In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how to monetize your online content.

Whether you have a blog, a website, or buzzing social accounts – how can you take your content and turn it into an income stream?

• It starts by creating quality content that people are actively searching for
• Cultivating an online audience is a lot of work. They say your first 1k followers will be the hardest to get
• Once you have an active audience that looks to you for content, how do you begin to make money?

Voicemail:

“Hey! My name is Kyle, I have a blog FrenchieJourney.com, about French Bulldogs. We have about 113 blog posts up and our blog is making about $500-600/month on affiliate links, but I would love any thoughts from you guys on different ways we can further monetize the site and just take it to a whole other level!”

Let’s Take It To The Next Level

Kyle has already seen great success on his blog, so we’ll outline a few things Kyle is already doing well in case you aren’t at his level yet, and then build on that list with a few things you could do to take things up a notch!

• Create Content People Are Looking For:  This means researching keywords and search terms that are related to what you do or want to talk about. Then, strategically write about the things people are looking for.  It’s all about strategy and planning.
• Affiliate Links – These are custom links that you can use to generate a kickback from a purchase through a retailer like Amazon. You simply place your custom link to a particular product in your blog and when someone clicks on it and purchases the item you get a kickback for the sale.
• Selling Ads – Once you have a certain amount of traffic heading to your website, you can qualify to feature ads on your website. Then you can make a small kickback on the ads that people click and purchase from.  This could be done with programs like Google AdSense, etc.
• Email Marketing and Lead Magnets – There is no better place to reach your audience than inside of their email inbox.  You can gather email addresses by creating a value-packed download on your website and then email them about any other projects or opportunities you have.
• Merchandise/Digital Products – You can branch out and design products that would interest your audience such as, calendars, mugs, t-shirts, etc. With Print-On-Demand options, this can be a no-cost way to generate some income.
• Social Media & Collaborations – Utilize the networks within each social platform and join groups and “packs” to expand your reach and grow a larger audience.  
• YouTube Channel – Repurpose blog content in video format. Find your top-performing blogs and make them into videos.
• Guest Spots on Podcasts – Like social media, connect with the movers and shakers in the niche space and look to discuss your most popular topics to generate interest and opportunities.

Next 3 Steps

There are lots of ways to monetize your online content with a little bit of strategy and a good amount of effort!  If you have a blog or website with lots of valuable content and are looking to make some more money with it, here are a few key steps to take:

1. Review your numbers: See what your traffic looks like, the engagement you’re getting, and make sure you are strategically creating content based on what people are looking for
2. Link it Up: Start building your affiliate opportunities and adding affiliate links and possibly ads to your website to generate income
3. Reach Out:  Connect with others in your field and start collaborating to cross-promote and build a community
4. Digitize & Repurpose:  Create digital products and repurpose your content for other platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook Groups, Email Marketing, etc.

Recommended Resources

• Leave a voicemail for us: www.learnit-doit.com/podcast
• Frenchie Journey

The post How To Monetize A Blog appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

In this episode, we take a real personal look at our relationship with money, how we can develop a positive relationship, and ultimately break through our current mental barriers.

We kick this episode off by unveiling the new basement studio that we built this winter. 

Episode Summary

We tell our story of our own money journey and how we’ve come from a very disconnected and absent mindset when it came to our feelings and relationship with our bank accounts. Factors like upbringing, values, and personality play a huge role as to why you think, feel and talk about money in the way that you do.

 Think of your relationship with money like you’re dating:

• Are you communicating? i.e. Do you check in to know what’s happening and how each other is feeling?
• Do you have a commitment to each other?
• Do you appreciate each other?

Your mindset plays a huge role in how you will be able to grow to the point of financial success.  You don’t need money before you make a plan for it.

Cut the ties between your identity and how much money you have:

• Your amount of wealth does not change your identity, it changes your circumstances.  
• Your value as a person is not tied to the value of the dollars in your bank account

[From Jen Sincero’s Book] Write money a letter and make a money contract that you’re willing to commit to.

Build and hire a money support system – this is the foundation of your financial success:

• Are you banking with a helpful partner? When is the last time you’ve talked to someone from your bank?
• Do you have an accountant? It’s imperative to have someone that knows your business and can help lower your tax liability and guide you to take advantage of creative tax-savings.
• Do you have a financial planner? They will set you up with a plan for saving, retirement, life insurance, investing, and a budget.
  • This is something you should do before you even “have money”. Don’t wait for years thinking that you don’t make enough, put a plan into action now, even if it’s just a budget.
• Do you have a lawyer? They will help you with setting up wills, trusts, buying property, etc.

Dissolve your money blocks:

• Audit your beliefs and experience with money
  • A good way to do this is to journal it out
• Notice your daily money habits
  • Are you emotionally buying things?
  • Do you spend money as soon as it comes in?
• Read or listen to books/podcasts about money
• Say daily money affirmations
• Decide to break up with and start a new relationship with money

The Next 3 Steps

1. Write a letter to money and air out all of your grievances.  Get it on paper and let it go.
2. Find or develop a money affirmation or mantra that you can say out loud every morning.
3. Look at your current money support system and see what’s missing, or if you need to find people that are more in tune with your needs. 

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Recommended Resources  

Leave a Voice Mail for the Podcast – www.learnit-doit.com

Rhi + Pete VLOG – www.rhiandpete.com

Jen Sincero – “You’re a Badass at Making Money”

The post How’s Your Relationship With Money? appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Episode Summary

If something triggers you to get into a funk or in a bad emotional space this gives you the opportunity to do a little bit of investigative work.

Hit the pause button and pinpoint the root of these bad emotions or experiences.

We hear a lot about business owners carrying a lot of stress around.  We get it, being a business owner is by no means a walk in the park and you’re going to have rough patches, but we’ve all got to realize that we’re not in business to cause ourselves stress.

Get to the core of the issue for any particular bad day. 

Are your clients causing you stress? If so, what’s it about?  A process that you control or something outside of your control.  

Are you stressed that you don’t have enough time? Do a time audit, figure out what’s sucking away your day.  Usually, it’s tied to a lot of inefficient processes that you can easily fix with a simple plan, automation or outsourcing.

Is money your main stress? If so, it’s going to be hard to become a successful business owner if you don’t have a good relationship with money.  Figure out the root of this – is it confidence based? Is your pricing an issue? Do you not have enough clients?

Is it something going on personally? Or your lack of self-confidence?  It’s easy to let your personal life bleed into your business when you are self-employed.  Sometimes when you really look at it, it’s personal stress of bills or a lack of time to spend with your family, or maybe even a lack of support or self-confidence that it’s eating away at you.  This is why personal development is so important for self-employed business owners like us…sometimes we are our own worst enemies!

Moral of the Story – Bad days put a magnifying glass on things that are inefficient and stress-inducing.  Once you know the problem, you can work towards a solution.

Quick-Wins

1. Target the cause of your bad day.  If you can do something about it, do it.  
2. Implement changes to your workflow or processes if you’re seeing work or client related stress.
3. Always work on your personal development to stay balanced and level-headed.

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Recommended Resources 

Time Audit Worksheet

4 Ways to Use Your Phone to be More Productive Video

You’re A Badass At Making Money

The post Quick-Win Episode 6: Bad Days Are A Good Thing appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

Episode Summary

We hear it, I say it, and we all do it – but using personal time is not the way to “get ahead.”

First of all, getting ahead rarely leads to more free time or making more money and secondly, for most of you that terminology of “getting ahead” is hollow.  

Unless you have a strict schedule of work – but most of us just flow with what’s happening.

*NOTE: If you work in certain industries, your business relies on the weekends, which is not what we are talking about.  Maybe your “weekend” is Tuesday/Wednesday, but whatever it is TAKE IT OFF!

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SCHEDULE

If you find yourself working all the time it’s because YOU allow that to happen.  You are always setting expectations for your clients. If you are always available, that’s what they’ll expect and then you always need to be available.  If you set boundaries and tell your clients when they can contact you and when they can expect to hear from you, they’ll understand and expect that. The hard truth is, YOU are the one allowing your business to control your schedule and it doesn’t have to be that way.

YOU NEED TIME AWAY FROM YOUR BUSINESS 

-You’ll have more energy

-You’ll come up with great ideas

-You’ll spend time recharging your personal life and friendships

-You’ll resent work-time less when you allow yourself free time

-You’ll remember WHY you work so much

YOUR GOAL SHOULD BE TO CREATE A BETTER LIFE

-The whole reason you’re in business is to live your life!

-Take yourself seriously → this shouldn’t be work vs. life…this is just one big life.

-Weekend work is usually due to an inefficient work week or procrastination, which leads to stress.

STOP ALL CLIENT OR TEAM CORRESPONDENCE DURING ALL NON-WORK HOURS

-We’ve all been guilty of it, but DON’T DO IT…otherwise, you’re self-sabotaging your time and setting the wrong expectations

Quick-Wins

1. Commit to giving yourself time off
2. Create boundaries for yourself and your clients
3. Don’t check emails on your weekend

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Recommended Resources 

-THINGS TO HELP: Set SLEEP mode on your phone, use a scheduler for email correspondence, don’t reply to things during non-work hours.  Your dentist wouldn’t answer the phone at 8pm, neither should you!

The post Quick-Win Episode 4: Stop Working On The Weekend! appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

It’s inevitable that you’re going to have to deal with a situation involving a difficult client.  These situations are always challenging because of the magnitude of personal emotions that are inevitably involved.  And you’ll find, too, that as your business grows you may find some difficult situations arise with past clients that you’ve outgrown.  We talk about our experience handling these difficult situations and shed some light on what you can do to help yourself out when you feel stuck with a bad or wrong client.  

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Episode Summary 

• You can’t provide your best service when you’re working with the wrong people who are being difficult.
• It’s okay to outgrow your clients, just remember that communication is key
• A soft way to let people go is to raise your pricing.
• Don’t get caught up in the emotion of handling the situation.  Remember that this is a business decision and do what’s best for your business.
• Being honest and open is always the best policy when dealing with difficult people.

Quick-Wins

1.  Have an honest talk with your client and don’t let it linger.  Write out what you need to say, be prepared and rip the band-aid.  The sooner you do it, the sooner you can move on.
2.  Give yourself permission to outgrow your clients or pivot your business.  This is your business.
3. Utilize the idea of a third party.  When it’s bigger than just you, your clients may take it more seriously because other people are involved in the process.
4. Avoid bad clients by creating an upfront process that will allow you to find out upfront if they’re not right for you.

The post Quick-Win Episode 2: How to Handle Bad Clients appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

In this quick-win episode, we share our own story of learning the valuable lesson of separating our work life from our home life.  Early on in our career, a mentor told us to be strict about the time spent on our business and the time spent on ourselves.  As simple as it seems, this is extremely hard to accomplish when you’re working to make more money any possible way.  We talk about habits, concepts, and ways that we keep ourselves grounded and make sure that we’re bringing balance to our everyday lives.

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Episode Summary

• It’s okay to work non-traditional hours
• Make sure that you’re not always available for your business/clients
• Schedule your personal chores, hobbies and family activities just like you would business meetings
• If you end up working weekends, or nights, make sure to swap out other times in your week for your personal time
• Create weekly business goals, so that you can actually be mentally present during your personal time and allow yourself the flexibility to take personal time

Quick-Wins

1. Make a schedule for your personal time as well as your business time
2. Don’t make work available everywhere. Separate it physically from you. Commit to your scheduled personal time.
3. Make clear goals.  Weekly goals are extremely helpful to get out of the workaholic mindset.  Once you’ve hit your goals, you can celebrate with personal time.

The post Quick-Win Episode 1: Being Strict About Work & Play appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

I recently read “How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfection” by Stephen Guise and I am extremely happy that I did.  I’m always looking to improve the areas in my personal development that I feel are weak and for this instance, in particular, I was looking for ways to improve my habits to maintain personal confidence. On a day to day basis, we’re aboard this crazy roller coaster called life and I’m just looking to make sure I’m wearing my safety belt.

I was drawn to this book because I found that the preview spoke directly to my creative personality.  Personally, I am a planner. I love being prepared in every situation and my mind feverishly rushes through checklists, what-ifs, and worst-case scenarios.  As a business owner and a creative person, I never realized that the pursuit of perfectionism has been what I’ve been hung up on all these years.  

On many occasions, I’ve gone into analysis paralysis, where I’d overthink something to the point where I’d choose to do nothing instead of moving forward.  The mere fact that there might possibly be the tiniest chance of something going awry would lead me to inaction, which would then evolve into guilt that would add to my daily stress. 

As I was trying to make everything perfect to avoid possible embarrassment, I was totally overlooking the life experiences that imperfection teaches us.  Understanding that there’s no true risk in being imperfect [unless you’re in the medical field!] and that the important thing is to just show up and let go of those mental projections, will help you create a much happier and more efficient version of yourself.

I am so happy that I found this book because it teaches you simple, actionable steps to improve your daily habits and headspace.

Who would get a lot out of this book?

If you are a self-proclaimed perfectionist, you NEED to read this book.

If you procrastinate by making sure that you have ideal conditions, an ideal mood, or ideal timing to complete your task, you NEED to read this book.

If you constantly project the outcome of events by listing all the things that will probably go wrong, you NEED to read this book.

If you’re constantly avoiding failure, humiliation, and embarrassment, so you always take the easy way out, you NEED to read this book.

What are our takeaways and how will we apply them?

This book teaches a series of mini habits to help you create actual change in your daily life rather than provide a sense of fleeting motivation.  Here are the takeaways that I’ve already applied to my daily routine.

1. Embrace imperfection.  Doing things wrong is the only way we get better, so the only thing that matters is gaining the experience by doing them.  As soon as you “OK” yourself to be imperfect, you’ll feel a huge sense of relief and allow yourself to get right to business.
2. Stop ruminating. The only way to get over the past is to accept it.  Rumination is a painful form of procrastination where you rehash past events, go through the shoulda, woulda, coulda and end up choosing to relive your nightmares.  Stop replaying old movies in your head and start accepting what has happened and know that each new moment gives you an opportunity to take your life where you want it to go.
3. Implement the concept of binary thinking.  Make your tasks easy to complete by simplifying them to a pass or fail concept.  Instead of getting nervous and procrastinating because you have to give a perfect presentation free of embarrassment that everyone will love, make your goal to simply get up and start talking out loud.  The more you add to the “story” of your task the more you begin to project the outcome which fires up your negative and nervous emotions and stops you in your tracks.  
   1. Another simple example is rather than thinking that in order to go to the gym and get a good workout you have to feel up to it and be motivated. Just make your goal to drive to the gym. That way, you either did it, or you didn’t and it completely bypasses your subjectivity on the matter.
4. Change your language.  Pay attention to the words you say.  In particular, use the term “could” instead of “should.” “Should” always leads to guilt and resentment towards yourself and the task you need to complete. “Could” still gives you the opportunity to do the tasks and keeps your subconscious mind from delivering a guilt trip.
5. Let go of embarrassment.  If you find yourself avoiding doing things because you don’t want to be embarrassed, then you’ll never get to where you want to go.  Embarrassment isn’t a harmful risk and has no unhealthy side effects. It’s 100% temporary and you can actually choose to let it go. Experiences are what help you become more confident and allow you to give less weight to the feeling of embarrassment. Stop seeking approval from the fictitious “everyone” because it’s just causing you to have low self-esteem.  The more you’re able to participate in your life, the more practice you will get and the better you’ll be. If you think about it, everyone who has ever been great was a failure almost 1000x more than they were great. Dreaming big doesn’t always require aiming big. Aim at what’s in front of you to make it attainable and take aim often.
6. Flip the switch on motivation.  Our culture is constantly throwing out ways to get us motivated to take action.  There are books, seminars, and coaches all dedicated to helping us get enough motivational feelings to take ourselves out of the rut we are in and spring us into action.  The trouble with this model is that it won’t work all of the time. Sometimes we just don’t feel up to it. When you aren’t feeling creative or you are in a bad mood, climbing up that hill to motivate yourself to get stuff done is extremely daunting and let’s face it, unlikely.  If you flip the switch and decide to stop waiting for or trying to build motivation, and instead just start by taking action, you’ll find that action actually creates motivation MUCH quicker!

GET THE BOOK

How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfectionism

AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.stephenguise.com

The post Book Review: “How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfection” appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

In episode five, we tackle the challenge of how to stand out in a saturated market.  The issue begins to arise when we spend too much time paying attention to what our competition is doing and not enough time focusing on ourselves and our unique differentiators.  Although you may offer the same products or services as other businesses, you can stand apart based on your own unique qualities, experiences, and expertise. As you’ll hear in this episode, Dawn is an experienced Realtor who is looking to provide value to people who are just beginning their house buying journey so that she can cement herself as the local trusted expert who is dedicated to providing a top-quality service.

Guest Bio – [From her website] “I have had the privilege of assisting people in buying and selling homes for over 14 years. As a dedicated mother, wife, daughter, and friend, I have learned that multitasking, balance, and negotiation keep me at the top of my game in all aspects of my life. I have built my business on trust, integrity, and always putting my clients’ interests first. From first time buyers to downsizing sellers, I am always working hard to make their dreams come true.”

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.  

Episode 5 Summary

• Understanding triggers that will make you more memorable 
• Brainstorming your service differentiators
• Niching down your audience 
• Breaking down audience buying habits
• How to use your experience to your advantage
• How to use Facetime or video for client communication
• Brainstorming custom content
• Using Meet Up to create in-person groups
• Breaking down your ideal client experience
• Using stories and visual descriptions to make yourself more memorable
• Developing your brand voice and branding yourself 

The Challenge & The Next 3 Steps

Dawn does a great job providing top-notch service to her clients, but she’s looking for ways to connect to buyers earlier in the buying process so that she can provide education and insight to her clients earlier on to ensure a more successful process. 

1. Use video to send responses to digital messages from potential new clients so that you can stand out among all other agents.
2. Niche down your audience and outline where they spend time digitally and physically
   1. Be as precise and specific as possible
   2. Outline a few profiles so that your messaging can speak specifically to them
   3. What experiences have you had that make you unique and different and how can you use that to relate to a niche audience?
3. Create a content strategy to get people into your sales funnel much earlier
   1. Write out your content for the month at one time so you don’t get burnt out
   2. Use messaging and topics that your niche markets would be interested in

Recommended Resources 

Dawn at Coldwell Banker Classic Realty

Dawn on Zillow

Pat Flynn – Smart Passive Income

MeetUp.com

The post Episode 5 – How to Stand Out From Your Competition & Show Your Value appeared first on Learn It - Do It.

In episode four, we tackle the dreaded “elevator pitch”.  We’ve all been in a situation while networking when someone asks you what you do and you either spout off some generic answer or you’re just too long-winded for it to be effective.  We talk with Pam about how to overcome the hurdles of talking about her services, which deal with the taboo topic of money. Whether your service is hard to talk about with strangers, or you haven’t mastered your one minute pitch, this episode is a must-listen!  We touch upon many ways to connect with people, how to introduce topics, and why storytelling should always be your go-to move when getting your message out there.  

Guest Bio – [From her website] “With a background in social work, an MBA in Business Administration, a Master’s degree in Education, and training with Dave Ramsey, I’ve got the resources to prepare you to succeed financially while ensuring that you feel comfortable during this transitional process.

Host Bio –  Rhi and Pete [Rhi-Pete – now you’ll remember] are a wife and husband team who have been in business together for over a decade.  They run a creative media agency [Do Something Different Media] that provides strategy and consulting, video production, website development, photography, graphic design, and content writing for small businesses.

Episode 4 Summary

• Understanding triggers that will make you more memorable 
• Brainstorming your service differentiators
• Using terms, phrases, and examples that people will immediately understand 
• How to use testimony and transformations in networking
• Making people comfortable and confident in your service 
• Using forms to help do some self-research
• Using stories and visual descriptions to make yourself more memorable
• Developing your brand voice

The Challenge & The Next 3 Steps

Pam does a great job providing top-notch service to her clients, but she’s noticed that she has trouble describing her services in live networking situations in an effective way. 

1. Make a Typeform questionnaire to get your audience warmed up to you and your services.
   1. Get people to think about the questions that you’d ask to get to others to understand what you do. 
2. Reach out to all-star clients and ask them how they would describe you.
   1. Reach out to 5 clients and pay attention to the language that they use to describe you in their responses.
   2. Ask them things like: What is the #1 service I provided you? What was your biggest challenge and how did I help you?  What was your ah-ha moment? What prompted you to reach out and work with me?
   3. What 3 words would you use to describe me and my service?
3. Create a document with these words, phrases, and language.
   1. Use this document to create your brand voice in-person and digitally.
4. BONUS STEP! Test your new phrasing and descriptions at networking events! 

Recommended Resources 

Money Mastery With Pam

Typeform – for forms and questionnaires

The post Episode 4 – How to Effectively Pitch Your Biz When Networking appeared first on Learn It - Do It.