Interview with Kathleen

How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a marketing expert?

I have been interacting with the online world since America Online was mailing CD’s to homes with free minutes for people to sign online to the World Wide Web. Truth. 

I worked in their call centers, their network operations centers, and finally, at their corporate headquarters in northern Virginia in the marketing operations department. It was my job to make sure that the partnerships they had at the time with DSL and cable service providers worked properly. That meant breaking down the steps behind the scenes, finding the broken ones, and creating a new process that would fix the broken steps and prevent future problems. In essence, it was my job to make sure the marketing did what it was supposed to do.

Once the market developed enough no longer requiring an AOL CD to connect to the internet, our department was phased out and I went to work for a small business offering internet marketing and website services to small business owners. This was early in the times when website developers started using blog software (i.e. WordPress) as a content management system for websites. The WordPress interface not only made it easier for the developers to make multiple revisions for their customers but also allowed tech savvy entrepreneurs to manage their own web pages.

Then I worked for an up-and-coming journalism startup where most of the employees worked remotely from locations around the D.C. area. It was crucial to have systems in place for communicating, sharing files, having meetings, and in general, getting things done, while not requiring everyone to drive to the office. It was my job to make all that happen and I did.

My background in the tech industry, early exposure to WordPress and internet marketing, and implementation of successful remote work options culminated in my ability to start my own business supporting the local small business owner in a way that made them more money without breaking the bank to do so. 

I worked as a consultant for a variety of industries and have thoroughly enjoyed growing the customer base of a pick-your-own fruit farm in Virginia. With over 8 years managing their online presence and bringing new and returning customers to the farm year after year, I now have specialized knowledge about what is unique about marketing for small business owners and small, family run, direct-to-consumer farms.

What I also learned with this farm/business owners is that they are AMAZING at what they do! They do grow the tastiest fruit around Northern Virginia and it is always free to pick at their farm. 

You know what they are not good at? 

They are not good at writing copy, creating interesting graphics to draw their customers in, knowing about best practices for email communication, how to manage website updates or plugins, or how to get listed in the online directories out there. They don’t have time to comb the web for great quotes, food tips, and recipes. Sometimes they don’t even have a working internet connection because, get this, they live on a farm!

Most business owners know that for someone to do business with you they have to know, like, and trust you. It is my job to facilitate and shorten the time it takes for that to happen so your target audience becomes ready to buy from YOU sooner. 

I provide content that makes people feel good about their experience with you. I provide content that is relative to their interests (aka your area of expertise), and I find the gold within your marketing that proves you ARE the expert at what you do.

As I have expanded my business, I have found that business owners both underestimate the value they bring to the lives of their customers and are too humble to toot their own horn.

That’s where I come in.

I’m not you.

I am an objective third party who can look at your content, your services, your marketing, your ‘gold’ and see the value you provide. Then I use all of my tech tools to build your online presence – create messaging for your social media channels, your email newsletter, your website, all three, or any combination where you need assistance.

I put YOU out there for YOU without worrying about ‘what everyone thinks.’

I find YOUR gold. Then I use that gold to help make you shine!  No fooling.

Who are your clients exactly?

I work with solo and small business owners just like you who are really good at what they do; however, they are not fans of posting on social media, creating email marketing programs, or incorporating a website into their brand. They are not skilled in creating graphics, don’t know how to get high quality images, do not know the best practices for posting to the various social media outlets, do not have time to invest in a learning curve to solve these skills and the other online skills, and are not easily able to dissect their own content to find the golden nuggets, and are often not comfortable tooting their own horn.

I have worked with the following professionals:

• Accountants/Financial Planners
• Farms selling direct to consumer 
• Bloggers
• Photographers
• Coaches/Organizational Consultants
• Professional Decorators/Designers
• Construction Companies

What happens if you haven’t yet worked with people in my field?

I will get to learn something new about you. The industry that people work in is secondary to the work I do for you. I find YOUR content gold. I am not writing generic copy or using the same content that everyone in your field is using. I use YOUR content. Your perspective on your work, services, and products is unique to you and people need to hear from YOU. There are billions of people in the world, but there will only ever be one of you. When you bring the authentic YOU to your marketing and writing and services, you stand out amongst all the other run-of-the-mill business owners.

How are you different from other “marketing experts?”

I specialize in YOU. 

I support your business mission with content created by you or assist you by providing content you need to build a foundation for your online presence.

Your foundation includes your expert knowledge combined with your unique voice. We work together to create content that forms a basis for your website – articles, blogs, white papers, free gifts, etc.; your email newsletters, your podcasts or live videos, and then in its most direct form – your social media posts. 

I help find YOUR gold. The nuggets I pull from your content will make you stand out as an authority in your field and a business owner who is serious about the value you offer. Instead of only quoting other people, let’s also quote YOU. You are smart, capable, and worthy.

I also provide universal content as a supplement for consistent posting (daily vs. weekly) to create a comprehensive online and social media presence which serves to help people feel good about you when they are mindlessly scrolling their social media accounts.

I don’t just tell you what to do. I help pull the content from you and put it all out there online FOR you.

What type of person do you work best with and what is expected of me?

I love working with professionals who are bursting with enthusiasm for how they can help transform someone’s life with their product, service, or message. Often these are the visionaries or the people with lofty dreams and goals who struggle to get down to the practical steps of getting all the things done. They want to focus on the parts they are great at and don’t want to get lost in the weeds of the details of the things they do not understand, do not want to learn, and cannot bring themselves to complete on their own.

What could take you hours to learn and create, my years of experience have solidified my ability to achieve these goals for you efficiently and effectively.

For what type of professional is this program NOT going to work for?

My services are not for businesses who fail to see the value of an online digital presence, coordinated messaging, social media marketing, and relationship building with your audience. This program will not work for someone who does not truly believe in the work they are doing or who is using generic copy for their marketing content. This is not for someone testing the waters of a business idea or who is not committed to making progress. It is also not for someone who has no customers coming in yet. If you are only focused on paying for services as expenses rather than an investment in the growth of your business, then we are not yet ready to work together. 

If you fall within this category, it’s absolutely OK. We’ve all had times of financial deficit at one point or another.  Do yourself 3 favors:

1. Get your next client or 3 or 5 and start putting something aside to invest back into your business, and then call me.
2. Keep writing articles/posts for your website, keep making your videos, or keep recording your podcasts. Whatever your preferred method of sharing is, keep generating content about the value you provide in your chosen marketing channels. 
3. Sign up for my free 84 Unconventional Ideas for Social Media Posts guide here. This free information will get you started on creating connections with fun on your social media channels while you build your own library of content.

Doing these three things will really help you get primed for our work. When you’re ready, call me and we’ll get started. (I’m in no rush and will be here when you need me.)

Another type of person I won’t work with (without exception) is the whiner or chronic skeptic, as well as individuals who constantly make excuses for not getting their marketing done or challenging every aspect of the program. If you are one of these people, I gently and respectfully ask that you not call and I hope you understand why. We’ll probably not work well together and I wouldn’t want you to waste your time or money. Is that fair?

What exactly are your marketing packages and what do they include?

Knowing that business owners come to me often with nothing in place or a few thigs in place or they want to update or change what they have on their website, social media pages, or email newsletters, my packages include a description of what works best for each and the power of having them all work together. We still begin with where you are and where you want to focus. We will work together to choose the best plan for your goals, your budget, and your time. We can add in the other pieces when you’re ready.

Attracting a consistent stream of new clients includes developing a relationship with your target audience, communicating with them regularly, providing content that speaks to their needs, and showing why YOU are their best solution. 

Then, it means taking serious action. Here’s what you can get from my Business Visibility Program.

1. Establish Your Online Presence. Your social media platforms and your website make up your online presence. We choose the best social media platform to begin with for your business. We can build it, update it, and create a consistent posting plan.  The other main piece to your online brand is your website. Many of you have a freebie site and often that works for awhile but it can have its limitations. We get you set up with the industry standard for content management and a design that is user friendly, mobile friendly, and maintenance friendly. 

Both of these pieces can be done even with small budgets. Your website doesn’t need to have 67 pages to get started.

2. Building Your Relationship with Your Audience. Creating a regular connection with your audience begins to grow the ‘know, like, and trust’ factor. This can include posting to your social media account, writing blog posts, sending an email newsletter, recording live videos, or any combination of those on a schedule. Daily posts that make people feel good about you and themselves is often the simplest place to get started. These include inspirational quotes, holiday posts, funny items, and other universal content.

3. Share Niche Specific Content. We start to add content that’s relevant to their interests and adds value to that part of their life. For example, if you own a dog grooming business, then we would add tips for caring for dogs, famous quotes about dogs, funny jokes or memes featuring dogs, tips for choosing a vet, best products available, etc.

4. Show Your Authority as an Expert. Here is where we start posting the gold that’s in your marketing materials – blog posts, articles written, podcasts, video posts, courses, ebooks. Any of your content can produce golden nuggets. I sift through your content finding the gold and create social media posts to make you shine.

We can begin with any of those pieces and incorporate the rest on a schedule that takes your budget, time, resources, and targeted goals into consideration and move from there. Some of these pieces have more work up front (a website) and others are smaller, ongoing pieces (social media posts). They all work best when all of the pieces are working together for you.

When you have a new insight about an experience and you write a blog post about it, part of that can be included in your next email newsletter with an invitation to buy your product or service that solves the problem you wrote about. You can then post on your social media platforms a couple short interesting quotes about that experience. You can share an offer to learn even more about the problem you’ve solved by linking to your freebie so folks can join your email list. You can then invite them to your next webinar training on <your expertise>. You name it, it can be solved. These three items – website, social media, and email – are constantly and consistently working together to bring value to your audience in a real way that compels them to choose you to help them solve their problem.

What is a Golden Nugget?

A golden nugget is a quote that I find from content that comes from you. It is your quote. Those quotes are the statements that speak to the heart of the matter. I find them, polish if needed, and then use them to create social media posts for your business to show your expertise, value, and unique voice.

Does this really work?

Yes! The result of our work is an approach to marketing your services that, over time and with your dedication, works consistently to attract the clients you need. 

You can expect that we will establish a social media presence that can be used to drive traffic to your website. This is also the foundation for building your email list when you are ready.  Establishing your email list provides an opportunity for your raving fans to refer you to their family and friends, as well as, setting up your business to contact your audience when you want not when an algorithm says so.

The pick-your-own farm I work with started with around 500 Facebook Likes and they have almost 7,000 Likes and Followers now. They sell out their farm dinners year after year. The fields and orchards get picked out within hours at peak season. They cannot keep up with customer demand – a good problem to have, right?

Kathleen, based on everything I’ve read and heard about you, I know you’re the one I want to manage my online presence. What are my options for getting started with you?

Your primary decision is about which piece of your online presence to prepare first – website, email, or social media. Then we build the plan and work the steps. Building your social media presence is the simplest and most effective place to begin. Here are three options to get your visibility going strong right away.

How do I know which package to choose?

Gold Rush + Universal Content for Social Media – Expert Omnipresence

• This is for you if you are an entrepreneur consistently creating content but you don’t have time for extracting bite size pieces of that content for social media posts. You need to increase your visibility, connect with your target audience, and grow your business faster and more consistently. 
• This comprehensive package includes a review of four articles or podcasts each month. I find your best quotes from each, create two social media graphics for each post (10 quotes maximum per article/podcast). In addition to your gold content, daily universal content including inspirational quotes, niche content, fun, and holiday posts are also branded and can be posted for you on one social media platform. 

Golden Nuggets + Universal Content – Influential Presence

• This is for you if you are an entrepreneur who is creating blogs/articles/podcasts twice a month but you don’t have time for creating smaller pieces to use on your social media platform. You have value to share and don’t like getting stuck in the social media world. You don’t want to look for images and do not have the skills to put the design pieces together. You know you need to be visible online more and would love this part to be done for you. 
• This extensive package includes a review of two articles or podcasts each month. I find your best quotes from each, create two social media graphics with your branding for each post (10 quotes maximum per article/podcast). In addition to your gold content, daily universal content including inspirational quotes, niche content, fun, and holiday posts are also branded and can be posted for you on one social media platform.

Universal Content for Social Media – Foundational Presence

• This is for you if you are an entrepreneur who is still building your marketing articles or podcast content. You definitely do not have the time to post on social media because you are using all of your time to build your business and serve your clients. You do not want to get lost in learning a new skill, finding images, content or relevant information to post online. 
• This global package includes daily universal content including inspirational quotes, niche content, fun, and holiday posts. They are branded for your business and can be posted for you to your preferred social media platform. 

How long is the program?

It depends on how long you’ve been in business, what kind of following you already have, how quickly you want to grow your business, and probably other factors. Where will your business be in six months or a year if you continue doing the same things or not being visible online as described above?

This is not a one time exercise that will fix your business or make you rich overnight. Investing in your business so that you can spend more time working with your clients to transform their lives with your specific knowledge, expertise, or product is what will grow your business to the next level. 

Consistently showing up online over time is what creates the results you want and need. As most social media platforms have shown through the years, the more you post and provide interesting, compelling, and valuable content, the more your audience will respond, engage, and buy. 

Marketing takes time to make itself heard above the noise of every other guru online vying for attention and money. Anything less is a guarantee to be disappointed.  It is not my business policy to take money for the sake of money without ensuring my client’s best opportunity for success. 

While I will permit a six month minimum program, anything less will not get you the results you need and it is my policy to do what works best for you to reach your goals. Choosing any of these packages is an investment in you, your dream, your business, and your clients. Each of them works best when we can plan your whole year of marketing to match your business goals, events, programs, and all the projects you have planned.

My clients have also enjoyed the benefits of having an expert manage the three primary online pieces (web, email, social media) together to ensure the branding, voice, and messaging is consistent across each platform. This is an option depending on what resources you already have in place. 

If you want to grow slowly, keep doing what you’ve been doing. It you want to grow your audience, your customer base, and your referrals sooner than later, let’s get YOU out there and start making those connections. YOU deserve it.

Here is what one of my clients had to say after I found Golden Nuggets from her blog posts:

“I am very sporadic on social media, and often feel like I have no creative visual ideas. I’ve been particularly overwhelmed lately, and it seems like social media is always my last priority in those times! It was a big relief knowing I didn’t have to think about it at all. It’s an important time, as I’m doing a program launch so it was really important that I stay consistent right now. And I didn’t have to think about it! It’s so great to know I have a library of content to use at any time! I definitely wouldn’t have done posts in this way on my own, I didn’t really think of myself as ‘quote worthy.’ But seeing the positive reaction and click-throughs has been so gratifying!”

Emily Benson, PHD, Career Coach, NH

To read what my clients have said about me click here.