Episode 20: How to Authentically Marketing Your Brand with Jill Absolom

Cookie cutter marketing is sooooo 2022. Jill from Stand Out Creatives is the pro at authentic marketing, and she joins me today to discuss how you can do this for your business.

You'll learn:

• How we can share our thought leadership more

• How to balance being different and professional and still authentic

• Why you should be getting really clear on your brand

• Adding a podcast as the core of your marketing strategy

• Aligning your messaging with your business

About Jill

Jill is a non-conformist trailblazer with a passion for creativity and a fierce sense of purpose. She empowers small business owners to burn the rule book and do their marketing and create their brand on their own terms. With her expertise and guidance, small business owners can think outside the box and break free from the constraints of traditional business practices.

As a coach, she helps small business owners identify and pursue their true calling in life. By tapping into their passions and aligning their actions with their values, Jill empowers her clients to live more fulfilling and meaningful lives. Her coaching approach is centered around the principles of authenticity, self-discovery, and purpose-driven action. With her guidance, clients are able to unlock their full potential and achieve their goals with clarity and purpose.

Connect with Jill on Instagram and TikTok, or on her website.

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• Full Episode Transcription

  Good Chat Media acknowledges the traditional owners of the land where we work, live and record the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation and we pay our respects to elder's past and present always was always will be Aboriginal land.

  Hey, I'm Cass, the founder podcast production agency, Good Chat Media and welcome to Good chats. Good chat is a podcast with a holistic approach to business and marketing. And with the help of some super special people, I'll be spilling all the secrets about boosting your brand building credibility and connecting with community through podcasting. Let's get into the episode.

  Hi friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Good Chats podcast. It is your girl, Cass, the founder of Good Chat Media. On today's episode, I am joined by the lovely Jill Absolom. She is a marketing and brand coach at Standout Creatives, and she helps to empower purpose driven business owners to create and market the brand of their dreams.

  Jill and I are super aligned with the way we look at the world and the way we look at marketing. And really about wanting to help business owners stand out from the crowd and really build their brand with purpose and not have that cookie cutter approach that a lot of people are just going with. We chat in this episode a lot about thought leadership and how being a thought leader can actually help your brand by sharing your creativity, sharing your opinions, and actually creating content that reflects all of this.

  We also talk about the difference between being different and actually being professional, but still authentic. That's something that a lot of people find really hard and We really wanted to share our opinions on this and our thought leadership on it. That's what we're talking about, because. So many of us hide away from sharing our opinion, but why?

  And if we do share our opinion, what does that actually mean for our brand? We also chat about getting really clear on your brand. And this is something that's really important. And it's something that we talk about with podcasting a lot and making sure that all of the content that we're creating is the same brand messaging and all of the.

  Items that we're creating are really in alignment with where we want to go, but also who we actually are, not who we feel like we should be. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. It is super valuable and get those notepads out because you might want to start writing things down. Without further ado, welcome podcast.

  Hi, Cass. Thanks so much for having me on. So today we're going to talk about thought leadership. We're going to talk about marketing authentically and Jill and I connected because I am a massive Tik Tok fan and I always see Jill with a beautiful colorful flowers behind her and I was like, we have to talk.

  So I'm so excited to have you here to talk about all of these things. I'd love to open the conversation up with thought leadership with. That words are very like, not trigger happy word, but like it's used a lot. How do you define it? So I just want to agree completely. Firstly, that it's thrown around a lot specifically by either brand strategists, social media experts, et cetera.

  Especially when you've got someone in front of you who is trying to build a personal brand or their service is very much based upon them themselves. Like they are the face of the brand or whether it's product based as well. And so I define thought leadership as. You being an expert in your field, and then you having your unique perspective on that industry, and then you being able to actually confidently share that and innovate on that, and then actually motivate others through that.

  Yeah. And so where I see, like, there's two parts to that, that I see a lot of small business owners have difficulty with. And the first one I find is firstly, having that unique. Perspective, because especially if you're coming from, a lot of times I've heard like social media people say, you know, you need to be a thought leader.

  And so you need to just go out and like make heaps of posts and like share heaps of stuff on Instagram or like make sure you've got heaps of podcast episodes sharing about what it is like strategies, et cetera, in your industry. But if you don't have that unique perspective, it's not really thought leadership.

  It's just you sharing industry information. And it's just kind of regurgitating someone else's opinion, or facts. Yeah! And that's not really actually really building towards your credibility and trust, because if you're going to see an expert for something that you want help with, you want to know what their unique perspective is from all their years of experience in that area.

  Because I mean, I could YouTube a lot of information about podcasting, but I want to speak to you because I know you know so much about it. And I know that you're just going to be able to help me in the quickest way possible for me personally, rather than me just being overwhelmed with you, just regurgitating.

  Yeah. And also Jill told me that she bought her microphone because it's the microphone that I use. And it's the one that I love for my podcast and I was so happy. A hundred percent. I love it. Like it was such a good recommendation, but it was so easy for me to trust you because I was listening to your podcast episodes.

  One, I love the length of them. So it's so easy for me to digest and actually get the info and two, you just cut straight to the point. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I kind of need to sit 40 minutes with you, like explaining everything about podcasts, microphones, et cetera. You're just like, this is the one. Yeah.

  This is the one I like to use. And this is why, because even the, I think that as well, and I think there comes a point where, when you. You know, you're trying to be a leader in the industry. You're trying to share unique opinion and then someone has a different opinion or they recommend something different.

  Like there's other podcast managers that have different opinions on what microphones to use. But, and then I'm like, Oh, should I be recommending that? And then I'm like scrambling. And then I like cut back and I'm like, wait, no, I know that this one is good. This is what I use. And if someone wants to have the same quality of sound that I have, then then that's great for them.

  Yeah. Not everything is going to work for everyone. And that's where opinions, I think. Come into play. And it's something that like, you kind of have to be creative with it as well. Like in my opinion, with thought leadership, it needs to be like evolving learning, like, and then sure you can go from the facts and things like that, but then what does that mean for you?

  What does that actually, like, where does that sit with you? Exactly. And I think that is more about creating more than you consume. Especially in your industry, I mean, it can be fine to consume a lot more information in other industries that you're trying to learn something about or something like that.

  But I feel like trying to consume more than you create can really lead you into that position that you were just talking about in the sense of, oh, these other people are recommending this. Is that actually better? Or like, should I be saying that? Because they're saying that, you know, if you go inwards 1st, before you go outwards, you're going to have your own unique perspective.

  And then you'll feel more confident with it because if you thought about this microphone, you're like, this is the one I love. This is what I'm going to recommend. Then you look outwards and everyone else is recommending it. You're not going to automatically think, Oh, am I having this opinion? Because everyone else is like, you know, it's your opinion.

  Yeah. But when you share it, it's going to be confident rather than, Oh, I just like, I just don't know. And which brings me to my second point about thought leadership, the second struggle, which is the confidence to share your unique perspective. So it's one thing having the unique perspective and kind of sharing it behind closed doors.

  And what I mean by that is like with clients or in situations that aren't just living out there online. And then it's another thing to have the confidence to share it. Yeah, so true. Sometimes I feel like you want to share those things and then you, it's that kind of imposter syndrome of what is this person going to think?

  What is, if I say this, what is my client's going to think? And I think it's just one of those things where you will attract the right people when you're being authentic. Like it's just the way we were talking about this. At an event that I went to, I'm like last night, but I'm like, this is going to be going in a while.

  So a while ago I went to the girl's got to work event and they were talking about how Amy Lee from the content queen plan, as she was saying that everyone's marketing is different. So it doesn't mean if you're selling the exact same product, people are coming to you because you're selling it because you're.

  The one who it's your opinions, it's your thoughts about it, rather than it just being, you know, cookie cutter of what you feel like you have to do. Exactly. People are buying from you. I mean, there's so many items that so many different people make and it's like, well, how are people making the decision of where they're going to buy it from?

  But if you're not giving them the opportunity to see your unique perspective. Because something's holding you back. And I don't think it's a matter of just being like, Oh, you just need to be more confident to share it. I think you really need to look. And this is where a mindset piece comes into it. It's like, look under what is actually holding it back.

  Like, is it the fact that you have a fear of belonging or is it that you have this fear of failure, like whatever it is, if you get to the real root cause of it, then you are able to work on it and actually be aware of what's holding you back rather than. I hate fake it till you make it. Same. When people say that, I'm like, you don't have to fake it.

  You're not feeling comfortable with it. That's okay. But let's like work through why you're not feeling comfortable with it. If you're not wanting to show up on social media, why? What is the real reason? Okay. If you don't want to do it, cause you know, someone you went to high school with will see you. I literally thought about this the other day and I was like, thank God that I really have not thought about that for maybe.

  Like I've been in my business for like the last two years, I think, and I don't think I've thought about that in the last probably year and a half. I don't, I'm not caring about what other people think I'm doing. Like it's just stay in your lane, do what you want to do. A hundred percent. I mean, the more other people's opinions are living in your brain.

  Like, the more you're going to be so hypercritical of yourself and not even know what, like, who am I, what am I supposed to be doing? Because I'm thinking of all these, but like, like if everyone likes you, you've got a problem. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like you, like you can't, everyone can't like you and if they do, then there's no way you're being authentic.

  Yeah. That is so true. I think it even like, even the way that you show up, like you're always like, you know, this beautiful, like bubbly, colorful, like I'm totally opposite, but like, I love that quality for you. Cause I'm like, it's not that I want to be that cause I'm a very, like, I like dressing neutral.

  You know, I'm very neutral, everything you can say behind me neutral, but like, I look at you and I'm like, so drawn towards it cause I'm like, it's just so authentic. It's like, you're doing what you want to do. And I've got the same thing for other people as well. Like, I love minimalism and I love, like, seeing other people have such beautiful, like, I consider your style very classy and elegant and I absolutely love seeing that, but I, like, I would.

  And that's the thing. Sometimes people think when I talk about being different or, you know, being unique to you that it's like, well, I don't want this, like, I don't want all that color and I don't want to be pushing myself to be bold or like to wear a bold lip, for example, and it's like, I really don't want that for you.

  Like, I love everyone being a hundred percent, a hundred percent bold. Doesn't have to be a specific look or style, like just in the way that you show up could be bold. What you speak about could be bold and you could be wearing all black. I mean, look, I'm pretty dark today, wearing just a lot of dark colors.

  I got my floral background, so it's all good. Yeah. And I know we were speaking about like being authentic and. Literally exactly what we were just speaking about, about like being ourselves and, you know, finding that balance between being different and being professional. How do you find that? I feel like I've been able to find that within myself.

  So it's not something that I think about, but I feel, I think a lot of people find it hard to be themselves. And then also be professional where in my mind, it's one and the same because you're showing up the way you want to show up because it's your business and you can make it whatever you want it to be.

  But how do you help people through that? Yes. Well, being professional is definitely a perspective, as in, like, if I was to describe what my idea of being professional was, say, a couple of years ago, even like four years ago, it'd be wildly different to the one I do have now. And it's going to be different for everyone too.

  Like you might assume that. Possibly it needs to be like a blank wall behind you to be professional, or perhaps it needs to be XYZ. I need to be in a suit and blazer to be professional, but that's going to be different for everyone. So I always help clients really think about what they really want to show up as feeling being, et cetera, and go, it's always about going inwards personally before going outwards.

  And for some people, I think there's a fear in going. What if I go too far, like, what if it's like way too unprofessional or what if it's, and all of that is really just like fierce projecting. As in, if you just cut everything away and thought, I'm just, for a moment, I'm not going to think about professionalism.

  I'm not going to think about being different. I'm just going to think about who I am and what, like what that looks like. Yeah. I guarantee it's not going to be anywhere near it. As scary as you think it's going to be. A hundred percent. You know, like the more you do it, the better. Like I've got a story on this because that white wall is a very big example of me myself.

  So I have usually have an office. A previous office was way more wild than my current one. And I did not have any space in the room that had any. Blank wall, because I had plants like wildflowers on the walls, art creations, like the whole thing. Cause I also art and craft in my office as well. So it's like, yeah, multi use.

  It was so cool. So I used to have this hedge wall that was like hung up by those little command strips. And I used to, I think it was, yeah, four years ago now, I would take the hedge down off the wall and get another desk out to sit in front of that. Like white, the little tiny bit of white wall I could find because I thought that my current, you know, iteration was too much.

  So it was like, I was fine and happy in being me with my clothing and everything like that, but I was like, no, no, no, the background's too much. So I need to find this white wall of space. Do you know how much work it was taking that hedge down every single time I need to jump on a meeting? Like, don't chuck a meeting on me out of nowhere.

  I need to prep my wall! Put a hedge to take down, yeah. And yeah, I had a fear of being too much. And I just thought, you know, Why do you think it's okay for you to be, you know, yourself with your clothing and you think that's okay and that's professional, but what is it about the hedge? Like, what is it, sorry, about any part of your room that you think is like too much?

  And when I really thought about it, you know, I was obviously worried about what other people would think. And I thought, I'm very happy in this space. This space speaks to who I am. And even in these settings, these settings weren't specifically just for my business. I was working with as the front of other people's businesses as well.

  And I just thought, you know what, like, take me or leave me. I mean, you're either going to love it or you're going to hate it, and that's fine. Like, I don't, I'm here, I'm a professional and I'm here to work and I can do that with, actually I do this better with my background than I do without. Because you're showing, you're showing up as you.

  Yes, exactly. And the first time I did it, it was like with some major stakeholders. And it just felt like this moment of like, when I turned the camera on, cause it like, everything was wild behind me that I was like, Oh, like a little part of me, it's just like, Oh, Waiting for a reaction. Like, Oh, Yeah, but I had, I had to, like, I was owning it though.

  I was like, this is my space. Not that I was saying that obviously, not running into a meeting, like Spears. This is who I am, take me or leave me. Whoa, calm down. It's a Monday morning. They're like, yeah, it looks great. What do you mean? And it was so funny because it was just a massive icebreaker. A lot of these people, some of them I'd met previously with the white wall and some of them I hadn't met previously.

  And it was such an icebreaker. And they were like, wow, like, that's so amazing. It's kind of like seeing your creative brain, like outside of your brain, like, you know, what you kind of inspired by, motivated by, et cetera. And it inspires other people to want to be more. Outward as well. Like, I think when, when you see someone showing up as like their full self, it inspires other people to want to do that as well.

  As you said, like before, you don't have to be everything for everyone. And if someone doesn't like, I don't like a colorful wall, like for my room, but like. I'm like obsessed with it. And that's why like, that was a conversation of like, that's how I started following you. 'cause I was like, who is this woman who's like got this amazing wall behind her and she's just, and her videos are really good.

  And I'm like, I gotta follow her. And then like, but yeah, here's the thing. I'm not driving over to your place and bringing it around to put in your house. . I'd be like, like you could admire from a fire too much. Like my whole beige apartment is just, Screaming out for another thing. Even my green, there's nothing other than green there.

  There's like one little, like a tiny pink pot. There you go. But it's like a pastel pink though. So it's very, it's a very on brand. Just in case. But it does inspire people to be themselves. And I think there's other people. I've definitely seen in the past where I'm like, Oh my God, they show up this and they're so confident in what they're saying.

  And I think it, honestly, it is such a mindset thing of, and sometimes honestly, just starting, I know that sounds so dumb, but like, sometimes like even with people, when they started their podcast, they're like, Oh, you know, I'm scared of this and I'm scared of this. I was scared for my own podcast. I was like, is anyone even going to listen?

  So like, even you telling me that you listened, I was like, Oh my God, thank you, like, that's so nice. It's just like, everyone's scared to do things, especially when they're new. But once you get into it, once you move past that first video, past that first podcast episode, like get past those walls that you're putting up for yourself.

  And you'll be able to, it makes it easier. The more you keep going, the easier it gets. Exactly. And it's a journey too, as in, you don't just go from not showing anything of yourself to tomorrow, knowing exactly who you are, what you want to share and like showing everything. Like for example, with podcasting, perhaps you want to create a podcast, but maybe starting off by being on someone else's podcast is a good, you know, intro into doing it.

  Or perhaps Like for me, when I was trying to get comfortable with my style before, like in the white wall days, I was like, Oh, I'll try a bit of a, a more risque earring or something like, you know, like, Oh, like, Oh, a risque earring and a bold lip, watch out. Who is this? And everyone else on the other side is probably just like has paying no attention because.

  Everyone is ball caught up in their own stuff. Literally no one actually cares about what you're doing. I literally said this to a girlfriend the other day, they were talking about wanting to start a business and they were saying like, Oh, I wonder what like they would think. And I said, why do you care?

  Yeah. It's like, it's just breaking those things down. Yeah. Why do you actually care what they think in any respect? Do you actually care what they think? Oh no, not really. I just feel like they're going to judge me. Okay. Well then put that in the bin because it doesn't, you just contradicted yourself. Yeah, same as if you feel like showing up on socials that someone's going to see everything that you post and just be so bored by you or like TikTok, et cetera.

  And it's like, one, the algorithm is not showing anyone all your stuff, point blank. And if they're going to your page, right, and they're going to then binge everything that you've created, same as your podcast, they're going to find like every episode you've created and they're bored by it or don't like it.

  But they keep on watching it, like that's a them thing and certainly not a you thing. Like if they're I literally said to the person last night, I said, what other people think of you is none of your business. Don't make it your business, like you can think to a certain point, you can have those fleeting thoughts of, Oh, I wonder what they think of this.

  And then you just put that thought back in your pocket or put it in the bin and just say, I actually don't really care. It's not actually impacting my life. Why am I stopping? Because exactly why am I holding space for that when they don't actually really matter in the scheme of things. But it's so normal for those thoughts to kind of come up, but it's the meaning that we attach to the thoughts that's more important.

  And it's same across everything, really, in terms of like your marketing and your business. If you feel like, you know, a thought just pops up, like, I think I'm failing at this or I don't think I'm doing a good enough job, like, okay, you know, great that you've had the thoughts just popped up, but dependent on how much time or energy you give to it is really going to turn it into what.

  Is it going to be the motivator to go, okay, is there any truth in that I'm not doing a good enough job? Okay, well, what could I do to do better? What is it that I need to do? Rather than going down a spiral of just, you know, this isn't good enough and then I'll pick this up. But like, is that actually any like helpful for you?

  Yeah, I definitely, there's been times where I've like get into these negative headspaces and I don't even realize that I'm like fully spiraling down, grabbing every negative comment, every negative thought and bringing it down with me. And then I get out and I'm like, that's embarrassing. Like that ain't me.

  Whoa. Yeah. Like who is that person? Like. You're like at the bottom of the slide. Yeah, literally. I'm literally like on a shit slide, just like going down and like every comparison I notice I'm picking every, like, I'm not doing well enough on LinkedIn. I haven't posted on TikTok in months. I haven't done this.

  And it's like, okay. Now looking at me in the shit storm and I'm like, you're right down there. Like we can do better. It's fine. Like, don't stress about it. We'll just do better next week. It's fine. One step at a time. And it happens. And this is why I probably way prefer people who are just. Real honest and able to be vulnerable because it happens.

  It's not about it not happening. It's just about the meaning we're assigned and then what we do, if we do end up down that slippery side and right down the bottom of it where we don't want to be like, it's okay that it happened. It's just, what are we going to do about it? Whereas previously I would sort of listen to people that were much more just like all about the highs and that kind of, you know, glossy.

  We talk about like your Instagram highlight reel, something like that's all they were sharing, and I personally just find it problematic because it's not the whole, and I'm not saying you need to be on here, and Authenticity doesn't mean you've got to share every awful piece that's happened to your business or life or anything like that.

  It's not that you need to do that, but it's just finding some level of realism that you're not buffing everything so that everything looks so shiny for others rather than just, this is life, this is me. Yeah, a hundred percent. Like, I think I used to always have a problem with showing up with no makeup on and like, I have never had a problem with my skin.

  I've always had lovely skin, you know, there's never been like an actual insecurity of showing up without, or like, you know, going down to the street with no makeup on. So I'm like, why do I really care? And it's usually that I don't show up when I'm in a shitty headspace or like, I'm just like, let me just focus on what I'm doing rather than being outward.

  But there's so many times now where I'm like showing up, no makeup on and I'm like, literally, I just thought about it and I was like, growth, nice, like. Yeah, or just no filter. I try really hard not to use any filters. Same. Just because I'm like, I don't, I find issue with myself if I do that. I'm like, Oh, what are you feeling that day that you feel like you have to cover?

  Like no shame to anyone else that's using filters, whatever makes you feel good. But I know for me, when I show up with like a filter and I've literally same, like I won't put this in, but literally same with, you know, any friends that were ever like face tuning or whatever on photos and stuff like that.

  I'm like, please don't face tune me. Please don't filter me. Do whatever you want to do with yourself. But. I need to, it's that whole thing of, you know, what it is, is in my brain forever has been like the thing of when someone meets me, I want them to see me as, I don't want them to look at me and go, Oh, she looked better in photos.

  I know that sounds so like, almost like a childish thought, but like people do think, you know, they look different. So anyway, that's just my own hangup, but like, that's why I make sure I'm like, really. For me, it was that professional piece is in when I was. More thinking about having my face on at least before showing up on Insta stories or on any videos that I was creating, it was more just thinking of.

  Am I still positioning myself as a professional if, like, I'm not actually looking outwardly like a professional? What I imagine is a professional. And when I thought about it more and I followed more diverse accounts rather than just the ones that I was looking at at that time, and I started seeing other people show up without makeup on, et cetera.

  And I thought to myself, Yeah. By watching that video, do I feel any differently towards that person or that professional that I really held in esteem before I saw this video? And I'm like, no. So then why would I feel differently about myself? Like, why would it be not okay for me to do it? And so when I started.

  Doing it more like it's not something purposely go out and take my makeup off to get us to jump on stories But if it happens exactly share it in the moment I'm all about that whether I'm in active wear or whether I'm in wear clothes, whatever. I just felt a freedom about it and Was just like, well, you know, this is me and this thought is too important for me to share with you.

  And that's really on brand for me, the authenticity over the production part of it doesn't make me any less professional. It doesn't. And if you're watching my videos and you thought that that's fine, but you're not my ideal client. And that's also your own projection. When you're looking at people thinking there is things that's not anything to do with the person it's got to do with you a hundred percent.

  Exactly. Exactly. And sometimes when you have those thoughts, when you're not specifically working, like my brain's going all the time, you have those passionate thoughts of like, oh, you know, you just see something and you think, oh, I really want to jump on and talk about this because it's really poignant.

  I don't want to be held back by the fact that, you know, I'm not going to take 30 minutes to apply my makeup, track an outfit on to share it. I've lost all inspiration by that point. Yeah. And you're like, what was I even talking about? Yeah. I don't really know what my point was. I've got the subject. Yeah. I know.

  What was my point? Find the passion. Find the passion. Oh God. Yeah. It can be really, I think a lot of people get hung up on being able to show up authentically as themselves. Whether that be the way that they look, whether that be. you know, what they're saying, the content of what they're saying, if they're, you know, like, sometimes I get hung up on showing up and, you know, and if I'm doing a story or something and I either fumble my words or I spend a lot of time editing audio so I can, when I speak myself and it's not perfect, like I like to make Audio sound pretty perfect or like, you know, natural and perfect.

  And when it's not that on like an Instagram story, I'm like. Just post it, stop thinking about it and no one's noticing, no one's sitting there thinking like, Oh, she probably should have done that again. Yes, like exactly. And sometimes with TikTok videos, for example, especially if I am pulling a lot of different footage or I'm trying to, you know, put a, a lot of different moments into one.

  Cause I do my business one and I also have a personal one as well. And. For both of them, sometimes, you know, it can take a long time to edit a video. And I've listened to myself say the same thing a lot of times or say, yeah, or seeing myself do something that it's just like no normal human would spend 30 minutes watching you do this.

  Like, of course you're nitpicking. Like it would just be so natural. So as soon as I've finished editing and I'm like, this is good enough. Cause I'm always over messy action, over perfection. This is good enough. Put it out there. I will never watch it again. Yeah. Like, I don't want to see it. I want to hear it.

  You know, sometimes my partner will be, he's so lovely and supportive. Sometimes he'll be watching my Insta stories or he'll be watching, I don't want to hear it, like shutting all the doors, like just turn it down, go somewhere else. I don't want to know because I will cringe. I heard my partner play one of my podcast episodes and I was like, put your headphones in.

  I'm very happy you want to listen to it, but don't let me hear you. I don't want to hear it. Look, I love you. I love you for doing it. I cringe at myself doing, I don't want to hear myself. I have to hear myself when I edit my own stuff. So I don't want to hear you hearing it. And I don't want to see your face looking at it while I'm like, we don't need to have those.

  No, I don't need to see facial expressions, because I will read Farmer Trash into it. I've already thought about it enough. That's enough. It's gone. Yes. It's not so much saying that I can't watch my stuff back because, you know, I'm not proud of the work or anything along those lines. I just think that when you are editing it yourself and you are spending a lot of time getting to the point where you're like, this is good enough, I'm going to put it out there.

  And then you're trying to move on to the next thing because you're not trying to dwell. You're trying to go, right, what am I going to create next? There is no. Um, space in me to sit and rewatch something because I know that I've already spent so much time on it and it's out there. Like so what am I, apart from looking at analytics, which is not rewatching it, but like, what am I going to gain from going back there?

  Yeah. You're just going to nitpick at it. You're just going to be like, Oh, I should have done this, or I should have said this, or I should have said this differently when I was doing my voiceover, like, Oh, imagine this hook. Like, great. But it's done now. Thank I always like do things that I go next time.

  It's not the last time you'll ever do a TikTok video. I haven't done a TikTok video in a while, but I've got TikTok content ready and I'm going to do, I'm doing a day in the life today. So we'll do it at the end of the video. I'll get you to be in it. But. That's so funny. Cause I'm doing the same. Oh yeah.

  I was like, I really need to do more of those. You do them so well. So I was like. They're my favorite thing to do. And I just think about what content. I actually enjoy doing, and I love videos. I started, I was doing video editing. And so I already know, knew the skills on how to, you know, make something, a transition do well.

  And so now when I go to like TikToks and stuff, I'm like, I used to do like travel vlogs and stuff, like, please don't look them up, but they're on YouTube. But, and they're like, excuse me for a moment, again, cringe. Oh, they're like almost 10 years old now, but I love now looking back on them and being like, Oh my God, that was so fun.

  I don't know why I was cringing about it. I don't know why I cared about like what anyone thought. It's probably like three people that have viewed the video and it's probably just me viewing it three times, but it's just like finding like what you actually like to make content and. That's something that like, do you help people with that as well?

  I know we talked about like getting clear on authenticity and do you help people get clear on their brand and then how to market themselves from that in their business? Yes. So basically I'm a creative problem solver for small business owners in the sense that I have about around 10 years marketing freelance experience and So I have around 10 years of marketing experience and in that I've always been the yes person in terms of I will take any opportunity to grow and learn something new.

  And I love variety. So I've done so very many vast. Projects worked on local counselor campaign at one point, I've done videography, content creation, social media management, copywriting, SEO, the whole, you know, there's obviously so many kind of photography, like, I kind of think of them all, like, I've Dabbled in every part and more than dabbled when I do something, I need to learn all about it.

  Yeah. I need to know everything. So I have all these pieces, but I can't stay in one area too long because I'm like, okay, great. I've known that now I want to learn something new. So I kind of am like a Mary Poppins. Lady of small businesses where I had come, we all know the bag. Yeah. And I'm just pulling pieces out to help like personalize that for the client.

  And so it's usually it's brand strategy that I'll always start with. Cause majority of the time, even if you've got a brand strategy done previously, it hasn't actually. I've found with clients dug deep enough into it. So with a brand strategy, it's not just about asking you, Hey Cass, what's your vision, right?

  Because when it's your own business, a lot of the time, it's harder to be able to kind of dig deeper and find the actual gems. Like you can be close or it can be like you found the actual gem, but it's not polished enough, or it's not buffed out and being it's beautiful, sparkly self. So. A lot of times when I do a brand strategy, it's basically drilling down like a minor, yeah, like down the layers of like, okay, cast to a vision.

  And you tell me what you like, what you think it is. I'm like, okay, great, great. But why? And then like, you'll have another go. And then it's like, but why? And then all of a sudden it's like, you found this amazing gem and it's like, wow. Why weren't you sharing that before, or like, don't you just feel like there's so much more clarity now?

  And it's then from that point that I like to try, that's when I come in with the marketing help and I come in with other aspects, solutions, building out the brand, exactly. To be able to help you with that. Because I find a lot of marketing that I've seen small businesses have is very big on cookie cutter approaches.

  Like, Oh, you know, you need to post five times a week on social media, or you need to create a podcast where you need to do this. Whereas I really try and take it back bare bones and go one, what do you actually want to do as a business owner? Like, what are you passionate about? Because if you have no interest in creating the podcast, don't do it.

  The consistency needed there and the ability to keep going is not something that you just like, try and push and squeeze yourself into doing. Like, if you want to do it, yeah! I've always said to people, like when they want to start a podcast, I'm like, okay, how important is it to you to start this podcast?

  Where does it sit in your marketing strategy and your brand strategy? Where does it sit in importance? Like what's the ranking there? Because if it's not in the top three. Honestly, if it's not number one, really, because podcast is like, it's a master form of content. You can trickle everything down from that masterpiece, you know, blogs or podcasts or any long form content.

  But if you're not super into it, if you don't want to do it, don't commit to it. Don't buy a microphone, don't buy headphones just for like shiny object syndrome of like, I needed to be doing this because this person told me I should like, I'm never, if I've had. a call with someone about helping them with their podcast.

  I'm not here to convince you that you need to have a podcast. No. That's not in my best interest. Yeah. I'm not going to be out here being more passionate about your podcast than you will be. It's like, okay, tell me what's going on and then I can tell you how I can help with that. Yes, I suppose that's the thing, I suppose when you go to an expert, you're kind of looking for that expert advice on that specific topic and the piece that I just find missing is like, you have a human that is unique in front of you and if you don't take them into consideration with the advice that you give.

  Then I don't really know how helpful it actually is for them, especially when you're doing coaching, like that personalized advice. Coaching isn't about me. It's about you, the client in front of me and what you want to do and how you want to do it. And because majority of society isn't asking you about what it is that you want to do, it's like the thought is usually.

  What is out there for me to, what do you think I can do? Or it's always that questioning of the outside, like, you know, we go into school and it's a set system that you then need to fit into. It's always like fitting into some box. Yeah. And it's not often that someone comes and challenges that, not often enough that someone comes along and challenges that and says, right, let's just burn the box to the ground, but like, what do you want to do?

  Like, is the podcast the piece that you want to do? Do you actually want to create that course? You know, someone said that creating a course is going to make you a lot of money. Okay, but do you want to do it? It's a, like, these things are a lot of work. All of it is. All of it is, like, it's a lot of work for something that you don't actually like doing.

  Like, this Lights me up. I love doing this. I love having these conversations. I love being like, Oh my God, these like, my audience is going to love this because they're going to be able to be like, yes, like, I want them to be like nodding along in the car or, you know, walking their dog being like, yes. Oh my God.

  I feel the same. I love that piece and I love that it's connection and there's things like that, but. If someone's like, Oh, you know, like, I don't really like talking. It actually like, it doesn't do it for me. I like writing better. Okay, cool. That's awesome. You just want to know like what works for you and nail that and just keep working towards getting better at that.

  I actually thought about, Oh, do I want to do a course? And I was like, what's next in my business? And I was like, a course could like bring in money, like. I don't really want to do a course. And so my business coach was, just don't, don't. Amazing. Let's find something else. Yeah. And I was like, Yes, so many other things you can do.

  Like you just, you don't have to do what you feel like you should have to do. No. And just because someone said it, who specifically is an expert in that field, they can be an expert, but that still doesn't mean if it's not right for you that you have to do it. Yeah. You know, for example, with the course pace, like going evergreen and just having something that you've created and it's always out there for sale, that doesn't light everyone up having an evergreen product.

  Like, yes, you can say, well, it's great because you don't have to keep, you know, launching it or you don't have to go to the live calls, but for some people they live. For live calls. Yeah. I love being able to actually personally help a group of individuals with that. I wouldn't want to just put something out there that's just like, well, you know, that's going to be a great piece for my income.

  It's like, yeah. So, but like, so I was working at McDonald's. Like, doesn't mean it sets you on fire, you know? Yes. And there's no guaranteed success. So just because a podcast worked for someone else, just because the course worked for someone else, just because hopping on Instagram stories every day worked for someone else, doesn't automatically mean it's going to work for you.

  So wouldn't you rather put all your time and effort. Into the things that light you up, that you love to do, because if at the end of it, it doesn't end up being a success, at least you stay true to yourself. You had a good time whilst doing it. Imagine getting to the end point of doing something you had no interest in doing, and it's still not being a success, even though 10 people on Instagram ads with random, like by the C course said it was going to be.

  Yeah. And you've spent money, time that you're not going to get back and you still feel like that really wasn't me. Yeah. This whole conversation is just like, be authentic. Do what you actually want to do. Yes. And don't worry about what other people. Don't stress out about the authenticity piece as well.

  Because just like you were saying earlier, I think. Authenticity word can seem big to someone who say, feels like they've been trying to put a character on until this point, or they're just not too sure. And the authenticity piece is. Really peeling back the layers slowly as quickly or fast as you want to go, but just peeling things back and going, you know, today I'm going to show up on Instagram stories and talk about this, or, you know, I'm doing this at the moment and I really want to share that because whether you realize it or not, it's often the other pieces of your life that people connect with you that then they want to purchase your services from you.

  So a lot of people have connected with me over my, as you said, my floral background or like wild walls, et cetera, even my office space. My wild walls. I know. I'm going to try and mark that. And like, if I thought about it and thought. You know, I'm going to be really strategic about what I share and what I don't share, but a lot of people have purchased from me or started working with me because that, and it really doesn't actually have a whole heap to do with my actual marketing or small business helping abilities.

  Yeah. Like they got to know me on a different level. They love what they see and they're like, wow, you know, I love the way that you do that. And it's an example of your creativity. It's just about building, literally like building that credibility and building that trust with people because people, when they like you as a person, they're more likely to buy from you a hundred percent.

  Like they want to know that like, they sure that you do a good job. But like most of the time in business, it's a given that you're going to do a good job regardless of whoever you go with, but you want to know that that person, like, again, if you're spending all this time with time and money with a person, who's going to help you with a certain thing, you want to make sure that that personality fit is there and the vibe fit is there that you're like, okay, cool.

  I can help someone with their podcast and get it up and running and stuff like that. But if they're like. Oh, you know, this is not like a good personality fit. That's okay. That's all right. And there's lots of people in every industry that can help you do whatever. So it's just like finding the people that.

  Make you feel good that make it easy for you to be around them. Like I literally say to my clients, my future clients, I literally, I'm always just saying, I'm just here to try and make it easy for you. Like it's not rocket science. It's not brain surgery. I'm not curing cancer. I'm just here to help you like put your podcast together, get it out into the world and have people come in into your world from that it's not that serious.

  Exactly. But if you really think about building relationships and that deeper level of trust. Needs to happen. Like just thinking about friendships, for example, what kind of friendships are you building with someone who doesn't show you anything else except what they do for work? Exactly. Do you know what I mean?

  Like how deep is that relationship going to be? Yeah. Because if you just come across every time giving me tips and tricks, Hey, Jill, this is how you should do your podcast. Hey, Jill, this is the mic you should get. Hey, Jill. Like. It's like, wow. Okay, great. Like, it seems like, you know, a lot about podcasting.

  I don't know anything about you as a person. This is boring. Like I exactly what you said at the start. I could have just Googled this. Like I could have had a look. Yes. There's yeah, that's insane. Like there's so many people out there, but it's just about who you're attracted to, who then, and from the, you know, when it's your business, have those things that show your personality because people will be attracted to you or they won't be.

  It's okay. It doesn't matter either way, if they are or they're not, you're not going to know if they're not, it doesn't matter. But if they are, then they'll come into your world and Bob's your uncle. Exactly. But if you think about it from another aspect of thinking, okay, every time I'm meeting with someone, I'm trying to put on what I think they need or want from me, is that.

  you never trust that person. Like, if I see someone, I meet them and I think, wow, like, it seems like we've got a big connection. And then I see them a couple of days later with someone else and they seem like a completely different person. You know, let's take that, say for example, on Instagram stories, there's someone, and then on TikTok there's someone else.

  If I start seeing all these different pieces of them that make no sense together, I don't, there's no trust. No. That's where the whole authenticity thing comes in. And it's like, you've definitely, there's different content, you know, that you would share on Instagram than you would on TikTok or that you would on LinkedIn or whatever.

  On your podcast. Yeah, exactly. There's so many different things that you would share and there's different ways. And I love podcasting because it's very personality based. And same thing with TikTok is like, it's very, you can, you can be less refined. You can be more yourself. You can be. And people are drawn to that and it doesn't matter if they're, you know, what it is, is that those people don't have to work with you, but if they know that you're a good person for that, they're going to tell their friends, they're going to tell that you're going to be the first person that they think of when you think of marketing or podcasting, they're going to be like, Oh, I know this person, TikTok.

  Let me go have a look what they are like. I can't remember what their name is, whatever. Then they go to you. And so it doesn't have to be that it's that person, but it's like, when you build the trust with that person, then they tell someone else. And it's just like, word of mouth is so important for businesses and.

  And your personal brand, what you're known for, as in that person is probably knowing you for a specific, even if they're not following you for marketing advice, whatever, if you're offering, you know, your personality and they like watching your videos and say you're doing more day in the life pieces, et cetera, they are going to think of you when.

  someone else they know who's similar or like, Oh wow, you know, you're very innovative. I remember that, you know, I watched Cass's vlogs and she seems like a really fun person who's innovative as well. I've seen her share some tips on podcasting. Maybe that'll be perfect for you. Yeah, a hundred percent.

  They're putting more together than just, do I want to work with this person? If not, no. Yeah. Yeah. I'm always, especially like when I meet people, I'm always like, okay, what do you do? And then I'm kind of like, okay, what, like, what's next for you? Like, what do you want to do? And then, cause I'm like, who can I connect them with?

  Who can they, cause I love just connecting people. I love it. Just like, I love the community aspect of business. And so when I meet people, I'm like, you're looking for that. I know someone that's really good at that. Like, let me send them to you. Like, I'm always like. Instagram share function is my favorite thing.

  Like sharing the profile is because, and it's just like when someone else wins, you win as well. So like, there's no. Like one, it's a good human thing to do. And if it feels good, keep doing it. But two, it's actually really good for your own personal brand. A hundred percent. The more that you help people by recommending people from your network to them, they'll see you as the person who recommended.

  The person who's helped them, that's the memory they have of you. Even if they came to you and you said, actually, you know, I don't, you know, it doesn't seem like podcasting is really what you actually want to do, but hang on. I think you want to do, it sounds like you want to do this. Or they've said to you actually, you know what, you're right.

  I really just want to write. blogs, or I want to do something else. And you've got that perfect person, you know, that can help them with that. And you recommend them. Yes. The other person succeeds, you feel good, but they also know you as the person you recommended. Yeah. And it's okay that it's like, if they don't end up working with you, I look at it as like the whole thing of being aligned with the people that you work with.

  You know, your messaging is aligned to certain people. And if they come to you thinking that they are, and then at the end of the call, you're like, Oh, maybe it like, wasn't actually a vibe or like, wasn't actually aligned. That's okay. As long as they're like succeeding, as long as they're finding what's right for them.

  I don't want someone in my world who's not aligned with me anyway. So that's okay. Like we can connect on a different level if we got along, but it was like, Oh, maybe this is actually not what I really want to do. Cool. That's all right. No worries. I just have connections in other places where I'm like, we talked about starting a pod.

  Like they talked to me about starting a podcast. It didn't end up happening. And so like, that's fine. We can still be friends. It's yeah, let's take the pressure off. It's like when you try and go, like previously when I was dating. It's like when you like a specifically like going to the date being like, I want this to be my partner, we're going to get married.

  And they're going to the date being like, I want this to be my partner too. It just feels like there's all this pressure and stress. And it's awful. Like. All the time you're thinking about like, is this my partner? Is this answer to this question? Right. Like, do I, do they want kids? Do they, you know, like all of these, what are they doing?

  Like, why are they drinking so much water? Like, I don't know. Like, you know, like just, do you have a good relationship with your mother? Like, where do you see yourself in five years? Yeah, exactly. I always actually like a dating thing. I always tell my like single friends, I'm always saying don't go with expectations to.

  And it's the same with meeting anyone, don't go with expectations that it's going to lead to something in a business world, lead to sales in a dating world, lead to a relationship, go with open mind of, I might meet a new friend today. If they don't respond to your text message or your email straight away.

  Do you care if your friend doesn't do that straight away? Like, if you didn't open my Instagram message straight away, I wouldn't be like, well, me and Jill aren't going to work out. Like, I think I might rescind that podcast. Yeah. I'll be like, Oh yeah, she's busy. She's, she's doing her thing. I probably haven't even thought about it again.

  Like just go in with no expectations and then whatever comes out of it. And like, sure. You can have a think of like, okay, does this person align with me? Does it feel good? Does the energy feel good? Whatever. But like, you don't have to think of it as like an end goal. No, you're just being present in the moment.

  And that's what I do with my discovery calls. Like, I just want to get to know you as a person. I want to also know about your business and I want to know how I can help. And if I can help you, what I even try to do is really just leave the discovery call by helping in some way. And if I've done all that, then I'm really happy.

  Like I've gotten to know you, I've helped you in a way. And if you want to work further, amazing. If not, I know I've like filled my own bucket because I've helped someone. And you're like, cool. I got to speak to someone really cool today. It was really great. I got to help them with this. Amazing. Yeah. And then I'm moving on to the next thing.

  Yeah. So good. Thank you so much. I feel like we've gone, we're just chat, chat, chat. Could talk to you all day. Thank you so much. If people want to get some help with their marketing and their brand strategy, where is the best place to find you? Yes, definitely Instagram or TikTok at standoutcreatives on both.

  Perfect. We'll put those links in the show notes so that everyone can come and say hi and follow you on TikTok like me and for everyone else, I'll chat to you next week. Bye.

  We want to say thanks so much for joining us for another good chat. We would love if you would help us with our 2023 goal to get to 100 ratings and reviews, and then send this podcast on to someone who you think will love it just as much. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram like good chat media, and we'll chat with you next week. Bye. This podcast was produced by good chat media.