Ep. 46: 4 Marketing transformations

Welcome to episode 46, all about marketing transformations.   Community grows opportunity, y’all, and if you’ve been around here for any length of time I know you’ve heard me say that.  And with every live training I release, we work hard to foster networking opportunities.  So I wanted to share transformations our Authentic Online Marketing […]

The post Ep. 46: 4 Marketing transformations appeared first on Authentic Online Marketing.

Welcome to episode 46, all about marketing transformations.  

Community grows opportunity, y’all, and if you’ve been around here for any length of time I know you’ve heard me say that.  And with every live training I release, we work hard to foster networking opportunities.  So I wanted to share transformations our Authentic Online Marketing School graduates have experienced so you can hear for yourself that this training isn’t just a pipe dream for somebody else and won’t work for you!

*This episode contains either affiliate links or links to my products. Should you choose to purchase, the show will go on! Woo hoo!

Resources

Check out Authentic Online Marketing School

Listen to Ep. 61: Combining Instagram and email marketing in 5 smart ways

Listen to Ep. 37: Authentic Online Marketing’s top 5 episodes

Listen to Ep. 63: Leveraging 2023 Instagram Trends

My first guest is Pat Fenner of @Patfenner on Instagram of the Strong Women, Bright Future Podcast. Pat specializes in VA services particularly podcast and YouTube editing and has been a  long-time online friend and member of our trainings for several years now.  I sat down with Pat and asked how the trainings helped her and I was stunned by what she had to say about how it revolutionized her perspective on marketing.  Here’s what she had to say:

Pat: First of all, that the networking that you provide. Right off the bat. You have quality people in everybody that I have come across over the years, working with you, like you just attract quality people. Would be non probably person. But the people I’ve met are really outstanding and excuse me.

And that’s been helpful. And I think it’s helped open my eyes to what networking is with women of quality and substance. It’s also helped me to know how to market myself or know the channels and the how to’s.

Answering the right questions

I don’t feel really that I feel actually that. And I can’t think of an example right off the bat, but I know that there’s been times when I’ve asked a question that wasn’t necessarily either in Facebook or I’m doing one of our lot your lives or whatever that wasn’t necessarily directly related. And you just answer everything with grace.

You just answer it. You’re amazing. I really feel I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but sometimes I’ll ask a question. I’m like, why did I ask that this isn’t, that’s not really connected, but it just came out. Roll with it. You are such a graceful person. It’s just amazing.

So what you’re saying is it’s not necessarily anything to do with what we are teaching, but it’s, but it is in, it’s a business topic, overarching.

Real networking

Ruthie: Pat’s comment, “It’s helped open my eyes to what networking, non sleazy networking is with women of quality and substance. It’s also helped me to know how to market myself or know the channels and the how to’s.” Really struck me, because this is exactly what we’re about at authentic online marketing.  And most of the women interested in our trainings feel the same way – in fact they often comment that they don’t want to use the word “marketing” because it feels dirty.  But it doesn’t have to feel that way or be that way.  This is why we foster community so much.  So you can change your marketing viewpoint from sleazy to quality and reflect that in your messaging.

My next guest is Amber Cullum of the Grace Enough Podcast and @graceenoughpodcast_amber on Instagram.  Amber really struggled with her newsletter messaging before taking the Authentic Online Marketing School and the transformation has been amazing.  First of all, Amber isn’t a writer, she’s a speaker, and quite fluent, she’s one of the best in my opinion.  But often speakers struggle with writing, and this was Amber’s roadblock.  And by the way, I’m sharing Amber’s email transformation in our workshop today so you’ll be able to see what I mean!

Newsletter authenticity for marketing transformations

Amber: Your newsletters are very, very good. They’re very engaging. So they kind of sparked some curiosity, which not very many newsletters that are received do. I was like, I know, I know we’re good at this. I say, you’re doing it all the time.

That made me want to take the newsletter course, and I’m glad I did.

What is like one main thing that you can do now that you weren’t able to do before that?

Amber: Connecting my podcast episodes for either that two week period or the month, whenever I’m sending the newsletter with what I’m writing in the box of my newsletter. So being able to use story and something that feels personal to actually draw somebody in to want to listen, which is what my goal is with my notes to get people to listen. So that’s the biggest thing before they were very disjointed.

Ruthie: I’m so proud of Amber’s progress!  It’s just amazing.  She learned to story brand and went from links all over the place and disjointed sentences to a seamless flow from opener to podcast link (because that’s where she’s driving her traffic).

My next guest is Allison Simmons of the Grace over Perfection Podcast and @alisonleighsimmons on Instagram.  Alison first came to me as a personal coaching client and later realized she needed a community and group training to get her on her feet and accountable.  But her background in direct sales was holding her back from authentic marketing in the online space.  

Stepping stones to marketing transformations

Alison: because of my direct sales experience. Was coming, trying to present myself as an expert and therefore, so in my stories, every single day, I had something specific that I was teaching and I was doing it through stories. And you were like, you have got to stop teaching all the time. First, you have to be real.

Secondly, you have to interact with people. Finally, you have to share you. You can be an expert, but you can’t be an expert a hundred percent of the time. And so, um, that completely, I completely stopped what I was doing in that realm. Um, and so over time, what I’ve come to is that my feed is where I’m an expert in things.

It’s where I share stuff. Whether it’s a funny, real or it’s Bible stuff, but then my story. Are really more about encouraging women sharing my life, um, and just, you know, encouraging interaction that way. And so that was that hot seat session took me from taking what I had known before about social media in my Norwex Facebook group that I was doing that was working excellent because they want you to be an expert when you’re selling the product.

No more “buy my thing”

Ruthie: Alison’s transformation came when she stopped saying buy my thing and started backing off and presenting herself as an authentic imperfect mom who also has daily struggles and shares what she’s learning, especially in Instagram stories.

Lastly, you’ll hear from someone you’ve heard me mention before on the podcast, Brenda McDearmon, author of The Big Hunker Down and adventure seeker of @Texasoverfifty on Instagram.  Brenda didn’t realize she had a brand voice already.  She had her EDGE figured out, she just wasn’t sure how to make her newsletter content really valuable and honestly needed affirmation that it was, and incentive to send consistently instead of just putting it off.

Newsletter course

Ruthie: Let’s talk about the newsletter course for a second. When you, uh, have tried in the past before our course, what kind of did you take other newsletter courses or any kind of material there?

Brenda: No, you’re just the first newsletter course I’ve taken. And that is still one of those things.

That just always winds up at the bottom of my list. However, I know it needs to go right up to the top. So as I’m kind of circling out of, you know, social media. Non-existence at the moment, or, not relaxed on social media, that newsletter is where I’m going to be focusing.

Invaluable content

I’m sure there are other people who do well with those courses, but I can’t imagine anyone being any better. So I will be reviewing and trying to match up again, my newsletters to the way that you have taught us to do them, that I think it’s invaluable.

Ruthie: Why do you think it’s better?

Brenda: I think it’s better because it’s very clear and it’s a formula that’s easy to follow. Whereas before, I think it’s important for the newsletter to sound like you’re writing to a friend, of course. Or a pen pal, you know, but sometimes they’re too willy-nilly. If I do it that way, there’s just really not a structure to it.

I think it would be more pleasant to read something that is of value, even though it does sound like it’s coming from a friend, it needs to have some sort of a point and, um, some value and a takeaway. So I like what I learned from you and I’m going to be refocusing on. And that what you taught in the course.

4 Marketing Transformations

From these four interviews I see 4 marked transformations:

A fresh marketing perspective – no longer that sleazy icky feeling but a truly “I have a good offer for you that’s valuable” quality approach

Clear, Story-driven newsletter content instead of 500 links and lack of purpose

 An authentic social presence that earns trust instead of pushing an agenda (because trust builds authority which leads to connection and conversion)

Renewed purpose and validation of consistent newsletters and a renewed belief in the core message.

CAFE Method

Inside my Authentic Online Marketing School, I teach the CAFÉ method – Based on the acronym that stands for Cue, Aim, Fire, and Edge.  In today’s free Brand voice workshop, I’ll be specifically zeroing in on the Edge part of the CAFÉ method – that is your own unique Edge and how to find it.  So be sure to sign up for that workshop, the link is in the shownotes, or head straight to our website, authentic online marketing.com and you’ll see it at the top. And if you can’t make it to the workshop, at least check out Authentic Online Marketing School to see what we offer and if now is the time to grow and hone your email list.  (Here’s a hint – you should be doing this yesterday!)

Thanks so much for listening this week!  Remember to share your own amazing content your unique way in your own authentic voice. 

The post Ep. 46: 4 Marketing transformations appeared first on Authentic Online Marketing.