"Are you creating something new next year?" If I were creating a brand new podcast, YouTube channel, or blog in 2023, there are three things I'd focus on.
I flashed back to 2018, and the baby content creator I was that didn't know anything about anything. I just knew I wanted to share an important message. Flash forward to today, and I know some essential lessons I've learned that have contributed to my remaining here five years later.
In today's episode, I'm sharing with you three critical things to get laser-focused on as you grow a new platform for your brand or start content creation for the first time. It's the love note I wish someone would've sent me in 2018.
"Are you creating something new next year?" If I were creating a brand new podcast, YouTube channel, or blog in 2023, there are three things I'd focus on.
I flashed back to 2018, and the baby content creator I was that didn't know anything about anything. I just knew I wanted to share an important message. Flash forward to today, and I know some essential lessons I've learned that have contributed to my remaining here five years later.
In today's episode, I'm sharing with you three critical things to get laser-focused on as you grow a new platform for your brand or start content creation for the first time. It's the love note I wish someone would've sent me in 2018.
You're in for an extra special treat today. Because if you are starting a brand new platform this next year, right when I'm recording this, we're at the end of 2022. And we're looking out at 2023. And I know that this is usually when people are like, I'm going to start a podcast next year, I'm going to create my YouTube channel, I'm going to do my blog. Well, if that is you, like maybe you already been creating content, and you're going to add something new to your business or your platforms, or you are doing this for the very first time. Today's episode is going to be so so helpful, because I wanted to take you back to where I was in 2018 When I started, which is super crazy, because it will be five years that I've been doing this in 2023. And I'm looking back at what are some of the top things that I wish I would have known back then, like if I could go back in time and time travel and say, Krystal, if you're going to do anything, do these three things before you get started or as you start growing out your content. That is what I'm sharing with you today. So let's get right to it. Welcome to the Prophet podcast where we teach you how to start launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, Krystal, Proffitt, and I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today. Because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation, this is the show that will help be your time saving shortcut. So let's get right to it, shall we?
Top 3 Things I’d Do:Okay, so we're just gonna dive right in. And I wanted to kind of give like my disclaimer for this, because there's some people that listen to this podcast, that aren't in either the education or like a digital business online business space. And the rules that I'm giving you today, the guidelines, I should take that back, like, let's cut that out rules is not a thing, because I think that there are no rules when it comes to creating content, there are guidelines that we all kind of live by, but at the end of the day, you can do whatever the heck you want, right? Like, this is true, we just all know this. But I typically speak to an audience that are in the education, like how to business like you are trying to support people in education capacity, right? Like, I know, several of you like let's take Amanda, for example. She was recently on the podcast, she helps home bakers get their business up and running, and she helps them make more money. And it's very educational, and like step by step. And this is how you do this. And this is like, you know, a, b and c. So this is typically the listener of this podcast. But if you are listening to the show, and you have never created anything, I really want you to take that kind of spin on it into the equation, as I explained these out, because the rules, quote unquote, the guidelines that I'm gonna share with you today aren't going to be applied the same if you have purely educational content. I mean, sorry, my educational entertainment. That's what I meant to say, if you are a comedy podcast, for example, it's not gonna play the same to you. I mean, some of it will, I guess, but it just won't be the same way. Or if you have a different style of podcast or something like it's just going to be looked at differently. And I wanted to be very clear that the rules again, I keep saying rolls, I don't know why because I never say rolls, it's like stuck in my head. Like don't say rules. Don't say, of course, I'm gonna say rolls because I said, don't say rolls. But the guidelines I'm gonna share with you today are really for people that are helping people see, you know, steps one through five, this is how you do it. Let's hit the ground running and go. So throwing those out there, because I know we have a few new listeners to the podcast. So welcome. I'm so happy that you're here. And I wanted to throw that out there because maybe you're listening, you're like, Oh, this isn't for me. I'm gonna turn off. That's cool. I mean, you know, I'd love for you to keep listening, but I get it. But I want to talk about these three things. So these are the top three things I would do for all of these platforms. I'm not singling out podcasts, YouTube and a blog. We're all going to wrap them in together because you can do all three of these things in each type of platform. And I think it's going to be really, really helpful. So again, if you're a podcaster, who's going to start a YouTube channel this year, or your blogger, he's going to start a podcast. Like I want you to look at all these different elements and see how you can apply them to your content. All right. You ready? Let's dive in. Alright, so number one, this is the most important one. The other ones are pretty important to obviously. So I'm gonna talk about him. This is the one that I'm going to focus on most, because even though I've been doing this for almost five years, I'm still constantly learning. I'm reinvesting in myself. I'm reinvesting my business all the time. And this is the thing that I'm like, Ooh, I need to be better at that. And it's storytelling.
1. Storytelling:So number one is story telling. And the way that I see it is you want to have someone to listen to your podcast, watch your YouTube, or read your blog post. You want them to have a visceral reaction, some sort of reaction, when they're listening to your podcast, watching your video or reading your blog posts, like you want to make a call to action, right? You want to have your CTAs in there be so compelling that someone has to stop what they're doing, and do the thing that you asked them to do. Like, if you said, you know, go follow me on Instagram right now. They're like, Duh, yes, of course, I'm gonna do that or go get on my email list. Absolutely. Why would I not be an idiot? If I didn't do that? Or, you know, whatever your CTA, is, you want everything leading up to that point, to be so compelling that they're like, Absolutely, I'm going to do it. And this is where I want to give you the caveat, right? Because to be fair, storytelling is complicated. Okay. And I say that, because it's actually the simplest thing in the world. It is like storytelling, is been around for millennia, right? It's been around forever. But it's also an art. It is something that not everyone can do really well. And you know, those good storytellers in your life, maybe it's someone in your family, maybe it's in your circle of friends, maybe it's your mentors, or people that you look up to that are like your virtual people that you follow. But you know, a really, really good storyteller, I can actually think of being in the crowd at a conference. And someone's up on stage in their, you know, giving their talk. They're doing this and I'm just like, I remember, like, I've had people made me cry, I've had people make me laugh so hard. I'm gonna pee my pants, like all of that. It's storytelling. It wasn't that they were giving me the secret sauce to A, B, and C, it was their storytelling. And if it were easy, everyone would have compelling content that knocks the saw the sauce, the socks off of our audience, every single time. But the reality is you and I both know that that is not happening today. Right? Not everyone is a good storyteller. But it's an art form. It's a practice. It's a skill. It's something that you can get better at. And it's something that I am actively very aware of storytelling in my content today, more so than when I was just getting started. Which is why I think that this is very, very timely to add it to this episode, because while I'm actually in the trenches, studying storytelling, getting better at it and practicing it, it was not even on my radar. When I fir in 2018, it was not on my I was trying to get other people to tell their story really well. And I was very much like, oh, yeah, you know, like, I think that that's cool, but let's just cannot A, B and C, like, you just would just give them the How to let's let me just give them the bones of what they need to know. And it's kind of boring. It's kind of boring. Everything kind of falls flat. If you're too just rigid, and you don't give someone something meaty like something that they can really sink their teeth into. If you don't do that, your content may not be shareable. It's definitely not going to be worth remembering, because I only remember the stories that were so good that I'm just like, oh my gosh, I remember that. zoafia or Rogen, like I heard her talk and Amy Porterfield entrepreneur experience it two years ago at this point, I think it was, and I still remember her talking about her eyebrows like oh my gosh, like it is nothing. I can't even tell you what she talked about. I think it was like a sales page training. She's a copywriter. So you should I'll link to her episode. In the podcast. She was actually here on the podcast, but she was talking about her eyebrows. And it's funny because I know a little bit of the behind the scenes because Heather Sager who was one of my really good friends, she helps the FIRA come up with a lot of the talking points in her talk that day. And I remember Heather saying something like Oh man, I was so freakin proud of her for nailing that story because I knew it would resonate. I knew that it would hit this audience like right between the eyes like pun intended, right? either browse all the things, and it was just so good. And it worked like it worked storytelling work. So I bet you're probably thinking of podcasts, you've listened to YouTube videos you watch, like blog posts that you've read where the story is so compelling. So if you're brand new to content, here's what I want you to do. Even if you're seasoned right, even if your season and you you've never had this element of storytelling in your content before, this is what I want you to do. I want you to make your outline like you would typically do for a new podcast episode, a video or a blog post, I want you to list out the things that you want to talk about, then ask the question, What stories do I have to share about this, it could be a personal example of something that you've gone through, it could be a story from a client or a customer that you've worked with in the past, it could be from someone that you've learned from or admired, but you need to include a story in every single piece of content that you create. So all the content we talked about here today, like all that aside, I try to put a story inside every single email that I write. I've been trying to include it more on my social post, I have been trying to incorporate storytelling, every single place that I'm creating content because it matters, it absolutely matters. And here's a great example. Okay, I've already told a few stories here. But this is this is very, very applicable to what we're talking
2. SEO:Number two, S E O you're like Krystal, can you just shut about today. Because I was listening to one of my favorite up about SEO? Can we can we stop talking about SEO, and somebody's laughing right now? Because you know, like you feel podcast, I love armchair expert. It is fascinating to hear DAX seen you felt called out you're like, Oh my god. Would everybody and Monica, Monica, and I have so much in common and I feel stop talking about SEO? No, I won't. I won't I can't I cannot like we're gonna be best friends when we meet and in real life stop talking about SEO because SEO has helped my content so much over the last almost five years. And whatever content and real person. So I'm throwing that out into the universe. you're creating, so SEO, if you're like, what is that? You We're very, very similar in so many different ways. But when know what that means? Search Engine Optimization. This cannot be an afterthought. It cannot be something that you're like, Oh, DAX interviewed Mark Rober recently on the show, so hang well, I'll figure that out in six months. I'll figure that on, let me back up. So if you don't have kids in your house out. But no, no, it was cute to ignore SEO back in the day, like under the age of 15, if you don't have or no kids that know I did, because I'm, I'm being called out here by myself. I was almost 12 months into my podcast before I really understood the who you won't know who Mark Rober is, or like, Who What are concept of SEO. I kept saying, like, oh, yeah, I know what that you talking about? But if you do you have kids in the house, is. But I would ignore it. And I just kept saying, oh, yeah, you're like, oh, yeah, that's the YouTube science guy that like, that's just for bloggers. And I'm not really trying to blog, I'm trying to do a podcast, I'm trying to No, no, does crazy experiments on his channel, like he, you know, unless you have 1000s of dollars to spend on ads, every single probably you may not know exactly who he is. But if you month, you're going to be struggling to get your content out there in front of people. Um, it's, I'm calling it what it go, what else because I'm gonna link to some of his videos in is, unless you already have an established like social media the episode description. So krystalproffitt.com/episode381. presence, or you have a huge email list. Like if you don't But I'm gonna link to mark because he's so awesome. I love have all these other factors, like if you're literally starting from zero, you have no audience whatsoever, it's going his videos. I love that my kids love his videos. But I was to be a struggle, if you are ignoring SEO, because SEO can be listening to his interview today. And here is what he said, your best friend. Oh, my gosh, and it takes a while it is a long game strategy. But SEO is key to focus on while building Because DAX had asked him about the key elements of his videos, your content platforms. Because unfortunately, discoverability since he's had so much success. So he has 23 million YouTube is the name of the game in content. And I say unfortunately, because all the incredible things that you are subscribers, and all kinds of other like really cool brand creating, won't get seen if you don't have the right titles. So deals, he has a fantastic business that he's doing. But you could spend hours, you could spend weeks or months creating DAX was like, what what are some of the things that you've done an incredible YouTube video creating just the perfect blog post for your audience creating an amazing mini series for your that has led to your success? And Mark said, This podcast. But if you don't title it, yes, that's all all that storytelling, I tell stories that elicit a very visceral hard work. And it all comes down to the title. Yeah, it kind of response, that's really hard to say, that elicit a visceral does. It does. And this is why I'm saying it's like a good news response. And that's why I'm sharing this here with you bad news situation, because it is the name of the game. But the good news is, is you can learn it, you can learn it, because today. Because I feel like I'm in this like mindset where I'm the worst thing, if you've worked your ass off to create thinking about storytelling constantly. If I would have your content, and I see you go, I see so many of you working so heard this interview, probably six months ago, I wouldn't have hard to create these incredible things for your audience. But no one I repeat, no one will be able to consume your incredible picked up on that I really wouldn't have I would have heard content. If they can't find it. If they cannot find it, all of it and like, oh, yeah, that's great. We all know, as a your hard work goes straight down the drain straight down the toilet. And that is just it makes me so sad. It makes me so marketer, I know storytelling is important. But I'm very hyper sad. So learn SEO this year, put it on your vision board. That aware of storytelling right now. And to hear him say that I was sounds so stupid. You're like Krystal, I'm not going to put like, oh, no, I need to share about that. Because it's so so the letters SEO on my vision board? Well, you should if you need to learn it, you need to put it on your vision board, so important. Because he was talking about if you don't have because you need to bring some of that goodness into your life. an actual response to it, whether it's to frustrate you It is the best gift that you can give yourself your content and your business. And actually this episode is airing around the make you laugh, like make you sad, make you happy, like all holidays. So someone asked you What do you want this holiday the most basic human emotions, like you want to elicit those in season? You can tell them you want a course that teaches you your content, because that is what compels people, to share the SEO basics, right? No, you don't need to be an expert. You don't need to be like, oh, I need to go get a degree in SEO it, to have opinions about it to tell other people about it. And and be like the blah, blah, blah. No, you don't, you don't. it's how you're going to get your name out there with your But you do need enough information, enough knowledge about SEO to make an impact. As you build your content. As content. So not only do I agree with Mark, but I'm going to take you're building these platforms or podcasts, your YouTube your his advice and add it to more of the components of my content. blog, you need SEO. Like it is just the name of the game. So it's not cute anymore. If you're like, Oh, I'll figure it out Moving forward. All right, so that is number one is later. I'll think about it. You know, whenever I've got myself storytelling is so so so important. together and I have an audience that No, no, no. Do it now. Do
3. Have fun!:And that is to have fun to have fun. If you're it today, especially if you're just starting. But if you've in the process of launching a brand new podcast, a brand new been in this for a while, the good news is you can go back YouTube channel, a brand new blog, like, I know so many of like it's still like SEO has an expiration date that allows you you, because I've had people go through radical repurposing, to only do it when you first publish a piece of content. No, this is my program that I launched in 2022, and my profit no, no, no. I've gone back to pieces of content where I'm podcasters that are here, like, there's so many of you that have like, That was a terrible title. What was I thinking? Let me gone through these programs. And I know that you are gearing up change it and it actually changed how a video performed on to launch really big stuff in 2023. But as you're doing this, YouTube. So you can absolutely go back and change these things. maybe you're hitting some roadblocks, right, maybe you're tweak them make them better. If you have a well performing blog like, gosh, I just don't know, if I'm going in the right post on your website and you're like, Well, you know what, if I direction. Maybe you have Ross from Friends like screaming in just change this one thing, it would make this a piece of your ear right now saying pivot pivot, because you don't know, evergreen content that could work for a 2022. Audience, even though you published it in 2018. Like, it's that powerful it if you're going in the right direction. Give yourself some truly is. So, learn SEO, get the basics down again, you do not grace. Like there is a steep learning curve in some of these have to be an expert in it. But you need to have some knowledge. things. Like if you're starting a YouTube channel, and you've So put it like set aside some time, put it right now, like, if never edited a video in your life, and you don't have the you're planning your 2023 calendar, put a month, not a money to afford an editor right now. So you're literally doing month, put like a few weeks, okay, we'll just give it that a everything yourself. Give yourself some of that grace, few weeks, in the new year, where you are going to brush up where you can just be like, hey, you know what, I'm gonna get on SEO, you're gonna say, Alright, I'm gonna learn the better at this. I'm gonna make some mistakes, like things may basics, I'm gonna learn how to apply it to this platform. And I be hard. Like, as you get going, and you're growing, and you're want to know enough about it, that I can be dangerous. And I can start applying it in all the different pieces of my business doing everything. But at the end of the day, you should be having and in my content. Alright, so that was number two. Number more fun than not, okay, like fun should be happening more three. And this one's important to you. Like I said, all three often than it's not. And if you're like, well, Krystal, like of these are super important. But this is the one I wanted to I literally just got started. And I'm already not having fun. end on because it is so important to me. What do I do? What do I do? Because a few things could be happening. Perfectionism and impostor syndrome, like all the isms that can really hold us back happens in the very beginning. And I get this, like, this is something that happened has happened to me, it happens to so many of my peers, like I know, it happens in this community, too. But this is what I want you to do. Okay, there's two things that I recommend, if you are already not having fun, and you're like, how do I infuse more fun into my brand into my content? The first thing I want you to do is ask yourself, How can I make this more about my audience, and less about me? Because when you do that something switches in our brains, where it's no longer like, Oh, this is the Krystal Proffitt show. It's more of this is the Proffitt Podcast community, where I'm serving other people. And it's not about me, it's not about me sounding stupid. In a podcast episode. It's not about me fumbling over my words and saying something like, oh my gosh, like, Why did I say that? It was such a dumb story, or I, you know, fumbled over my words, which this happens a lot. And I don't edit them out. I don't think you should either. Because if we were actually having a conversation at a coffee shop, this is how I would sound so I don't edit that stuff out. But how can you make it less about you and more about your audience? When we shift that focus fun kind of happens a lot more naturally. It's why I throw in the fun, you know, friends, isms. That's not a word. I just totally made that up. But you know, like pivot pivot actually have my friends mug right here. I just had my central park coffee mug on my desk right before I started recording. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, I love friends so much. I talked about the office I talk about Game of Thrones, I talk about armchair expert like i That's how I infuse fun for me because I love content, any type of content. And so I love that I can talk about my favorite movies. I love that I can talk about TV shows, podcasts, YouTube channels, like I love to do all those things because it does kind of bring all those elements together. It's me telling stories and that is how I have fun. It's sharing those pop culture references with you. Because it makes it about you, it makes it about us and not about me as a podcaster. Like trying to hold, like the weight of this podcast success on my shoulders? No, no, don't do that. Don't do that to yourself, make it more about your audience unless about you. Then the second thing is the second thing I would recommend, if you're like, I'm not having fun, what do I do? See? Where are the fun stops in your processes? And then ask the question, do I need to be doing this in the process? Or can I outsource it or not do it all together? I've mentioned this before, because this is literally what I do. I notice I'm very self aware of when I'm not having fun. When I'm frustrated when I'm overwhelmed. And I ask those questions a lot, I don't continue to be pissed off or frustrated or overwhelmed. I say, I am really good at pausing and saying, Wait, I'm feeling really overwhelmed by this, or I am not happy doing this. What can I do to change, and sometimes everything is out of my control. And I'm like, Okay, this is a temporary situation, if it's not a temporary situation, then it's a red flag for me to like, really evaluate what's going on. But most of the time, if it's 100%, out of my control, I just say this too shall pass. This is temporary, and things will change. It's seasonal, or cyclical. And I know I won't have to deal with it, let's let's call it as taxes, let's be real, okay, taxes, we got to do them, just say simple, very, all you got to do it, you know, and then then we'll be done the fun stops and taxes, but you know, then then we're good to go. But outside of that, if it's something that is in my control, and I'm like, You know what, I just really, really hate booking people back and forth on the podcast, this was a big pain for me when I was first getting started. And I was doing emails back and forth. And I would give them like three days and I go, here's three days, and I have this time slot, and then they throw something at me and you know, we'd be emailing back and forth. And then I found Calendly, which is a tool that I use in my business that does all of my scheduling for me, it looks at my calendar, and it like literally pulls in like Oh, boom, done. So there was no more back and forth. That was the part where I wasn't having fun, I found a tool that would help me I outsource that task to a tool that allowed for me to bring that fun back into my content and not be frustrated. So I encourage you, especially it's this time of year when we're all focusing on, you know, how was you know, 2022? What worked? What didn't, I want you to look at your processes. And I know if you're new, you're like, well, Krystal, I don't know, if you're getting into the groove of your content, and you start seeing these things aren't fun. Take a pause. I know it may take you a little bit longer to do something but take a pause and say, How can I fix this? What can I do a little bit differently that would make this more fun? Or how can I outsource this to an app or some kind of tool? Or how can I outsource it to somebody that loves to do that kind of stuff? These are the questions that we need to ask not just oh my god, my contents not fun anymore, because that's why a lot of people quit. And this was what breaks my heart. This breaks my heart. This is why I'm telling you all of these things. It's not because I want you to hit
Outro:was so good. I really wished I would have covered all the ground running. Yeah, it is I want you to hit the ground running and love your content. But the truth is, and seasoned content creators will tell you that the flame of the newness, right launching getting it out into the world and putting it out there and being nervous about it and excited. It's like the honeymoon phase of your content wears off. And then the day to day, week to week, month to month reality sets in. And if you are not having fun, it gets hard. It gets super super hard. I feel like a content therapist like almost like sociological myself, even though I'm not a therapist or like of any kind whatsoever. Let me throw out that disclaimer right now even though I don't think you need it because you now but if you aren't having fun and the relationship with your content, why would you keep doing it? If it's boring you if it's overwhelming you if it's frustrating you Why would you keep doing it? It's not it sounds like a toxic relationship. You don't want to have a toxic relationship with your content. You want to have fun, you want it to be something that invigorates you and gives you energy and just like pumps you full of life. So consider that whenever you hit those roadblocks. Be more self aware. And really pay attention to those like tails that you have when you're not having fun and ask how can I make this better? How can I change this in some way? of these things whenever I first started, but I'm paying it forward and giving you all this advice because I wish someone would have told me back in the day, but that's all I have for you. So make sure you go check out the show notes Krystalproffitt.com/episode381. If this is your first time tuning in, make sure that you hit that subscribe or follow button wherever you're listening to this podcast. And if you would, please take a screenshot I would love for you to tag me on Instagram. I'm@KrystalProffittTx and share like one takeaway. What was the one thing that you heard in today's episode that really inspired you or hopefully something that you're going to add into your content in 2023 and beyond, but that's all I have for you. So as always remember, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.