I think about this…A LOT.
From a professional standpoint, there was a major shift in consumer behaviors. The grand panini left a profound imprint, in many ways.
The “collective” reimagined what their hustle had to look like. For a few weeks, or months (or years depending on your circumstances) we had to change how we managed our daily workflow.
Many people had a “come to Jesus” moment about who they wanted to be and how they wanted to monetize their expertise. The “hustlers” took to social media and created a ton of content because that became one of the only places to generate income.
We developed Zoom fatigue as a result.
More importantly, we had an opportunity to reimagine how we wanted to position our expertise.
Fast forward to now, and while so many people are fighting to “return” to normal, we need to think about how sustainable “normal” was?
Influencers took to TikTok and Instagram to teach classes, sell services, and hawk their products ad nauseam.
Throw in the psychological trauma of surviving a pandemic that was killing millions and we’ve got a modern version of PTSD.
Do you think it was a coincidence that the design trends after that experience was apocalyptic chic??
We said goodbye to Millennial Pink and embraced “end of times” Taupe.
Attention spans went haywire. There were those who couldn’t focus on a 5 minute video and others who spent hours binge watching content.
When there’s such an influx of sameness, it makes it that much harder to stand out with your generic strategies.
Lead magnets are always the rage but are people really downloading your PDFs??
Were they ever?
I get asked a lot, and often, about what works online. There’s so much “should I” questions that have the vibe of permission and not strategy.
When you stay online, that becomes the only thing you know.
At the same time, when your audience is online, can you afford to disconnect?
I cannot stress this enough…there are no SHOULDS with social media.
Anyone who tells you otherwise has a 25-part email sequence funnel to put you through so you can enroll in their course about how to do everything like everyone else.
There are people “crushing it” without social media.
There are people “faking it” with a large presence.
There are people who leverage their trauma for likes + build a strong platform from that.
There are people who barely share personal stories who also build a strong platform from their creativity.
There is NO one way to do this.
I’m not the strategist for you if you are looking for someone to give you a cookie cutter formula that you can follow, step by step.
I give you ideas, tools to develop your creative genius, and a thorough perspective about the different ways you can monetize your expertise.
That’s it.
I can’t make you popular. I can’t make you likable.
I cannot make you…YOU.
That’s all on you to embody.
What I can offer is advice, suggestions, and support for you to step into your authenticity.
However, integrity is expensive and you need to assess if it’s worth the investment for the life + business you want to cultivate.
Lead magnets are supposed to attract, hence the “magnet.”
What’s the best way to attract the peeps who are best for you?
This is where being open-minded really comes into play because if your imagination is limited to how you think people are drawn to you, then you’ll get stuck doing the same thing everyone else thinks they need to be doing.
- How adept are you to individually emailing people who need your magic?
- Do you believe in printing postcards and passing them out in the community?
- Are you connecting with those who have an existing audience of people you want to get in front of?
- What about picking up the phone and “gasp* calling decision makers about how your services can support their bottom line?
GenX’ers, this is really your time to shine because we knew a world of entrepreneurship BEFORE the rise of social media. When building an audience meant BUILDING THE AUDIENCE.
Social media has made many entrepreneurial folks complacent.
Audience cultivation is all about relationships.
I can design the perfect website for you, write the dopest content, and develop amazing products – but if you are not fostering the relationships you need to monetize all of that…it won’t matter what I, or any coach tells you.
2020 showed us how flawed the fake it until you make it approach is.
If your hustle is thriving without a hitch, awesome!
If it’s not, this would be a great time to reassess what needs to change about how you activating your magic with the brand + business that is not thriving to their full potential.