nothing is new under the sun. And then all of a sudden, new book pops up. But it’s based on principles that happened years ago, Decades ago. Nothing is new under the sun, but how you bring it to your audience, how you interpret it, how you speak about it is the difference because you’re gonna interject your stories. You’re gonna interject your perspective, your experience, your life that’s different. Marisa Shadrick : This is different as your, you know, thumbprint, and that’s what’s going to help. And I think there’s Even though the Internet is so congested, I think there’s room for all of us to do our part and to create positive change in the world. So your soft skills are the things that are gonna help you build trust, How influence and become that empathetic leader, because it’s all about them and not about us. As Rick Warren has said In his book, Purpose Driven Life, it’s all about them. It’s not about us. That was the first line, I think, in his book. It’s not about us. And when we really embrace that concept that it’s not about us, we’re gonna have a better understanding of our audience, and we’re going to behave or our actions are going to be a little different because of this knowledge that we’re acquiring. Marisa Shadrick : So what are some of the common hurdles in in claiming your inner Inner authority, I want you to know that you have authority. And if you’re if you’ve been coaching, if you’ve been in the online space creating courses, or if you’re a service provider For any length of time, 2, 3 years or more, you you are probably an authority in your area. But here’s why people Don’t. And I’m gonna give you a few reasons, 5 of them. 1 is right at the top of the list, imposter syndrome. People feel like Somebody else knows more than I do. Well, as I said earlier, there’s nothing new under the sun. They’re going to kind of camp there In imposter syndrome, feeling like they’re a fraud despite past successes, despite everything they can contribute to the world. Marisa Shadrick : Imposter syndrome really derails a lot of people. And, the second, And they’re very related is perfectionism. When we feel like we’re a fraud, we’re gonna try our hardest To produce something that’s perfect. Nothing is perfect. And so we we don’t wanna put the switch on yet. We don’t wanna launch anything till everything is Perfect. And we delay and we wait, and we’re believing that absolute perfection is necessary To be able to do that. And and I’ll tell you, nobody is perfect, and you’ve probably seen I’ve seen it. Marisa Shadrick : I’ve seen sales pages with typos. I’ve seen books with typos. You know, I’m not I’m not there to say, oh, look. There’s a typo. It’s not perfect. I just wasted my money. That’s human nature. Right? It gives us an opportunity To exercise grace and give people grace because we understand how busy people are and something gets overlooked. Marisa Shadrick : No big deal. Get an email with, you know, wrong link. So, you know, what I do is I email them back and I said, hey. Your link was broken. Just giving you a heads up. When something is broken or something doesn’t lead to something, I always email them back and say, hey. You might not have known this, but Or, you know, you might not have realized this, but the date’s wrong, you know, compared to what you have on the live page, and they usually say, oh, thank you so much. I didn’t realize that. Marisa Shadrick : So We just pay it forward at that moment, and we give people a lot of grace. So perfectionism, you know, is something that can derail you and also not allow you to embrace that inner authority. The next one is very closely related, people pleasing. Now there’s a a pattern here that I’m going to reveal here. And all of these, believe it or not, Were the things that derailed me. That’s why I’m talking about them because all of these, I was guilty of. So people pleasing, because you feel like a fraud, beef because you feel like you don’t have any value to bring, you Try to make everything perfect and you try to please people and go above and beyond, Not because you care about them is more you care about the perception that they have of you, and it is people pleasing. It’s It values others’ opinions more than your own expertise and abilities. Marisa Shadrick : You just Rely on the opinions of others to move forward. That could be really dangerous Because if someone values it, great. But what if they say something that just crushes you? Right? Or they say, well, that you know, this wasn’t A good fit for me or it’s not like, I’m not ready for this right now, or I’ve seen other opinions on this, and I don’t agree. You know, people are crushed. So that can be a reason why we don’t embrace the authority that we have. The other, very closely related, number 4 is Comparison trap. Because we feel like a fraud, because we are trying to be a perfectionist, because we’re trying to please people, Then we start comparing and say, what are others doing? Right? And you start measuring your value and your success based on what other people are doing, and yet other people may have been in business for 5, 10 years. It’s like comparing apples with oranges. Marisa Shadrick : One, because like I said, nothing is new under the sun. The way you deliver something is different than someone else, so you can’t compare there. Plus, the experience that they have, the revenue that they spend on marketing, the teams that they built, If you’re just starting out and you have a small team of under 3, you can’t compare if there’s no comparison. Right? And so when you try to compare, it’s like all of a sudden, it’s it’s the wrong it’s a wrong compass. If you’re gonna compare anything, compare what you did last year to what you’re going to do this year or compare 2 years or compare a Quarter, compare the activity that you’re doing. Compare your work life balance. How are things going? That’s what you should compare, but not compare with someone else. So the comparison trap is is really dangerous as well, and it will not let you embrace your inner authority. Marisa Shadrick : The last 1 is fear of visibility, fear of, oh, I don’t know. Going live. It’s kinda tricky. And, of course, I’m going live here on LinkedIn. I have no idea if it landed in the right place. You know, I’m still trying to figure it all out. I’ve got the announcement of Live broadcast, I think it’s supposed to switch over to the live. I don’t know if I’m appearing live somewhere else. Marisa Shadrick : I have no clue. But you know what? I’ll learn. I’ll figure it out, and there’ll always be the replay. I can’t sweat it. It’s like they’re so in the grand scheme of things, When you’re talking about people’s lives and illnesses and the things that people go through in this life, Whether a broadcast goes well or not is really minuscule compared to other things. And you have to begin to look at things that way and not Sweat the small stuff. I think they even wrote a book about that. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Marisa Shadrick : But fear of visibility Something that can really paralyze people from moving forward. They don’t want people well, I know in my case, when I had that fear of visibility. I don’t want people to look at me. Don’t look at me. Don’t put the tension toward me. I don’t wanna give my opinion because it might upset somebody else or It might not be right or they might hear I’m not smart enough or I don’t want them at this point in my life. I don’t care if people think I’m smart or not. I just want people to know that I care about them. Marisa Shadrick : That’s it. It’s really simple. And if I succeed in that, then Two thumbs up for me. But maybe that comes with age. I don’t know. But that’s where I’m at right now. But I know all of these things crippled me, and I’ll I’ll repeat them. So I don’t want you to be have that fear of visibility, a fear of being in the spotlight Because that’s an opportunity to share all of your experience and wisdom and knowledge and how to help people. Marisa Shadrick : Right? Not make the same mistakes you’re doing. So here are the 5, and I want you to hear the common thread here. And this is what really Jolted me to get over all of this years ago. These are the common hurdles of of just claiming or embracing the authority within you. Number 1, imposter syndrome. Number 2, perfectionism. Number 3, people pleasing. Number 4, The comparison trap. Marisa Shadrick : Number 5, fear of visibility. All of these are all Focused on me. When these things were in my way, all I was looking at was me. It was all me, and I wasn’t looking out to the people that I could serve. Very narcissistic when you think about it. And when I realized that, I just kinda got a cold sweat. I thought, oh my gosh. I can’t believe how self indulgent I am, you know, just thinking about myself all the time. Marisa Shadrick : This is not the person that I wanna be. It’s not. I don’t believe that that’s healthy, and yet here I’m doing it. And it was all the emotions going on. The emotions were leading me by the nose. And once I started reframing how I was thinking to align my emotions, then I was able to actually Start serving people in a way that was healthy. So embracing your authority in this last section I have for you because I want you to if you struggle embracing your authority and, again, that is the product of just being a great empathetic leader that When you’re in front of people, you’re able to win their trust and then have influence over them. In other words, they will take your advice or they will read something you’ve posted because they trust you, and it will Make their life a little better in some small way. Marisa Shadrick : That’s the influence we’re talking about. I’m not talking about influencers. That’s something else. But the influence you want is you you want them to take your advice and consider it as a suggestion and see if this would alleviate A pain or a struggle for them. So embracing your authority, if you’re struggling with that inner authority, Here’s 5 more tips for you. And don’t worry, I have actually a worksheet that you’ll be able to Download with all of this. So if you missed it, I will have that in the finished show notes on my website, And I usually post a little video reel on LinkedIn, other platforms, unless you’re subscribed. You can always subscribe to my email list at marissashadrick.com. Marisa Shadrick : I usually have a free resource there, and you can subscribe, and then you’ll Get it in your inbox. You’ll get the replays in the inbox, and there will be a resource that you can download to get the The worksheet. So those worksheets, I think, will be really, really helpful. This is so new that I have a clever name for what it is. It’s so clever. I know. It’s called workflow worksheets. Wow. Marisa Shadrick : I couldn’t have remember that. Workflow worksheets. So maybe not so clever, but in any event, these would be offered periodically when I have a lot of points that you don’t have to write them down. Or if you’re driving, you don’t have to remember. I’ll just have them for you so that you can download it. But in any event, this is how you embrace your authority. Ready? Here we go. If you’re if you’re struggling with any of these, no guilt, no shame. Marisa Shadrick : I went through the same thing. Many people go through the same thing. I want you first, number 1, reflect on your journey. Just look back and reflect. That’s why I love Journaling. Because with journaling, I’m able to do an audit of not only my head, All the to dos, my current emotions, right, how I’m feeling, and my heart, What my intent is and what I really want to do. So I reconcile everything. It’s like a little morning audit. Marisa Shadrick : How am I feeling? What am I thinking about? All those to dos. And then in my heart, how I really want the day to play out. And I I think when you do when you reflect your journey and you look back in your journaling, it really helps you to set yourself up for success. And I don’t always mean dollar success. If you are empathetic, if you’re an empathetic leader, if you Have influence within your audience. If you embrace your authority, I believe the revenue will follow. So the priority is, first, work on yourself, and a great way to do that is to reflect on your journey past your journey. Maybe look Back a little ways when you have time and take a weekend, take maybe a day, and reflect on maybe different stages of your life and some of the things that you’ve accomplished Kinda to, you know, start up this process and then journal each day, and you reconcile or you audit Your emotions with your head and with your heart. Marisa Shadrick : Your heart is the intent that you want, the way you want Things to look like, the person you’re trying to become, plus the head, all the to dos. You know, there’s a place for those things. You gotta narrow things down to maybe, you know, 1 a day or up to 3. And then your emotions. Are you feeling anxiety? Are you feeling excited? What are your emotions? Because your emotions will tell you what your beliefs are. So that’s number 1, reflect on your journey. Number 2, seek feedback. That’s really simple. Marisa Shadrick : Use constructive feedback for growth and affirmation. And when you get to the place where you embrace your inner authority, You’re going to want to know, because it will help you serve people better. In a lot of the programs I have and even some trainings that I do, I have a 1 question feedback. And even Tennessee, when I did a workshop in Tennessee, I give them a a 1 sentence feedback, and that Tool, when they answer, they either have a way to rate what they’ve listened to and then a little box to make a comment, And that helps me know how to improve things, and so and it also helps validate some things that I when I hit the nail on the head. Right? So Feedback is really helpful, and that’s a great way to do it is have these little 1 question surveys That you do anytime you present something or you have a maybe, you can even do it in a webinar if you wanted to, if you have time. But, But, usually, you have a call to action at the end of a webinar, so it might be too much stuff to do. But in a workshop, you could do that too, and, it’s really helpful to know. And then number 3 is mentor others. Marisa Shadrick : Maybe There’s an opportunity, and I like to pay for mentorship, but I also like to give free mentorship to people. And so depending on who they are and what’s going on, I usually find 1 person that I can mentor and pass some things on just for the heck of it. Just for the heck of it and to pass it on to help them out. So it’s good to get mentorship and it’s good to give mentorship. Kind of it’s like kind of like your volunteer work Your business. Right? So mentor others. Reinforce your expertise by teaching it, And perhaps you’ll even improve how you teach it. And number 4 is challenge the negative thoughts, and you can do that certainly When you’re journaling, but replace that self doubt. Marisa Shadrick : And if positive affirmations work for you, use that. I always love to anchor things to truth based on the Bible because I’m a Christian, and I trust that. So I look at Any thought? And I go, does that align with scripture? And if it doesn’t, I throw it out the window or reframe it to a truth. That feels good to me. But if positive affirmations work for you or something else, then align it to what your truth is So that you’re not letting any self doubt or negative thoughts take camp Because they’re always there. They’re always trying to slur on our head. It’s whether we allow them to camp there and stay there. We don’t want her to stay there. Marisa Shadrick : And you get better at this. Maybe at first, it takes about a week, and then it’ll be reduced to 3 days. And then by the time you get really good at this, as soon as you notice some negative thinking, You oh, I know what this is. And you can the turnaround time is much shorter. It could be 5 minutes, 3 minutes as you get better at this. And the last point to embrace your inner authority is continue learning, ongoing learning. It’s so important For all of us, I mean, I’m still learning, and I love learning. I just have to make space for it. Marisa Shadrick : So I either do it when I’m getting ready in the morning or if If I go for a walk or if I’m doing laundry or cooking dinner or something, I find a way to listen to podcasts or and I have a tool that reads Kindle books. I use, Speechify, and that helps me, listen to Kindle books when they’re not on audio. So I love doing that as well. To continue learning, stay open to to knowledge and experiences, and Challenge yourself, because a lot of times we we change something because of knowledge that we have. We realize, oh, I always thought this, but I was wrong, And you can reframe that. We’re only accountable for what we know. Right? So if there’s something That we’re doing wrong, until we know the right way to do it, that’s when we’re accountable to change it and make it right. So there you go. Marisa Shadrick : Embrace your authority by reflecting your journey. Journaling is a great way to do it. Number 2, Seek feedback. Number 3, mentor others. Number 4, challenge negative thoughts. And number 5, continue learning. Final thought, your authority is A testament to who you are as a person. Your work is an extension of who you are. Marisa Shadrick : Your dedication, your resilience, and your commitment is all of that. It’s part of your authority. Own it and start making a difference. It’s not about power. It’s not about position. It’s not about title. It’s about who you are. So embrace your inner authority, and that’s why I changed the name from Resilient Faith Online to Amplify Your Authority Because it’s it’s more action driven to amplify your authority because it means you’re gonna be speaking out and you’re gonna be sharing your knowledge and your wisdom. Marisa Shadrick : It’s not just about being resilient, it’s about sharing your knowledge, making a positive change in the world. So I hope this broadcast was helpful for you. I really enjoyed putting this together. I will have a download for you When I finish all the postproduction work and it’s on my website, you can always subscribe and you’ll get it in your inbox. And thank you so much for tuning in. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye bye.

Are you tired of feeling like you’re working hard but not seeing the results you desire? When working hard is not enough, it’s time to make changes.   Transformative Shifts for Sustainable Business Growth As we transition into the new year, I’ve been reflecting on the pivotal changes needed when working hard isn’t working anymore. One crucial shift I’ve learned is to tear down negative beliefs and fears and build on a healthy foundation. It’s not about working harder or pushing through; it’s about working strategically. In this special episode of the NEW “Amplify Your Authority” podcast, we’ll dive into the needed shift when hard work isn’t enough.   Here is what you’ll discover in this episode: Explore how dismantling negative beliefs can lay a strong foundation for entrepreneurial success. Discover the transformative impact of shaping your personal brand story and how to create an engaging narrative that resonates with your audience. Embrace simplification in business projects, from webinars to lead magnets, and the surprising benefits this could bring to your ventures. Learn about the often-overlooked dangers of underestimating time and complexity in projects and gain insights on how to sidestep these issues in your initiatives. Determine compensation based on the value and transformation provided rather than hourly rates and how to apply this principle for business success.   Tune in and explore what you can do to avoid burnout and achieve strategic success in your business endeavors.   Key Takeaways Strategic Over Hard: Shift from working hard to working smart and strategically to avoid burnout and achieve better results. Balancing Act: Leverage time and digital assets wisely and prioritize balance for family and health. Embrace Simplicity: Share stories in your content and embrace value over volume for sustained growth and audience connection.   Quotes “Profit – Time and Resources = Freedom…or another all-consuming job!” “Stop building and start tearing down. Tear down, self-reliance, frustrations, insecurities, and thoughts that don’t serve us well.” “People don’t listen to stories, they feel stories.”   Your Next Action Step Join me, Marisa Shadrick, in the ‘Amplify Your Authority’ program. This comprehensive group-coaching program guides you through the nuances of online marketing, messaging, and product development. Whether you’re an independent coach, a service provider, or a course creator, this program will provide the strategies you need to increase your revenue and establish a commanding presence in your niche. Enroll now and start your journey to amplify your authority in the digital world! CLICK HERE: https://marisashadrick.com/authority   Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/    Questions About “Amplify Your Authority?” CLICK HERE to schedule a call.    Watch the Podcast on YouTube Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello. Hello. I think we are live now. I’m trying a new thing. I’m Marissa Shadrick. I’m an online marketing consultant and certified copywriter, and I’ve been Podcasting for a while, but I’m giving my podcast a little face lift and decided to test streaming on LinkedIn. So this is a test. I’m not sure everything looks like it’s connected, and we’ll see if it is working. Marisa Shadrick : In any event, I’m recording, So if it doesn’t show up on LinkedIn, I will certainly be able to show the replay of this with all the editing and the content. It’s new things. Right? Technology. We continue to add technology, we continue to move forward, improve what we’re doing, Improve our digital assets as we’re growing our online business. So it looks like everything is good to go and working. I’ve got a special Podcast today that I’m excited to share with you. At the time of the recording, this is a brand new year. Welcome 2024. Marisa Shadrick : And for some of you entrepreneurs and most of the people that I coach and I help are other coaches, they’re service providers, or people that have created Courses that want to create more community visibility, be able to share some of the products, Some of the services that they have with others and really have a transformational outcome for people. And so I love what I do, but There are some changes that are needed so that people do not burn out. There’s so much in the wings right now. With AI, That was a major change in 2023. People are doing so many things, and I’m noticing that many people are Just on the brink of burnout, just consistently showing up, but not having a real strategy behind it. So Today’s podcast is titled 3 needed changes when working hard isn’t working anymore, and I’m gonna see if I can give you some tips To tee up the new year and be able to really leverage your time, leverage the digital assets that you have And leverage every time you’re online. For example, this podcast is going to be edited and it will show up in my, On my website, it will also be shared on social media. Some of the snippets, in fact, this podcast episode originally was an article that I had written. Marisa Shadrick : So you can see how you can repurpose things once you know what it is that your audience wants. So as we dive into this, I’m going to Sort of look at the conventional wisdom that often tells us that working hard is inevitable in order for success. We’re gonna unpack that a little bit, and we’re gonna explore some strategies that may redefine that and help you achieve some success in the new year. We want to create that balance, that that fulfillment of what we do, but at the same time, we don’t wanna Pay a price for that during our whole entrepreneurial journey. We are here for the long haul. This isn’t a sprint, And so hopefully, some of these tips will help you. So having an online business sometimes people feel it’s kind of a laid back life. You know, you get your laptops, you work a few hours here, you work a few hours there, you automate this, you automate that, and all of a sudden, boom, you have $1,000,000. Marisa Shadrick : That is not true. I’ll just tell you that right there. It’s not true. Now some people that have had an existing business That maybe take that to the online space and have a full team and have resources to be able to prospect With funnels and using advertisement, yeah, they could probably do that because they have something already in place and they’re just expanding From being maybe local to online, that can happen. But for most of the people that I work with, when they’re starting out, they have this idea. They have this vision of what they wanna do. Perhaps they got their experience from corporate life. Perhaps they’ve been doing What they wanna put online for a long time, but they’ve been working for someone else. Marisa Shadrick : And so when we think of entrepreneurship online, We do have to be very, very strategic. Believing that success is inevitable because you’re working hard Can lead to a false security. Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with working hard. My dad had a Huge work ethic. He worked very, very hard. He worked the night shift for Pan Am. He also was an entrepreneur by day. So he had his regular job, night shift, and then during the day, he was doing other things. Marisa Shadrick : He worked very, very hard. And at that time, the culture was that way. We we were probably, if you’re around my age, grew up with a culture that working hard was the way for success, but we can work strategically. We have more resources. We have more flexibility now as far as how we can build a business than maybe, you know, 50 years ago. So as we’re looking at this this false security that working hard is the way that we’re gonna make it Can often lead to burnout. So I’m not suggesting that working hard isn’t important, and sometimes when we’re launching something and we’re working on a certain project, There are times where we have to work hard to bring it to where we need to have it, but it’s not the norm. That’s what I’m saying. Marisa Shadrick : It’s not a regular practice of working hard. We might sprint a few times, but it shouldn’t be a regular practice because we are gonna burn out and we need to have balance, we need to be with our family, we need to take care of our health. So working hard is not the panacea To a life of prosperity and happiness. Working hard doesn’t necessarily and this list is from people that I’ve observed in my own family and friends, but working hard does not necessarily equal freedom of time. Marisa Shadrick : Working hard does not necessarily bring consistent revenue. Working hard does not guarantee that you’re gonna have, debt free living. Working hard does not guarantee early retirement, and working hard does not guarantee fulfillment. Marisa Shadrick : Working hard is an indication that maybe something needs to change and something needs to be more strategic. And then when we do work hard in those seasons when we’re launching something, the non normal seasons. Right? It’s not the norm. It’s okay because we have a reserve, and we can do that. So you can fall into the trap If you’re not careful of thinking that you have to do this and I’m a type a, so I have to be really careful because I will work hard. So I’m talking from experience. You have to be really careful about this. So I do this little test with myself as a type a that Always loves to have new projects and new things in the wings that you have to take this little formula that’s not often seen. Marisa Shadrick : We understand that income minus expenses equals profit. Right? But there’s another hidden formula. Profit minus your time and resources. Profit minus time or resources will either equal freedom Or you’ve created another job for yourself. So that’s one that I look at a lot. It’s not so much of making a profit. That’s not the gold standard. Profit minus the time and the resources that you’ve spent. Marisa Shadrick : Is it equaling freedom or is it equaling to another all consuming job? Because the snare is is subtle and gradual. So we have to be very careful, and we have to not only maybe periodically every quarter when we assess our analytics, We have to assess ourselves. Where are we? How much time are we spending on projects? You know, what is it that takes up our attention? And when we’re not working, what can we do to focus on something else to give our brain a break, not just physically a break, Our brain. For example, one of the things that my husband does is he loves to golf. That is something that will help him Redirect his thoughts towards something that is not work related, and he is in his own little world golfing. Well, I don’t happen to like golf, but I had to find my own thing, and so I just got a keyboard for Christmas. I love music. I used to play the guitar and, You know, building up your calluses, you know, if you’re not consistent, then your fingers get soft. Marisa Shadrick : And so I thought, man, it would be really nice to be able to Maybe have a keyboard, and so I got a keyboard for Christmas. I’m really excited, but when I’m playing those progressions and those notes and those chords, I am lost. I am not thinking about anything else but the music. And each time I get more excited because it starts sounding like music versus just banging on keys and doesn’t sound like anything. So that’s what I’m talking about. We have to see where we are and assess. So Three changes when working hard isn’t working. That’s what we’re talking about today. Marisa Shadrick : So much of what we are told to do is to build and make more. And then when we had the introduction of AI, open AI, it was, wow, now we can make more. Right? More content, more articles, write a book, do all these things. It’s all about building building building more and more and more, and we’re exhausting ourselves and the Internet’s getting congested Marisa Shadrick : as well. But I’m a firm believer that business really, especially in my own experience, is not so much about building Yet, it’s first about tearing down. Marisa Shadrick : And a lot of people focus on the niche of mindset. I touch on it here and there because it’s so important as a foundation for your business, but I used to think long hours were needed To build a business, and I realized one day when I was journaling, stop building and start tearing down. And you have to look at the motivation why you’re doing things. You have to tear down things like, at least for myself, this was the case, Fear. Right? If I don’t do this, if I don’t build this, you’re afraid something’s gonna happen, something negative. So fear, you Tear down fear, you tear down self reliance because none of us do it alone. We need networks and we need a community. We have to tear down frustration and know that everything comes in its time. Marisa Shadrick : We have to tear down insecurities, and those can pop up from any direction as we’re tackling something new that we’ve never done before. And so we have to tear down those insecurities and find our confidence And walk with courage, and all you need is 10 seconds of courage to take that next step. And you have to also tear down The thoughts that don’t serve you well, any negative talk, anything that will, cause you to maybe, slow you down or not move forward, those things are the things that you need to tear down. Marisa Shadrick : And when you tear those things down, it’s amazing. Once The fog is gone. You know what Marisa Shadrick : it is that you need to work on. And it’s so much easier on you. And it’s so much easier and more effective because you’re focused and you’re not letting these things slow you down. So what that’s the first thing that I would suggest as a change is to realize that it’s not all about building, it’s about tearing down, and you make space for what you’re going to build. The the 2nd tip I have for you too as far as Marisa Shadrick : changes and a lot of these I’ve learned the hard way. Right? The change is realizing that there’s power in one. There’s power in less than more. Now that sounds counterproductive, doesn’t it? There’s a movie that Marisa Shadrick : it’s a comedy, an old one called City Slickers. And, Hurley, who is played by Jack, Palance, he understood the power of 1. And in this movie, he was an old Cowboy. Right? One of the last cowboys and with a real graphic exterior. And, he was the, trail guide for tourists. And one Marisa Shadrick : of them was Mitch Robbins, who was a tourist played by Billy Crystal. And Mitch was, going through a Midlife Marisa, and Curley reminded him to find his one thing to help him move forward. Mitch had to discover what that one thing was to make his life feel valuable again. The one thing for your business, It’s gonna be different for everyone. Sometimes it starts with your why, why you want Marisa Shadrick : to do it, and you come back to that when you feel like You can’t take another step forward or you feel like this is never gonna work. You think of why you wanna do it, but, also, it becomes It becomes one of the ingredients that shapes your brand, your personal brand. It becomes part of your brand story, and that’s important. We’re gonna talk about story here in just a second. And that becomes your edge of influence. And so you figure out your one thing, like, why is it you wanna be online? What’s the one thing you want to do? What’s the one thing you want to share with people? What’s the one thing you want to change? There’s a lot of power in that, Marisa Shadrick : and there’s a lot of clarity with that. When you think of the one thing, it’s creating a clear representation of who you are. And as you begin to look at Marisa Shadrick : an audience that would be interested in that and Listening to what people are saying, you be begin to align yourself with an audience that is seeking that. So there’s a lot of research involved in building a brand, but it starts with you. Your work is an extension of who you are. It starts with you. What is it that Marisa Shadrick : you wanna say? What is that one thing? So some people figure, oh, well, it’s not just 1. It’s a whole lot Marisa Shadrick : of things. Well, you have to realize If all your knowledge, all your wisdom, all your experience was like a library, a multilevel library, like one of these huge libraries That had volumes of books, that had small paperbacks, that had textbooks, that had all kinds of books there. Marisa Shadrick : Your life experience, your knowledge, your education, all of that is like a library. You can’t Just stack a Marisa Shadrick : bunch of books and throw it at somebody and say, here. Here’s all of it. You pull that 1 book That person needs, and you share a concept, a process, a blueprint, a strategy. You share something with them. And then you have more information you can pull and share with them, but you gotta realize that people can only consume so much too. And that’s good news for you because you don’t have to create it all, right, all at once. Some people say you only need to, no 10% more of the people that you wanna serve. But what is that? What is 10%? How do you calculate that? I always wondered about that. Marisa Shadrick : So I have a simple formula. You need to be about 2 to 3 years ahead of those people that you wanna serve. That is clear to me. 10%, I’m going, how do you how do you figure that out? 10%. But to be 2 to 3 years ahead of other people, Sometimes Marisa Shadrick : it’s the person you were maybe 3, 5 years ago. So you Figure out who it is that you can help with that. So as you pull this knowledge and You realize that you have experience and you have knowledge, you begin to shape it into your brand message. So it’s all about the power of 1, having 1 brand, 1 message, 1 audience, 1 media platform. Now what do I mean by that? The content that you create That establishes you as an expert. What is that gonna be? Is it gonna be in writing? Is it gonna be an audio? What is Marisa Shadrick : it gonna be? Are you going to be an article writer? Are you going to write our articles for magazines? Are you gonna blog? Are you going to be a speaker? Are you going to be a podcast guest or a podcast host? Are you going to create little Snippets on social media. What is it that you’re going to create or do you Marisa Shadrick : wanna do videos and be on YouTube? But pick 1. Pick one where your content, your wisdom, Marisa Shadrick : that’s what content is, you’re sharing some type of wisdom, some type of of, Marisa Shadrick : Helpful support in some form and decide what that one is, and Marisa Shadrick : you should have 1 media platform. It doesn’t mean You can’t share it in other platforms, but when you focus on 1, it makes it so much easier. And then you can repurpose and share it Marisa Shadrick : in other places, but Focus with the intent of 1. 1 media platform Marisa Shadrick : and then 1 social platform. Trying to learn all the things on all the social media platforms is exhausting. You can share it on 1, and if Marisa Shadrick : you wanna repurpose it, you can repurpose it And put it out on other social media platforms, but share it on 1. And then from there, that could end up being an article, And that article can end Marisa Shadrick : up being a podcast, and that podcast can end up being other things, opportunities to maybe create a workshop around it, You gotta start with 1. You notice that some people have a business and they start with 1 product. Marisa Shadrick : That was my next one, 1 offer, 1 product. They can always perfect Marisa Shadrick : that if they’re focusing on 1, and then later, they might even have more verticals or more products. But you start with 1. Get really good at it, and get really good at strategy and prospecting and selling, and then you can expand from that. And then, of course, 1 call to action. Whenever you’re creating content, whenever you’re speaking, you have 1 call to action. So it’s just to review, the power of 1 is 1 brand Marisa Shadrick : or 1 brand message, 1 audience, One type of media that you wanna share? Always repurpose, but you can share what is that one, And it’s usually around your sweet spot. One social media platform that you like to engage in, that you show up And you comment and you DM which one is going to be yours. Right? One offer, Right? For 1 audience and then one call to action. When we simplify, we get so much clarity, And we actually produce more when we’re focused on less, if that makes sense. So the third Is a storytelling component. Marisa Shadrick : As I was looking back, I realized that storytelling was a big part of my evolution, so to speak. I started with writing, I started with blogging, then I ended up publishing articles. Marisa Shadrick : Then as I continued the communication path, it led me to Public speaking. That was all it originated with writing, and then I ended up speaking. All of the things that I’ve done originate with writing, and then there was the copywriting, and then from there, the coaching. So A lot of Marisa Shadrick : the things and strangely enough, I haven’t written a book yet. It’s crazy, but I’ve done so much writing, but I haven’t written a book yet. That’s in the future. I’m not sure when, but it’s in Marisa Shadrick : the future. But you need to realize that storytelling is going to really help Grow your brand. So when you develop your brand message and you incorporate storytelling in your content, in your brand message, It’s very, very effective. One of the things that I want to share is because people often think, Well, why is story so helpful? Right? People don’t Hear a story. They feel a story. Marisa Shadrick : As you tell a story, they’re not just listening, they’re feeling. And it depends because many of the stories can touch our emotions like nothing else can. And that resonates with people and it builds trust. And that’s the first hurdle we’re trying to get over is Trust and storytelling will help. And it also gives a little bit of clarity too than just putting in text. Here’s a little bit of clarity. Marisa Shadrick : Our story helps others live their story. Marisa Shadrick : Oftentimes, they can see themselves in you and your story, your struggles, your background, your experience. They can say, Marisa Shadrick : I understand. I’m just like that. Right? So it’s very, very helpful. We live in a very diverse world. Right? But our pain and struggles are the same. Love, fulfillment, happiness are universal emotions. So that’s a way that we can connect because people don’t just hear stories, they feel stories. And you Marisa Shadrick : have that heart to heart connection that’s so important That we wanna preserve and protect with all the virtual noise that’s going on, all the automations that are going on. We want to protect That and that’s gonna help you stand Marisa Shadrick : out as well. So oftentimes, as I look back, I realized that a lot of this Storytelling Marisa Shadrick : helped not only with the articles, but public speaking and winning awards in public speaking. It really was the beginning, And the copywriting kind of really moved me into, you know, the online marketing. It was very helpful. And stories, People often say, you know, when you tell stories, you want to be inspiring or educational or entertaining, and you can do that Marisa Shadrick : with stories. You can teach a Marisa Shadrick : very important lesson with some story of your background that’s maybe humorous, and it makes a point, and people won’t forget it. So I had done a little bit of research and, US Berkeley article addressed the mystery of storytelling. Storytelling simulates A large or stimulates, excuse me, stimulates a large portion large portion of our brain when the narrative is processed. So we’re very engaged when we’re hearing stories. It’s creating a deeper emotional connection, Marisa Shadrick : and storytelling helps Form relationships with strangers because of that connection, Marisa Shadrick : and storytelling releases a series of the Feel good hormones. So, again, we’re we’re reducing and we’re lowering those barriers, and that’s gonna help as we engage with people as well. So when your brand includes stories, these hormones are associated with the brand creating a natural connection. Marisa Shadrick : So look Marisa Shadrick : around throughout your day and find the stories that you might wanna share and keep A little story file, maybe a Google Sheet, somewhere where you just document a few little stories or a funny thing that happened to you at the airport or something that happened to you when you drove to the Marisa. Those little stories or things that you’ve noticed in people, Things about humanity. Maybe you saw someone do some type of random acts of kindness. Those stories are really helpful. And then if you just keep, like, a story bank, you can pull on those periodically, so you’re not always starting from scratch and trying to Marisa Shadrick : Figure out what story you’re gonna implement. Marisa Shadrick : My family loves to watch, Lego Masters and Dancing with the Stars and America’s Got a Talent. And I I don’t always watch all the episodes, but Marisa Shadrick : I do watch the finales. And usually, just listening to their stories because they all have stories. There’s 1 on barbecuing, believe it or not. You know, they open bar I Marisa Shadrick : don’t even know what it’s called. It’s like these Barbecue experts. I just listen to the story of the contestants or the finalists, and I can tell who’s gonna win with about a 100% accuracy so far Because of their stories, the people are engaged with them and they want them to win. And it’s all about, you know, publicity and, You know, people tuning in to the show, and so these stories are very compelling, and usually the people with the best stories win. So that what does that tell us? Marisa Shadrick : Right? So we need to, also keep things very, very simple. There’s another change as far as keeping things very simple. So many people feel that things have to be very, Very complicated. Marisa Shadrick : And I’m saying that simplicity is important. Simplicity is important. Simplicity is easier to see where maybe there’s a bottleneck or where Something is not working well because it’s simple. Right? And we can check analytics, but simplicity is important to Create something that is simple to not only create, but also to update and adjust as we find out more about our market. The reality of execution is something that I share about. It really is the the idea how When we begin something, a project, how it swells, we don’t realize how much is involved around doing something. Like, if somebody says, I’m gonna do Marisa Shadrick : a webinar. Right? They don’t realize how much is involved on the front end, during the webinar, Marisa Shadrick : and then after. There’s not only opt in pages and thank you pages and registration pages and replay pages and Video and connecting tech and then at the end, you know, the promotional emails, there’s a lot of emails that go on just with that alone. And most of the time, People do not give it enough time to launch, and so they’re scrambling toward the end trying to put everything together. All of these things take time, even creating a lead magnet. They think I’ll create a lead magnet, and then they’re rushing and they’re creating something that’s not The best. And these days, I will say that lead magnets, it’s it’s gotta have some meat. It’s gotta have some type of transformation. It can’t be just something we just pulled off a Canva and shared it because that’s a first impression. Marisa Shadrick : So Even lead magnets need to have a a decent opt in page and thank you page and email sequence and all of those things. And sometimes we underestimate How much time it takes, and that’s the reality of execution. And then we’re scrambling toward the end to get it done, and then we don’t do our our best. So we the unexpected complexity of integrating technology in a window between creating and and making the project, you know, ready for launch. And there’s a a surprising amount of writing. There’s so much writing involved. So the reality of execution can often cause us not to put our best foot forward, and we need to Simplify as much as we can to not overcomplicate and have so much more that needs to be done In the last week of a launch or last few days of a launch, we need to keep it as simple as possible. So that’s something that we always have to keep in mind. Marisa Shadrick : I like to have a larger window than most because I’m doing multiple things. I’m coaching, I’m also doing some copywriting, and so when I’m planning something to launch a program, I need to give myself a larger window. So I start planning 3 months ahead, And, usually, the sales page gets done or the opt in page and the thank you page and whatever resource slide deck. That’s another thing you need. When you’re doing a webinar, you need the slide deck. And some people have handouts. It just continues on and on, but I like to give myself at least a 3 month window because once it’s done, then you gotta promote it. Right? So you need a window of time to promote it as well. Marisa Shadrick : So the more you can simplify it, the better. And really when you think about it, When you’re interacting with people and you’re commenting and you’re creating DM messages and you have an opportunity to Talk to someone, schedule something. All you really need is a scheduling tool like Calendly and then a Zoom meeting link. At Zoom, you can get up to 40 minutes for free, so you don’t even have to pay for it. You can have a 30 minute call, Marisa Shadrick : and then all you need is A Stripe URL. You can create a Stripe invoice. Clearly, those 3 things when you’re talking to someone, all you need is to schedule a call, Get on a Zoom link and have a Stripe link. Marisa Shadrick : If you can help them reach that transformation they want and you’re talking to them and you’re explaining and you’re asking really good questions and you’re finding out what it is the problem is and you can serve them, That’s really Marisa Shadrick : the only 3 things you need. You don’t even need a sales page. You can you can close right there during the call. Now I just I’m a copywriter, Marisa Shadrick : and I just, you know, gave you this tip that, you know, there goes my copywriting opportunities. But it’s the truth. You don’t have to have All those things, especially in the beginning especially in the beginning, you can just have conversations with people and create a a calendar Where they can schedule a call with you, have Marisa Shadrick : a Zoom link, don’t even need a paid Zoom, and then just have a link From, something like Stripe that you Marisa Shadrick : can just share that link. If they’re interested, they can go ahead, and you don’t need any other special tools. Or if you wanna do PayPal or something Marisa Shadrick : like that, but I use Stripe. I like Stripe. But here’s the problem is when people are starting out is the pricing. They get a little concerned about how Marisa Shadrick : to price things. And, again, you can’t be a commodity. You have Marisa Shadrick : to think of how you’re gonna Price transformation. Like, if especially if you’re teaching something that’s going Marisa Shadrick : to help them excel in Marisa Shadrick : the future And have ongoing benefit that has a Marisa Shadrick : lot of value. And think of that library we talked about before, that experience, that knowledge, It took you years, maybe decades to acquire that. That has value. So we have to begin to, think differently. And as we’re simplifying things, I want you to be aware of something that might cross your mind. Marisa Shadrick : Because sometimes if the solution isn’t complicated or stacked with tons of modules, right, tons of information, We feel like we haven’t earned the revenue, and what Marisa Shadrick : we’re really selling is a transformation. People have modules and Modules and modules and modules and lessons and lessons and lessons and so much stuff, and, statistically, nobody finishes those. Right? But if you have a way to help people either remove complexity or short shorten learning curve or help them achieve something faster, That has value, and so don’t think that because it’s not complicated and stacked with modules that You don’t deserve the revenue. You’re you’re selling a solution, a transformation. So if you believe complexity equals compensation, That’s an unhealthy perspective. I I spent excessive hours complicating my back end process and programs and services because I undervalued myself, and I don’t want you to Marisa Shadrick : do that. As a result, Marisa Shadrick : you know, I hit the ceiling with a full calendar, and it almost led to burnout. And that’s why I ended up doing coaching and group coaching because it was something that I could do and love to do rather than these 1 on ones because then your Your calendar, especially if you’re service based, it gets freckled with appointments and fulfillment, and it’s it’s hard to expand. It’s hard to scale. So if you provide value and transformation, you earn compensation. Compensation may vary, but the value is proportional To the transformation, it’s not an hourly wage. Do Marisa Shadrick : not quote a price by the hour. Simplifying a process is increasing prices doesn’t mean you didn’t earn it. Marisa Shadrick : So Simplifying if you’re simplifying and you increase your price doesn’t mean you didn’t earn it. Okay? It’s it’s all about understanding that transformation that you’re doing. Your skills, experience, and knowledge have unique value, and it took you a long time to acquire those. So serve well and serve everyone well. So in closing here, just I want you to realize that your your brand’s the power of 1, storytelling, simplicity is really they’re important changes so that you can have the stamina to keep going and grow something Substantial, something that will be able to generate the revenue you need and give Marisa Shadrick : you that life that you want. Every person Marisa Shadrick : in your network, whether it’s a client, whether it’s a prospect, whether it’s a peer or partner, Deserves, you know, to be respected and to be well served. And that’s all you have to do is serve your way to success. Serve your way to success. Start a conversation. Think of ways that you can serve them unconditionally. Go to conferences, network with people virtually and also in person. And as Rick Warren has said in his book, Purpose Driven Life, it’s not about you. It’s not about me. Marisa Shadrick : It’s about the people that we serve. So nothing is more rewarding than being part of Marisa Shadrick : the growth and transformation of another person. And I know many of the people that that follow me Believe that, and that’s why Marisa Shadrick : I love them so much because they they serve it’s not about so much head, it’s about heart, And it’s about what they want to create, but also about the change that they want to create in the world. So Thank you for letting me share this today. I hope this helped with these changes. I’ll have the show notes and everything all cleaned up for you on my website. It’ll take me just a couple days, and I’ll have that for you. So this was my live test On LinkedIn, and I’m going to be changing the name of my podcast. It’s called Amplify Your Authority. I’m also going to be having, someone that’s going to join me once a month, and we’re gonna be talking about copywriting. Marisa Shadrick : And that is Kathy Farah. Together, we’re gonna cohost and we’ll be able to allow you to submit in advance some copy that you’d like to have critiqued. I’ll have some more guests. There’s a lot in store for 2024, and I’m glad you’re joining me for this journey. I’m excited about it. Thanks so much for tuning in, and I look forward to seeing you. Next time, maybe I’ll be able to look at LinkedIn to see if there’s any comments, but not this time. I can’t do 2 things at once. Marisa Shadrick : Not yet. So anyway, Stay tuned. Talk to you soon. Take care.

As we stand on the threshold of 2024, I’ve gathered my thoughts on 2023’s marketing shifts with recommendations for future success. What lies ahead is a different era in online business.   Technology continues to reshape marketing. Just as television transformed advertising in the mid-20th century and the rise of the internet gave advertisers a global audience in the late 90s, today’s AI evolution is another pivotal change, signaling a new era in online marketing. It’s a crucial wake-up call for businesses to fully equip themselves in the face of AI, as their competitors are certainly not standing still. Join me as we explore adapting to these shifts, which can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving in the ever-evolving online marketing world.   Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode: The AI Evolution: Reflecting on the impact of AI in 2023 and its continued influence and why strategic marketing is more crucial than ever in our information-dense online world. Back to Basics: As we gear up for 2024, I’ll emphasize the importance of revisiting the foundational elements of strategic online marketing. It’s time to align your content with your core business goals, creating a cohesive narrative that resonates with your audience. Unveil the Future of Marketing: Get a sneak peek into the strategies set to dominate 2024, whether you’re a starting or seasoned entrepreneur. Stay Ahead of the Curve: Learn how to build relationships and a network that gives you a competitive edge in the coming year. Master the Art of Adaptation: Understand how to adapt to the rapidly changing marketing landscape, ensuring your business stays relevant and thrives in 2024.   Tune in to the full episode for practical insights to navigate the ever-evolving online business landscape. As we embrace the changes and challenges of the digital frontier, I’m here to guide you through it all. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned professional, or somewhere in between, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to elevate their online presence and impact.   Key Takeaways Strategic Integration for Growth: Understand the critical importance of integrating every aspect of your business, from marketing efforts to product development, to ensure cohesive and sustainable growth. Content Creation with Purpose: Embrace strategic and cohesive content creation that aligns with your business goals and explore the growing impact of video content and podcasting in the digital marketing landscape of 2024. Diversification for Stability: Recognize the significance of creating multiple revenue streams and taking proactive sales initiatives. Learn to avoid “spaghetti marketing” and build a stable, sustainable business.   Quotes “In a world filled with noise, strategic online marketing and revisiting the basics are key to effectively engaging with your audience.” “Building a full spectrum of products and services isn’t just about variety; it’s about creating a cohesive journey for your customers that aligns with your business’s growth.” “In the digital marketplace, driving traffic and enhancing visibility are not just about being seen; it’s about strategically placing your brand where it matters most, turning every click and view into a potential business opportunity.”   Your Next Action Step! Join me, Marisa Shadrick, in the ‘Amplify Your Authority’ program. This comprehensive group-coaching program guides you through the nuances of online marketing, messaging, and product development. Whether you’re an independent coach, a service provider, or a course creator, this program will provide the strategies you need to increase your revenue and establish a commanding presence in your niche. Enroll now and start your journey to amplify your authority in the digital world! CLICK HERE: https://marisashadrick.com/authority   Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/    Questions About “Amplify Your Authority?” CLICK HERE to schedule a call.    Watch the Podcast on YouTube Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello, my friends. I don’t know about you. If you take a look at the past year and assess what has worked and what hasn’t, things that maybe you didn’t do well or things that went really well, and how you’re gonna tee up the new year. Well, I do that, and I’m gonna share some of My thoughts in this podcast episode of the things that have worked, some of the things that I predict for 2024, and some observations. So I hope you tune in and watch because this may be a game changer for you for the coming year, so stay tuned. Hello. Hello, my friends. We are almost at the end of the year at the time of this recording, and I always like to assess the year and see what’s working, what’s changed, what’s happening online, customer behavior, all of those things. Marisa Shadrick : And I thought it would be fun to just create a podcast where I share some of my thoughts and some of the things that I suggest for the coming year to help you market your business. So whether you’re a coach or whether you’re a course creator or a service based person that provides some type of service, this podcast may be for you, and it may help you streamline your marketing efforts for the coming year. I’m Marissa Chadwick, and I’m your online business development consultant. I help you with branding and copywriting and strategy to bring everything together so that you can sell more products and services and be able to serve more people and be visible and grow your platform. So I have my notes and my coffee. This is gonna be very chill. It’s just some of my own notes from reflecting the past year. So I’m just gonna be very honest and candid with you and share what I have. Marisa Shadrick : So Looking at the marketing shifts in 2023 to be able to position ourselves for the coming year for 2024 is really important. So let me just say that as I’ve looked back, and I think you will agree with me, one of the things has been a real huge game changer this year in 2023. Whatever time you’re listening to this podcast, I’m recording this at the end of 2023 in December. But the big change that happened was obviously OpenAI and as everyone knows it as ChatGPT. That started in 2022 in November, and by 2023, by spring, it was Just building momentum, and, oh my goodness, by summertime, a lot of the tools that we’ve used in the past, Lots of tools, Zoom, all kinds of tools have incorporated some form of AI. It is not going away. It is here to stay, and it’s only going to continue to move into the next year and coming years. It’s been a big part of it. Marisa Shadrick : So in looking at AI and looking at The advantages and disadvantages, I’ll be honest with you. There are some advantages for ideation. I’ve done some other Podcast on AI where I share my thoughts on that. But in a nutshell, there there is a place for everything. I’m never going to give you complete absolutes because there’s always that one Person that just breaks the rule and is able to just crush it. Right? But what I can see from working with clients and working with some of the people in my private groups is that AI can provide great ideation. In other words, it will It will be able to give you some ideas of things to get you started. And if you provide great input, And, again, you have to know what to input, and that’s why being a copywriter, I know more of the type of things that I wanted to spit out. Marisa Shadrick : But even at the very best, when I give it all the instructions, when I give it great input, it’s still only about 50 to 60% accurate or good enough to post somewhere. I still have to clean it up. I still have to not only put it in my own voice, but also strategically write it so that it will be able to increase clicks or downloads. It’s not one of those tools yet, maybe in the future, that’s copy and paste. So there is a lot of work still. It’s not something that’s going to just automatically give you great stuff. If you’re getting great results by copy and paste, kudos. Yay. Marisa Shadrick : That’s great. But most of the time from what I’ve seen, it’s not a turnkey type content, but it does have its benefits. It can help you get started and give you ideas for content creation. Now here’s the problem with it. Because of it, Everyone has gone crazy with chat GPT and AI. There’s even AI articles that are being produced on LinkedIn. It’s more, more, more. More content, more post, more things because they’re saying, oh, this is great. Marisa Shadrick : I could just some things in, and I’ve got tons of content I could just post, post, post, post, post, and we’re getting inundated. The Internet is getting inundated with more information. I mean, do we really need more information? Right? I I think most of us have information fatigue. There is so much information out there. What it needs is your personal stories, your wisdom, your expertise, findings, things that AI can’t produce because it’s not an entrepreneur for 1, and it can’t produce that. And so we’re inundated with just more information. So what does that do? When we have more information, it becomes very crowded, and it gets even harder to be seen and heard because now the dam has broken and the waters have risen, and there’s just so much of it. And after a while, people get tired of it. Marisa Shadrick : Right? This just is was a natural thing of everybody thinking I can do more now or I could be more consistent or post more frequently or create a book or whatever it might be. And I think that in the long run with everyone doing that has created more noise out there and more noise that’s just information. What we need is the wisdom and the application of some of these things. How does it work in a real life situation. And since I’m in the trenches like you, I’m always testing. I’m always building. I’m selling. I’m doing all the things that most people do. Marisa Shadrick : I have a very small team. I only have 2 people on my team, and 1 is my CPA, and 1 is my web guy that keeps my website secure. But everything that I do, I really highly value personal touch. And so a lot of my outreach, a lot of the things that I write, even my emails, it’s me. It’s not I’m not outsourcing it to someone else. Right now in my business, I feel that’s really important because that’s part of what sets me apart. I’m very approachable, and people can reach me and talk to me and get on a call with me, and I’m happy to do that. It’s a win win because I’m able to Help them, and sometimes all they need is a little tiny tweak or they need to double down in one area. Marisa Shadrick : They might tell me that they’re doing, like, multiple things, like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And as I listen, I can say, you know what? Double down on number 3 and go there. Go deep on that. And so sometimes they just need an outside voice. And other times, they wanna know about my programs and they join. So in any event, We need to remember that just more is not enough. How is that strategically going to work into bringing them into your ecosystem, your email service provider, and begin nurturing them and leading them towards something that would be of value to them. That’s really what we’re after. Marisa Shadrick : Right? We’re not just trying to post more. The the goal is we’re trying to sell something. We’re trying to sell and we’re trying to build trust first because we realize that cold traffic, they don’t know you. There’s people that don’t know who I am. They go, who is this crazy lady? Right? And I want to make sure that I communicate to them A message that builds trust, that is educational, that is supportive, that has information that they can use to build that trust and earn the opportunity to serve him in a deeper manner. So the challenge is the Internet has been flooded with more information, and so that is creating some difficulties. We’ll have to see how all that turns out. If you use AI to help you with whatever you were doing before the AI boom, and you want to just enhance and maybe just take something that you’ve written and pop it in there and ask it, Analyze this. Marisa Shadrick : What am I missing? That might be a good way to go about it, and then take its recommendations and see if they’re valid for your business. Right, for your business, for your audience, and then maybe apply some of those recommendations to improve and enhance. That’s been the biggest change that I saw in in 2023. The AI boom. I think we’re gonna look back and remember 2023 as the AI boom. It’s just one of those things that’s really gonna stay in history as far as online marketing, in my opinion. So what I’ve observed, Here’s some things that I’ve observed, and then I’ll end with some recommendations for you guys. What I’ve observed is that video is still Great content, but we have to be very strategic. Marisa Shadrick : Again, why are we creating video? How is it gonna work with the other things that we’re doing. It has to be part of a system that you’re creating, a marketing system. It can’t be just a one off here and a one off there, and I’ll Put this article over here, and I’ll throw this video over there, and I’ll do a reel over here, and I’ll I’ll just kinda throw it here and there and see if somebody reaches out Marisa Shadrick : to me. No. No. That’s not the way to do it. You wanna create content. Marisa Shadrick : In other words, take a topic and figure out how does this topic bring them into my into my resources or into my world where I can continue to help them. Now, For example, video being so popular the way it is, you could take something like podcasting and you can record the podcast, and many podcasters are now providing the video as well. That’s a great way to leverage your time. Right? You’ve got a guest. You’ve scheduled the appointment. You For the podcast, you have not only an audio, but you also have a video. Then you can do a short reel about that podcast and point them to either the YouTube or the audio on iTunes or Spotify. Or if you’re Real smart, and you have it on your website, and you have everything there on your website. Marisa Shadrick : The audio player, the YouTube, the show notes, the transcript, The description, all of that. If you have it there, direct them to your website. See, you have to figure out how is all this gonna support each other. It’s like having a team. They all need to support the bottom line or the goal that you have, and that’s where I see where there’s a break. It’s not all cohesive. There’s a little here and a little there. You have to figure out what is it that you want to sell and look at your quarterly goals and figure out how am I going to leverage? What is the content that I’m going to provide? Whether it’s written, whether it’s audio, whether it’s video or livestream, and how is that gonna work? How is that going to be my top of the funnel content, and how am I gonna bring them in? And The strategy is so important. Marisa Shadrick : Otherwise, if we don’t have a strategy, we’re gonna burn out. We’re gonna get discouraged. We’re gonna say it doesn’t work. Nobody’s commenting. Nobody’s clicking. Nobody’s doing anything. I have some thoughts on that as well, but I’ll share more on this in just a second. But a lot of times people wanna be on YouTube because YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine. Marisa Shadrick : Right? The first being Google. And so people think, well, if I’m just there, it’s a search engine, and if I use keywords, they’re gonna find me. Everybody wants everyone to find you. You’ve gotta find the people. You’ve got to be get in front of the people that you wanna work with. It’s not just build it and hope they’ll come. It’s not just build and hope they’ll schedule an appointment. That’s not enough these days because your competitors are taking 1 step further. Marisa Shadrick : And they’re actually reaching out and having conversations with these people and saying, let’s schedule a call. If we just create content and then hope it’s just not going to get us where we need to be because competitors are going a little deeper in that in that prospecting area. They’re connecting with people or they’re scheduling calls and they’re talking to people and they’re creating funnels. So I understand the the desire to be able to, use YouTube as a search engine, And I understand that it’s the 2nd behind Google, but just creating more videos again is not the answer. How does it work into your system? So the question would be then, well, if I’m using YouTube because it’s a search engine and it’s the 2nd largest and Google is the first, how do I rank on Google? Right? So what people have done to rank on Google is, of course, they use keywords strategically, But oftentimes, that’s not enough. They’ll have paid ads, and you see that when you search on Google. But the other thing a lot Marisa Shadrick : of people miss that I find interesting is that if you have a LinkedIn account and you’re a b to b business, LinkedIn ranks on Google. They have an incredible way Marisa Shadrick : I mean, most of the time when you look up someone, You’ll either see their website and you’ll see LinkedIn. If they’re on LinkedIn and they’re active, you see LinkedIn. That’s one of the things I love about LinkedIn, because I don’t have to do anything but just post what I post on LinkedIn, and Google does the rest and Google favors LinkedIn, and it ranks on Google. So, You know, that’s something to think about. Right? That there’s the benefit to posting on LinkedIn. I don’t often see Instagram, And I don’t see Facebook when I do a Google search of a person. I see LinkedIn. So it’s interesting. Marisa Shadrick : That’s an observation. I’m giving you my observations now. So LinkedIn as while we’re on the topic, LinkedIn growth has been incredible, and last year, I predicted that LinkedIn was gonna continue to grow. I saw in 2022 how the algorithms change for ads. A lot of things changed. The Facebook accounts were getting hacked. Lot of people had that struggle. I had that problem. Marisa Shadrick : My Facebook account got hacked. People were getting locked out. I got locked out. A lot of things. Now I don’t know if it was like that in 2023 because I pulled my group. I created my own private group, and I said I can’t have something that’s unstable. Right? And so I predicted that LinkedIn I don’t know if they’re all from Facebook. Okay? But I know that there has been growth on LinkedIn because LinkedIn has changed. Marisa Shadrick : It’s no longer that suit and tie kind of platform. Marisa Shadrick : And LinkedIn has provided users incredible features, search features. Marisa Shadrick : It’s been about let’s see. LinkedIn had a birthday in 2023. 20 years old. It was founded by Reid Hoffman who built the initial version of LinkedIn, Marisa Shadrick : And he did it Marisa Shadrick : in his living room, by the way. So all of you all you entrepreneurs that are working at home from your living room or from an office, You know, just hang in there because those things can, create some momentum. But now the original person who Who created LinkedIn, he’s now involved in OpenAI. Go figure. Right? Marisa Shadrick : OpenAI. So LinkedIn, Just to give you Marisa Shadrick : an overview, women represent about 42% of LinkedIn leadership. So LinkedIn, you know, when you read articles, they say that’s really, really good. I think we could do better. I think we could ladies out there, Marisa Shadrick : I think we could do better. I would love to Marisa Shadrick : see that number rise rather than 42%. It’s not so suit and tie. It’s a very affluent platform because there are businesses in there. And one of the things that I love about it, even though it doesn’t have as many many users or members like Instagram or Facebook, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think Instagram and Facebook is so inundated with users and members, but LinkedIn is still, I think still the best kept secret ever because there’s opportunity there to be seen plus with all the features. And like I said, it’s people of position, people that are affluent, people that are really serious about business. And they say that this is something that I’ve had people say to me? And I said, well, my audience isn’t there because about 60% of LinkedIn users are between 25 and 34 years old. And there’s also a prediction that a lot of TikTok users are gonna move over to LinkedIn. Marisa Shadrick : Go figure. That’s a jump. Right? But I don’t understand that, but that’s what I read. But the thing is the way I use LinkedIn, I don’t care what they tell me about the demographic because I use LinkedIn to find specific people and specific audiences that are aligned to what I do. So it doesn’t matter. I’m not trying to appease the algorithms. Right? I’m I’m going beyond chasing vanity numbers and algorithms. I am using the search tools, and I’m using the many tools that LinkedIn has to find people to find an audience that aligns. Marisa Shadrick : So that doesn’t have anything to do with anything as far as I’m concerned. I don’t care if the if the age group is 12 years old. I’m not searching for 12 year olds. I’m searching for other people. So, that’s something that I want you to keep in mind that just because they say this is this age group. If you’re initiating the conversation, if you’re initiating the connection, you’re finding the ones that are very much aligned to what you do. And it does have the incredible features. It has the creator mode, which, started in 2021, And a lot of those features, just are amazing. Marisa Shadrick : One of them being the LinkedIn newsletter, and I’ve been slowly upping my game. I started with LinkedIn at the end of 2022, so it’s been just about a year. And I have made more money through connections on LinkedIn. And through my predictions of 2022, I made more money in 2023 applying what I felt to be true, and that’s some of the things I’m gonna share here today. So creator mode, one of the wonderful things about it is that you can create newsletters on LinkedIn for more visibility. Now I created a company page as well. I’ve been solely learning and implementing more things, but it has Let’s see. As of April 2022, 29,000,000 unique people were subscribed to at least 1 LinkedIn newsletter. Marisa Shadrick : So it’s a great way to and, again, LinkedIn gets ranked on Google, so I’m seeing and if I’m going to put a newsletter anywhere or an article, because there’s lots of platforms for articles. But, again, is it working within what I’m already doing, or is it another thing that I got to spin the plate. I don’t want a bunch of plates that I have to spin. I want to focus on 1 area and have that support all the other things. So to me, I’m thinking for LinkedIn to up my game, and I’ll just be very candid and honest with you. I created a company page because I’m gonna broadcast my Podcast live through my company page on LinkedIn and then do all the postproduction afterwards. And then once a month, I’m going to take one of those podcasts, whichever one had more visibility and had a better number. Marisa Shadrick : I will create a newsletter because the content’s already created, and I can create a newsletter. So I’m Marisa Shadrick : not reinventing the wheel, And then my company page will have a newsletter, will have the podcast, and I could always share what I put in my profile. But do you see what I mean about finding a way to market where everything supports itself. Everything. You’re not creating separate things and trying to figure all that stuff out. My Reels, I do not do them on Instagram anymore. I do them somewhere else so that I can share them everywhere. Because sometimes if I do it on Instagram, maybe I just don’t know how to use them right, but it has really cool features for all the text displays and all the stickers and all this wonderful stuff. But then I can’t really download it to my camera to share it somewhere else. Marisa Shadrick : So I created somewhere else, And then I put it on Instagram. I put it on LinkedIn. I put it on Facebook. I put it, even on YouTube reels. I keep it under 60 seconds. So what I’m saying is whatever you’re doing, is there a better way to do it so that you can get more bang for your buck instead of being so siloed in I’m doing this here and I’m doing that there and nothing is really connecting. So That’s my thoughts on LinkedIn. Now 2024 recommendations, I’ll go through these very quickly for you. Marisa Shadrick : From my observations, I feel like there’s either a new Marisa Shadrick : new flood of people that maybe Do not have all the basics down yet for online marketing or maybe we’ve gotten So used to the basics that we’ve kind of neglected the basics, and we’re thinking that there’s some magic bullet out there to get me more visibility and to help me sell more of my product or services. We need to remember that the The basics does become the foundation for your business, and that is something that you create and continues to work for you. For example, your website. You know, is your website updated? You know, one of the things I’m doing is I’m I’m giving my my website a facelift. My podcast is going through a name change, and it’s gonna be called Amplify Your Authority. So it will change very soon by the end of the year. My membership is changing, and it’s going to be Amplify Your Message. And then I have my product, which is my group coaching Amplify Your Authority. Marisa Shadrick : So I’m I’m changing a lot of things so that everything works together. So your website. And in order to give your website The best opportunity for downloads and resource, you want it to be very clear, so your brand narrative needs to be very clear. Sometimes we slap these things up and we think good enough and it’s not working. We wonder why. We need to spend time and make sure that it says what it needs to say and emphasize on the website the value that you bring that’s outcome based. In other words, you want to help them imagine the after story. Right? And you can have some pain points in there, but they need to know what am I gonna get out of this because it’s all that that what’s in it for me? So it has to resonate in a way that they know exactly what the benefit is for them right at the top of the fold and then a button there so they can download something that makes sense. Marisa Shadrick : Right? And that brings me to the lead magnet. There’s a lot of people that I’ve realized this year, And it’s not just 1 person. It’s just I’ve just noticed that lead magnets, they either don’t have 1. They either have 1 and they say it’s not working. It’s not that great, and they’ve kind of forgotten about it. They’ve never updated it or they created it and they haven’t finished the process of a lead magnet. But you wanna have a really good lead magnet idea that aligns with what you sell. Right? So you give them a taste. Marisa Shadrick : It’s sort of like getting that that sample taste, like, when you’re Going somewhere and they give you a sample, like, you go to get ice cream and they give you sample of ice cream, or you go to Costco and they give you a sample, or you go to One of those chocolate places, and they’ll give you maybe a sample. You wanna give them a sample of what they can expect. So the lead magnet’s really important to think what that’s going to be and why they would want to download it. They would have to clamor to get this because it’s so important. And from there, You need a really good opt in page and thank you page, and then you need an email sequence, and I like keeping it to either a minimum of 3 or 5 before They join the entire list. And then where are you leading them in that? There has to be a reason for that. And even on the thank you page, if you’re going to have ads, you can begin to have maybe an order bump on the thank you page. That’s just a a small, small amount. Marisa Shadrick : Really, what you’re doing is you’re trying to see who’s really serious. And so it could only be, you know, $7, $9, $12, a low amount, And then it tells you this person is really serious because even though it doesn’t sound like much money, and we’re not doing this to make money. We’re doing it to see who’s really interested and also to offset potential ad costs, Facebook ad costs, if you decide to go that route and you have a lead magnet that everybody loves, and You think, maybe I should put some ad money behind this. It will help offset the cost. And so all of these things you need to think through for your business. So everything is when you say it turn it on, it’s all working together. And I think the problem I’ve seen is that we’re doing Multiple things, but nothing’s working together. It’s almost like they’re they’re they’re fighting each other, know, because we’re working on this thing, they’re working on that thing, and it’s all separated. Marisa Shadrick : Anytime you create anything, you should consider how can I create this so I can repurpose it or use it in another way? Okay. So there’s on lead magnet. So we need to focus on our website. We need to focus on our lead magnet. We need to focus on traffic. Marisa Shadrick : That’s that’s big traffic. Marisa Shadrick : How are you gonna get traffic to it? Marisa Shadrick : How are you going it’s not enough to just post it or list it on your Facebook page. Right? It’s not enough. Marisa Shadrick : How are you going to do that? You want to expand your reach. And so there’s ways that you can do that. It just really depends on the business because it’s not Marisa Shadrick : a cookie cutter. It’s not. It’s really a lot of what I do with clients. There’s a lot of customization so Marisa Shadrick : that it works for them, and so it aligns with their brand. And so and where they show up. Maybe LinkedIn is not where you show up. So that’s important is the strategy. How am I gonna get in front of audiences? And then the other thing that I think is really important, these are some of the the basics of my recommendations, Marisa Shadrick : is always be thinking about building relationships, AKA relationship marketing and networks. I will say it again because this is really important. This is what’s helped me earn more revenue in 2023, building relationships and networks. Very, very important. Marisa Shadrick : You need to to start those conversations. And a lot of times people think, oh, that takes so much time, and I don’t need another call, and I need to now DM them. But I’ll tell Marisa Shadrick : you my friends, this is what’s gonna help you find those opportunities Marisa Shadrick : to be able to find affiliates for maybe something, a launch that you’re doing, or find an opportunity to share Your training on another platform to be a guest on podcasts, we don’t do it alone. Nobody that’s successful has done it alone. They have had opportunities to speak at large conferences or to Marisa Shadrick : be able to collaborate with other entrepreneurs. That’s how they’ve grown their business. Think back. Anybody that pops in your mind right now, think back. And there’s probably been collaboration because we don’t do it alone. The other recommendation I have is have a full spectrum of of products. Start with your signature product, whatever it is. Like, if somebody could say, I want everything that you have to offer. Marisa Shadrick : I don’t wanna buy these other I want what is Marisa Shadrick : it that where I get it all? Have that and then work backwards. How can I take a slice of this and create Marisa Shadrick : not just a signature offer, but create a mid range or mid priced offer? And how can I take that and create a low offer? Maybe a template or something that’s in that mid range offering create some type of low offer. And from all of that, consider what makes sense as far as a lead magnet to bring them in. That’s what we call a funnel or the customer journey and not have it so disconnected. I think what happens is when people first start, They’re not thinking yet their signature. They’re thinking personal lead magnet. I need to grow my email list. So let me let me, like, figure out, like, what is that people want, and and it’s so It’s not aligned to what you’re going to sell because all they’re thinking about and then their email list goes cold or dead because then when you do figure out what you wanna sell, there’s a disconnect. And those people that you’ve you have in your email list aren’t interested in that. Marisa Shadrick : So it’s very, very important to make sure That as you grow your email list, it’s aligned correctly so that you don’t have those problems later with your email marketing. It’s really, really important. So you wanna have Multiple products, and here’s why. You wanna increase your closing rate when you have those 1 on 1 calls. When you share some signature product and they say, well, I’m not ready, you have 2 other things that you can offer them and you can increase your closing rate. Maybe not on that signature product, but in those other products that you have when they say, oh, that’s that’s a little bit more comfortable, and that’s where I’m kind of at right now. I don’t think I’m ready for the signature product. You obviously give it a name. Marisa Shadrick : Right? But this sounds like something that I can incorporate right now, and then they buy that. You’re starting to create multiple streams of revenue. There’s more to talk about multiple streams of revenue because there’s memberships and other things that you can do because you want to focus on getting Retainer clients and you wanna focus on having that reoccurring revenue, but this is important. Marisa Shadrick : And with that, it’s important to sell. Marisa Shadrick : It’s not just enough to post and hope that they’re gonna click and schedule a call with you. It’s important to take the initiative and Create things where you have an opportunity to propose an opportunity. Right? Otherwise, people won’t buy. Right? And so you need to consider how am I going to sell? What’s the best way? Is it 1 on 1 calls? Is it workshops? How am I going to do this? Okay. So moral to the story here, expert guesting is a great way to increase your traffic instead of, you know, spaghetti marketing. And spaghetti marketing is just throwing it against the wall and hoping something will stick, and then being disappointed and frustrated and burnt out from all the content you’re creating on social media. So it’s important to, be very strategic, not do the spaghetti on the wall, and figure out how everything works together. And this is important. Marisa Shadrick : And building Those relationships, a sustainable network will help you in the business growth. And even if you begin to implement ways to sell and create those opportunities to talk to people, consider what it is that you want to sell. Sometimes we’re gonna need to stop doing Something maybe we’re creating too much content. Maybe we’re writing articles and we’re creating podcasts and we’re doing lives and we’re doing all these things, And we we’re so busy throughout the week that we don’t have time for appointments with people. Maybe we need to pull it back a little and focus on one. I love the power of 1. 1 one one. One social media platform, one strategic marketing effort, one lead magnet. Marisa Shadrick : And As you double down on that and you go deep on that, you see what’s working, what’s not. Where can I tweak it? So you need to know, you know, what to sell, how to price it. You have those sales conversations. What do you say in a sales conversation? Right? Those are all things very, very important. Those are things that I teach. I teach that in my program in Amplify Your Authority, all about the marketing, which is not only your messaging, but it’s also your lead magnet and the funnel that goes with it. The 2nd month, we talk about traffic, and I help you create your talk. Like, what would you talk about? I help you create your media kit. Marisa Shadrick : I help you find Those audiences where you can be a guest on. And then the 3rd month, we really double down on all your products. Marisa Shadrick : What other products, what have you not thought of? So Marisa Shadrick : these are my recommendations for the coming year and some of my observations. You know, I could be right, could be wrong, but I know in 2022, I did this, and What I implemented in 2023 did increase revenue, and I had other people that were able to also increase revenue, really find Their ideal messaging really align with their audience, and everything is like domino effect. Once you have that, it’s like the the cornerstone where everything else falls into place. And then you have a system. You have a system. They call it a funnel, but you have a system That now it’s just knowing that everything is working and you find out where the bottleneck is or what you need to tweak, and it becomes so much easier as you look at analytics. So, hopefully, that gave you some hope for the coming year with the recommendations I have. If you’re interested in Amplify Your Authority, there’s some spots open for January of 2024. Marisa Shadrick : This podcast has been recorded in December of 2023. I am happy to talk with you. I am happy to share the link where you can check it out. But this is where we go deep, and this is where I help everyone, and I I show up. And I we literally will take copy. I’ll put it up on the Google Doc. I say share your Google link. I’ll go in there, and I will be writing, reshaping it, Moving it around, I always tell them to give me a copy because I get in there and we start doing it. Marisa Shadrick : We start doing it. We do work. We do work especially in the 90 days. It’s called a 90 day intensive because we get it done. We get it done because it shouldn’t have to be this complicated. It shouldn’t have to take you a year, 2 years, 3 years to make money. It shouldn’t. You need to be able to start right away and hit the ground running and start making those dollars, and then you can increase the price if you want, if you’re feeling unsure. Marisa Shadrick : But it’s all about you have a business because you’re trying to earn revenue. You’re trying to create a lifestyle that works for you. I’m trying to do that as well. I work from home because I have a daughter and a granddaughter here. In the morning, I’m making breakfast for the granddaughter. Right? In the evening, you know, when she comes home from school, there’s things I need to do. I’m balancing a lot of things just like you are, And this works for me, and I know this works for many of you. And my intent is to retire my my husband so that he could take some time off because he’s working so much. Marisa Shadrick : And he had some health issues, and I wanna make sure that he stays healthy. So everyone has a reason. My story is not unique. Your story is the same. I wanna help you do that. And when I say I wanna help you do that, I get involved. And if people get stuck along the way, I get on a call with them. And it’s not one of these, like, 15 minute phone calls. Marisa Shadrick : I get on a Zoom call with them and if we need to talk 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and sometimes 90 minutes. We do it to get you to the next step. It’s all about get it done and move forward and start offering your products and services and start selling. There’s so much that bottlenecks, and really what you need to do in business, you need to be prospecting, which is your funnel, and you need to Marisa Shadrick : be selling and not waiting. You need to do Marisa Shadrick : it right away. So if this is of interest to you, I highly recommend you checking it out. There’s some, testimonials there, videos, people that have shared their thoughts in there as well, but this is where I bring everything to the table. My copywriting, my branding experience, My award winning, speech competition skills, I bring it all to the table. So you get it all, and you get all the other products that I have inside of our platform warm as well. So it’s a great opportunity. It’s really affordable for what you get. And if you’re interested, I would not hesitate. Marisa Shadrick : I would grab a spot because we’re gonna start right after the New Year. So until next time, take care. I hope this was helpful, and we will have a few more podcasts before the end of the year. I know everyone is getting ready for the holiday season, and it’s been a joy to share these tips for you. Whether you work with me or not, I wanna wish you the best for 2024. Alrighty.

You don’t want to miss these top email marketing tips for business growth. Email marketing remains to be a powerful business strategy for turning warm leads into customers. In a recent podcast interview, email strategist expert Kathy Farah shares top email marketing tips that have propelled her online business forward as she helps her clients achieve remarkable results.   In this podcast, you’ll discover the importance of  Subscriber Engagement: Discover why subscriber engagement is the key to a thriving email marketing strategy.  Reengaging a Cold Email List: Understand how breathing new life into inactive lists can boost your email marketing ROI and rekindle relationships with valuable leads.  The Power of Effectively Using Tags: Dive into the world of personalization through tags and best practices.  Balancing Informational and Promotional Content: Strike the right balance between providing valuable information and promoting your products or services to keep your audience engaged and receptive.  Consistency and Authentic Connection: Explore why consistency and authenticity are the cornerstones of effective email marketing. These email marketing secrets will help small business owners cultivate strong connections with their audience and increase their business success.   Key Takeaways Kathy Farah’s Transformative Journey: Witness how Kathy Farah’s life took a remarkable turn as she embarked on her path to becoming a thriving online entrepreneur and a seasoned ConvertKit strategist. The Influence of Consistent and Engaging Emails: Discover the marketing power hidden within consistent and captivating email communication. Master the Art of Valuable and Personalized Content: Crafting email content that’s not only personalized but strikes the perfect balance between value and compelling promotions.   Quotes  The Power of Asking the Right Questions: “It really showed me that it was really about asking the right questions.” — Kathy Farah Do You Have An Engaged Email List: “So if the answer is no, then you really don’t have a list…it really means nothing.” — Kathy Farah Understanding Your Audience in Marketing: “I have to really understand the people that I’m talking to, where they are in the journey. Are they aware of the value of something.” — Kathy Farah   Exciting Action Step! As an exclusive offer for our listeners, Kathy announced a free email audit valued at $1500 for the first five listeners who reach out to her by December 22nd. Listen for the submission code to book your free audit.   About Kathy Farah Consulting L L C  ConvertKit Email Strategist  In 2021, Kathy Farah faced a significant life change. She found herself divorced after 14 years. Although this was a devastating season, she pushed herself to take control of her life and start her own online business. As a ConvertKit email strategist, she blends project management, copywriting, and marketing skills with a passion for helping online business owners earn revenue from an engaged email list. Connect with Kathy: Website: https://www.kathyfarah.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathyfarah/ Email: [email protected] Free Resource: 4 Email Strategies to Reengage Your List   Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/    GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE Choose Your Adventure! FREE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS GOALSClick this link: https://marisashadrick.com/free-tools/   Watch the Podcast on YouTube Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello. Hello, and welcome. Today is a very special day because I have a very special guest who I consider my friend. Her name is Kathy Farah, but let me tell you a little bit about her 1st, in 2021, Kathy Farah faced a significant life change. She found herself divorced after 14 years. And although this was a devastating season, she pulled herself together to take control of her life and start her own online business. As a ConvertKit email strategist, she blends project management, copywriting, and marketing skills With a passion for helping online business owners earn revenue from an engaged email list, Please welcome Kathy Farah. Hi, Kathy. Marisa Shadrick : How are you? Kathy Farah : Hi, Marisa. I’m so excited to be here. Marisa Shadrick : I’m excited that you’re here too because this is Long overdue. Kathy and I go back a little bit, and, I really like Kathy. I consider her my friend. And so this is gonna be This is gonna be a fun episode. It’s just 2 friends talking with each other over coffee, that type of thing, and we’re gonna let you listen in. So how are you doing, Kathy? Kathy Farah : I’m doing great, Marisa. It’s I’m so excited about this opportunity. It’s so fun to be able to catch up with you. Marisa Shadrick : Absolutely. So for the sake of the listeners, why don’t you tell them where are you coming in from? Where do you live? Kathy Farah : I, live in Simpsonville, South Carolina, and I have lived in South Carolina really most of my life, though I was born in Florida. So I’m kind of a a southern a southern girl. Marisa Shadrick : Oh, wow. That’s awesome. So you were born in Florida, and you live in South Carolina. Kathy Farah : So Yeah. Which is a little bit unusual, actually, Actually, because there’s not very many, like, born in Florida, Floridians. You know? It’s most people come in from other areas. So Do you Marisa Shadrick : have family there in South Carolina? Kathy Farah : In South Carolina? Yes. I do have family that live in South Carolina, and that’s kinda we kind of made our way here, and that’s really where most of us are. Marisa Shadrick : Very cool. Very cool. So siblings or parents? Or Kathy Farah : Yes. So my mother lives in the area, and, so my sister and I live here. My brother actually lives in North Carolina. Marisa Shadrick : Oh, that’s nice. That’s nice. Awesome. So I wanted you on here because we’ve been on a journey together for a little bit, and it really Hasn’t been that long. It I thought it was longer, but it really hasn’t been that long. And I was hoping you would kinda share your perspective, and then I can share my perspective Because I’ve seen so much growth in you, Kathy, and see you just blossom like a rose. And This is something that I love to feature simply because so many people think, you know, can I do it? Can I grow an online business? I would love to hear a little bit about your Perspective and a little backstory about how we started working together. Kathy Farah : Well, we have we started working together really back with copywriting. So you were my copy coach, and so that was kind of how we first experienced each other. And then as we got to know each other and became friendly, I got the opportunity to join the Amplifier Authority. And that experience really was a transformation in my business and for me. Because up until that point, I had really Spent a lot of time doing a lot of training, a lot of preparing, trying to make everything perfect, and making very little progress. Marisa Shadrick : I heard the word that I struggle with too, perfectionism. That’s one Marisa Shadrick : of my Marisa Shadrick : that’s my Achilles’ heel. Right? And I think a lot of people, if they’re honest, they would say that that’s something that maybe they struggle with 2. So, yeah, thanks for being so open and authentic about that. Kathy Farah : Yeah. I think that’s the thing that I started to realize when I started to look back to perfectionism Really was just fear. It was everything had to be perfect, and there was no way that I was gonna be able to move forward until I had this next thing, whatever that was, more research, more you know, another training, and I wasn’t really taking the action. So it was really once you and I had met that I started realizing that it needed to be imperfect action. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : That it needs to Kathy Farah : take small steps. Marisa Shadrick : That is so true because fear really has so many faces. It pops up in so many ways. And as entrepreneurs, We begin to see the different faces of fear because we’re stepping out. We’re innovating. We’re doing things we’ve never done before. Wouldn’t you agree? Kathy Farah : Yes. Absolutely. It’s one of those things that I think fear is probably the biggest reason that we don’t do things. We just don’t believe that we’re capable, in in doing the you know, going after what we wanna try to go And, especially, there’s so much comparison. I mean, you go online, all the research you do, you start to really compare yourself. And I’m like, I’m not as good as she is, or I’m not as good as Marisa Shadrick : he is. So how am Kathy Farah : I going to be successful? Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. For sure. I see it a lot in just Putting yourself out there and having an opinion of something, a point of view, some people don’t want to. They wanna agree with someone else, but not really stand on their own 2 feet with Their perspective, and their perspective is important. Or I see it also in pricing. Right? I struggled in that area. Pricing, not really Marisa Shadrick : pricing things, you know, Marisa Shadrick : according to the value that Marisa Shadrick : you bring. So you Marisa Shadrick : see it in According to the value that you bring. So you see it in different ways and people getting busy on the active back end things and not really Prospecting, you know, and asking for the sale, those kind of conversations that make us all feel uncomfortable. But it if you look at it as serving, All of a sudden doesn’t feel like a sales call because not all calls are gonna be a sale. There’s other outcomes that we can get from it as well. Right. So yeah. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Kathy Farah : And I was gonna say that’s really been one of the biggest things that you’ve taught me is about making connection. So when I looked at my sales Calls, you know, if we wanna call it a sales call, really to just asking questions Marisa Shadrick : Yes. Kathy Farah : And really better understanding the other Person and what their needs were, it changed a lot about how those calls felt. I mean, prior to that, to be honest with you, I would spent hours preparing for a very short call with somebody, not really knowing what the outcome was. And so often when the time came, It was a totally different issue than what I thought they may need. So in reality, once I started to ask some deeper questions, I started to realize, like, Oh, that’s not I’ve been preparing for hours on something totally different. Like, this is not what they wanted at all. You know? So it really showed me that it was really about asking the right questions. And that’s something that you really help us as students of yours is to really think about, well, why ask that Question, you know, what what’s, you know, what’s the deeper meaning in this? Marisa Shadrick : Right. I love asking question. I think I recently read something, And I may misquote this. I thought it was Brene Brown in her latest book, but it was it referenced and I’m gonna butch the Paraphrase I’m gonna paraphrase this, but it was something that leaders don’t have all the answers, but they ask great questions. And by asking great questions, it’s kind of a journey of discovery, and you understand so much. So it’s a win. You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to be perfect, but ask Great questions to really find out. Marisa Shadrick : Like you were saying, what is it exactly that someone needs? So Kathy was referencing, Amplify Your Authority. So just to keep this in context so they know what we’re talking about. Right. Sorry. Kathy Farah : Jumping into different friends. Marisa Shadrick : No. I know. I know. Amplify Your Authority is my my signature coaching program that I finally dialed in in 2022. After a lot of things that I went through and realized understanding that the big challenge that people had was traffic, you can build courses. You can Know about SEO. You can do a lot of things, but the bottom line is you need people. You need traffic, and how do you do this? And so in my own, discovery and asking lots of questions, I came up with Amplify Your Authority, which is has a component of a 90 day intensive. Marisa Shadrick : And then the following 3 months is masterminding and implementation. So the 90 day intensive, the 1st month is all about branding, The 2nd month is about traffic, and the 3rd month is about your products. What products are you going to create to have not only Those signature products, but also multiple streams of revenue so you can reach that revenue goal. So did I do a good job explaining that? Kathy Farah : Yes. You did. And I think, really, it’s all the foundation Marisa Shadrick : Mhmm. Kathy Farah : Of creating an online business because I think one The things that I was doing wrong before you and I met was I could I’m an information person. I can research all day long, But to really have the foundation, I mean, it was interesting, though I had been working with clients, some very basic things about the way my brand was And what I was trying to do, was not a 100% clear. And really, in truth, when I look back, I wasn’t really clear on what I really wanted to be doing. So it was a little of this, a little of that. And that is something that I think That through your program, you really kinda help guide us on okay. Here start with first things first. You know, really build it and don’t jump Behead of yourself. Get the foundation in place so that it’s very clear. Kathy Farah : So since you and I have worked together, I mean, honestly, my LinkedIn profile, I’ve Upleveled that from where we started. You know? So it’s a lot more professional, and I’ve had a lot more people reach out to me as a result. Yeah. Right? Marisa Shadrick : It was so different. Laugh because she was gonna be on a podcast, and I said, well, where are you sending them? And she goes, well, LinkedIn. It’s gonna be on LinkedIn. I Popped up her LinkedIn profile and said, Kathy, you haven’t looked at this in a while because it just did not represent her at all. So Kathy, being the student that she is, she’s just so she absorbs everything like a sponge. She got busy and just created this beautiful profile that you I know I think I’ve created some curiosity. You need to go check it out. And when you do Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : Connect with her. Right? So, yeah, she’s got a Beautiful profile. But it’s so true what you’re saying. We get busy like, okay. I gotta start a lead magnet. Well, why? Where are you sending them? Right? I gotta start this. Why? What is that gonna help you accomplish? You know, they start doing all The things rather than work backwards, like, what do you wanna sell and what does your brand represent? Because your brand is more than colors and fonts. Right? It should Be an expression of who you are as a person and as a business, and that’s not easy to do as you pointed out. Marisa Shadrick : Even I’m rebranding, and I’m tweaking, and I’m tightening things. So it’s not something that is in cement. It’s something that continues to evolve as we grow and as our audience, we begin to talk to them, we find out more about them, And we figure out, like you pointed out earlier, oh, that’s what they need. Okay. Or how they even interpret us. For a while, I used to say I’m a copywriter, and people would look at me like, copy what? They didn’t understand that. They didn’t understand online marketing. But when I said business development online, they go, oh Oh, I get what that is, and that was someone that told me that. Marisa Shadrick : After I Marisa Shadrick : had talked to Marisa Shadrick : her, she said, oh, you do business development. And I go, okay. If if that works, then that’s what it is. And that’s what I have on my LinkedIn now because that’s how she interpreted All of the branding and the copywriting, the strategy, she just said it in a couple of words, business development. Why I couldn’t figure that out? I don’t know. But it’s funny. It does take Take a while, but you have grown a lot. So as a result of the Amplify Authority and being in community and us having some time together, What’s the after now? What’s the after story? Kathy Farah : The after story is that I really feel a whole lot more confident. Like, I actually feel more confident to take the and and this is big for me being that I am a type 5 an Enneagram. So expertise is a top priority for me. But to have to, like, say, okay. Let’s just take action. Imperfect. Just do it. You know? And just taking those steps and feeling more confident about how I’m presenting myself and creating more of a niche and saying, okay. Kathy Farah : Here’s where I’m gonna focus right now. You put so much pressure on yourself when you’re starting out that I have to have it All figured out. I need to know every exactly every step, what I’m gonna be doing, what’s my ideal client, picture the avatars. And that is what’s really changed is that now I have a better direction. So it’s a lot easier for me to help clients is that I can really I I feel more confident just doing things that maybe I don’t know perfectly. Like, I may not be the spurred. But I can figure things out, and I’m willing to help. And that’s the key thing is that I you know, my credibility comes across differently because I feel more Confident and more credible and love helping people. Kathy Farah : So when I get in there and start working with somebody, then it’s a matter of, You know, how can I help you? What, you know, what is the thing that’s stressing you out? Okay. Then let’s work on that. Let’s get that better so that that is that’s no longer stress for you. Marisa Shadrick : Kathy is great. She’s so conscientious. That’s why I love her so much, and I consider her a friend because she not only, Understands about research, and she understands about doing a thorough job on the front end, the middle, and the after. Right? She understands all that. She understands strategy. She’s a great copywriter. But the thing is that I what I love about her is her heart. She really wants to serve people, and I like those kind of people. Marisa Shadrick : Those people that really wanna serve those that are struggling, we need more of those because there’s so much Direct response and hype out there to download this, pay this. Everything is Yes. 5,000, 10,000. And and I’ve invested in myself, and I’m not saying it’s wrong to invest in yourself. You should. But when people are starting out, they can’t afford those prices. And that’s one of the reason why I try to keep my pricing low because I’m helping people in the beginning stages, like the 1st couple of years. Right? And they don’t have Those resources. Marisa Shadrick : So who helps them? Right? Who’s gonna help them? Kathy Farah : Right. Marisa Shadrick : So, you know, I had to pay a lot, and I had to, get alone in some cases. I mean, there was it was really a struggle for me to get the knowledge that I needed, and I would only get one little bit, One tiny slice. And so that’s why Amplify Authority is more of a a system That you can continue to do over and over again and create sort of a flywheel effect so that this will be your Engine for getting clients, and you got clients, didn’t you? Kathy Farah : Yes. I have. And, really, even since the beginning, since we started working in January with this, it you know, I’ve made some changes, you know, since then. So because I’m just taking the action, then it’s something and I have that foundation. I can go back and tweak things and go, okay. Let me go back through the checklist. Because that that is one thing that you do really well as Well, is that you do research, and then you share what you discover. And so it saves us a lot of time. Kathy Farah : And so there’s a lot of check List and things like that that we can go back and say, okay. Wait a minute. I think I might have missed this element. Let me go back and tweak this and make this better. And you have all of that stuff easily laid out for us to be able to go back and and keep tweaking even as we start we continue to evolve. Because that’s the thing I’m really learning is throughout this year, I I still am evolving and still making a few tweaks as I work people and say, you know, this project really lit me up, and I was excited about. Like, that’s what I wanna do more of that. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. That Kathy Farah : that’s the exciting thing I think about online entrepreneurship. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. I think we’re in trouble when we’re not evolving Because look how many changes we’ve had since 2020. Kathy Farah : Right. Marisa Shadrick : And people that keep doing things the same way, the same way, the same way, never innovate, never there’s kind of like a If you look at a diagram and you see a a line that’s going uphill, before it reaches that plateau, we need to be innovating or it will go down. Yeah. We need to keep innovating and creating and figuring out how can I better serve clients? Am I really hitting the mark? Market research is important like we talked about. You know, it’s so important to do market research, industry research, competitor research, all those things that most people don’t wanna do that, But it’s foundational, and it tells you so much. And then when you’re on social, then you do it with intention, not just throwing everything on social. Because I have my own perspective on how to do social media that is people probably would not agree with me, but it’s more effective and it doesn’t burn people out from posting, posting, posting. Right? So, anyway, can we segue more into, like I mean, I really appreciate all the kind things you’ve said about Amplified Authority, but I really wanna talk more about what you do With ConvertKit and the emails, I I see that you’re helping people with their email campaigns because that is A great asset, and do you feel that sometimes people just don’t value the asset that they already have? They want more, more, more, more leads, but they don’t take care of the people they have. Tell me your perspective on that. Kathy Farah : That absolutely. I do think that that is one of the things that we are looking for large numbers. And it’s almost like to say when someone asks how many people do you have on your email list, it’s like, well, you know, you don’t you’re A little uncomfortable. And even if you could proudly say, okay. I have this many, you know, whatever that big number is that you feel very proud of, The question becomes, are you consistently communicating to your email list, and are you selling to your list? Like, are you making offers to your list? So if the answer is no, then you really don’t have a list. It’s not a fully engaged list. And so then it really means nothing. So that that’s really the thing that I’m starting to recognize that it’s really much More about even if your list is not huge, it’s really more about having engagement and really connecting with people and providing value consistently. Marisa Shadrick : That is so true. I couldn’t have said it better because so many people are so preoccupied on the more. Let me get more, more, more. And They do it, and then when they have them, what are they doing? And some people completely abandon their list, and they won’t you know, they feel like, well, I got their email, so I’m good. And they then maybe they don’t communicate with them until they have a promotion. What do you think about that? Kathy Farah : Right. Yeah. See, See, and that’s usually not gonna be as effective either because by the that point and thing and we could really think about the way we interact with our own email list. Mhmm. If we suddenly See a promotion, even if the sale seems great, but it’s from someone we don’t remember, it’s like, wait a minute. Marisa Shadrick : When did I even sign up for that person’s list? Kathy Farah : I don’t remember who they are. That’s not gonna help you. That’s likely to end up in the trash bin. So it really means that you put a lot of effort into something that doesn’t pay Pay off in the long run than if you’re consistently communicating. And I think, to be honest with you, it goes back again to fear. It goes back to, I don’t have the perfect email. What am I gonna send out to my email list so they just don’t send anything? And figure, well, I’m giving them the sale. I’m giving them a discount or whatever it may be, that you know, that’s better than, You know, not really having the perfect newsletter or the perfect email to send out. Kathy Farah : And in reality, it’s about Being consistent and really knowing who your audience is and wanting to provide them value. Marisa Shadrick : You’re singing my song. That is so true. So let me ask you. How did you end up landing with ConvertKit? Why ConvertKit as opposed to maybe other email service providers? Kathy Farah : Truthfully, it was during my journey very early on that, you know, I’d heard it From, you know, one of the podcasts that I listened to, about ConvertKit. I had used other email service providers in the past and just didn’t like it, as much. ConvertKit, I’m all for simplicity And having things just easy to do and understand. I don’t want it to be overcomplicated because I really don’t have Time to learn a bunch of very complex email systems. Mhmm. So ConvertKit to me was a very easy system to learn At any level of understanding with email, and so that’s really why I decided to focus in was that I like their simple approach. Automation was easy to put together. Just setting up sequences and things like that were a little easier to do. Kathy Farah : And, frankly, it let me dial in on a particular email service provider so that I kind of what research I was doing was more targeted to understand all the things that Convert could could do. Marisa Shadrick : Now you say it’s easy, but have you found with your clients that sometimes they don’t take advantage of some of the features and some of the things that they can do with, Or maybe they took completely botched it up. Yes. Kathy Farah : And here’s the thing. I and I say easy, and probably I should add the caveat that I love technology, so technology is easy for me too. So that’s Marisa Shadrick : kind of a technology too. Kathy Farah : Yeah. So I will sit there and play with things. And and I think that really a lot of the clients that I work with tend to be, people that are feeling a little less comfortable with the technology generally or just really kind of overwhelmed with email marketing and and understanding the things that they need to do, all the things that Marisa Shadrick : you need Kathy Farah : to have in place for an email campaign to work. So I’ve I’ve worked with clients where they’ve been collecting emails, but then really just don’t understand the flow of how you might want to have things set up, for their system. So all you think to do is send the 1 email, send a one off, and not really take into account all the other advantages of really having a true email service provider. We kind of use it the way we do our own email, you know, address, Something that we do in Google or Outlook, that’s kind of the way we approach it. And email service providers have offer so much more Functionality that does make our jobs a lot easier as marketers and online business owners. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. It’s almost like an afterthought. It’s almost like, oh, I grew my email list. That’s great. I’m moving on to something else, and they don’t really follow through with what that means, like, because it is such a great asset and opportunity. And, you know, I know when email service providers came out and they had opportunity to create lists and tags, and sometimes people over tag things. Yes. Tag, like, Tag all over the place, and then you have more confusion. Marisa Shadrick : You know, using those those things strategically and why You wanna tag something. I’m sure you found to be important. Right? Yes. Absolutely. Mhmm. Marisa Shadrick : A lot Kathy Farah : of people, when they tag things, They’ll put abbreviations that they don’t remember later. Marisa Shadrick : You know? And so if you’ve got someone I would do. Kathy Farah : Someone comes in later and you’re looking at it like, what is ADU? You know what I mean? Like, it was something they did some time ago. So That’s the thing. Really tags, it’s there’s a purpose behind it that helps to make things life easier for you in communicating with those particular subscribers later. So it’s not about just tagging everyone. You wanna have a little bit more thought behind, tagging a subscriber so that you’re really using for personalization down Marisa Shadrick : the road. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Absolutely. I know we had a conversation, and we Kinda chuckled about it. Do you wanna tell them about the conversation we had about old list and dead list? Because we were talking about that. Kathy Farah : Yeah. So you hear a Lot of times when people refer to their email list and they and they see a lot of providers will show you cold subscribers versus and what we realized was that wasn’t anything that really kinda talked about an old subscriber. So when you’re really when you because we were just talking earlier about how much To evolve as a business owner, sometimes those people came on your list from some workshop or webinar that you did Sometime before, which is no longer relevant to what you’re doing today. And they haven’t really opened an email, Assuming you’ve emailed them, you know, that they’ve not opened an email in 6 months or more, well, now, really, those are Old or dead subscribers. They’re no longer really going to provide you any value. They’re not engaged anymore. Marisa Shadrick : So do you try to reengage him somehow? Do you help clients do that to see if you can still salvage? Kathy Farah : So I always recommend to try to reengage, send some reengagement emails to try to get them back in you know, back into the fold of what you’re doing first. You know, and that sometimes won’t work. You know? If it’s an older, subscriber that maybe just isn’t interested in what you’re doing today, Then you might not have any luck with that. If they’re cold and it’s been a few months, like, usually, I would recommend 60 to 90 days. If they’ve not opened in that amount of time, Then that’s somebody that you might be able to reengage and and kind of let them know that you miss them, and here’s what, you know, here’s what I’m giving you now to kinda get you back, You know, to where you’re more interested in my emails. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : Do you have any recommendation? Like, I know I use the Pareto principle for a lot of things, but A recommendation, like a ratio, like content that we send out, like, how often a week. And then as we’re sending out content, how often can we promote? Do you have, like, a ratio, a rule of thumb for people, listeners, to kind of know if they’re promoting too much or if not, creating another value? Kathy Farah : Sorta recommend that you usually are sending about 70 to 80% of informational content that’s providing some sort of value. And then the, you know, 20 to 30% promotional. And really, as far as your, You know, consistency, generally, I recommend sending, you know, an email weekly at least. Mhmm. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : And and be consistent with that. What I always tell everybody Kathy Farah : when they’re thinking with that. What I always tell everybody when they’re thinking about that, that feels overwhelming sometimes to people. We’ll tell people is be consistent to what you’re going to do each time. So if it is every 2 weeks, That’s you know, really, I recommend a week. But if it is every 2 weeks that you’re doing it at the same time, so it’s Tuesdays at 8:30, Then your list knows that you’re going to be sending some information, you know, an email to them. But try to keep on a consistent schedule so that there’s something they know to expect. But, again, I really recommend sending emails weekly to your list. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Because there’s so much quantity of emails. Marisa Shadrick : Yes. Marisa Shadrick : But if we wait too long, like, I can easily like, when I go out of town, I realize how many emails I actually get. And if I go out of town for 3 days or something, there could be a 100 To a 150 emails that accumulate. That’s, like, at least 50 emails or more a day. So you do the math. You wait two weeks, they’ve already seen and read a whole bunch of other stuff. So, no. I agree. I I think it’s important to and it doesn’t have to be a lot. Marisa Shadrick : Right? Even if you do a newsletter back in the day, it’s like newsletters were great. Then there was a season where they said newsletters are bad. Nobody wants to subscribe to newsletter. Now newsletters are popular again. Give them a newsletter. It’s like people can’t make up their minds. So you know what? Just I figured, just do what Feels right. You know? Kathy Farah : That’s really what I think it boils down to. You’re right, Marisa, is really do what feels comfortable to you. If it’s a newsletter, then great. Do that. If it because it gives you a chance to show your personality. You know? If it’s a weekly email, that’s kinda what I do with my list is I’m sending a weekly email, and I’m trying to really think about what’s gonna bring value to the people that are on my list. And I really pay attention to What what I’m hearing from my existing clients of things that they’re curious about. So that’s the kind of stuff that I will Send them to my, you know, to my list. Marisa Shadrick : Right. So a lot of people often, they don’t know what they don’t know. Like, For example, ConvertKit. Excuse me. Maybe, there are things within ConvertKit, features and things that they can use, but If they don’t even have time to write emails, let alone find time to figure out how to use ConvertKit more effectively or strategically, do you do Audits or something to help them see, like, maybe something that they could leverage or something that they could change that could make a difference? Kathy Farah : Yes. Absolutely. So I do, email audits. And so that way, I could take a look at a variety of different things. Look at your landing pages And see, do you have welcome sequences, that type of thing, as well as take a look at your actual emails and really identify What maybe not is not working as well. Why aren’t people opening? If you’ve got lower open rates, what may be going on with your emails that is causing that? Your promotional emails. You know, sometimes it’s a matter we’ve sent promotions out, and for some reason, people aren’t really responding to those. I could take a look at that and sort of give you a little more guidance on the way the copy is coming across and how you’re presenting the information. Kathy Farah : Does it resonate with your audience the way you’re you know, are you really speaking to your audience at where they’re at? Marisa Shadrick : Exactly. Because sometimes people just think, well, let me just give them information or throw it in chat GPT and spit it out. Kathy Farah : Right. Marisa Shadrick : But it’s really about Them and their journey. It really isn’t about us. Kathy Farah : And where they are in the process with you, do they know it? Because that’s, You know, I think we’re all guilty of this is sort of like what we were saying with ConvertKit. Here, I’m telling you about how exciting it is, but I’m at a different level with it, right, versus someone that’s Just starting out. So I have to really understand, you know, the people that I’m talking to, where they are in the journey. Do they are they aware of the value of something. You know? Am I speaking to him at that level? Like, am I going back and thinking from a beginner’s mindset, Rather than where I am a more advanced, that’s a totally different conversation. So if it’s if there are people on my list that are newer to email marketing, then I can’t jump in and start using terminology that doesn’t make sense or speak to them on a more advanced Conversation Yeah. That that is relevant to them at that stage. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. I’ve discovered that too because there was a wave of people, The ones that watch the Amy Porterfields and the Jeff Walkers and, you know, that kind of learned all those basic things, but then they’ve moved on to Do their thing, and there’s a whole new group of people coming on that need to understand these things. And I realized that too That it’s not dumbing down the information. It’s simplifying it, using language that anyone could understand rather than jargon and Things like that. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : I Marisa Shadrick : discovered that as well. Kathy Farah : Because I think one thing that I’m realizing is a lot of the, small business owners that I’m working with are experienced in their business. They know their business. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Kathy Farah : They just don’t understand the best way to communicate that information to their email list. You know, they’re talking in the way they think about it. You know? And so that’s where I try to come in and take a look at that and make sure that what their goals are for their email list, that that’s in line with what they’re actually communicating out to their email list. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. And you tell me some Success stories of some of your clients that you’ve worked with. I can’t remember there was 1 person that you were helping them with some sales campaign or something. Do you remember? Kathy Farah : Yeah. So I there was a, there was a client I was working with that online business owner or I’m sorry. A brick and mortar business owner That had always done direct mailers, and it was something that was sorta new for her. She’d been collecting emails, but really didn’t know how to do it. So we, did an email promotional campaign for a Mother’s Day sale, and it turned out to be the highest sales that She had gotten in that month of May in 22 years. Marisa Shadrick : Oh my gosh. Yeah. Now if that’s not Kathy Farah : Yeah. Yeah. So she was so excited. So she’s He’s now an email marketing convert. She wants to more and more get away from doing direct mailers and get back get into email marketing. Marisa Shadrick : Oh my god. Can I put my coach hat on real quick? Yes, please. Has she give you given you a recommendation on LinkedIn? I hope so. Kathy Farah : No. But we will I I have asked her to do a testimonial, but I will now. Now that you’ve Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : Absolutely. Get her to do that on LinkedIn because the profile looks so beautiful. It’d be nice to have some recommendations on there on LinkedIn. So that’s awesome. So let me ask you this. I mean, everything has just kind of changed for you this year, and You’re getting clients. You’re seeing great results. You’re really dialing in on your messaging and your branding. Marisa Shadrick : Was what was, like, the one thing that was really Difficult for you. I always like the podcast to be inspiring for people, people that might feel the same way and know, well, Kathy was able to do this. Maybe I can too. What was something that you had to overcome? Just one thing that, you’re sort of proud of yourself to give yourself a pat on my back for doing it. Kathy Farah : Believing that I was capable of doing it and that I didn’t have to know all the things Yeah. Before getting started. Marisa Shadrick : That’s awesome. Kathy Farah : I I think that was the biggest thing is I really I had to get out of the learning mode And get into the doing mode. So once I changed that and just started doing things and taking that risk, Which really, when you start looking at it, is just taking action. It doesn’t it’s not as much of a risk. It’s really just taking the small steps To take action every day, even if it’s a little scary, because that for me was the big thing was that I didn’t feel like I knew enough. You know, I wanted to learn more and more, and it really was I was you know, I did know more more than the average person about email marketing, And so I just had to lean in and do a little each day. Marisa Shadrick : And look at the results you were able to get for your clients. That’s Yes. Totally amazing. You would have kept, like, The best email strategist away from the world. Had you not stepped out and done that. Thank you. So that is awesome. That is awesome. Marisa Shadrick : So you have A gift for our listeners that is just a special limited time gift, a free gift for our listeners. Do you wanna tell them a little bit about this this audit that you’re offering? Kathy Farah : Yes. So, the email Audits that I typically do are valued at $1500, but I’m going to, for your audience, through December 22nd, For the first 5 people that reach out to me, I’m gonna give that email audit to them for free. Marisa Shadrick : Oh. So I will, yeah, Kathy Farah : I will look At if you don’t now, I focus a lot in ConvertKit, but I can also look at emails and look Get other items, and then really give you a report at the end that lets you understand what actions you can take to try to improve your email marketing strategy. Marisa Shadrick : That is awesome. So all you have to do is when you reach out to Kathy, and we’ll give you how to reach out to her at the end of the podcast, all you have to say is free Audit. So she knows it came from this podcast because she’s not gonna do this for everybody, right, just for the listeners. So you have to say free Audit. And if you say free audit, then she knows it was a listener from the podcast because she’s gonna take the first 5. And then Once you connect with her, she can book on her calendar and begin to do that. So by the time you listen to this podcast, we will be December holiday season. So you’re looking at getting getting booked in January to get these things reviewed and stuff just so everybody know, because we don’t want her Working on Christmas. Marisa Shadrick : Right? It’s just like, no. We don’t wanna do that. So that is awesome. So you mentioned something that sort of piqued my curiosity. You said something Even if they don’t have ConvertKit. So is this offer just for people that have ConvertKit? I mean, you can obviously give them a more in-depth audit, right, if you can, Like, look at their ConvertKit. But is this for people that don’t have ConvertKit too? I mean, do you do services for those people? Kathy Farah : Don’t have ConvertKit as well. So the in that case, if it’s somebody that does not have ConvertKit, then maybe we’re focusing in on looking at the last Five emails that you sent out to your email list that you are wondering, you know, is there anything that I could do to improve this? So maybe it’s your promo sequence that you sent out some promotions. And for some reason, the sale just was not as successful as you had hoped. If you want to provide me the emails that went out, to your list, then I can take a look at those and give you some feedback and, you know, a little bit of a copy critique to let you know Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. What you could maybe do Kathy Farah : a little differently the next time to hopefully improve the chances of your promotions Marisa Shadrick : success. Be a welcome series for a free A free download welcome series with an order bump or something on the end, that is amazing. That has so much value because Once you tweak it and you get it working right, think of the revenue that you’re gonna make. Right? So you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. And especially for lead magnets, a lot of people don’t think about the welcome series. So Right. That is really valuable too. It’s not just about getting them to download that Resource, it’s getting them to stay engaged. Marisa Shadrick : Yes. So that’s a wonderful offer. So I’m gonna recap here. For those people listening to the podcast and want to have a free email sequence audit. And if you have ConvertKit, she will do a little bit more for you there. It’s a $1500 value. If you submit or reach out to her Before December 22nd, which is a Friday before Christmas, and make sure you say free audit. Kathy will put you on the calendar, and you can get this report from her. Marisa Shadrick : So that is awesome. That is awesome. This has been Great having you on. I just had so much fun, and you gave us so much value as far as emails and one of our greatest assets. And so Thank you so much for being so generous and giving us so much value on the podcast. And I just wanna remind everyone to be sure if you need an audit, this is Free. This has a a $1500 value. And what she shares with you, you can use in future emails too. Marisa Shadrick : So This could be the game changer for you, so be sure to reach out to her before December 22nd and make sure You say free audit because this is just for our podcast listeners, and she’s gonna take only 5. So make sure you reach out so she can get on the calendar with her. Yes. Thank you, Marisa. Kathy Farah : Any of the time. Marisa Shadrick : Last last comments for our audience? Kathy Farah : Well, I would definitely say sign up for Amplify Your Authority. It’s well worth it. Get Get that foundation in your business even if you think you know all the things. It’s definitely worth Getting things dialed in the way you need to Marisa Shadrick : to make connections, to really take Kathy Farah : your business to the next level. Marisa Shadrick : Well, thank you so much. We yeah. We are gonna have a cohort in January. So, if people are interested, December’s the time to reach out to me for that because we are gonna have cohort in January, and that’s gonna be starting. And it’s application first. I feel it’s very reasonably priced compared to I mean, not gonna pay 5,000, $10,000 for it. And, we take a journey for 6 months. So, yeah, thank you so much, Kathy, for that. Marisa Shadrick : That was so sweet. I appreciate it. Kathy Farah : Yeah. Thanks, Marisa, for your time. Marisa Shadrick : Alrighty, everyone. Take care, and we’ll talk to you soon.

In a world where business strategies often revolve around ads, funnels, and the latest systems, it’s easy to overlook the power of gratitude. But what if I told you that gratitude could be the key to personal fulfillment and business success? We’ll explore the connection between gratitude and prosperity. From building solid relationships to reducing stress and attracting opportunities, we can’t underestimate the power of gratitude.   In this episode, you’ll discover Transforming Business Relationships: Discover how a simple act of kindness can revolutionize your professional relationships and foster a network of mutual respect and collaboration. Cultivating a Grateful Work Culture: Uncover the secret to boosting employee morale and creating a work environment where gratitude leads to unparalleled productivity and job satisfaction. The Key to Exceptional Customer Service: Learn how integrating appreciation into your customer service strategy can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Overcoming Entrepreneurial Challenges with Gratitude: Explore how embracing gratitude can make problems more manageable and reduce stress and burnout. Gratitude as a Catalyst for Creativity and Resilience: Delve into how gratitude can spur creativity and innovation, essential for business success and resilience. Let’s make gratitude an everyday practice, building a brand known for positivity, integrity, and growth. Together, we can create a ripple effect of goodwill and an impactful legacy.   Key Takeaways: Gratitude is more than just a warm fuzzy feeling; it’s the path to business success. Practicing gratitude increases creativity, innovation, and positive decision-making. Cultivating gratitude helps create a fulfilling and meaningful life beyond monetary gain, reducing stress and burnout. Reciprocity, the practice of responding with kindness, creates a cycle of goodwill and cooperation.   Action Steps: Implementation of Gratitude for Long-Term Success Making appointments with yourself for proactive self-management Journaling as a tool for cultivating gratitude, peace, and empathy Living with integrity and leaving a positive legacy   Quotes “Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie “It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.” Naomi Williams “No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” Alfred North Whitehead   BLACK FRIDAY LEAD MAGNET BUNDLE ENDS MONDAY, NOV 27 Visit: https://marisashadrick.com/black-friday/   Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW ON SOCIAL LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/   GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE Choose Your Adventure! FREE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR  BUSINESS GOALS Click this link: https://marisashadrick.com/free-tools/   Related Episodes Episode #59 How a Ministry Background Equips Online Startups  Episode #10: Is the Great Resignation a Spiritual Shift?    WATCH ON YOUTUBE Questions or Comments? Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello everyone. In a world where marketing involves a lot of funnels and ads and systems, embracing gratitude isn’t always top of mind. So is gratitude more than just a warm fuzzy feeling? In this podcast episode, we’re gonna look at gratitude and see if there’s a connection between gratitude and prosperity. Hello. Hello, everyone. Marisa Shadrick here, And I’m gonna start with a few quotes to get the show rolling here. These quotes are from Inc Magazine, and I have some also from Forbes. So I want you to see what their perspective is when it comes to gratitude in business. Marisa Shadrick : Here’s a great quote. Gratitude turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, Chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates vision for tomorrow. And that’s Melody, Betty. I love this quote because it seems to align everything correctly in the right perspective no matter the situation. Here’s another great quote. Marisa Shadrick : It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment. That’s Naomi Williams. Isn’t it true? You can’t feel 2 things at the same time, so why not feel gratitude instead of depression? And here’s the 3rd quote, no one who achieves success does it without the help of others. The wise and the confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. That’s from Alfred North Whitehead. So true. So we’re beginning to see that part of the entrepreneurial journey is really having a mindset of gratitude. And as we continue, we’re gonna look how this ties together with actually growing your business. Marisa Shadrick : I have a few other quotes from Forbes, And this is from an article that they had, the business impact of gratitude. And Forbes writes this, while many of us tend to view and express gratitude in relation to our personal lives. Gratitude in the workplace is especially critical because it satisfies the higher psychological need to feel a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves, to feel a sense of meaning at work. This is huge. So many people that I coach don’t necessarily just want a bills a business. It’s Part of living a fulfilling life, they have a message. They have a mission, if you will, to share something that they feel is very, very important for the world. So it goes beyond monetary gain, although that’s part of it. Marisa Shadrick : But it also brings a lot of fulfillment and meaning to their work. So let’s break down. What is gratitude? You hear definitions and a lot of times during this time of year, Thanksgiving, people think of gratitude, but what is it? Gratitude is the recognition and appreciation of the positive aspects of life, Marisa Shadrick : including the contributions of others. It’s acknowledging the good, often external to oneself, and deliberately focusing on positivity. So it’s really focusing on the positive in all aspects of life. This is really, really important, not only for business, but also for our health and our mindset. So what’s the opposite of gratitude? But when we look at the opposite, it is a mindset of dissatisfaction, focusing on what’s missing or lacking, Marisa Shadrick : and that can lead to never being really satisfied. Never feeling really fulfilled. Never feeling a sense of closure that something’s accomplished. And that could leave people in a place where they’re always longing, never really appreciating today and always looking for that tomorrow, and it can lead to anxiety. Marisa Shadrick : So I found this other article in Inc. Magazine, the five psychological problems that hit entrepreneurs hardest according to a therapist. So there are outcomes of having a wrong mindset when you’re not Grateful, and it’s the opposite, when you feel like there’s always a lack. One of it is anxiety. The second is depression. The third is insecurity and self doubt. The 4th is no work life balance. And the last 1 is loneliness. Marisa Shadrick : That’s why it’s really important. I feel for people to be in community. That’s why I feel that the group coaching programs that I offer are very valuable, not just for the information they get in the training and the coaching, but the collaboration, the support from one another. Oftentimes, when you talk to people about being in a mastermind, they they mention the community, and then that gives them the the mindset, the courage, The strength, the insight to be able to move forward because they know they’re not doing it alone. And they realize within a mastermind group that not all launches or not all projects are successful. Sometimes they reach a plateau. Sometimes there needs to be tweaking and adjustment. And so they don’t feel alone. Marisa Shadrick : They don’t realize it’s just me. And so being in community is very, very important to help reduce the anxiety, depression, insecurity, self doubt, and really realizing that they need to work on certain parts of their business and not all of it all time. There’s a season for everything. So let’s look at the connection between gratitude and prosperity. Is there a connection? Well, I’ve got 7 here, so I’ll try to go through them really quickly. The first one is obviously enhanced relationships. A person that has a mindset of gratitude are going to enhance the relationships. Gratitude cultivates stronger relationships with a team, with an audience, with partners. Marisa Shadrick : Showing appreciation builds trust and loyalty, which are essential for long term business success. We need to cultivate relationships, first and foremost, because we are in the people business. We interact with people, and that requires building relationships. Granted some relationships are closer than others, but we’re still building relationships. We’re trying to go beyond whole list. We’re trying to go beyond acquaintances. We’re trying to build relationships. The second is positive work environment. Marisa Shadrick : Now, if you have a team, Marisa Shadrick : this would apply to you. A gratitude driven culture boosts employee morals and motivation, leading to increased productivity and reduced turnover. That equals rising revenue. Now you and I both know, if the pay is really good, but the environment is terrible, or the culture is terrible, Marisa Shadrick : or it’s very toxic, we don’t wanna work there anymore. It it sort of deflates all our ambition to even stay there or attempt to grow or get a promotion. And that could be the same way if you serve clients. If clients are very toxic, you don’t necessarily want to continue that business relationship with them. So gratitude allows us Marisa Shadrick : to have a very positive work environment. The third is improve customer service. This is a place where we can really show our brand in a way that customers can not Marisa Shadrick : only Feel it, but see it in the way that you support them. When gratitude is an integral part of your values, it reflects on how you treat customers, leading to higher satisfaction and repeat business. And here’s number 4. Obviously, it reduces stress, and it builds resilience. Gratitude helps manage stress and build that muscle of resilience, which is vital for navigating the ups and downs of business. Number 5, increase creativity and innovation. There’s nothing worse that will just completely eliminate any creativity if we’re stressed, if we’re worried, if we’re depressed, if we’re feeling anxious about something. But when we practice gratitude, we have a mindset of gratitude. Marisa Shadrick : All of a sudden, our mind is free to think of other things, to be creative, to be innovative. Innovation is important. Appreciating what you have can lead to more positive outlook, fueling that creativity and innovation. Critical drivers in staying competitive. Number 6. Better decision making. Gratitude can reduce the tendency to make fear based decisions, And that is huge. Sometimes if we allow our negative toxic emotions to take over, we’re not going to Marisa Shadrick : make the best choices, But if Marisa Shadrick : we have a mindset of gratitude, we are going to make better choices. They’re not going to be fear based. They’re going to be based from a heart, from a mind that’s feeling healthy and in tune to what’s going on. It allows for more thoughtful, strategic Marisa Shadrick : choices. Number 7 Marisa Shadrick : attracting opportunities. People love working with people that are not high maintenance or very toxic. So when people meet other people that are there’s alignment there in the way that they think and in gratitude, there’s, there’s something there that can build a positive reputation built on gratitude can attract new clients, partnerships, and opportunities otherwise unseen. So let’s review the 7, and this is the connection between gratitude and Thirty. Number 1 was enhanced relationships. Number 2, positive work environment. Number 3, improved customer service. Number 4, stress reduction and resilience, number 5, increased creativity and innovation, Number 6, better decision making. Marisa Shadrick : And number 7, Marisa Shadrick : attract opportunities. Marisa Shadrick : So why is gratitude not only beneficial, but also effective? What is it about gratitude? We saw the definition of it, but what is it? Well, this is where I put my copywriting hat on, and there’s something called reciprocity. And that is the other side of the coin to gratitude. Reciprocity. Reciprocity is a practice of responding with kindness and this positive action creates another positive action, Marisa Shadrick : creating a cycle of goodwill and cooperation. It’s the ripple effect. Marisa Shadrick : It is when we practice gratitude and we come with kindness and with empathy, it creates this reciprocity. We’re not held down by all the negative things and Looking at the glass half full and looking at what we don’t have, we are able to walk in gratitude, walk in positivity, And as we begin to practice gratitude in the very things that we do in our business, day to day actions, it does create a cycle of goodwill and cooperation because you are working now out of kindness. You’re not working from an empty container, but rather a full container. There’s not only enough for you, but there’s enough for others. It spills out. So when we cultivate gratitude, we begin to fill our cup, and then it overflows where it fills other people as well. In business and marketing, reciprocity can be powerful, not as a tactic, not as a way to get them, so to speak, but as Marisa Shadrick : a result. When a company or an individual offers something of value, be it Marisa Shadrick : a free product or helpful information or exceptional service or even a kind gesture. Recipients often feel a subconscious sense Marisa Shadrick : to return the favor. There’s trust that’s built. Reciprocity isn’t transactional. It’s part of building relationships and trust. It’s an integral part, and so many think that gratitude is just this nice little idealistic fluffy thing, and yet it really is mindset, and mindset is so important. When people or businesses genuinely show care and appreciation for others. It fosters community Marisa Shadrick : and belonging, encouraging ongoing interaction and support. All of these things are so important. At the very least, with all the interactions that we have Marisa Shadrick : to do in business, wouldn’t it be great Marisa Shadrick : to have that mindset of gratitude. We always have our cup full, so there’s always enough to give someone else even if it’s in 5 minutes or even if it’s in a post or even if it’s in a conversation, a 30 minute call, whatever it might be, we always have enough and we never feel spent. Marisa Shadrick : And that’s gonna spill into our brand and our community and our clients and everyone. So imagine a world where Thanksgiving, or at least the idea of Thanksgiving and gratitude, is an everyday practice and not just a yearly event. Marisa Shadrick : This isn’t an idealistic thought, but it could be a prosperous reality for leaders who adopt a gratitude mindset. Your business becomes brand recognized for positivity, integrity, and growth. That would be wonderful, right, for people to know you that way. And when we’re thinking about gratitude, people are thinking, well, not gonna get me the the sales that I want this month. We’re playing the long game here. Right? We’re not doing a sprint. This is a marathon, and we’re building something on a strong foundation. Not only is this helpful in your business, but it’s helpful for you. Marisa Shadrick : It’s helpful for you to be able to stay healthy, to stay emotionally healthy, mentally healthy, because there’s a lot we have to do when it comes to building an online business. So I’m gonna leave you with an action quote, and, hopefully, this one will resonate with you. It’s from Michael Hyatt’s living forward, a proven plan to stop drifting and get the life you want, and here’s the quote. Making appointments with yourself and scheduling other things around them is key to proactive self management. There is the beginning, let me read it again. Making appointments with yourself and scheduling other things around them is key to proactive self management. Marisa Shadrick : If we don’t know where to start, we don’t know where to begin, and we feel like we’ve totally been off course, one Marisa Shadrick : of the things that I recommend and I continue to do is journaling. Journaling is a great way to put your thoughts down Marisa Shadrick : and ask yourself some questions. Some of Marisa Shadrick : the questions that I answer in my journal are, what did you do yesterday? What are the 3 things that you did yesterday that you felt had value. And some of the questions are, what are you planning on doing today? And I usually limit it to 3. But I also ask myself, who are you grateful for recently? Marisa Shadrick : And I have to put Marisa Shadrick : a name down, and that helps me to be grateful. And then there’s other questions that sort of trigger gratitude in those journal questions. So I have a template. And even though there’s a template, the crazy thing is the answers are never the same. They’re never the same. They’re always different. So don’t think a template is only gonna produce the same answers for you. If you answer it, honestly, nobody’s going to see it. Marisa Shadrick : Nobody’s going to read it. It will help you to cultivate gratitude. It will help you to live with more peace and it will Marisa Shadrick : help you to share more empathy, Marisa Shadrick : more consideration, more love to the people that you work with, touch the Marisa Shadrick : people that you interact with. And I think that makes a great impact. It is that ripple effect that leaves an impactful legacy. So at Marisa Shadrick : the very least, they can know us for that, for integrity. So I feel that during this time of year, it’s really important to consider gratitude not just during the holiday season, but how can I implement this throughout the year and Marisa Shadrick : the everyday so I can live with a little bit more peace? And every night when I go to bed, I can feel gratitude for the day. Marisa Shadrick : So I hope this helped you. I wanted to do a segment for Thanksgiving, and, obviously, I wanted to talk about Gratitude and also the reciprocity, the psychological principle behind that that creates such a wonderful ripple effect. And I know one of the things that we do online to be able to bring people into our community is that we create lead magnets. So I am having a Black Friday that’s Black Friday special. It’s a lead magnet bundle that I’ve been offering here this last few days, and they will continue to Cyber Monday. And you can go there and check it out. It’s at MarisaShadrick.com/BlackFriday and you can see all the details to it, but it’s at 70% off. Marisa Shadrick : It’s creating your lead magnet, creating your opt in, thank you page, email sequence, social media posts, and more. So you could take a look at that and see if that’s something of interest to you. It is limited to a few people, and it is for a limited time, because it just depends on how many I can fit on my calendar. So if you’re interested in that, go check it out, and Marisa Shadrick : I would love to prepare that for you so you can begin building those relationships with gratitude. So until next time, take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And I look forward to a prosperous New Year. Take care.

In today’s episode, the remarkable Laura Mangum Broome is joining us, sharing her journey to resilience and hope. Laura has overcome tremendous adversity, including facing breast cancer, heart failure, the tragic loss of her adopted son, divorce, and loss of her home and business. Despite these challenges, she embodies resilience and transformation and has even written a book, “Flourishing After Adversity,” to share her coping strategies and resilience tools with others. She has also leveraged her experiences to become a successful public speaker. Laura’s story is one of strength, faith, and grace, and her journey will leave you inspired and encouraged.   In This Podcast Episode, You’ll Discover:  How resilience is a powerful tool that can help individuals navigate life’s challenges and emerge stronger Actionable coping strategies and resilience skills to help individuals face adversity, stress, and unexpected challenges. Cultivate the ability to turn challenging life events into opportunities for personal growth and kindness toward others An opportunity for listeners to engage with Laura’s book launch and how they can benefit from joining the book launch team. Laura’s message goes beyond the pages of her book. Through her website, icopetohope.com, she provides free resources and coaching programs for those seeking support. Her resilience and kindness are remarkable, making her an incredible source of inspiration.   Quotes: Adversity can make you bitter or better, and it’s our choice. And I chose better, so I want to share what helped me with other people.”— Laura Broome. “Understand that change is going to happen; concentrate more on the journey than the outcome.”— Laura Broome. “Once you get out of your comfort zone, you see opportunities. You can find more joy in your life” — Laura Broome. I want people to know if I can do it; they can too because I’m an ordinary person who went through extraordinary things, and I know others can do it.”— Laura Broome.   Action Step: Join Laura’s Book Launch Team! Starts Monday, November 13, 2023. It is completely FREE, but I’m capping it to 100 people! Get EARLY access to read it in advance when you join my book launch team! exclusive access to additional bonuses (valued at $297) that I will bring ONLY to the launch team. We’ll interact LIVE in the launch team Facebook group and more. Click to join: https://www.icope2hope.com/   About Laura Mangum Broome Laura Mangum Broome embodies resilience and transformation. Her journey, marked by breast cancer, the loss of her oldest son, her life-saving heart transplant, and a sudden divorce after 27 years of marriage, showcases the human ability to triumph over adversity. She created the iCope2Hope 3-Step Resilience Framework to help others conquer their fear of change, overcome challenges, and rediscover joy. Her upcoming book, “Flourishing After Adversity: A 3-Step Action Plan to Transform Pain into Purpose and Embrace Joy Again” teaches the same resilience skills Laura used to experience positive growth while starting her life over at the age of 58. Website: https://www.icope2hope.com/   Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.    FOLLOW MARISA SHADRICK ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/   GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE Choose Your Adventure! FREE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR  BUSINESS GOALS Click this link: https://marisashadrick.com/free-tools/   Watch the Podcast on YouTube     Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another podcast episode, and I have a special treat for you. So if you need a little inspiration, you wanna tune in and listen As I continue to kind of tee this up and tell you a little bit about Laura. Laura Broom embodies resilience and transformation. Her journey marked by breast cancer, the loss of her oldest son, her life saving heart transplant, And a sudden divorce after 27 years of marriage showcases the human ability to triumph over adversity. She created the I Cope to Hope 3 step resilience framework to help others conquer their fear of change, Overcome challenges and rediscover joy. Her upcoming book, Flourishing After Adversity, A 3 step action plan to transform pain into purpose and embrace joy again Teaches the same resilience skills Laura used to experience positive growth while starting her life over At the age of 58. Welcome, Laura. Laura Broome : Thank you, Marissa. Laura Broome : It’s a Laura Broome : joy to be here. Marisa Shadrick : I’m so excited to have you on the podcast because you are someone that really embodies resilience. A lot of people use the word a lot, But you have gone through a lot. So first of all, I want the listeners to know, where are you coming in from? Where do you where do you live? Laura Broome : I am in in San Antonio, Texas, and I’ve I’ve been a a Texan all my life. Marisa Shadrick : Oh, wow. That’s awesome. Do you have family there as well? Mhmm. Laura Broome : I do. That’s great. Laura Broome : I’m a Laura Broome : native Houstonian. Yeah. So my family is, still in the Houston area, and, I live with my twin sister. Marisa Shadrick : I know. That’s so exciting. I actually got to meet her twin sister, and they are twins, and they are hysterical together. They I just I like Partners in crime. Right? She’s amazing. She’s amazing. So she’s a big supporter of you, I can tell, Because you guys get along so well. I’m I’m kind of envious. Marisa Shadrick : They really get along well. The little don’t you call yourselves the Giggle Twins? Laura Broome : The Google twins, yes. We’re we’re like each other’s best friends, so it’s it’s wonderful. Marisa Shadrick : That’s great. That’s awesome. So to give people a little bit Context, why don’t you, share a little bit how we ended up working together? So it’s been a little while now. Now that I think of it, it’s been, like, a couple years that we’ve been working together. So why don’t you give them a little bit of the backstory? Laura Broome : Yes. Well, gosh, we met. You were one of my mentors, And, and, you started a new program, and I was so excited Because I was put into a change of life, when I, you know, at at 58 when I had to start my life over again, and I I had to learn a new, way of Earning money, I had to, just really start everything over. And we, we just met, and you were such an encouragement to me and and gave me such insight. And I thought I can really learn a lot from you, and and you’ve been so encouraging and So, helpful. And, because of your background, being a a copywriter, and and I didn’t even know what that was. And I’ve heard of it, but I was like, what what does somebody like that do? And, so it was such a a a I learned so much because this was a completely different, I guess, like, a a a way of, learning a new business. I I had been an entrepreneur Before, I was co owner within a business with my, husband at the time, but this was something completely different. Laura Broome : Doing business online, I had a lot to learn, and and you were so helpful and and so knowledgeable And really encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. Marisa Shadrick : Oh, thank you so much. And and you’re so right. It is different. There’s some similarities Between having a local business, you know, brick and mortar, some similarities, but so different how we prospect, how we interact online, Because we don’t have the advantage of face to face contact all the time, and so it is very different. And so I thought it was really smart of you to start with copy connection, which is one of my programs, and learn copy even though you didn’t know exactly what it was. And that’s Everybody is wondering that. I realized more and more. I say copyright and they go copy. Marisa Shadrick : What? What is that? What do they do? Is that copyright? And I go, no. It’s not copyright. But, the power of words. Right? Because that’s what we have. That’s our tool online. Whether it’s in text or at audio or A video, we have to leverage those words. We don’t have a lot of time to do it too. We’ve gotta do it quickly. Marisa Shadrick : So you did so well In Copy Connection, I mean, you were just doing every lesson. You were learning. Your copy was transforming. And then you ended up Joining me for Amplify Your Authority. So that was awesome. That was the beginning of the was that the beginning of this year Of Yeah. I’m trying to think. Was it almost 12 months Laura Broome : ago? I believed yeah. Yes. I think it was January Or gosh. I I don’t know. I just know whatever you offered, I wanted to stay in because I was learning so much. And, and, yeah, I mean, Copy Connection, that truly opened my eyes to, I guess, like, the world of marketing, because I I had no experience in that. And And and your lessons were so so easy to understand, and you you walked us through The lessons and and the the homework was great practice to put into action what we learned. And and I realized it’s not as hard as I thought it was, but, You know, when you don’t deal with marketing, you just don’t it’s like, it’s just like a general word. Laura Broome : You know? And but I but learning and copy connection, I I learned so much. You you know, dissected all the The pieces and and it really it really resonated with me in the different parts. And, Like I said, it got to the point where I did not wanna miss a live lesson because I knew I would If I if time was really tight for me, I’d have to really find time to listen to the replay. So it made me motivated to be at the lesson live I could ask questions and take my notes and, be ready to to hit the the homework. Marisa Shadrick : Copywriting is such an essential part that when I offer Amplify Your Authority, which is more the components of Building an online business. For those of you that don’t know, it it it’s a 6 month program, but the 1st 90 days is an intensive where you learn the system. It’s about learning first the 1st month, getting the branding right, the messaging, all of that. The 2nd month is traffic, trying to figure out, You know, how you’re going to get clients, and I have a system for that so they can begin to prospect in a smart way without burning out. And then the 3rd month is really about the products and having those multiple streams of revenue. Copywriting is so important for all of that, and I didn’t wanna give them a piece or a slice. So Now when people sign up for Amplify Your Authority, they get copy connection as well because I feel it they complement each other, And it’s an important part. So, so, yeah, you kind of came along when Copy Connection launched. Marisa Shadrick : And then as I was implementing Amplify Your Authority, you decide I’m gonna just stay in. And so it’s been great. So what kind of results have you seen from being in both programs? Because you Really dived into both of them. Laura Broome : Yes. Well, what was exciting when we started amplify your your, message, It kinda put everything from copy connection. It it just melded everything together. And So within the the 1st 3 months, I had a speaking opportunity that I was so excited Because I think I was probably one of the few people who actually had, a 1 sheet, my media page, to to give to the, to the event. And, and and that was so that took so much pressure off and, learning how to apply the the speaking template, to my message was even, even so helpful. And because I went In listening to some of the other speakers, it was hard to to to understand what their messages or the because we we had, Like, 15 to 30 minutes to speak, but I felt like mine was structured so well, because I learned how to do my opening and my 3 points, and and and I had a lot of compliments. And that was That was great because doing my 1st speech was very hard. It was online. Laura Broome : Thank goodness. But but, still, you know, because you do tend to wanna do that Comparison thing, and it’s like, no. Don’t don’t compare. Just concentrate on yourself, and and it it went well. It was very Marisa Shadrick : I I remember that. And That is one of the things that we do in the 2nd month is create your your press kit or your one sheet to position you. I didn’t wanna scare the audience and tell them I I kinda push them into public speaking, but I do, you know, and there’s different ways to do this. It could be I know. Most people go, oh, no. I don’t wanna do that. I don’t wanna join our program, but It it is I mean, think about it. Speaking is part of what we do, whether it’s online, on a video, on a reel, whether it’s a video, maybe on your website, we’re always speaking, and so why not leverage that and learn to do it correctly and create talks for Being a podcast guest or even on a summit or an in person event, which, really, that first Opportunity you had was the first of many. Marisa Shadrick : You started getting some public speaking opportunities, and you even spoke at my Tennessee event, and you did a fabulous job. So polished. It was wonderful. Laura Broome : Oh, thank you. It it was it that was a nice opportunity to To speak live, and, I think it was when well, it was the the 2nd time. I it I I Really enjoyed the smaller events speaking live. Yeah. But, but it was so wonderful to be prepared. I think that’s the thing. Yes. If if someone said, okay. Laura Broome : You’re gonna have to do a presentation, of course, you know, that’s one of the number one things people are scared of. But, but when you come into it prepared, it it really is just if if you have a little bit of nervousness, That’s good because that that means you’re ready to to take on that that task. But, but, yeah, it was, It was so nice being prepared and having a template, and and and then I could just reuse that depending on if my audience changes. It’s just I gotta tweak that a little bit, but it’s it’s really wonderful. I can use that, presentation for any type of talk. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Absolutely. Because it’s a different audience. So the core remains the same. You just tweak the opening. That’s awesome. I’m excited because you Hab, I sort of wanna transition into your book because you’ve been working on this book. And I really appreciate all the kind words that you said, By the way, about Coffee Connection and Amplify Your Authority. Marisa Shadrick : But I really wanna focus on you a little bit and talk about this book. What inspired this book? Laura Broome : I had a lot to say, and sometimes you can’t cover it in about 15 or 30 minutes. Yeah. The the book has been a labor of love. And I never thought I’d ever write a book. But because of what I’ve been through And I’ve overcome, quite a bit in over a short period of time, you know, 4 life Changing events in a 5 year period. And I I realized if I can do it, I want other people to know they can overcome hardship and and still experience joy in their life. And and so, You know, I I’ve had I’ve gone through quite a bit of challenges, but nothing like what happened, from, you know, Beginning 2015, with my, breast cancer and losing My oldest son to suicide and, then a couple years later, a heart transplant and the divorce, that was, That that was a lot to to overcome and learning how to deal with my grief. And when I got to the acceptance stage, I had to decide, what am I gonna do now? And so the the book kinda tells some of my, My stories, I didn’t always handle them well. Laura Broome : I’ve I’ve learned, along the way, how to strengthen my resilience in in tools and coping strategies that I now can apply to anything that I come across, big or small. It’s the framework that 3 step framework That I find that it it it does help, and it does work. And people always ask me, well, how did how did you get through that? That would devastate me. And I just want people to know, you know, adversity can make you bitter or better, and it’s our choice. And I chose better, and so I’m I wanna share what helped me with other people. And, I can’t solve their problems, but I can give them the tools and the coping strategies to help them overcome their They’re challenges. Marisa Shadrick : That is amazing. I don’t wanna gloss over the fact that these were 4 life Changing events in a 5 year period. Is that correct? Did I hear that right? That is major because just one Event can derail people. And was the first, event that happened, was that the breast cancer? Was that the first? Laura Broome : Yes. Yes. I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and and then when I, stopped the Chemo, which fortunately, the chemo worked. But when I stopped it, it, at at the time, I didn’t know it, but it it I started having heart issues and heart problems and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. And it turns out that I had a genetic marker That the chemo turned on the congestive heart failure, and my twin sister has it too. We didn’t it was a it’s a long story of how we Discovered it was genetic. But if I hadn’t gone through that breast cancer and and, you know, started having the Congestive heart failure symptoms, we wouldn’t have known it was a genetic issue. And, so Our our brother has the marker too, and, each one of their children has it too. Laura Broome : So it it’s not doesn’t guarantee you’re gonna get Congestive heart failure. But we just have to be proactive and, you know, just, get a baseline, You test. But but yes. And then, 3 months after, my chemo stopped is is when my, And my oldest son, whom we had adopted from Russia 10 years prior, he died by suicide. And, so I I I was in the hospital, getting ready for some cancer surgery, when that happened. And, I had a a lot of wonderful, supportive people around me and Which helped me get through that. And and then a couple years later is when I was diagnosed with the, needing a heart transplant, and that was at the beginning of COVID. So, you know, right When COVID shut Marisa Shadrick : down, it was actually 5 yeah. Five life changing events. Not 4, 5 in 5 years. Oh my gosh. Laura Broome : I mean, COVID COVID was kinda in there anyway. You know? Marisa Shadrick : But Yeah. Because COVID really messed with a lot of people. You know? A lot of people had lost. A lot of people are Seeing their point of view of things is a little different now. There’s a lot of things that happened because of COVID, but all of these things that happened I mean, just the cancer alone And finding out this news, I am so sorry for your loss, but finding out about your son when you’re getting ready for surgery, I mean, that alone and they can’t postpone it. Right? Because you need to have the surgery. I mean, that is heartbreaking to Hear that. Right? And so the fact that you were able to recover, is miraculous in itself. Marisa Shadrick : The heart transplant, Just even waiting because I’ve heard stories that you have to wait. Right? You have to wait for a match. How long did you have to wait? Laura Broome : I I expected to wait 4 to 6 weeks, and and they told me, It could even be longer than that because of COVID shutting everything down. And, so because I since I have o positive blood, it’s very common. And so for to give blood, it’s great. But to receive an organ, I’m one of many trying to, you know, vie for, you know, an organ, A heart transplant. And so, I mean so that was even gonna be kinda you know? So that was kind of a strike against me, COVID, And just waiting for the right match, because there’s so many things involved in, matching the heart. It’s Tissue and blood and I mean, it’s it’s it’s it’s mind boggling, because, you know, you you don’t want the body to reject. It’s gonna see that as a foreign object anyway, so you you don’t want your body to reject it or get an infection. And so, again, you know, Yes. Laura Broome : My faith played so much into all of this. And so I when I went in the hospital in April, I brought my work with me, and because I was working from home anyway, running the day to day operations with the business. I’d already started delegating My work, but I I just brought everything into the office because it didn’t have visitors. I I had to, you know, talk on the phone or, you know, Zoom. And so I thought, well, I’m gonna get bored. I might as well be productive. And 6 days later, they found a heart for me. Perfect match. Laura Broome : So the doctor said, you found a good strong heart for you. I’m going to the airport to make sure it’s a good match and Bring it back, and we’ll get you into surgery. And I I I did. That evening, I I got my new heart, and 2 weeks later, I went home. It was Mother’s Day weekend. I was so excited, to I thought this is the best Mother’s Day gift I could ever Have a I got a new heart. I get to spend it with my family. And and then a month later, I I found out I was going through a divorce, and my husband was in another relationship and and, Chose that after almost 30 years of marriage, and and, so I moved in with my sisters. Laura Broome : So that was a real trying time trying to to I mean, it was glad I was I was having a good recovery from the heart transplant, but the the divorce, was very devastating at the time. Marisa Shadrick : So let me backtrack a little bit. Did you say you they found a match after 6 days? Laura Broome : Yes. Marisa Shadrick : Was that Laura Broome : oh my goodness. Miracle. Marisa Shadrick : And you Laura Broome : It was a miracle. Marisa Shadrick : Expecting it to be 4 to 6 weeks, and sometimes I’ve heard it could take longer. But you found in 6 days, they found a that was a miracle in itself. That was fantastic. And then you’re you’re done with that, Hoping that, okay, this is now behind the divorce. That was were you thinking that that was a possibility, or was that a surprise? Or Did you know anything was wrong? Or Laura Broome : Oh, well, you know, in in every marriage, you have ups and downs, and and we had been trying to work through stuff. And the business was stressful. We had gone to marriage counseling, and, you know, you you take the vows. I didn’t I didn’t think We would end up in a divorce. I honestly didn’t, but Marisa Shadrick : committed to to work it out. Yeah. Laura Broome : You were committed to work it Marisa Shadrick : out, and you were working in the business. Laura Broome : You You know, when I was going through the grieving stages, when I got to the anger stage you know? Yes. Of course, I was angry at him, but then it it made me realize he moved on, and that’s what I had to struggle with. And then I got mad at myself because it’s like, okay. You’re pining for something that’s not ever gonna happen. There’s no reconciliation is not an option. So what are you gonna do now? Are you going to keep suffering and reliving that pain over and over again, or are you gonna pick yourself up and move on? That was The the changing point. That’s when everything Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. Laura Broome : Because I stopped focusing on the past, and I started living the present And trying to build towards my future. That’s a lot of what the book is about is, coming to making that decision. And and some people, you know, like I talk about in the book, you you can choose to be a victim or a victor. And it’s it’s their choice. You know, I can’t make it for them. So I I think that’s the 1st step in moving forward Laura Broome : Yeah. Laura Broome : After hardship is almost that mindset. Marisa Shadrick : A Theme a theme that each time you you faced a choice, you told yourself, okay. This is your option, which in one way, You’ve empowered yourself to make a choice. But Mhmm. Each time it’s like you almost faced, okay, Laura. What am I gonna do here? You you got 1 to 2 things that you can do. So you made a choice, which I think the hope behind that is that we do have a choice. Right? We have a choice of which way we’re going to perceive this or go about this. Right? Can you kinda speak into that in case somebody is going through Something challenging right now? Laura Broome : It is. You know? And because I can hear people going, well, I don’t like my choices. Well, I didn’t like my choices either going through the divorce. But it’s like so you still have a choice. I mean, you can either Choose to not make a choice or or choose to make a choice. Either way, it’s going to be a choice. And One thing that I I truly believe, because I know I I’ve experienced this through my my life and everybody else has, is you have to acknowledge that change is going to happen. Change is constant. Laura Broome : And and once you Understand that things are going to change and you have to be flexible, then that’s where it’s going to be easier to make choices. And because I didn’t like the choices I had at the time, but as I Kept going forward, the situation would change for the better or just take a different path. And so If you learn to develop a growth mindset, which is what I talk about in the book, that’s the first step, You concentrate on what’s in your control to move forward. And and and so understanding that change is going to happen, Concentrate more on the journey rather than the outcome. You can set a goal, but you if you understand the goal may not be the same thing that you’re looking for or that you achieve, you might get it. It might take you to a different goal, and but it’s always going to be better. And that’s something that I learned out of those experiences in that short period of time. I always found at least 1 good thing good thing that came out of those tragic experiences, and And I got to the point where I could find more than 1. Laura Broome : And but it’s it’s changing your perspective and looking for the positive. It’s not making things up, but it’s actually finding the good in things, in the situation, in people. Once you understand what you’re in control of, Which is, you know, your your thoughts, your words, and your actions, then you can move forward. But as long as you understand Stan, what’s out of your control is going to be other people, their thoughts, their words, their actions. You don’t have any control over that. Marisa Shadrick : Absolutely. Think this message is so appropriate for today because there’s so much going on in the world. And like I we said earlier, even COVID, there’s still the effects of it, and people’s perspective has changed a lot about different things. You find people kind of online because we’re online so much. We find them almost on edge, you know, on edge. And I think this message is so Appropriate, especially for today, what’s going on in the world. And there’s a lot of people that have been displaced from corporate jobs. Divorce continues, unfortunately. Marisa Shadrick : There’s a lot of people Laura Broome : going Marisa Shadrick : through divorce. There’s a lot of single moms. There’s a lot of things going on. And that’s one of the things I often share that An email is not just an email. It’s a real person behind that email with goals and dreams, but also with problems and challenges. You know? Even the Good things in life can be stressful. You know, relocation or a marriage or having a baby. You know, those things can be stressful as well. Marisa Shadrick : So we’re even talking about things. Like, even the good things can create anxiety. And sometimes we need resilience to raise our 4 kids and take them to soccer and keep a schedule and Maintain boundaries and all this other stuff. So life is full of it. And so I could see how this book because I was gonna ask you who this book is for, And we never wanna say it’s for anyone, but I have a feeling this is one situation where we can say it is For people that want to be more resilient. Right? And regardless of what’s happening in their lives. Would you agree? Laura Broome : It is it’s for people who are sick and tired of being sick and tired, and they they need something to change in their life. And And and they have that. They they have the power to change their life for the better. And, regardless with whether anybody Wants to come along with them or not, they have that choice. And, and and I wrote the book too. It’s it’s very easy, easy coping strategies. It’s it’s easy to understand. It’s broken down into baby steps Because what I my goal with with this book and with my message is to let people know It’s doable. Laura Broome : It’s achievable. You can do it. You can teach somebody else to do it. That’s the best way how we learn is by telling somebody else These you know, the strategies in the book, the the, resilience skills and the coping strategies. Mhmm. And, and we can pass this down, Leave a legacy of resilience to the next generation, our children, our grandchildren. Marisa Shadrick : I love what you said about learning these skills and then Even teaching it to your children, that is or your grandchildren, that is so value because they’re gonna need those kind of skills. You’re gonna need those kind of skills. So I I love that that you said that. And I’ll tell you listeners that if you knew Laura, She you would never know she has gone through so much because she said she went through 4 life changing events. I added another COVID, And I I’m adding another one, a 6 one in a 5 year period, and that’s the fact that you lost your income because you were helping in your husband’s business. You were Working together in that. Right? And I’m gonna even add another one too because so you lost your business, basically, and then you lost not a house, but you lost your home. Yeah. Marisa Shadrick : So I just added 7. So it’s I keep piling it on because I wanna explain to the audience Yeah. Not to make you feel bad. I don’t wanna Laura Broome : make you feel Marisa Shadrick : bad, but to explain to you how much she had to face. I mean, think of that, losing your home, right, and and End the business. So we’re talking about financial, and that’s a stressor right there. But if you had an opportunity to sit down with Laura, she is the most loving, Kind, generous, compassionate person you would meet on the planet. She is just so caring. And I know that that As a resilience coach, because that’s how you you call yourself a resilience coach, I know the people that you’re gonna come alongside, They’re gonna be able to, just just from being with you, gain not only the the tools that they need, But you are such an example of grace and kindness that I think they’re going to just absolutely Want to be able to see things, like, you see things and use those tools because you help them realize that it is possible. And so I just had to say that because I respect you so much as a woman, a strong woman, Who is daring to do something that most people would say, that’s too hard. You can’t do that, and yet you’re doing it. Marisa Shadrick : So I applaud you for that. And so does the book allow people to connect with you if they because I’m sure you probably have some coaching programs or something For people that want more, do you have something else that you offer people besides the book? Laura Broome : Yes. I do. On my website, I have, some free resources. I have a, a, a Workbook, just a a a simple workbook that is, 3 life changing hacks to disrupt thinking traps and reduce stress. And, that’s on my my website, and I have a weekly blog that I put out that’s Accessible on my website and, weekly newsletter. And, and I do have, ways that, people can work with me. And I just wanted to add something, because you were so kind, with, the words you used to describe me. How I tell people now is when I was going through all that 3 years ago, it’s like I Step deck. Laura Broome : I got pushed out of my comfort zone, and the door was locked, and I couldn’t go back in to my comfort zone. So I had to you know? Laura Broome : How you get locked out of the house or something, and you go, oh, no. What am Laura Broome : I gonna do? That’s, Laura Broome : You know, that’s kinda how it happened. It’s just a quick way Laura Broome : to to to tell people, you know, what happened. And and so, You know, I don’t want people to be find themselves in that situation where they’re forced out of their comfort zone. So, you know, I I have, some Some skills and strategies to to help with that, but it is exciting. Once you start getting out of your comfort zone, you do see opportunities. You do find more joy in your life, and and, and I want people to know, you know, if I can do it, They can too because I’m an ordinary person who went through extraordinary things, and I know others can do it. And and probably you could do it better than I have, but but I I don’t want them to make the mistakes I did. So that that’s why I wrote the book. Let me help you do it faster. Marisa Shadrick : So we have a little offer, a surprise for people, because I’m sure people want to buy the book, but the book is not going to be available yet till what date? What’s the launch date on that? Laura Broome : It’ll be available to purchase on December 5th in, on Amazon and all the, you know, major, Places to to buy the book. But, yes, I do have an opportunity right now. I am Putting together a book launch team. People join that. They get an opportunity to get free version of The book, also a opportunity to get a free signed paperback book. It’s it’s free to them, and they there’ll be some other resources, Fun challenges. Everything that’s on my website is easy to find. K. Laura Broome : And, it’s and they can sign up There, and it’s a private Facebook group. And, so it’ll it’ll be a fun time. Marisa Shadrick : Yeah. I love it because they’ll have a copy Laura Broome : The book, and then they’ll have Marisa Shadrick : an extra copy to give to someone too. So that’s great, an autograph copy, and then you’ll get The reviews, I think that’s a great idea. It sounds like a win win all the way around to read the book, and and make sure you get them to Take a picture of the the book with them so you can get pictures Laura Broome : of people. Yes. Yes. I know. I know. I’m still working on all the Details. I’m kinda, you know, the I I’m this is all kinda new to me too, but, I’m I’m you know, we’ll all learn together. Marisa Shadrick : I’m a stranger. Those. Yeah. I’ve seen those pictures where everybody holds up a book, you know, and they get us a little Clip of everybody holding up the book. Those are fun. Those are fun. So that sounds exciting. So now just to repeat so everybody knows, You can go to Laura’s website, and we’ll give you all those details. Marisa Shadrick : It’ll be in the show notes too. And you can join her book launch team. And with that, you’ll get an immediate PDF copy of the book. And there’s just a few things for you to do, but you’ll be able to read A copy of the book, and you’ll be able to share it with some friends and family, and then you’ll end up with an actual physical copy that you can give to someone, a loved one, a friend, a spouse, whoever needs it, and that it would be such a wonderful gift for them. Do you wanna give them the website, so that they can go visit that and get on your book launch team? What is the, website URL? Laura Broome : Yes. It’s icope to hope.com, and that’s That I c o p e, the number 2, h o p e.com. Marisa Shadrick : Laura, thank you so much for being on the podcast. I really enjoyed having you and hearing your story. And thank you so much for everything that you’re doing. You’re really an inspiration. I know there’s so much more that you do. You volunteer. There’s more that we didn’t have time to cover, but thank you so much for everything you’re doing and really Creating change in the world. Thank you. Laura Broome : Thank you for having me, Marissa. I really enjoyed it. Marisa Shadrick : Alrighty, everyone. Take care, and we’ll talk to you soon.

Are Your Marketing Strategies Falling Short? Discover the Power of ‘Follow-Up’ for Maximizing Sales Are you struggling to convert leads into profitable sales? You’re not alone, and the issue may not be your strategy but your follow-up—or lack thereof. As industry thought leader Jim Rohn eloquently said, “The fortune is in the follow-up.” In today’s podcast broadcast, we’ll unpack the mechanics of increasing ‘touchpoints’—those critical moments of interaction before and after someone joins your email list—to improve your conversion rates.   In This Podcast Episode, You’ll Discover:  The Cost of Inadequate Follow-Up: Why lack of follow-up can become a reason for not getting enough sales  Understanding ‘Touchpoints’:The concept of touch points as pre and post-email acquisition  Maximizing Interactions: How increased touchpoints lead to trust, interest, and better results  Practical Examples: Suggested touch points for marketing funnels and building your network  The Art of Embracing ‘No: Why you shouldn’t take “no” personally.   Your marketing strategies aren’t just about initial contacts or superficial engagement. It’s about building sustainable relationships that convert, and the key to this lies in masterful follow-up strategies. Thank you for tuning in, and as always, I’m here to help you turn your marketing aspirations into measurable achievements.   Key Takeaways: The Power of Repetition: Effective follow-up strategies involving persistent touchpoints can exponentially improve conversion rates. Diversify Your Traffic Sources: Leverage a mix of organic, paid, referral, and borrowed traffic to expand and engage your prospect pool. Quality Over Quantity: Prioritize nurturing existing leads through custom touchpoints over annoying cold-lead conversion tactics   Action Steps: Strategize for Engagement: Formulate innovative ways to multiply touchpoints, boosting engagement with your ideal customers. Persistence Pays: Reflect on the startling statistic that 90% of salespeople quit following up after the fourth attempt. Rethink your approach. Personalize the Follow-Up: Develop methods to tailor your follow-up approaches to suit varying segments within your target audience, thereby humanizing your marketing strategies.   Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much.   FOLLOW ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/   GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE Choose Your Adventure! FREE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR  BUSINESS GOALS Click this link: https://marisashadrick.com/free-tools/   WATCH ON YOUTUBE   Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick : Hello. Hello. Have you ever felt like you’re putting your heart and soul into your marketing, and you’re just not getting enough sales, and it’s kind of a bummer, it bums you out, and you’re doing everything that you can. But what if it’s not your strategy? What if it’s a lack of follow-up? And we’ve all heard the wonderful quote from Jim Rohn, the fortune is in the follow-up. What if that needs to be amped up a little bit? And that’s exactly what we’re gonna talk about today in this week’s podcast episode, the fortune is still in the follow-up. Hello. Hello, everyone. How are you doing? Marisa here with another podcast episode, and we’re gonna talk about a topic that I was really actually bad at, I’ve learned. Marisa Shadrick : Learning experience. Right? It’s all learning experience about follow-up, which I call touch points. And there’s 2 parts to this, really. There’s touch points before they enter into your ecosystem, any of your target audience. And there’s also touch points once they are part of your email list. So it’s sort of twofold. And the more I have increased my touch points, the more I have seen results. And so we’re gonna talk about that a little bit today. Marisa Shadrick : So just as a reminder, this podcast episode can be found on any of your favorite podcast platforms like Apple, Spotify, and also on YouTube. So we have a video version as well. So when you go to my website and you see podcasts in the tab, you’ll be able to see both a place where you can listen to it or watch it if you prefer. So, of course, I have notes because I gotta have notes. I Usually, prepare for these, and I try to give you as much value as possible. But this was a particular topic that I was gonna share within my private community, And we talk about different topics in that, and and the 2nd time I show up live, we talk about the back end tech to figure out how to do what it was that I coached them on. So because sometimes, you know, it’s great to get theory, it’s great to get ideas, but then we sit there in front of Peter wonder, how do we do it? So I want you to understand the concept behind follow-up, And we’re going to just start from the beginning, and we’re just gonna go over some things. You probably know this already, but I don’t wanna assume anything. Marisa Shadrick : I wanna just break it down very easily. So the first thing is a definition of touchpoint. So I found this one CRM call Act that had a pretty good definition, like, modified it slightly. Not a lot, but just slightly. And it says a touchpoint are or or touch points or various interactions a prospect has with your business before making a purchase. So there’s the before they’re in your ecosystem. Right? Or maybe they are part of your email list already, but sometimes we use marketing where, they enter into a funnel, and those become touch points until they buy, or sometimes we offer something maybe it’s even a free resource. How many touch points did it take to get them to download that resource and become part of your email list? So the rest of the definition let me repeat this. Marisa Shadrick : A touchpoint or touch points are various interactions a prospect has with your business before making a purchase. They’re the contact points that you use to follow-up with prospects and match them forward in the sales funnel. So long story short, it’s real simple, is how many interactions do you have with people before they download a free resource, or how many interactions do you have with your email list so that they can buy a certain product or service? Because this is what I used to do. I used to figure you know, I’m I’m wonderful with checklists, and I love to create a checklist and just check it off, check it off, check it off. But the follow-up was something that it’s not done yet. You gotta go back and do more, and I’m not one to wanna redo things. And so I sort of, you know, I sort of, you know, messed myself up there because it’s important to realize that the first time you offer something, people aren’t necessarily going to say yes, and it takes a certain number of times before they say yes. So some people understand this, and they realize that it there’s a lot of truth to this. Marisa Shadrick : But One of the things that I realized when I did a little bit of research on this is, like, it’s it’s across the board. It’s not just solopreneurs. It’s not just coaches or or service providers. It’s across the board. A lot of times, there’s salespeople that That is their livelihood, and so they’re going to the next call, the next call, the next call until they get a yes, till they get a yes. And those nos, they never look back at those no’s. Right? They don’t become as much of a a hot list to call on because they’ve already been cycled through once. So here’s an interesting quote from an article that I read, And it said that Microsoft conducted a study that shows that by the 4th contact, a full 89%, almost 90% of salespeople had given up on that particular contact. Marisa Shadrick : They didn’t go back to contact them. So it’s interesting to think, what if I did repeat a message, or what if I came in from another direction, or maybe followed up a few months later, a few weeks later to a certain audience even though they may have said no and We don’t hear the audible no. It could have been that they never read it or it could have been that it they were on vacation. You just never know why somebody doesn’t take you up on an offer, whether it’s free or paid. You just don’t know. And so sometimes, you know, our mind plays messes with us and plays tricks on us and makes it we take it personally, and it’s not a a personal thing. At least, I used to, but I don’t anymore. But I realized that people sometimes are not ready to take that step, and I know because I’ve done that as well. Marisa Shadrick : There’s certain things that I haven’t bought because I’m not ready. It’s not because I don’t want it. It’s just the timing is not right. And so the same is for those people that you’re trying to prospect to. It might not be the right time, but it’s not necessarily a no. So I was guilty of that. So I totally get it. So let’s first talk about a little bit of Review on traffic sources just so we’re on the same page, because I want you to understand that maybe there’s more you can do with The existing leads that you have rather than trying to find more new leads and more new leads and more new leads. Marisa Shadrick : So traffic sources, just a quick overview, you have different types of traffic sources. You have organic, which is simply not paid. Right? Organic traffic could be people that happen to find you from a Google search and land on your website. That’s organic traffic. Right? And we wanna be able to leverage our website. There’s also paid traffic. That’s when we literally Pay ad money to get traffic. We also have referral traffic, And we have borrowed traffic. Marisa Shadrick : Now, I am very much a fan of borrowed traffic, but you have to realize that these traffic sources are kinda like a highway you know, when you when you’re driving down a freeway or a highway and usually have multiple lanes, and you have sometimes the the fast lane on the very left, and then you have kind of a middle lane that is kind of, you know, runs the speed limit. The good old boys, right, not the good old girls like myself, I usually try to stay within the speed limit. And then you have the slow lane, right, that you just you you it just drives you crazy and you gotta get around those people if you’re on that right lane where it’s a slow lane, maybe it’s a slow truck or something. Well, traffic is sort of like that. Depending on the type of traffic that you wanna generate, it could be the fast lane, it could be kind of right right in the middle, like, following the speed limit. Right? Kind of slow and steady, you know, wins the race. Or it could be slow but effective, like organic traffic. Organic traffic is slow. Marisa Shadrick : But if you have a system in place, you know, it could, over time, be pretty good. And then fast traffic could be ad money of something that you’ve already tested that you know people want, and that could sorta speed up things. So you have to look at it that way. But my favorite, of course, is borrowed traffic. And borrowed traffic, even in local businesses, you can have borrowed traffic, which would be, like, anything that involve, like, community engagement, trade show booths, Business events, like chamber of commerce or something like that, local publications, most Towns have a local publication. You can put an ad in that. Guest presentations, those are ways that local businesses can do it. But we can also when we’re online, we can do it in the form of podcast guesting. Marisa Shadrick : Again, this is all borrowed traffic. Right? Speaking venues, that allows us to be able to get in front of other people. Workshops, doing some type of workshop, appearing on a summit, doing some sort of breakout session, maybe for another entrepreneur, and you come in and you do Breakout session of some sort. And also guest blog posts could be another way too. So we have different traffic sources. Now this podcast is not about traffic. It’s really about the follow-up. We go through all this trouble, and all this work to get traffic, to get somebody even to opt in to our lead magnet. Marisa Shadrick : And then we drop the ball. And that’s what this podcast is about, the follow-up, and not giving up on those people that you’ve connected with, whether they’re already in part of your ecosystem or they’re not, not giving up. Because it takes a lot of work. It does take a lot of work to generate, you know, people that see your social media posts or people that download your resources, it takes a lot of work. It’s a lot of work, a lot of consistency. So why stop too soon? Why not follow through a few more times? So, Of course, when we’re thinking of the follow-up, you wanna make sure that all of your traffic efforts, whatever way you’re trying to get traffic, is very targeted. Because if you have a 100 people, that’s a mix, and they’re not your ideal audience, they may never say yes. Right? They may never say yes because they’re not the ideal audience. Marisa Shadrick : So I would rather have 20 ideal audience to speak to or to talk to or to get in front of in some way, than to have 200 that’s just general public because they’re not my audience. And trying to follow-up, I mean, I could become annoying. Right? Because I can’t provide value for them because they’re not my target audience. So we wanna make sure when you do decide what way you wanna generate traffic that it’s very targeted, even when it’s borrowed. Because sometimes we get excited. Oh, I get to speak here, or I get to do this, or I get to be a podcast guest, but is it your ideal target audience? Because, otherwise, you’re spending a lot of time on something that will maybe somebody will download something, but they might unsubscribe or they’re just not aligned. Right? And you wanna be able to get in front of those people that are very much aligned and people that maybe not today, Maybe not tomorrow, but maybe next week or next month, there’ll be a client. And so it has to be very targeted all of your traffic strategies, very targeted, because you do need qualified leads, then the follow-up makes sense. Marisa Shadrick : Right? Because when you’re following up, there’s different ways to do this, and we’re gonna talk about that. I’m gonna share a few ways. So when we’re looking at the what type of touch points, you know, are there? There’s there’s lots of them. Let me go over for, say, local business so you could see kind of the differences here. With local businesses, there could be advertising, or maybe any type of promotional material. You can have that as well. It could be a sales call, that is a touch point. It could be maybe even a Yelp or a Google review is a touch point because that’s someone that maybe you have had as a client, and you’ve left that, and they’ve left that review for you, and someone else is gonna see it. Marisa Shadrick : So that becomes a touch point for new potential clients. And then also, we don’t wanna forget customer support is also a touch point. Even though they’re port is also a touchpoint. Even though they’re already clients and we’re giving customer support, hopefully, you have other things that they can buy that could be a way to be able to keep them as clients and offer them other services that would be beneficial for them. So that’s also a way to do that, or even having something fun like a customer success program, that would be fun too. I know with my private community, I use Mighty Networks and they have these little, like, badges. Like, if you invite somebody, they they have this, like, bronze, gold, silver thing. Doesn’t really mean anything. Marisa Shadrick : It’s just kind of a way of saying thank you that you’ve earned this little badge. But those are little incentives. Right? And those are those are touch points. You make it fun. Right? Now, for for digital, when we’re online, those touchpoints can look different ways. It could be a live stream that you do, it could be a podcast like this. Right? Because not only does my community hear the podcast, but it could be new people hear the podcast. So it could be podcast, could be a touch point. Marisa Shadrick : Social media posts can be a touch point. Right? If you do this consistently, they begin to see it in the feed. Maybe they they wanna follow you and like you, and maybe they’ll comment on it, but they begin to see it. And you can tell by the impressions how many people are actually consuming and viewing your posts. And then direct messages is another touch point. It’s another way to do this. Now granted, all of these are before there in your ecosystem. Right? Before direct messages, and then once they are in your ecosystem, of course, you have things like email campaigns, that’s a way to continue the relationship and create more touch points and create email campaigns, maybe you have a newsletter, maybe if you have a blog, you You publish it every week, and you push that out to your email list, so there’s lots of ways. Marisa Shadrick : And then even when people are marketing, they can retarget ads, that’s a way for people to see that ad again. There’s, you know, virtual events. There’s all kinds of ways. But Once they’re in your ecosystem, the touch points are really or the the you know, when they say that the fortunes and the follow-up, that’s why we have funnels. Right? That’s why we create email sequences, because we’re bringing them through a process, and we’re dripping out either content or we’re trying to bring them in at maybe a low offer or maybe we do some type of campaign or something for some program that we have. So once they’re in our ecosystem, it’s the funnel that brings them through this various touch points. Okay. So hopefully, you got that. Marisa Shadrick : So, when you think of why they don’t say yes. Like I said, it could be lots of different reasons. They may just be getting to know you and trust you. It may just take a little time, maybe they enjoy what you have to offer, but they’re not they’re not quite ready yet, and and that’s okay. That’s okay. Other times is it depends on what is called the 5 stages of awareness, And it just depends how aware they are of the solution you provide. So the 5 stages of awareness are unaware, They’re they’re unaware, they don’t realize that they need this solution, or maybe they’re they’re problem aware but it’s not top of mind. Maybe they’re solution aware and they’re not sure where to get it from, or maybe they’re product aware and they wanna see, you know, what makes you different than other people. Marisa Shadrick : Right? And so they’re trying to discover that. Or if they’re most aware, they’ve been within your ecosystem, they’ve been consuming some of your content, they realize that you have a solution for them and they are ready now. So we don’t know really how long that takes. In one article I read, some people, you know, kinda stick to the 7 to 8 touches to make a sale. Others say it takes about 13. I don’t think they really know. The thing is, what we do know is that people quit too soon. So how many is too much? Right? And this is where in your strategy, if they are part of your Email list is you wanna consider, you know, how the frequency of your emails. Marisa Shadrick : And I like the Eighty twenty rule, the the Pareto principle. And I’d like to provide lots of content value, and then 20% of the time, then do some kind of campaign. And I kinda follow that on social media too. I don’t like to just promote promote, and I I just we have so much of it out there. Right? And a lot of my programs, you know, the 6 month Mastermind, You know, I’m not promoting during that time because I’m fulfilling and I’m working with clients then, and then I do copywriting as well. And so There’s only certain times a year that I’m really promoting some of these programs that I have, so I don’t have to necessarily always do that. I could always promote the membership, And I probably should do it more than I have been, but, I’ve been wanting to really see the direction of that, And I think I’ve got some clarity that next year, there’s probably gonna be a more targeted outcome for the membership. Know, it’s all a learning experience. Marisa Shadrick : None of us just get an idea and say, okay. This is it, and it we just seal it. Right? This is it. We evolve because we’re keeping our our finger on the pulse of the market, everything changes. Right? And we’re trying to figure out how can I serve my audience best? What do I need to change? What do I need to improve? What do I need to remove? What do I need to add? You know, all of these things. But when your audience, if they’re ready to buy, sometimes people are busy and they just procrastinate, and they don’t click that link the 1st time they receive that email. So rule of thumb, I would say, is to create a variety of touch points and keep asking as long as you’re not promoting something every single day or every every single week. Right? Use 80 20 rule. Marisa Shadrick : And when you have an opportunity to literally talk to someone, just ask until they say no. And no is okay. No is a good answer. For some reason, people feel uncomfortable saying no, but they need to to realize that no is a good answer. It is an answer. And so the nice thing for somebody that’s offering something, if they hear no, then they go, okay, thank you for letting me know. And that way, they don’t have to, you know, keep sending them something. That’s why it’s nice to also put unsubscribe and some promotions and campaigns. Marisa Shadrick : You can do that as well and say, you look, if you’re not interested in this particular offer that I’m running this promotion, just click here to unsubscribe from this promotional campaign and you’ll still be within our community. You could do that too. That’s a good way to do that so that people have a choice. I’m not interested right now. I’ll unsubscribe from this promotion, but I’m still part of the community. I’m still there and I’m still receiving your emails, but I’m not gonna receive all the emails for this campaign. So we have to just be kinda sensitive. If we’re actually talking to people and they’re saying, well, I’m not sure, then I’m gonna take it. Marisa Shadrick : They’re not sure, and I’ll follow-up until I hear no. And so I’m trying not to quit too soon because there have been people that have said No dummy. And I’ve let them, you know, I’ve left them alone, and then they come back and say, actually, I do wanna join. So go figure that one out. I can’t figure that one out. But in any event, it’s something that you can’t have a blanket rule. You have to just be very respectful and mindful of people, but know that it’s okay to ask again as long as it’s not week after week. You have to see the frequency of it, but know that you’ve got potential people that could become clients that are already maybe part of your email list or people that are actually maybe following you or reading your content on social media, and maybe it takes a DM message. Marisa Shadrick : So even that, the DM messages, you know, we’ve all seen it. We’ve all seen where somebody, you know, joins you and the DM is all pitching, pitching, pitching, and they want you to buy something or do something and it’s horrible, don’t do that. Don’t do that. When you reach out to people, have courtesy. Try to find that common ground. Look at their profile when you’re reaching out trying to connect with them. You know, have a conversation with them in the DM, And then you could text in on LinkedIn, I’ve said this before, you can text, you can leave a audio message, you can leave a video link if you want, you could put a those cute little GIFs on there GIFs, is that what they’re called? GIFs. You can put one of those cute little GIFs in there as a response. Marisa Shadrick : You can, do a lot there. So even with the DMs, you can mix it up and offer them your free resource. You’re not asking for a sale. You’re not asking for an appointment. You can just say, hey. Are you interested in in marketing, and are you trying to get more leads in sales? I have a resource or I have a video training that is absolutely free. If you’d like it, I can send it over to you. And then just ask them if they say yes, and you give it to them, and there you go. Marisa Shadrick : You just add somebody else to your email list. So the point I’m making today is don’t give up too soon. You go through all this work to generate traffic. Right? Whether it’s organic, whether it’s paid, even borrowed, you prepare for a public speaking event. Right? Don’t quit too soon, because just because they hesitate or they don’t respond, doesn’t mean they may may be interested later. They’re just not interested right now because something’s happening. Life happens to people. People get married. Marisa Shadrick : People move and relocate and they have kids and people are taking care of their elderly parents and there’s lots going on. So we have to have empathy for people and realize that if they don’t say no, if they don’t unsubscribe and they’re still getting things, let’s make it easy for them to unsubscribe from a promotion if it’s not the right time yet. Be very conversational in your emails. Be conversational in your direct messages. Offer them a free resource. Be helpful. Right? And I’ve said it before, take random out of random acts of kindness. Right? Just be kind. Marisa Shadrick : Just be human. Just be you. And I think that’ll go a long way, and don’t stop too soon. Obviously, 3 or 4 touches, according to some of the statistics I saw, is not enough. Right? That’s why many people that Do webinars. They say, don’t give up. You know, if you got a closed cart date, that’s the date that you need to send out, like, 3 emails on that Last day because people usually wait till the last minute. There’s a reason for that. Marisa Shadrick : There’s a reason Jim Rohn said the fortune is in the follow-up. Right? So let’s look at it as an opportunity to maybe convert existing context that we have rather than looking for more, more, more, more new stuff, let’s work with what we have. And I’m preaching to myself because I was really bad at this. I’m getting better now that I have a CRM and so forth. And you can use tags and different things to be able to see, you know, where someone is in that journey. So hopefully, this was helpful for you and you were able to get a few tips from this. And I just want you to know that all your efforts that you’re doing, you know, I applaud you for that, because I know how hard it is creating content. I know because I do it. Marisa Shadrick : Right? I’m in the trenches with you guys, so I understand. So if you’re doing that, don’t stop too soon. You know, keep in contact with people, provide value, and don’t be afraid to ask if this is a good time to maybe schedule an appointment and talk about some a program that you have or someone that you talked to before. You know, we talked before and I realized it wasn’t a good time. I was wondering if you wanted to revisit this and have a call. So don’t give up too soon, and keep reaching out. If they don’t give you a no, it’s not a no. Right? It’s still a maybe. Marisa Shadrick : So, hopefully, that helped. Alrighty. Well, you take care, And I will talk to you soon. Bye bye.

Seniors Break Barriers And Embrace the Golden Hustle to Pursue Passion And Profit After 55! The digital age offers many opportunities, leveling the playing field for all—regardless of age or gender. Yet, many still question their worth, are hesitant by societal age biases, or are intimidated by technology. In this episode of Resilient Faith Online Podcast, I dive into online entrepreneurship, particularly for those in their golden years. I tear down the prevailing myths and mindsets that could sabotage the path to success after age 55. In this podcast, you’ll discover:  Discover the Competitive Edge of Age: Uncover how being 55 or older isn’t a setback but a strategic advantage in the online business landscape. Capitalize on Wisdom: Discover how your wealth of experience adds value to your business and makes you an irreplaceable asset in today’s wisdom economy. Break Free from Age-Related Mindsets: Identify and overcome common mindset barriers hindering success for older entrepreneurs, such as the fear of being too late to the game. Inspiration from Late Bloomers: Get motivated by the lives of Ray Kroc, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Peter Mark Roget, Colonel Sanders, and Grandma Moses, who busted the age myth. Tech Savvy Made Simple: Gain actionable advice on adopting technological tools essential for online business. Tap into the Wisdom Economy: Unveil how incorporating your insights and experiences into your business model can give you a leg up in an economy increasingly valuing wisdom over raw data. Jumpstart Your Later-Life Business: Obtain practical, step-by-step coaching for launching or pivoting your online business, turning this phase of life into a golden opportunity for entrepreneurship. Tune in to discover how to embrace your passion, transform your mindset, and ignite your entrepreneurial journey. Key Takeaways: Wisdom and experience are not just valuable but vital in today’s wisdom economy. Success has no age limit—embrace inspirational late-start success stories. Modern technology is not a barrier; it’s an enabler for all generations. Launch or pivot with confidence by dismantling age and tech-related mental blocks. The “Q3 of life” isn’t a sunset; it’s a new horizon full of unlimited potential and opportunities. The path to passion and profit is open to everyone, regardless of age. Until next time, keep hustling and stay resilient! Footnotes:  Ray Kroc: The catalyst of McDonald’s global fast-food burger chain, embarked on his venture at age 52. Source: Biography.com on Ray Kroc Laura Ingalls Wilder: She published her first “Little House” book at 65, converting early-life hardships into trans-generational storytelling. Source: Biography.com on Laura Ingalls Wilder Peter Mark Roget: He released the first edition of his thesaurus at 73, redefining the correlation between age and intellectual output. Source: Britannica.com on Peter Mark Roget Colonel Sanders: Launched KFC at age 65, affirming that age is no bar to entrepreneurial ingenuity. Source: University of Houston on Colonel Sanders Grandma Moses: She began her painting career in her late 70s, smashing the stereotype that age limits new career opportunities. Source: National Museum of Women in the Arts Rate, Review, and follow on Apple Podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Would you give this podcast a 5-star rating and Review? If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a suggestion. How did you find me? What do you do for a living? What was one helpful takeaway? You’ll help me reach and support more people, and I’d appreciate it so much. FOLLOW ON SOCIAL  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisashadrick/ GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE Choose Your Adventure! FREE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS GOALS Click this link: https://marisashadrick.com/free-tools/ WATCH ON YOUTUBE Podcast Transcript Marisa Shadrick: Hey there. If you thought your ship has sailed and it’s too late to launch or pivot your online business, this podcast episode is perfect for you. Today, we’re gonna challenge the myths and mindsets that could decrease increase your revenue instead of increase it. We’re going to dig deep into transforming those can’t dos to can do, whether you’re wrestling, what value you’re gonna bring to your audience, or perhaps you feel that age is a limiting factor, or technology feels a little bit intimidating, stick around. You’re about to discover that your Q3 of life is going to be your most fruitful one yet. Here on this episode, Golden Hustle, Passion and Profits After 55. Stay tuned. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this week’s podcast episode. Marisa Shadrick: I’m Marisa Shadrick, and I’m happy to bring this content to you. I am going to talk about the elephant in the room, and that is age. And there is nothing to hide about age. I just recently had a birthday. I am now 65 years old, And I am loving my entrepreneurial journey. I feel that in this stage of life, I have the wisdom to implement all the knowledge that I’ve accumulated correctly. Because sometimes, we might have a little bit of knowledge, but we don’t have that wisdom to back it up. And as you get older, you have different perspectives. Marisa Shadrick: You see different sides of things, and that can really help you in business. So I want to sort of dedicate this to those people out there that are in their fifties or entering into their sixties or maybe already in their mid sixties that have an online business or are thinking about launching and feeling a little bit intimidated about what to offer, intimidated about whether or not age is a limitation and also technology, which is a big one that a lot of my clients seem to fear. And, we’re gonna address some of those, and, hopefully, I am going to remove some of the fears, the obstacles for you, and see what is possible. So the first thing we’re gonna tackle today is, I don’t know what to sell that has value. So many people say this. I just don’t know what to sell. I don’t know if I could coach people. I don’t know what kind of product I could create, a digital course. Marisa Shadrick: And the thing of it is, if you are older, and this isn’t limited to older because lots of young people that have come out of college and have had some life experience, maybe, it’s something passed down from their family. There’s a lot of old souls out there that have a lot of knowledge and wisdom. So I’m not saying they’re not, but I’m saying if you’re in my age demographic, you have to realize that you’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge and skills throughout the years. You’ve probably implemented it in different ways, maybe in your personal life, maybe in your career, but you have these skills. You have knowledge. You have this insight, so to speak. Intuition that comes from experience, and this is so so valuable, especially because we’re no longer in the information age. We are now in the wisdom economy. Marisa Shadrick: People don’t want just information. They can get that on YouTube. They can Google articles. They want wisdom on how to apply it in a specific way for their business, so they need someone with experience. And so this is something that really can help you outshine your competitors because you bring that wisdom and that value. As far as value proposition, those type of things, those are easy to be able to craft that once we begin to mine and figure out what it is you know, what kind of skills you have, what you enjoy to do, and how you can help people receive that transformation they’re looking for. Those things can be done, and you contain that wisdom within you. You have to realize that you have that wisdom there, and that is very marketable. Marisa Shadrick: So number 2, this one is really something that is more of a mindset than actual a, physical limitation. It’s really the idea that I’m too old to start or I’m too old to do this. That is really not a physical limitation. It’s more of a mental limitation. It’s a mindset issue, especially these days. Oh my gosh. Even on television, they have now the golden bachelor. Right? These people that are in their sixties, and they’re dating. Marisa Shadrick: It is a different life now for people that are considered senior citizens. They’re no longer sitting in a rocking chair on a porch, you know, reading magazines or playing with puzzles. Right? They’re entrepreneurs. They’re people with passion. They’re people that are pursuing their dreams. Maybe they’ve had a career that they haven’t been able to really spread their wings. And now they’re saying, this is my chance. This is my opportunity, and I can do it from the comfort of my own home. Marisa Shadrick: So kudos to you if that’s you. So in any event, for people that feel that maybe they’ve reached that age that it’s too late, let me just remind you and give you some examples of people who started their careers in they’re either late fifties or sixties as well. Let’s start with, of course, some of these you probably heard of. This was from Biography .com, Ray Croc. Most of you know who that is. That is the person who started McDonald’s. He started at the age 52. But even though he started age 52, it wasn’t until he was about 59 that McDonald’s really took off. Marisa Shadrick: So that was in his latter years, and, of course, we know the rest of the story now with McDonald’s. And then we have a Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Again, this is from Biography .com. She was at age 65 when she wrote A Little House in the Big Woods. And, of course, there were lots of offshoot offshoots from this particular book, plays, and even the TV series, Little House on the Prairie, But she started later in life, and so there, again, is someone that was able to just have her career take off at, age of 65. Then we have Peter Mark Rogier. This gentleman was 73 when the first Thesaurus was published. Pretty incredible. Marisa Shadrick: Now here I have some additional notes here. The 1st edition of the thesaurus begun when he was 61, and he finished it when he was 73. So can you imagine? That took a long time to do and, was a product of his retirement from active medical practice. So he Had a full career in the medical field, and then when he retired, this became his project, and it took a long time. But yet he had this published, and we still use it today, the thesaurus. So we have another one. These are really fun. Colonel Sanders. Marisa Shadrick: Right? Everybody knows about colonel Sanders, age 65 when he franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken. Now here’s the interesting thing with colonel Sanders. He was 65. He began the franchise, his, chicken business using his $105 monthly social Social Security check. So he was using his Social Security check to be able to invest in his business, and then that took off. Then we have Anna Mary Robertson Moses, who is known more commonly for grandma Moses, and she was 78 when she started painting. So I don’t know if you’ve ever seen her Her paintings are really beautiful, very soft, almost like, they look like pastels, but very beautiful. Here’s the interesting thing about her story. Marisa Shadrick: She could no longer embroider because of arthritis. And her friends suggested she try painting and painting scenes instead. So she did this because she had a limitation. She couldn’t do something she enjoyed to do. And all of a sudden, these paintings ended up being so beautiful and something that we all know today about grandma Moses’ paintings. So To say that you’re too old to start, is really a mindset. It’s not really, based on your physical age. So the 3rd mindset shift here is really looking at the idea of technology. Marisa Shadrick: Now this is one. I am a tech geek. I have been since I was in my twenties. Love technology, kind of a tech nerd, you might say. And so I have followed along with technology for decades, and I’ve seen the evolution from floppy disk to AI. I’ve seen how it’s changed. I’ve seen how it’s gone to the phone even before it was It was you know, we had the phones, computers, and the way technology was advancing. I remember having conversations with my husband, And he was saying it won’t be long until everything goes to the phone. Marisa Shadrick: And I even thought at that time, are you crazy? Everything going to the phone? And it has. You know? All those things that we thought before, like, well, who would want a home computer? And now we can’t live without those and iPads and laptops and everything else. So things have changed there. So one of the things that I want to share here knowledge is not this, intimidating monster anymore. It used to be pretty not user friendly. Let’s put it that way. There were a lot of things you had to do, and a lot of tools didn’t work together. And so you learned how to do one thing and then to connect it to something else. Marisa Shadrick: It was it was just a a a pain to do anything with technology because it was so limiting. And way back in the day, we didn’t have enough storage. Of course, now we have the cloud, But there was a lot of things that would limit from from being able to do day to day stuff, but not so anymore. Nowadays, it’s very user friendly. It’s over the past 10 years, if not longer. Even the Past 10 years, there’s been so much that has improved tech tools for creating digital products, and all of those things have evolved. Email service providers have evolved. There was things that you had to piece together so much, like, even 10 years ago. Marisa Shadrick: And now you have platforms that do multiple things, so most of the things now are very much like drag and drop. Much easier than it was when, if you’re in your sixties when we were young. When we were young, it wasn’t that way. So if you haven’t visited technology, you should take a peek at it because it’s changed a lot in the last 10 years. Even the last 5 years, it’s changed a lot. And like I said, we have a lot of drag and drop features. Modern platforms have these, functionalities, these features in them, and it eliminates the need for specialized tech skills. You don’t need specialized tech skills. Marisa Shadrick: Anybody can do it. There’s no coding necessary. And then we have, prebuilt templates. Many of them already come like WordPress, and even some of the service providers have templates to create, lead magnets, the opt in pages and the thank you pages and all of those things. We have templates now that we just customize it to fit our brand, making the setup really quick and straightforward. You also have the seamless integration, So many of today’s tools, easily integrate, like I said, with existing systems. That makes it nice. So all of that is easy to do. Marisa Shadrick: When you’re looking for a tool, you can just Google and see, what the tool integrates with, and you can see all the various other online tools that it works well with and it talks to, so it makes it very simple. One of the other things that I look at when I’m looking at online tools is customer service, because there is there’s a time when sometimes we just need a question answered or something just doesn’t look quite right, not like we expected, and so it’s good to have good customer support as well. And then, of course, we have the AI and analytics. Now we have lots of data that can help us make better decisions about what our next step is, and that is really, really helpful. Looking at the data, even social media platforms have analytics so that you can look at it. It’s so easily accessible. With with just a couple of clicks, you can see results right away. And so that’s very helpful, so you can make informed decisions. Marisa Shadrick: So if you’re over 50, over 55, or maybe even over 60, here’s my game changing advice for you. Embrace today’s technology. Embrace the fact that it’s no longer an information age. It is really, a wisdom economy. It really is. People want the wisdom behind it, and so since we’ve already paved the way, we’ve already made the mistakes, and we know what works and what doesn’t. That is very, very valuable as well. So if you’re in that space, I wanted to create this podcast for you, because that’s where I’m at. Marisa Shadrick: And I continue to use technology. I continue to use online strategies. I continue to do public speaking. I continue to run the race. Right? I continue to run the field, you might say, and score those touchdowns because I love the fact that I can work from home. And since I can work from home, I can systemize a lot of things and automate a lot of things. And the times I do have to speak, it’s those far and few times that I need to pack my bags and go somewhere. But other than that, most of the day to day is from home, and so it makes it really easy. Marisa Shadrick: So I just wanna encourage you. If you need help just figuring out what do I sell, or what technology do I need, or you’re trying to to figure out, you know, what’s the best strategy online, I’m gonna be opening up my Amplify Your Authority in January. So I’m I’m kind of doing a a soft conversational, call for those people that maybe might be interested in finding out more about that. We started Amplify Authority this year, And we had 2 cohorts that went through it, and we’ve seen amazing results. It’s minimum technology, a lot of relationship marketing, and really a way of positioning you to become an expert contributor on established platforms. And so it is a system that we go through. It’s a 6 month program, and the 1st 3 months, you learn the system, and we go through your your unique message, then we look at traffic in the 2nd month, and then we look at products. Because you you need to really look at the products that you’re gonna offer and look to see how you can diversify so you can bring multiple streams of revenue, now put your eggs all in 1 basket. Marisa Shadrick: And then the remaining 3 months is really implementation and ironing out any kinks and answering questions as you’re moving forward. So if that’s of something of interest to you, I’m very patient with those people that don’t know technology or are little intimidated with it. And if you have the wisdom, if you have some skill, if you have knowledge that you can monetize, that is needed today, then, you know, you can create something with very little tech. You need some basic things, like an email service provider so you can create your systems. I would prefer a CRM so you can follow-up with, domes. I would prefer a CRM so you can follow-up with leads and so forth, but you need to be very strategic because I never tell my my clients to be everywhere on the internet. I think that’s a waste of time. You need to find where your audience is and really double down on that, and figure out a unique strategy for your business, and double down on how to get in front of those people. Marisa Shadrick: Now that might be on 1 social platform or may be entirely different. It might not even, include any type of social media. It just depends on what it is that you have to offer. So there are Multiple ways, many ways to crack a nut, and I really love this program because I can bring everything to it. I can bring the speaking skills that help me become one of the top 100 speakers in the world. I bring my marketing. I bring my copywriting to the table. I’m able to bring all my skills in this 1 program, and that’s why I’m so excited about it. Marisa Shadrick: And we have bonuses as well. So All of that later, but if you’re thinking about it, kicking the tires, wondering if this is a good fit for me, now would be the time to get on a call, and you can click the link to be able to schedule a call with me, and we can have a conversation. So that’s what I have for you today. Thank you so much for listening, and I hope you pursue your dream. I hope you continue to Make a difference in this world, continue to show up, and, be that voice that so many people need to hear, and bring a perspective that is the accumulation of all your knowledge, wisdom, and skill that some people might not see or know about. So until next time, take care.