This week I attended a webinar with my local ICF (International Coaching Federation) chapter, with guest speaker, Jenn T. Grace, for a jam-packed hour all about content marketing for coaches. Jenn is an award-winning author, speaker, business strategist, and works primarily with authors looking to make a difference in the world to get published. She shares a message that people want to hear your story. Be a real person, share, connect.
Any business owner has likely heard some version of “people want to do business with people.” That’s a huge part of the equation itself, figuring out what to share about yourself and the vulnerability it takes to publish it. The part of this discussion with Jenn that I want to highlight here is her focus on where you are sharing your content. Once you decide what you want to share, subsequently the next question is, where the heck do I share it?
The terrain Jenn points is in your strategy and execution around that. She relentlessly emphasizes all the options available to you, and encourages you to be in choice with how you want to share it. There are endless options of platforms available to engage with people and share your messaging. The simple reminder that you get to decide what you want to do with it, is crucial. And, it’s a point I think a lot of new business owners overlook.
There’s one particular slice of this that I want to highlight with you today, and it is this:
Don’t waste your time on content you don’t like.
The past month especially I’ve noticed a flurry from some of the coaches I mentor. I often get emails with coaches wondering if they should start posting on TikTok, or jump into the new app Clubhouse, or post daily on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram… you name it. It is tempting when you’re creating a business to do it all. And, to think you need to.
Here’s something I want to remind you: you get to pick what you want to do. That’s it. If you’re creating your own business, say a coaching business, you are creating the business because you want to. Therefore why would you spend time, or create a business building strategy, that doesn’t feel authentic to you, and isn’t something you like doing.
You get to shop around and choose what activities feel aligned with who you are, what you like to do, and what resonates with your target markets. Importantly, that does not mean you have to throw the kitchen sink at it. And it certainly doesn’t mean you need to be on a social media platform just because you see others doing that.
I want to share four questions I pulled from themes in the presentation with Jenn T. Grace at the ICF Orange County Webinar recently. These questions are helpful to frame how to approach doing content you like, and quit the content you don’t.
4 Questions to Ask Yourself to Make Sure You’re Not Wasting Your Time with Content
Four of my top takeaways from the presentation with Jenn T. Grace.
“WHAT DO I LIKE DOING?”
“Your energy is going to come through in a not helpful way if you feel like you’re forced to.” – Jenn T. Grace.
We all think we’re way more subtle than we are. However, if you don’t like something, it shows. So let’s not do that! What do you like doing? And, what don’t you like doing? For the things you don’t like doing: what about it do you not like, and what (if any) part of it do you like even a bit? Above all, you deserve to have the space to consider if what you’re creating is what you like doing. Let’s not build something you don’t want.
“WHERE ARE MY POTENTIAL CLIENTS?”
Time to do some research. How can you find out where your potential clients are hanging out and what is the best way to reach them there? It is likely the case that your niche hangs out on a few primary channels, and doesn’t really engage on others.
And this is something you can test. Poll your current clients and ask them what channels they are on. What media do they consumer? What social media platforms do they like to engage on? Where would they like to engage with you more? You can even be blunt with them and ask where you might connect with more potential clients, who are like them. Get data points from the people you’re already connected to.
“WHO DO I WANT TO REPEL?”
“You want to repel people as much as you want to attract people.” Jenn T. Grace
Who don’t you want as a client? What does casting too wide of a net look like for you? If you’re posting on platforms that aren’t a good fit, you’ll likely engage with an audience that isn’t full of qualified leads for you. This means that there are popular social media sites that look tempting for you to start posting on, but would be a distraction and not attract the right type of client for you.
“WILL I HALF ASS THIS?”
“If you’re going to half ass it, don’t be on it at all.” Jenn T. Grace
I wish I could insert the clapping emoji here. Yes to this one! Be honest with yourself – how committed are you to regularly engaging on each platform you’re considering using? You don’t want to set up a ghost town of inactive sites that will just haunt you with “shoulds”. It likely goes something like “I should post on Instagram it’s been a few days” or “I should hop on that new tiktok song to be relevant”. Enough with the shoulds. Let’s prevent you from being in the land of shoulds. It’s time to get honest. What can you commit to doing on a predictable, regular basis?
More on Jenn T. Grace
Jenn has a firey way of sharing information, and every minute of her presenting if full of insights. Her first slide of her presentation was a photo of a kid trying to drink from a firehose. She set us up right away to know that she was going to come in hot with the content. If you’re looking to work with her, or would like to learn more about her work, connect with Jenn T. Grace online and on Twitter @JennTGrace.
Future Speakers
If you’re a fellow coach, I highly recommend you consider joining the International Coaching Federation and participating in your local chapter events. I’ve appreciated my Orange County chapter during this pandemic especially, and look forward to rich conversation with the group a few times a month.
It’s important to me to keep a pulse on the industry, and I often take part in events on the latest research, and concepts in wellbeing. If you missed it, I recently shared 3 Gems on Career Pivots, sharing best practices from a webinar with CEO of PositiveHire, Michele Heyward. Come back for more takeaways, I enjoy sharing them with you.
