GUYS, I GOTTA BE HONEST…
Going places by myself where I have to talk to strangers is like my least favorite thing to do. I remember as a kid and even into my early twenties, I got bad anxiety if I had to call someone or answer the phone and talk to someone I didn’t know. Like, I wouldn’t even call to order a pizza.
But then when I’m around people I know, or I’m talking to strangers online (you guys don’t feel like strangers to me, but technically, you are), I’m totally at ease and no conversation is off limits.
IT’S LIKE I’M TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE SOMETIMES… CAN YOU RELATE??
Back in late February, I attending Social Media Marketing World with over 4000 other people to learn about how to use social media to grow our businesses.
Instead of doing what I always do at conferences (talk to no one, back to the hotel ASAP, yoga pants, and room service in bed), I did some things that scared me.
Aside from that one night I had room service in bed.
I did things that made my heart pound, my face turn red and my eyes get a little misty from trying to hold back all the emotions.
I’ll tell you more about how I got out of my comfort zone in a minute, but first, I want to share with you some of my key takeaways from the largest conference on social media marketing in the world with the hope that these foundations will guide you as you work on building your website, building your audience and turning your expertise into income.
Because as uncomfortable as it was, it was totally worth it, and it will just get easier every time.
Speaking of being scared, if you haven’t signed up for my Free 5 Day Website Challenge yet, click here to join over 5,000 other bloggers and business owners overcoming their fear of tech and building their websites with WordPress.
1. THE MASTERS FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS
Robyn Openshaw, founder of the multi-million dollar blog greensmoothiegirl.com talked about how she was able to get traction in growing her blog to over $5 million dollars in annual revenue over 11 years by consistently focusing on the fundamentals of blogging:
- Be yourself and write in a conversational tone
- Go deep on the subjects you write about
- Create freebies and always be building your email list
Heidi Cohen shared her top three strategies for creating consistent, relevant content. My key takeaway from her presentation is that the masters don’t just wing it.
And they become prolific through practice, instead of worrying about perfection.
What this means for you:
That anyone can build a profitable blog, but most people won’t put in the work to master the fundamentals. The way to stand out is to actually do the work, regardless of whether you’re seeing instant results. Just like anything else, you won’t see the rewards of your consistency until later.
2. A SMALLER, MORE RELEVANT AUDIENCE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN A LARGER, LESS ENGAGED ONE
Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner said that the future of social media and online marketing, in general, is going to force us to have to zero in on our target audiences and build meaningful two-way relationships with them.
And Robyn Openshaw said the same thing – that 5,000 super-engaged fans are worth more to your business than 100,000 who never open your emails.
What this means for you:
That
3. SHAREWORTHY CONTENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORE
My biggest takeaway from this week is that Facebook is prioritizing showing content that gets long comments and shares, also known as engagement. Basically, instead of everyone seeing everything, they want real people to share content. Sounds pretty straightforward, but it’s freaking marketing people out!
Pat Flynn drove this point home in his keynote about creating super fans (which was amazing, if you ever get a chance to see him speak don’t miss it).
He said that most people are focused on just getting more traffic and new subscribers that they miss out on serving the people who are already part of their community, and the best way to do that is create amazing, super valuable, actionable content that can get your audience a quick win, and then they’re in with you for life.
Sound familiar? I learned it by watching what Pat has done for the past 3 years, and he just confirmed that’s his strategy at Social Media Marketing World.
What this means for you:
Creating what I call “shareworthy content” is more important than ever before because the algorithm doesn’t really care if you’re sharing your own stuff. It cares that OTHER PEOPLE are sharing your stuff. And other people aren’t going to share your simple checklist if it doesn’t solve a problem, entertain them or give them a win.
Like Chalene Johnson says, “People share what makes them look good.”
So create content – especially freebies – that makes your audience look smart, funny or inspiring and you’re on the right track to building an audience of highly engaged people that will tell everyone about you and can’t wait to see what you’ve got coming next.
4. THE TIME TO START MONETIZING IS NOW
Green Smoothie Girl wishes she could go back in time and monetize her blog from day one. Oh, and she’s never put a single third-party ad on her site.
Know what that tells me? That’s she’s not just focused on the number of page views, but she’s focused on building a highly relevant audience over just the numbers.
Are you seeing a trend here?
Mark Manson has had over 100 blogs that he’s monetized, including a blog about litter boxes and another about baking.
What this means for you:
You do not have to wait until you have a big audience and then launch a product to start making money from your blog! You can start monetizing from day 1 exactly like I did, and then grow it over time as your audience and your email list grows. If you want to learn more about how to do that, make sure you attend my next Website Monetization Master Class.
Today’s pep talk is brought to you by Bluehost. Go to www.shannonmattern.com/bluehost and get 36 months of web hosting for just $2.95 a month. That’s less than one trip to Starbucks a month – and if you’re anything like me, you’re at Starbucks more than that!
Then you can sign up for my Free 5 Day Website Challenge at www.shannonmattern.com/5day and I’ll show you step by step how to get started building your new website for your side hustle.
