Brandmerry Blog Archives
5 Easy Steps to Be More Confident on Video
Video is necessary IF you are building an online brand and business.There are so many options now with Facebook Live, Youtube, IGTV, Instagram Live and Insta Stories just to name a few. Basically video is non negotiable when it comes to an online business, but what do you do if you don’t feel confident to add video to your business? I’m sharing 5 easy steps to be more confident on video.
5 Easy Steps to Be More Confident on Video
May 30, 2019
Prefer to watch, instead of read? I’ve got you boo. Scroll down to watch a quick 6 minute video!
Video is necessary IF you are building an online brand and business. Nope, not an option don't even try to convince me otherwise.
There are so many options now with Facebook Live, Youtube, IGTV, Instagram Live and Insta Stories just to name a few. Basically video is non negotiable when it comes to an online business.
The #1 question I get from my audience around video is How to Build Confidence.
So, today I’m sharing five easy steps to be more confident on video. I’ve used these techniques and have now shared them with my clients to support them in gaining confidence, feeling natural and totally rocking it on video (both live and pre-recorded).
But, before we dive into the steps I have a quick question to bring some reality to the whole video thing. Is every single person that is showing up on video confident from the start?
Absolutely NOT, sure some people are, but even myself with years on stage, having been on the news and television before, I still freaked out during my first live video.
Give yourself some grace and know from the get go it's going to suck at the beginning. Seriously, your first time isn't going to be smooth, so just know that going in and be confident in the fact that you will improve with time.
So aside from just going for it, what can you do. Here's a simple do this then that strategy to get you started.
1. SCHEDULE IT
This is going to be the easiest part for you, but it’s going to aid in the whole ripping off a bandaid and with step two coming up next. When you make the commitment and put it on the calendar it's a hell of a lot harder to skip it. I actually use this strategy anytime I’m doing something out of my comfort zone; I put it in writing and make the commitment to myself that it’s going to happen.
2. PRACTICE
Now that you've got it scheduled it's time to carve out at least 3 days to practice before hitting that live or record button. This will help work out any kinks or uncertainty and make you feel more confident with the content. You won't always have to do this, remember consistency is key, but in the beginning it's a great tool.
Another great tool is to practice on Instagram Stories - there short, don’t take a lot of time, and your less likely to overthink a 15 second video as opposed to a 5-minute video. Insta Stories are a great was to get you more comfortable with the camera.
3. MAP IT OUT
As you practice you're going to find your groove. Pay attention to what you enjoy talking about, where you get a little lost and which areas you want to emphasis (a pitch or call to action perhaps). Now map those out in a notebook or document so you have a clear outline for your video.
Bonus Tip: If recording a video record 1-2 sentences, stop, look at notes and start again. If going live be super transparent with your audience and just tell them that you have notes to help you out and might be looking at them from time to time.
4. TAP INTO YOUR AUTHENTICITY
Be inspired by those around you and bring out your special characteristics with confidence. So often we try to hide our quirks, but those can make your videos even better. Write down 5 quirks you are proud of that you want to bring out in your videos to play up your authenticity. For instance, I love to talk with my hands so I make sure I have the room to talk naturally and I'm not holding the camera (p.s. You’re going to notice this every time I make a video now)!
5. EXUDE CONFIDENCE
There are things that make you feel better no matter the situation. Is it a specific outfit, making sure you've got some lipstick on, being in a particular setting? If you feel confident going into it, as your most bold badass self you'll deliver better content.
I know how easy it can be to think that everything needs to be perfect, especially when it comes to video. If you identify yourself as a perfectionist watch this video here.
But please know that you'll only improve by doing. I hope these 5 tips were SUPER helpful. If you’re feeling confident and ready to do this thing, then you probably need some help organizing your content ideas.
Download my free content calendar and planner if you want If help organizing your content, social media strategy and when you'll post videos.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
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.
3 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your Business
Starting a business or find yourself spinning your wheels? You might be making one of these three mistakes. I’m sharing the worst three mistakes I made in the first eight months of having my business and how to avoid them if just starting out.
3 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your Business
May 16, 2019
Prefer to watch, instead of read? I’ve got you boo. Scroll down to watch a quick 5 minute video!
I made a lot of mistakes, I mean I think it’s part of the game, but my goal - to help you avoid some of the worst.
In fact, today on the blog I’m sharing 3 mistakes that I’ve made so you can hopefully avoid them (or at the very least stop doing them now) in your own business.
I’ve been in business 3 years so one mistake a year right? WRONG! And if we’re being honest most of them happened the first 8 months of business.
So without further ado, let’s dive in.
1. BUILDING MY FIRST WEBSITE
It’s like the entrepreneur plague! You want to be official so you spend so much time building a website no one is going to find. Seriously, no one will know it exists and no one will just stumble on it in the beginning.
Unless you are trained in SEO and implementing on your new website the odds of people finding you via search is super slim.
Entrepreneurs spend all their time and money in the beginning building a business when they should be spending it on social media to build a community - which is FREE btw!
If I were starting over I’d spend 8 months building a following on social media (just one), talk to people, discover my voice and then build my website!
2. NOT NICHING DOWN
Major facepalm on this one. No joke I use to call myself a Freedom Coach - what does that even mean? I was trying to be too much in the beginning and struggled to effectively attract and communicate with anyone.
When I finally got specific in focusing on branding and even more specifically around storytelling everything became more clear.
If I were starting over I’d take time to REALLY think of what gap and market I wanted to fill in the online space. And I’d keep going deeper and deeper until I could clearly communicate what I do! This right here can be the difference between your first client and the struggle bus.
Want help with this? Grab my free niche guide here.
3. BRANDING DONE WRONG
In the beginning, I was so lost. I did it ass backward and dove right into researching other brands in my industry and deciding on the aesthetics. Do you know what happened?
I spent 8 months building and then scrapped it all! It in no way reflected my message or story and therefore freaking sucked.
If I were starting over I’d define my niche, learn more about my audience (social media), tap into my story, define my messaging AND THEN choose my visuals.
I did this btw - months later and as a result, I’ve not had to redo my brand in 3 years, just elevate it as I grow as a person! Now I teach other entrepreneurs how to do the same.
Want to learn more about my journey and sign up for my Netflix-style masterclass where I’m sharing a complete Roadmap of the steps I took? You can watch this video on your time here.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
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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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 Overcome Your Fear of Failure as a Female Entrepreneur
Learn how to overcome your fear of failure as an entrepreneur with this simple 10 minute exercise. Fear of failure can keep so many entrepreneurs stuck in their comfort zone, learn how to break out of yours.
How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure
as a Female Entrepreneur
April 18, 2019
PREFER TO WATCH, INSTEAD OF READ? I’VE GOT YOU BOO. SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH A QUICK 10 minute video!
Fear of failure as an entrepreneur is a real freakin’ thing.
Maybe right now you are afraid of failing in the moment because you're doing something and all of those fears keep popping up for you that this might not work out.
Maybe you're thinking of taking the leap, thinking of taking action and the fear of failure is playing over and over in your head.
Today I want to talk to you about the fear of failure and how it doesn't have to be your story and I'm going to give you the number one question to ask yourself if you are ready to face your fears.
I've been an entrepreneur for three years now and when I tell you that fear of failure is something that I have seriously struggled with, I am not lying
In the beginning, I was almost paralyzed by my fear of failure. I almost did not start this business because I was really scared of what it could ultimately mean for my family. What people would think about me? What would people think about my decision to leave a nine to five to pursue this dream when I had a brand new baby?Would just think I was absolutely insane if it didn't work out?
I put a lot of time and energy into this business and I'm so lucky that it did work out, but don't think for a second that those fears of failure, or any fears for that matter, are not constantly coming up.
You've probably heard of the saying new level new devil - It doesn't go away, but I've learned a couple of strategies that help me move through that fear faster and that's what I want to talk to you about today.
The fear of failure is ultimately keeping you stuck. It's keeping you stuck in this cycle, in this comfortable space. Think about it, fears pop up when we're questioning something.
When we're taking a leap of faith, when we're thinking about taking action towards our dreams, that's when fears come up.
And so I like to believe that fear is your heart's way of telling you that you are ready and it's up to you to listen to that fear and believe that fear.
You can then choose to stay comfortable or to face that fear and see what amazing, beautiful things that you can create in this one life that you have.
When you start looking at the fear of failure as your heart being like, “Whoa, let's do this dang thing,” It shifts everything for you.
Now, let’s talk about how to deal with fears that are coming up for you at this moment. You know all of those dark hole things that are playing over and over in your head and they're keeping you up at night.
TRY THIS EXERCISE
Take a moment, get a piece of paper, get your phone out and I want you to write down all of those worst case scenarios. No, seriously do that like right now, like write out your worst case scenarios.
Now I want you to look at that list you've just created and I want you to ask yourself, truly, is this really possible? Am I really going to let it get to this place?
We make up all these worst case scenarios in our head and we never actually look at them and bring attention to them, but the second that we do, sometimes were like, wow, that's a little ridiculous.
That's the power of the mind, man. It could take us into some dark, dark places, but now you have an opportunity, you have a choice. You've seen what is playing over in your mind and you have a choice to say, no, I'm not going to let that happen.
I'm not going to let these dark black hole thoughts keep me in my comfort zone and keep me safe because this place of safety of comfort is where so many entrepreneurs either plateau or never get enough momentum to get started and I don't want you to stay there now.
Ok, let’s get into the number one question to ask yourself if the fear of failure is something that is truly affecting you.
BEST QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
I want you to think of someone that you absolutely admire. Maybe it's somebody in the online space, maybe it's somebody in your personal life. I know for me, Oprah, she basically always comes to mind. I remember being that girl running home from school at 4:30 watching Oprah on TV.
Fill in the blank with your person & ask yourself the following:
Where would you be if Oprah or that person, let fear lead the way?
Where would you be if that person didn't take action?
Where would you be if that person allowed fear to keep them safe?
My guess is that you'd be in a completely different life or situation than you are now and that is exactly my point.
It has to be about more than just you running this business. Being an entrepreneur isn't really about you. At the end of the day, it's about the people who need to hear from you.
It's about the people who will be impacted by your work. They need you to show up. They need you to get your voice out there. They need you to take action.
So think about it. Who is that person who needs you? Even if one person is affected by you, you have made a difference and that creates a ripple effect that then affects somebody else and someone else and someone else.
If you start taking action, think about all of the people that will then be affected by that.
Anytime that fear comes up, I think about the people I'm able to impact. So where would you be if so and so didn't show up and who are you meant to impact?
It's a ripple effect and it starts with you right now at this moment.
I know that those fears that are coming up for me are not true, that I can rewrite my story and that so many people need to hear my message.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
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.
Blog Resources
New Entrepreneur Shopping List
New Entrepreneur Shopping List
April 12, 2019
Starting a business can be super overwhelming. You can go from “Wohoooo, this is happening!” to “Holy Sh*t! Where do I even start!”
There are countless options on the internet that you can use for list building, sending emails, collecting leads, housing your course, accepting payments, designing, etc….
Seriously, that list goes on and on and on.
When I started my business not one single person told me what I should be investing in for my business. I was bootstrapping my buns off so I did a lot of research to find the right platforms that worked for me and my clients. Now three years later I’ve come to love a few specific platforms and tools and recommend them to all my clients.
So I thought why keep them to myself - so many of you need this information in your back pocket.
If you’re a new or aspiring entrepreneur read on for my Ultimate New Entrepreneur Shopping List!
1. Kajabi
If I had known about Kajabi from the beginning of my business it would have saved me so many freaking headaches. Now, we are working on moving all my stuff to Kajabi because it can do #allthethings. Kajabi is an amazing platform that allows you to house your website, grow your email list, house your courses and accept payments.
Some of my favorite features in Kajabi are:
Course Creation
Membership Sites
Email Marketing
Lead Generation (including landing pages)
Automation (i.e. sales funnels)
Webinars
Accepting payments
It’s now my #1 suggestion for entrepreneurs because it’s that good. The best part is even if you don’t have a course or membership site now you can grow into it. Now, I know it might seem like a scary investment right out of the gate, but when you add up all the individual platforms trust me you’ll spend just as much and end up switching later. You can test out Kajabi with their 30-day money-back guarantee!
2. Email Marketing
If you’re really bootstrapping or currently loving your website provider, you still need a strong email marketing platform. A community is everything when you are starting out and you NEED to be connecting with them beyond social media.
Creating an email list allows you to stay in contact with your audience, build trust with them through consistency and ultimately sell your offers and products, so this is an area you can’t skimp. I love Convertkit because it gives me the high-level segmenting (like Kajabi) without a major price tag.
If you’re looking for an email platform that can grow with you, I highly recommend. Get a free trial here.
3. Roadmap to Freedom
Shameless plug? I think so. Look, I’ve been doing this business thing for a few years now and if there is one thing I see so many entrepreneurs missing it is a step-by-step plan that supports them from start to finish.
I know if I had this at the beginning of my business I could have grown even faster. And this step-by-step plan does not mean starting on social media - that’s a big fat NO!
It’s following the 5-step roadmap to build a solid foundation, community and so much more. I’m sharing this exact roadmap in my upcoming masterclass, sign up here.
Want to learn more about the Roadmap to Freedom program that has helped so many women creating a thriving online business that allows them to make money on their terms and create a life bigger than their dreams? Head here: brandmerry.com/freedom
4. SmarterQueue
It’s no secret that social media is one of the best free tools for growing your business. It’s important when utilizing these platforms (think Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Facebook Groups and more) that you are consistent.
If you’re currently flying by the seat of your pants and coming up with content every day you’re going to get overwhelmed super quick AND if you’re posting your content once and then letting it drift away into the social media black hole you’re wasting time.
Enter SmarterQueue! SmarterQueue allows you to pre-schedule your content across multiple platforms and evergreen your content, meaning you can recycle your posts every few weeks so your great content is actually seen.
You need a social media scheduler for your business and your sanity and SmarterQueue is my favorite. Test out SmarterQueue for 30 days
5. Trello
And finally we get to my favorite topic...organization! Remember when I talked about flying by the seat of your pants and how that just doesn’t work?! Well, there is an easy and free fix to this and it’s Trello.
Trello allows you to create boards for your business, organize tasks, evergreen recurring tasks, communicate with team and so much more.
I don’t go a freaking day without utilizing my weekly Trello board and have boards for all areas of my life, including our full-time travel schedule. Read more about how I use Trello in my business.
And did I mention it’s free? There is literally no reason for you to NOT sign up. Sign up for Trello
There’s a lot of information, tools, resources, etc in the online space (mine included), but it really comes down to finding something that works well for someone else, testing it for 30 days and making modifications.
Trust me when I tell you I’ve done the testing and these are my top recommendations and shopping list for new and aspiring online biz owners.
Reminder: If you’re just getting started I highly recommend Kajabi so you don’t have to piece it all together and can create a platform that grows WITH YOU!
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
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.
How to Gain Confidence in Selling Your Services
How to Gain Confidence in Selling Your Services
April 4, 2019
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Do you currently feel super sleazy when it comes to selling? I see you over there not wanting to share your offers with the world.
You know you need to get on the phone with people, but then getting on the phone with people and then like freezing because selling has gotten a really bad rap.
We all think of the encyclopedia salesman who came door to door or the car salesman who has given us a really bad rap in movies.
We think of aunt Susie who is even worse trying to push her product to us through Facebook messenger or through text messenger and it's become a bit overwhelming. I'm telling you though, selling is essential if you want to create a profitable brand.
In today's post, I want to share with you how you can gain the confidence to sell your programs and your offers, to the people who need them most
Selling is super important if you want to create a profitable brand and as a branding and business mentor to female entrepreneurs, selling comes up a lot, especially because my audience really wants to create an authentic brand so they don't want to use silly, you know, sleazy sales tactics.
I want to share with you my favorite ways to boost your confidence because that's where it really, really lies. It lies in you knowing from the get-go that you have what they need and you feel really confident sharing that with them.
1. Build a Relationship
At the end of the day, selling comes down to the relationship. Creating truly authentic sales comes from understanding that your audience is human. They are a person and we need to remember that at the end of the day, we are seeing Facebook ads and we are seeing promotions galore and we are seeing popups on youtube or on websites that are all trying to sell us something.
Our audience is dealing with the same exact thing and so we really have to be different and that comes down to building trust with your audience.
There are so many different ways that you can build trust with your audience. My top way is creating high-quality content, (if you need some inspiration for creating content, you can go ahead and watch some of them on my Youtube channel or see the Blog Resources at the bottom of this blog).
Another way of showing up for them is answering questions and inviting them into your world, but at the end of the day, people buy because they trust you.
Selling will become easier when you know more about your audience and they know more about you. Think of it as a friendship. If I am your girlfriend and I am telling you about this brand new product that I tried, you're probably going to go to the website and buy the product because you trust me as your friend.
The same goes for our audience. When we can approach the relationship as if they are our friend, they're more likely to trust us. They are more likely to buy from us. You're literally showing up genuinely online having conversations with people.
It's a lost art that so many entrepreneurs miss, but that is how I have signed every single one of my clients through the power of trust and focusing on the relationship.
2. Believe in Your Offer
If you are creating some sort of program or an offer that doesn't feel true and authentic to you and you don't feel confident and actually delivering that value, it's going to be really hard to sell.
That's why one of the things that I work on in my signature program Roadmap to Freedom is all about creating an offer that feels good to you at that moment.
Focusing on teaching things or guiding or helping people transform their lives based on what you know right now, not where you want to be in 10 years.
If you feel confident in the transformation that you are providing, you are going to want to shout that from the rooftops and that's when those conversations become that much easier.
It becomes less about, let me tell you about all this cool stuff about my program and more about let me tell you about what I offer. “I think this is going to be really valuable for you. This is why I think it's going to support you. What do you think?”
You have more of a take it or leave it approach to selling, which doesn't come off gross, it comes off confident and has your audience feeling like you're not constantly pressuring them.
So again, feeling grounded in your offer and what you provide gives you the confidence to share it with ease.
3. Listen
One of the easiest ways to make a sale is to actually listen to the human on the other end of the phone, the chat box or the zoom call, by listening to someone and truly understanding where they're coming from and where they want to be, you can more successfully position your offer as the solution.
That's ultimately what it is selling is just offering up a solution to the problem. It's offering up the next step. It's removing the pressure of...you have to do this on this day and if you don't do this, all hell's gonna break loose.
I have conversations with mentors who do this and feel disgusting when they get off the phone with people. I want my conversations to be genuine and nothing is more genuine than asking someone where they're at and where they want to be and truly listening to what they have to say and then with full confidence knowing you can support them at the end of the day.
It really comes down to having a strong relationship with your community, feeling super grounded in your offer and listening to what the person on the other end really has to say because when you can do that, you're setting yourself up for major success, not just in your business but also with the clients you work with and the results that they will get.
If you are a coach, a consultant or a mentor and you want to learn my four proven ways to sign your next high level one on one client than I made you a free video training sharing the exact four steps that I used in my business in the very beginning to sign my first four clients and celebrate 15k cash in my business with a list under 100 people.
Real quick before you go, I have to share some exciting news with you. My signature program, Roadmap to Freedom is back and it is better than ever. We have made it more accessible to new and aspiring female entrepreneurs by adjusting the price point of the program because it is my personal goal to help more female entrepreneurs create their dream business so that they can experience true time, financial and location freedom.
At the beginning of my business, I remember what it was like feeling super overwhelmed, not sure exactly where to start, not sure what to work on next that what would lead me to profitability.
So I created a program that would do just that. Roadmap to Freedom is a step-by-step program that walks you through everything that you need to create a profitable brand and make money on your terms.
You can learn more about the program, read amazing case studies and testimonials at brandmerry.com/freedom.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
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.