The Difference Between Free and Paid Content as a Content Creator

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One of the top questions I receive is, “If I'm marketing my business and I want to get people on my email list through a freebie, how do I know what to give them? If I want to write blog posts, I don't want to give away everything I do in that blog post, I want people to buy from me.”

So we're going to break it down and I’m sharing the difference between free and paid content.

When you think of your free content you’re probably thinking of blog content, reels on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube videos, podcasting, free gifts, email marketing, etc...

What should you include in your free content vs your paid content and why is the difference between the two so important?

FREE MARKETING CONTENT

You've got your free marketing content. 

That's the kind of content that you're creating on a regular basis as part of your weekly workflow that you put out to bring in an audience. 

That content is the first level. That is really meant to do a few things. But one of the main things is to attract new customers. 

We always want to be focused on branding and brand awareness. So making new people aware of our brand, a cold audience, as it's often described in our industry. 

You want to attract people who don't know anything about you through your free content. That's how we make sure you have a consistent, ongoing, flow of people coming in, who are interested in your offers.

That content can also serve your existing audience, giving them value, warming them up, and nurturing them as well. But when you're creating your content, I always want you to think about creating it for people who don't know you yet.

CREATING A FREEBIE OR LEAD MAGNET

Then in the same bucket of free content, we also have a freebie or a lead magnet. So we recommend over here at Brandmerry, that every business have some sort of freebie or lead magnet. Yes, even product-based businesses. And I'll give you an example of one in just a minute.

This free lead magnet is what you are ultimately going to give people in exchange for their name and their email address.

Let's say you write a blog post on four ways to improve your business. 
Someone finds that blog post. 
They read that blog post. 
They love it. 
They're like, "Hey, I like this person. I would like to learn more about this person. And I would like to be in their inner circle and I would like more free things." 

So they see that you have a freebie that says, 10 Steps to Starting an Online Business. Great! They give you their name. 
They give you their email address. 
They're on your email address. 
They get that freebie. 

It's that next level. It takes somebody from cold to warm.

Let's say you sell a product. My favorite example to use is skincare. Let's say you have a skincare business. 

You have people who are coming to your website. 
You have a blog on different ingredients to use for different skin problems. 
Maybe you have a video that shows how to correctly apply a skincare routine in the correct order, some free content. 

Somebody consumes that content on your website, on YouTube, wherever, and they're like, "Hey, I want a little bit more." 

They see that you also have a quiz that will help them identify what kind of skin they have and the top products that you recommend.
They have to put in their name and their email address to get the results from the quiz. 

On the quiz results, you tell them, but you also are pitching some of your products as a solution. That is a lead magnet. 

Every business can create some sort of lead magnet.

Then, of course, we have the paid content and that's what's behind a paywall. 

That can be a product that you sell, an ebook, a course, a group program, a one-on-one, consulting, whatever it is, that's behind the paywall. Someone has to pay to get that content from you.

When you're thinking about why free content is important, I hope that you see this sequence of events. 

They're important because you want to constantly get your brand in front of new clientele. You want to give them value so that they are eager to learn more from you and join your inner community, your email list. 

And then you want to continue to show up for them leading them to the sale.

THE CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

This sequence is also essential when we look at the information around the consumer buying process, something a lot of people don't talk about. I have an entire YouTube video on it and a blog post about it, where I share with you the stages of the consumer buying process. 

There are people who are at stage one who are aware they have a problem, but they know nothing else. They don't know about the solutions. 

Maybe they're on Google, just looking for solutions to their problem. How powerful would it be if they found a blog post by you, were introduced to your brand and your business and joined your email list? 

Now those people are less likely to buy right away, but we can speed them up through the buying process by giving them value, building trust, leading them to where they're ready to invest.

But you've also got people who are ready to invest, who are seeking out the solution, who knows exactly what they need, and they're just seeking out the person and the brand to give it to them. 

They're ready to buy, but maybe they just need to read a blog post or watch a YouTube video so that they know that you know what the hell you're talking about.

People are coming in contact with your brand at different stages and we really have to keep that in mind as marketers. 

We cannot assume that everybody that lands on our website are just ready to whip out their credit card. We know that that's just not true. 

So when you're creating free content, it's important that you keep that in mind, because then you are able to, not only make someone aware of your brand but then attract them and keep them engaged so that when they are ready to buy, they buy from you, rather than losing them. 

Because if the only thing that they can get from you is, "I've got this offer." Well, they're not ready yet. And I think that's something that we don't talk about a lot. 

Sometimes people just aren't ready for multiple reasons. 
Show up for the people who maybe just aren't ready yet. 

Don't lose them. 

They're going to move to somebody else if you don't show up and create content for them.

Free content is very important.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FREE AND PAID CONTENT

So now the question becomes, what is the difference? 
What is the difference between the two?

What I’m going to tell you is going to make this entire process so much easier. 

When you think of your free content, think about giving your audience the ‘What’ and the ‘Why’. 

So what do they need to do?
What needs to happen, what do they need to change?
Why does that need to happen? 
Why does that need to change? 
Why should they think about something differently? 
Why is this information important?

And the paid content is the ‘How’. 

PRODUCT-BASED BUSINESS EXAMPLE

So let's use the example of my skincare line, yet again. Let's say we have a blog post, and it's talking about three of the top ingredients that you should avoid in your skincare. That's a What. I also could incorporate why you have to avoid them. So I'm hitting a What and a Why in one blog post.

Then I want to share with my audience, through my freebie, how they can clean up their skincare products and the type of products, ingredients they should be focused on, because of their specific skin things. 

So the quiz that I'm giving them is further diving into What they should be focused on and the Why for their particular answers. It's just another level of free. 

The first level was broad, it could apply to anyone that was reading the blog. 
Now they're answering very specific questions in my quiz, but I'm still giving them the What and the Why. 

But I'm also, on the results page, after they've given their name and their email address, starting to give them the How. 

These are the specific products for how you do it.

SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS EXAMPLE

When it comes to a service-based business, let's say the ‘What’ is “Four Tips for New Entrepreneurs”. These are four things that they could be doing. 

Then, once they've read those four ‘What’ elements, give them the Why. For this particular instance, I would definitely do What and Why.

For example, I would share that you need to have a solid brand. 
What is a solid brand? Giving an overview of what a solid brand is. 
I’d also share why it's important. 

Next, I’d share that they need to grow your community. 
What does that mean to grow your community?
What specific elements do you need? 
Why are those important? 

Next number three, would be the marketing strategy. 
What is a marketing strategy? 
What is not a marketing strategy? 
And why is that important? 

Next-level is selling with confidence. 
What does that mean? 
Why is that important?

So this is the blog. This is what I've given them. The What and the Why. 

To follow the blog, I’d offer my lead magnet that dives into “15 Lessons To Propel Your Business,” which goes deeper into the free content, and then I’d invite them to join my program, Roadmap to Freedom where I will give them the How. 

So in the blog post, I said, "Hey, this is what branding is. This is why it's important." And then the How, I'm actually teaching them each of those individual pieces.

GIVING IT ALL AWAY

When you look at it like this, you're not giving it all away. I am a firm believer that you can't give it all away in your free stuff because they'll always get more from your paid courses, your paid group programs, your paid products, services, all of it. 

They always will. 

FREE CONTENT TO PAID CONTENT EXAMPLE

For example, the stages of the buying process is something that I've openly talked about. I have a YouTube video about that. It's also something that I teach inside of my programs. 

So if you come into the program, most people will already have an understanding of the consumer buying process, if they've consumed those pieces of content, but not everybody has. 

So I need to reiterate that inside of the program as well.

But then in the program, I'm talking specifically about how you reach customers at each of those stages. 

So even though I've given you the stages for free, I haven't dived into how you reach people at those stages in the most efficient way. That happens inside my program. 

Are you starting to see the difference?

When you're setting up your free content, I want to specifically think about your freebie, your lead magnet, to intrigue your audience, to give them incredible value, and I'm going to talk about that in just a second, and to set up your offer. That is the goal. 

Because if someone is like, "Ooh, I want to hear more," they're moving further along in the consumer buying process, they're now into a place where they're seeking really solid solutions that they're looking to invest in. 

You want whatever you're giving away as your lead magnet to be valuable and to set up the offer, to also intrigue your audience, so they need and want to learn more from you.

WHAT DOES ‘GIVING VALUE’ MEAN?

Giving value can mean so many different things. 

I often talk about giving value as being inspirational, motivational, obviously educational, and also entertaining.

Yes, your content could also just be funny. That's value, making someone laugh is giving them value in their life. 

But when you think about giving value on an educational level, like in a free gift or a lead magnet, I want you to think that the value piece can simply be answering a question that has been floating around in their minds forever and ever and ever.

So when I first was thinking about releasing my Brand Roadmap, which is a freebie that I've had, I went back and forth with myself, wondering if it was valuable enough.

And I realized after I put it out there and I started talking with people, that it was exactly what they needed because branding was overwhelming to them. 

They didn't understand what branding was and that was keeping them from moving forward and creating their brand. 

So by creating a PDF for them, that clearly gave them the stages and in what order, not only did I remove the overwhelm, but I gave them the information they needed to start taking action. And it beautifully set up my offer, where I would teach them how to do that.

So when you think about giving value, don't always think that you've just got to give all your information away. 

It's really understanding your ideal customer, the questions that they need to be answered, that they would pay money for, but you're going to give it to them for free. 

That's what you want to deliver. 

That's why knowing your ideal customer is so incredibly important because when you know your ideal customer, you know what questions they have and you can answer those questions in a very valuable way.

The last thing that I'll say about this is, don't beat yourself up if you want to trickle in the ‘How’, that’s ok! Every once in a while you can give some ‘How’ information because remember, you can’t give it all away!

I can talk about branding in a hundred different ways. If I tell one person how to craft a hook, which I've said, “Your hook is specifically who you are, who you serve, what they struggle with, what they want, and how you support them. Solve that problem.” I can give you the formula for that. 

But guess what? You've got to know all those other pieces for that to work. So even though I've given a little piece of the How, I know that in order to make that work at the highest level, you need to come work with me.

CONCLUSION

Free content is necessary in order to bring in clients, making them aware of your brand and moving them through the buying process, to being a paying client. 

Bringing somebody in who doesn't know anything about you, warming them up, making a connection with them, and getting them to invest. 

That free content that you're creating is focused on the ‘What’ and the ‘Why’. 
And the paid content is focused on the ‘How’ - how they actually do those different things.

If you found this free content incredibly valuable, I want you to know that there's so much more to creating free and paid content. 

And it's one of the pillars that I teach inside of my program, Roadmap to Freedom. 

The doors for Roadmap to Freedom are opening on Sunday. You can go to Brandmerry.com/freedom to learn more and get ready, the doors are only going to be open for four days. That's it. It's the shortest launch period we've ever had. 

You're going to want to be ready to go when the doors open, so you don't miss the deadline, because doors will not open again until next year. 

When we're talking about the free versus paid content specifically, that is something that we go into in depth inside of Roadmap to Freedom, where I teach you how to come up with free content ideas, how to strategically create a freebie that's going to lead to the paid offer, so that you've got people joining your email list and then moving effortlessly to the paid offer.

Learn more at brandmerry.com/freedom.

P.S. Planning and creating your content doesn't have to be a constant struggle. There is a better way to research, plan, and create your content as an entrepreneur and it's all inside the Content Planning Blueprint!

The Content Planning Blueprint is perfect for online business owners who know the power of content creation but are tired of spending all of their time coming up with ideas, organizing their content, and wondering what will attract their dream clients.

In just a few hours, you'll have 90 days of content planned, a repeatable workflow to save you hours on creating and distributing your content every week, and content topics that will keep performing for your brand for years to come! Get your blueprint now >>

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

How to Write An About Me Page

How to Write An About Me Page

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

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Today, on The Brandmerry Podcast (yep, this is the full transcript, choose to listen above or continue reading) we're talking about your 'About Me' page. My goal is that you have everything you need to craft an ‘About Me’ page that is going to work FOR your brand, not against it!

One of the key beliefs we have over here at Brandmerry is that your website is important and should work FOR you. It's not enough to just get views. You want your website to actually convert into revenue.

There are a few things that we know about websites. 

Number one, we know that the homepage is typically the most visited page, especially if you're utilizing SEO strategies, search engine optimization, which is one of our trainings inside of Brandmerry Academy.

Number two, the second most visited page is your 'About Me' page. That tells us a lot of juicy information about your 'About Me' page, including that people care about the story and the person behind the brand.

If you've ever asked yourself, "Well, I don't think people care. Do people care? Do people care why I created this? Or do people care what has led me to this moment in my life and why I launched my business?" 

The answer is, "Absolutely they do.” 

It also tells us what we should include on our 'About Me' page. 

A lot of other branding and marketing experts will tell you that your 'About Me' page should be 100% about your ideal customer. I do not believe that is true. I have not believed that from the beginning. And I stand by that five years later.

So, today we’re diving into your ‘About Me’ page so you feel confident crafting yours. This is a continuation of episodes and blogs where we’re giving you fundamental pieces for building your brand.

We have talked about your brand’s mission.

We have outlined the difference between branding and marketing and where you should start. 

We have talked about your brand values. 

We've talked about jumping ship in your marketing and today we're going to talk about your 'About Me' page because it is incredibly important.

YOUR ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE IS ABOUT YOU

Let’s just set the record straight that your 'About Me' page should be about you! 

It should be about the person behind the brand or the people behind the brand. 

If I'm a consumer and I'm on a website and it says, 'About Me' at the top and I click on that, and then the whole entire page tells me nothing about the person behind the brand, why they started their business, why they choose their products, anything like that, I’m incredibly turned off. 

I didn't click through to learn more about myself. 
I clicked through to learn more about you. 
It's helping me in my decision-making process. 

Over on the Brandmerry blog, we have a blog post on the consumer buying process and the different stages customers go through before making a purchase decision. 

When someone is at the evaluation stage, where they are looking at the different solutions to their problem, that's when we find that people love to visit the 'About Me' page of a brand because they want to know who the person is, the mission, and the values behind a brand. That information can help them with their decision-making process.

So your 'About Me' page is incredibly important. It is often what I recommend to be the second page that you create on your website, as it's the second most viewed.

YOUR ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE FOR CONSUMERS

You also want to think about writing your ‘About Me’ page for a consumer. 

Think about if you're buying a skincare product and you're at a place where you're looking at two or three different brands and you go to an 'About Me' page, what do you want to see? 

What do you want to read? 

Last year, we were buying a new mattress. I was going between a few different companies. I had narrowed it down and I was looking at the story behind each one and that's how I ended up choosing the bed that we went with because I loved their story and I love their mission and I love the way that they shared that. That pulled me in and it made my decision for me.

The decision was because of their story and I even went with the most expensive option!

3 TIPS FOR WRITING AN 'ABOUT ME' PAGE

TELL A STORY

As we talked about in the brand storytelling episode, don't miss the opportunity to tell a story. 

Storytelling is incredibly powerful and incredibly important. It's going to build that connection, that trust with your audience. 

I've signed clients because of my 'About Me' page. 

I have had people reach out to me and submit an application for 1:1 consulting. We’ll have a conversation via email and I’ll answer questions to support them in their decision. Then I'll get an email from them 24 hours later that says, "All right, I'm ready to go. I just read your 'About Me' page, sign me up." 

Your ‘About Me’ page can be one of your most powerful assets. And you're going to get the most out of those pages if you are actually telling a story. 

Keep reading for my top tips for writing yours.

INCLUDE PERSONAL PHOTOS

I love brand photography. It's one of my favorite ways to enhance the branding experience and I encourage my clients to have a professional photo shoot for their brand because photos are incredibly powerful and we know this. 

Photos are also linked to improving brand affinity which is a deeper level of connection, typically through mission, values, and trust that a consumer has for a brand. 

Photos are a great way to build that brand affinity because through photography, you can share different moments and experiences in your life that allow your audience to say, "Oh my gosh, I know them." Instagram's a great example of this in action.

Utilizing photos to showcase whatever story you're telling.

So showcasing these different photos is a great way to build that connection. 

For your 'About Me' page I recommend not loading it with a bunch of professional photos, but putting in more lifestyle-type photos. Showcase photos of you at different places, in different outfits with different facial expressions, maybe you with your children, with your dog, on a trip or with a glass of wine. 

We follow people and we're like, "Oh, I know them," or "They did this," or "This is so-and-so's favorite wine," or "Did you know, so-and-so's dog?" and we feel like we know them!

Focus on showcasing what you're saying on the page, through your storytelling in the photos; not just typing out your story, but showing your story visually through photography. 

HAVE A CALL TO ACTION

When it comes to brand storytelling to move someone through to purchasing a product, we can't just tell stories to tell stories. We have to have a call to action. 

On an 'About Me' page, I love to have two CTA’s.

The first CTA is a click-through to your product or your service. If your ideal customer has read all the way to the bottom, they're probably pretty committed. And if they're further along in the buying process, say stage three or four, they're ready to make a purchase decision and having that button there can be incredibly powerful.

In addition to that, and below that, I love to share a lead magnet. The second CTA should be your free gift/ lead magnet to capture their attention.

Again, if someone has read your full ‘About Me’ page they're committed, but maybe they're not at a place where they're ready to invest. So having a way for them to opt in to your email list through a lead magnet can be incredibly powerful for capturing their information and being able to stay in contact with them.

So those are three must-haves for your 'About Me' page. 

Your story, having photos that show different moments in time, not just professional photos, and a call to action. Typically, a link to go purchase your product, your service, or your product suite page, and your lead magnet opt-in.

HOW TO WRITE YOUR 'ABOUT ME’ PAGE

Now I'm going to share with you my insider, super complicated, never-before-released method for writing your 'About Me' page! 

Brace yourself because it's easy. We overthink things all of the time when it comes to writing our copy, and one of the reasons that I encourage my clients to write their 'About Me' page, in the beginning, is because it's great practice in writing your story and pulling in pieces, like your mission and your values.

STEP ONE: IDENTIFY 3 TRANSITIONS

To begin, think about three transitions that have happened in your life. These can be three moments that are close together in your timeline or they can be spread out over the years. The timing does not matter, but I want you to think about these three transitions as a launching-off point.

Identifying these moments can include:

• A moment where something changed in your life. 

• Something happened to you and you had to change course or direction. 

• You made a decision and you changed course. 

• You learned a valuable lesson and you decided to do something different.

Think about these pivots or transitions. No more than three for our purposes here.

Write each of these out!

STEP TWO: PIECE IT TOGETHER

From there I want you to write out each of those different things and then piece them together and you have an 'About Me' page!  

There's one last part of the process, but I want to share my three with you first as an example of steps one and two. 

My first transition was when I decided not to go to college right after high school. I was the Salutatorian of my class. I had gotten an incredible scholarship to Loyola University, and I decided that I didn't want to do that. I had a long history with perfectionism and was just at a place in my life where I was not happy and was ready to take bold action and do something that felt good for me. It was the first time in my life that I had made a decision that went against what everyone around me wanted for me. And it was a big deal.

In this first transition, I'm setting the tone. I'm saying, "Oh, this is who I was and then this happened in 2005." The more dates that you can use, the better. Those are incredibly helpful for markers and a great way to keep your audience engaged. 

Next, I talk about how I wanted to be in musical theater. To be a star on Broadway, and was going to school for that in 2008 when my brother was diagnosed with cancer. I go on to talk about going through that experience. I don't go into every detail about that event. It's not necessary. It's sacred to me. I don't need to share it with everyone, but that was an important part of my life and did impact the business that I have today. So I share that piece of the puzzle.

Then I talk about after losing my brother, marrying my husband and finally present the third transition which was the birth of my son. This transition is where I focus the majority of my energy because that is what ultimately led to my business. 

The birth of my son got me thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, what I wanted to create, how I wanted to be home with him and that ultimately led to the creation of Brandmerry. 

You can head here to read my full ‘About Me’ page, in fact, I encourage you to do that! 

It's a great case study. 

What I want you to focus on is that I've led the reader through three transitions. I've also recognized how my audience can connect with those pieces and highlight those elements throughout.

Some of those elements are:

• Perfectionism. So many people in my audience and my ideal customers are recovering perfectionists or perfectionists, or they are starting their business or doing something that's different from what they originally were doing. So by sharing that first transition, there's that connection piece. 

• Grief and Loss. We've all experienced grief and loss. Maybe it wasn't your sibling, it was someone else or something, but we can all relate to that feeling. And that is something that connects us and many of my clients and my customers who have had these moments that have triggered the mission that they have, or has triggered them to do the work that they do in the world. 

• Starting My Business. My community is also made up of people who want to start businesses or have businesses. So we all have that moment where we're like, "I'm going to do this dang thing," and that's why I share mine. 

Choose your moments very strategically based on the connection for your audience. 

And then finally, what you want to do is lead to where it is now. 

We always talk about a beginning, middle and end to storytelling. But with an 'About Me' page, it's like a beginning, middle, and here we are now, continuing into the future. 

STEP THREE: SET UP THE BUSINESS

Don’t think about an end to your ‘About Me’ page, but rather the next steps!

This is where you want to share your mission statement, talk about the work that you do, and lead to that work-with-me page. 

It’s also where I recommend including your Hook, i.e. who you are, who you serve, their struggle and their desires.

If you sell a product, you can talk about when you recognized there was a need for your product. Maybe you went through a period where you talked about where you tested a bunch of stuff and it didn't work and you felt defeated and then you finally got the prototype that worked and you put it out into the world. And here's where you are now.

If you have a t-shirt clothing line that uses organic cotton, why did you decide to do that?

There are so many different things that you can do. Don't limit yourself because of the product and service that you sell. Focus on telling that story about the person or the people behind the brand because that's what the 'About Me' page is ultimately intended for.

Inside of my program, Brandmerry Academy, we take a deeper dive into what we call the heroine's journey, which goes into more detail on crafting your story, showcasing multiple peaks and dips in your story and how to craft it! 

However, for years and years, the three transitions were all I taught and used and still to this day it’s the structure I use for my Brandmerry ‘About Me’ page.  

LENGTH OF YOUR ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE

Here's the last thing that I'll share with you before you go forth and write your 'About Me' pages. 

Don't stress about how long it is when you're writing it. 

Just write it. 

Either write it in a Google Doc or record it and transcribe it if you find that you filter yourself. Whichever strategy works for you, write it and then clean it up. Don’t filter yourself to start or you’ll miss out on crucial elements of your story!

We limit ourselves in our storytelling abilities by trying to create the finished product when we first write it. And it never works that way. 

People don't write their finished book when they first write their book. It goes through tons and tons of rounds of edits. And I'm not saying you're writing a book and we don't need to spend months and months on your 'About Me' page, but just write it, tell the story, focus on the connection then go out and make sure you've touched on these pieces I shared in this post. 

CONCLUSION

I hope that you now understand how important your website is and how powerful your ‘About Me’ page truly is. And that your 'About Me' page is meant to tell the story behind the brand, not to say, "Oh, and I'll help you do X, Y, and Z," and that's the only thing on that page. Please don't do that. 

Utilize the steps outlined in this blog post today and share your new ‘About Me’ page with me on Instagram @michelleknightco so I can celebrate with you.

If you want to take a deeper dive into building your brand make sure you sign up to watch the Build A Better Brand Method. It's a free on-demand training and you can go to betterbrandmethod.com to get signed up.

Inside of that training, I talk about identifying your story and the importance of your story inside of the branding process, as well as giving you my six-part framework for building a better brand.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Marketing Secrets: 3 Repurposing Mistakes to Avoid

Marketing Secrets: 3 Repurposing Mistakes to Avoid

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

If you don’t already know I’m obsessed with simplified and minimalist marketing strategies.

Starting my business with a newborn, then scaling my business while traveling full time has taught me to streamline my business faster than most.

I learned very quickly that extending the life of my content, through the art of repurposing my content was the secret.

Mix the strategy of repurposing with the strategies I teach inside of Brandmerry Academy, to create more evergreen traffic to your website and you’ve hit the marketing sweet spot.

However, repurposing is a broad term and honestly many entrepreneurs do it wrong or miss out on some key pieces which result in mediocre optimization. Seriously, I want you to get the most impact from your time and energy, so avoiding these mistakes is key.

Read on to learn the 3 repurposing mistakes to avoid.

Content Repurposing Mistake #1: Thinking Too Small

One of the mistakes I see entrepreneurs make when repurposing is thinking too small. They limit themselves to the amount of content they can create from their core content.

In case you’re not familiar with the strategy I teach inside of Brandmerry Academy, all repurposed content comes from a core piece of content (email, blog, video, podcast, etc…) and then is expanded to additional platforms and additional posts.

Once you have this core piece of content, the possibilities are endless.

A single podcast could become:

• A new podcast episode

• A transcribed blog post

• 5-6 Pinterest images

• A Reel for Instagram

• 3-5 social media posts for Instagram

• 3-5 social media posts for Facebook

• 3-5 tweets on Twitter

...heck, you could even go live about the podcast episode answering questions or record the podcast episode for Youtube.

See? The possibilities are endless if you take the time to map out your strategy.

And, this isn’t just about creating more content, it allows you to spend less time creating content every single week, gives you more opportunities to reach your ideal customer, extends the life of your content (most social media content lasts a few hours, where blogs can last 2+ years) and did I mention it saved you time? Because it definitely does!

Content Repurposing Mistake #2: Not Optimizing For Warm and Cold Audience

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to content creation is not considering your audience at every single stage of the buying process.

I see entrepreneurs who only think about educating their audience (i.e. at the Problem or Solution Stage) or only creating content for those ready to buy (i.e. the Purchase Stage). When in reality, there is a way to produce content that serves your audience at every single stage.

Stages of the buying process is something I teach inside of Brandmerry Academy and is important when creating content!

Let’s take a video example into consideration. 

You create a new live video every week (by the way this could be a blog, podcast, etc...I’m not saying you have to do live video for this to work, but you get the idea).

So, you create a live video every week. 

That live video has a pretty specific title, it’s based on what your audience has asked about and leads to your current offer. Maybe it’s something like, “How to Repurpose Your Content for Social Media.”

It’s specific to your audience and what they’ve been asking for and designed for your existing audience, as live video doesn’t typically attract new people! This is most likely for people further along in the buying process as their seeking out solutions and product/ services to solve their problem.

Now you have this video content and you’re transcribing it for your blog, because you’re smart, but the people you want to attract to your blog will come from Google and/ or Pinterest and be a cold audience (i.e. people who don’t know you and your brand just yet).

The key here is to optimize for those at the beginning of the buying process and use Search Engine Optimized keywords and titles to do just that. 

After research, you might adjust the title to, “4 Ways to Save Time on Social Media and Plan Your Content for a Full Week!”

It’s more specific and rooted in research.

This is what I want you to remember. Choosing titles for content isn’t based on a feeling, it’s based on research - if you want to be discovered. This is why taking the time to research your content before creating and adjusting your titles for different platforms is important.

It’s one of the reasons I teach advance content creation inside of Brandmerry Academy, so your content doesn’t just sit there, but is actually discovered.

Content Repurposing Mistake #3: Consistency is Lacking

Although it may come as a shock to those of you that know me and my message, I’m not talking about the consistency in content, timing or even your message.

I’m talking about the consistency of your systems!

Your systems are everything and these daily, weekly and monthly habits are the difference between wasting hours and hours in your business and making money.

So, what do I mean by lack of consistency? I mean a lack in workflows!

Once, you’ve decided on your repurposing plan (i.e. your core content and additional platforms you’ll be optimizing) you can create a weekly workflow that can be duplicated week after week.

I feel like I don’t have to tell you how much time and energy this will save in your business!

And the best part, you don’t need a team to master this (although when the time is right, this can save even more energy), but just having this weekly workflow outlined will allow you to do more as a solopreneur.

I suggest using a platform like ClickUp or Asana to create your weekly content workflow and save it as a template.

This includes listing every step of the process from idea generation, writing, editing, formatting, graphics, scheduling and more!

You then can adjust the content topic, titles, and descriptions every week, but have a clear and optimized work flow. This can allow you to create your content for the entire week in a single day!

And as you grow your team, you can assign weekly tasks to members just further optimizing your time and making sure your energy is best spent on content and marketing!

CONCLUSION

Well, there you have it! 

If you’re making any of these mistakes it’s time to adjust your content and repurposing strategy.

It doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but it does need a little strategy behind it, which just so happens to be one of my specialties.

If you’re interested in not only learning more about repurposing your content, but also how to market without relying on social media, then check out Brandmerry Academy.

This monthly marketing membership was created to help entrepreneurs maximize their time and learn the true art of marketing, which isn’t really dependent on social media!

Your marketing can’t wait, it’s required to not only grow your audience, but move your audience through the buying process which, you guessed it, leads to profitability!

Learn more about Brandmerry Academy here and happy repurposing!

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Facebook Group Marketing: Why I Don’t Recommend it and What to do Instead

Facebook Group marketing used to work, and for some people with endless amounts of time and serious patience, it could possibly work.

But, here’s the thing business and marketing shouldn’t be hard and it definitely shouldn’t be that time-consuming.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with the need to come up with fresh content daily and schedule 10-15 minutes to engage in Facebook Groups.

Struggle to find Facebook Groups where your ideal client is genuinely engaging and not just there to pitch their services as well.

Feel a bit defeated that the strategy that seems to work for so many ISN’T working for you.

Keep reading because I’m about to save you so much time and energy.

FACEBOOK GROUP MARKETING

Back in 2016, I started my first Facebook Group. I wanted it to be a place for my ideal customers to come together, share my content and expertise, build trust, and of course sign clients.

I freaking loved it, but in 2020 I closed my group due to changes in marketing and the new and more advanced platforms available to me.

Plus, even though I started my Facebook Group in 2016, as a way to build the community I didn’t neglect my email list. They grew together in size and as I started to pay more and more attention to conversions I saw that my email list converted better than the group AND didn’t take as much of my precious time.

Facebook Groups (i.e. having your own as a way to build and form a community) still works, but don’t neglect to build your email list as well.

But, having your own Facebook Group is not what this is about - it’s about plopping yourself in other Facebook Groups, owned typically by entrepreneurs or organizations, and pushing your content out.

CLIENT ATTRACTION MARKETING

The reason this marketing strategy doesn’t work comes down to two reasons.

Reason #1: Facebook Groups have changed. While you use to be able to engage, post your own content with links to your website, share your videos and your freebies, it’s typically not allowed anymore.

You find yourself creating content to build trust in a community that really isn’t there for you, posting your freebies and offers on a Share thread every week in the hopes someone might message you, click your profile, and land on your website.

Reason #2: Facebook Group marketing is a push strategy, rather than a pull strategy.

Push means blasting your information, your story, and your expertise onto people. People who may or may not be your ideal customer. It’s like casting a line into the ocean and hoping you catch the right fish that will pay you for your services - the odds aren’t great.

Pull strategy (or client attraction marketing) is about pulling in the people searching for your services, products, and expertise. Not only do you experience a higher conversion rate, but it’s easier on you!

4 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

So what do you do, if you’re not posting multiple times a week in a Facebook Group and carving out 10-15 minutes daily to engage, how do you grow your email list?

Here are 4 things to consider when choosing your marketing strategy:

1. FOCUS ON GETTING IN FRONT OF YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER

As with all marketing you want to make sure you’re putting your efforts (i.e. content) in front of your ideal customer. This is why ideal client work is so important and one of the key pillars I teach inside of Roadmap to Freedom.

Choosing your platforms for marketing is about where your audience is hanging out. And I don’t mean just where they are looking for your services, more on that later. I mean where do they spend their time? With the right strategies, you can reach them!This is why I love Pinterest. Pinterest has 416 million active monthly users on its platform and while most people are using it for fun, it’s one of my favorite ways to land content in front of my ideal customer.

Pinterest counts for 90% of my website traffic and last month that was $18k individuals.

2. GO WHERE THEY ARE SEEKING YOUR SUPPORT

Another thing to consider is where people are looking for tips and tools as it relates to your industry. This is why it’s so important to put your content on a search engine optimized platform (think Google/ Blogging, Pinterest, and even YouTube).

When people are searching for your information, it means they are further along in the buying process. They understand they have a problem and are in the process of exploring options to fix the problem.

This is why every entrepreneur needs to be showing up on a search engine optimized platform!

3. DON’T NEGLECT THOSE READY TO BUY

Speaking of the buying process, do you have marketing measures in place to get in front of people seeking our services specifically? 

If not you are missing out! This is where sitewide SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes into play and is necessary for every single business, no matter what you sell.

When you correctly optimize SEO you’re able to rank on page one for your industry and your products, therefore bringing in people who are ready to purchase.

Google ranking is the reason my 1:1 services have been booked for an entire year and why I teach my clients how to do it as well inside of Roadmap to Freedom.

4. BUILD STRONGER BRAND AWARENESS

Aside from the amazing tips above, most of which revolve around search engine platforms, it’s important to take into account brand awareness and longevity. 

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have content that expires too quickly. You’re lucky if your content shows up in the feed after 24 hours, and if we’re talking Facebook Groups it’s more like 15 minutes.

When you’re taking the time and energy to create content, don’t you want it to last?

When you focus on the platforms I’m sharing below, your content can last years! 

Seriously, I have blogs that are still getting consistent traffic from Pinterest and Google since 2017.

In order to create a sustainable business, you need to think about the longevity of content.

MY TOP 4 WAYS TO BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST AND INCREASE REVENUE

Maybe you’ve already caught on to my absolute favorite marketing platforms, but let’s recap.

1. Google (SEO + Blogging): Your site needs to be set up and optimized for the Google search engine as a way to attract ideal customers who are further along in the buying process. The beautiful thing is with site-wide SEO you don’t need to keep updating it!
   
   

2. Pinterest (Blogging): This combination is my favorite, seriously I’m in love. Writing a weekly high-value blog post and sharing it on Pinterest is a great marketing strategy. Not to mention it takes less time and energy than posting daily in groups or on social media.
   
   

3. Youtube: As I mentioned before Youtube is a search engine platform featuring videos. If you’re a video person, using Youtube to get in front of your ideal customer can be huge for business. Don’t forget as with all these strategies optimizing for search is essential, you have to know what titles, keywords, descriptions, and more work to see a return.
   
   

4. Instagram Video: I couldn’t do a blog on marketing and not speak about the awesome changes to Instagram within the last year. Now, while I don’t recommend Instagram being your main platform, it’s an awesome way to build brand awareness, specifically with video. Video content (think IGTV, Stories, and Reels) has a longer lifespan with the algorithm, and with Instagram’s desire to increase watch time, more likely to end up on the Explore page or be discovered via hashtags.

CONCLUSION

If you’re not already using one of these platforms it’s time.

If you’re currently feeling overwhelmed with content creation, growing your list and marketing in general...it’s time.

And the good news is you don’t have to do it alone. You can learn all of these strategies, the tech and how-to’s inside of my signature program Roadmap to Freedom.

Learn more at brandmerry.com/freedom!

PS: Roadmap to Freedom doors are opening soon! This live group program will help you create an online business that allows you to create a life of abundant experiences and impact.

This high-touch program helps you simplify the process so you can make more money on your terms. And, the 2023 cohort is going to be better than ever with updated content, lifetime access, new bonus content, and more! Join the waitlist and be the first to join in January 2023.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

3 Ways to Get Paying Clients in 2022 (without posting on Instagram or Facebook)

3 Ways to Get Paying Clients in 2022
(without posting on Instagram or Facebook)

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

Since the start of my business, in 2016, I've been offering one on one services (aka private coaching). In fact, it was the very first thing that I did to make money. 

I started my business with the idea that I wanted to leave my nine to five to be home with my son, but I didn't come into being an online entrepreneur with any knowledge of being an online entrepreneur. 

I didn’t know all about courses and group programs at the time, but I could wrap my head around 1:1 services.

I also learned pretty quickly that the fastest way for me to grow, because I was starting from scratch with no email list and no following, was to start taking high-level one on one clients.

I used this method to not only gain experience and testimonials but to ultimately build my framework which I now teach inside all of my programs.

FILLING MY 1:1 IN 2017

You can probably relate to some of these old school ways of marketing your services. I did them all and while they might have worked in 2017, they don’t work the same way today.

Yet, so many coaches, mentors and course creators are still teaching them. Now, don’t get me wrong if you’re open to posting 15-30 minutes every day they might still work for you, but I’d reached a place in my life and business where I knew there had to be a better way than me living on social media.

In 2017, I would spend a few hours (typically three) at the beginning of the week planning out and writing my content. Then every day I would spend 15-30 minutes posting in Facebook Groups and engaging.

Some of these groups allowed me to post links and some didn’t, but the end goal was the same - try and find my ideal customer and provide enough value that they are intrigued enough to reach out.

And don’t get me started on friending people from groups and messaging them.

If you’re struggling with these strategies in 2021, or maybe just getting started and don’t want to spend your time in Facebook Groups or social media daily, I promise there is another way.

THE CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

The consumer buying process is made up of six stages:

1. Problem Recognition

2. Information Search

3. Evaluation of Alternatives

4. Purchase Decision

5. Purchase

6. Post-Purchase Evaluation

The majority of strategies being taught online, in courses and programs focus on selling at the Program Recognition stage. While you absolutely can make a sale at this stage, it’s a lot of freaking work.

What entrepreneurs should be focused on is signing clients who are at the Information Search or Evaluation of Alternatives stage. I share more about this in this video here.

The strategies I’m sharing below focus on attracting people who are ready to invest and searching for the solution to the problem your products and services solve, typically on Google.

THREE STRATEGIES TO GET PAYING 1:1 CLIENTS

1. SITE-WIDE SEO AND GOOGLE RANKING

Now, I’m separating Blogging (SEO) from Site-Wide SEO because they attract people at different stages of the buying process.

Site-Wide SEO is for people searching for your products and services and possibly even your title. It’s the SEO you want to create for your website as a whole and your homepage.

This requires some research to find what people are looking for as it relates to your business and location if you are local.

Here’s another blog post on three ways to improve SEO on your website.

This simple change has brought in the most “ready-to-pay” clients to my business over the past two years and requires little to no energy on my part.

Remember, SEO for your site doesn’t need to be updated often, it’s an awesome set-it strategy and the results of your ideal customers, looking for your specific offer, ready to buy is amazing for business. SEO is so powerful it’s one of the strategies I teach inside my membership Brandmerry Academy.

2. BLOGGING AND SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Another strategy I love is serious blogging. Now, why do I say serious?

Because I’ve been blogging since 2016 when I started my business, but it wasn’t until I took the time to do my research on topics, titles and keywords that my blogs started working for me and my business.

Blogging is an awesome tool to bring in clients looking for tips, tricks and solutions to their problem and while they might now know they need your service right now, they are eager to learn more.

By creating high-quality blogs you’re able to showcase your expertise and build trust with your ideal customer.

Optimizing your blogs requires three things:

1. Optimizing for SEO (so you begin to show up in Google searches)

2. Optimizing it for Pinterest (more on that in a minute)

3. Optimizing it for email subscribers

Optimizing for SEO requires you to do research BEFORE you write your blog. Choosing a title and keywords that people are searching for is how you’ll rank higher on Google and drive more traffic. This research stage is crucial and many entrepreneurs go about it the wrong way. It’s just another training available inside Brandmerry Academy and clients love it!

Optimizing for email subscribers means that every single blog post has a way for someone to join your email list. This is typically a freebie or lead magnet and that they get in exchange for their name and email.

This is crucial because if someone is finding your content and they aren’t ready to buy, they at least get to hear more from you and you have an opportunity to build trust for when they are ready.

3. PINTEREST TO PAYING CLIENT

My favorite strategy by far and results in the most traffic to my website every single month. About 90% of my monthly traffic (average 20k visitors) comes from Pinterest.

I seriously think it’s the secret weapon for online entrepreneurs and one I teach inside of my program Brandmerry Academy because it is so powerful!

Pinterest pulls it all together, utilizing the power of SEO and giving your blogs some where to go and be seen.

If you’re blogging you need to be using Pinterest because this platform will allow you to extend the life of your content (I have blogs driving traffic to my site from 2016) and help with your Google ranking because of the consistent traffic.

I’m not going to lie, Pinterest can be tricky and more entrepreneurs don’t know what they are doing, but when you get the hang of it, it’s magic.

You’ll learn all you need inside of Brandmerry Academy, but if you’re wanting to get started on your own here are some tips:

1. Blog at least once a week

2. Make sure each blog post has at least one Pinterest Image

3. Optimize the image, title and description for Pinterest (this might be different than Google)

4. Create 5 additional pins and link them to your blog post through Pinterest. Schedule those posts using a tool like Tailwind.

CONCLUSION

I’m booked every month and in advance for my 1:1 services because I’ve fully embraced these three strategies above. 

I love them because not only do they save me a ton of time, but they also result in more growth of my email list (via organic traffic) and sales for my other courses and programs.

If you already have a brand and a foundation for your business, but ready to master your marketing, I invite you to check out Brandmerry Academy. Doors are opening soon.

If you’re just starting out, I see you! You want to focus your energy on setting a strong brand foundation all your marketing efforts work for you! You can learn more about building a better brand with my free pdf download 👇

Watch the Free Marketing Class

Watch the entire video training of this blog + some additional tips below.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.