Effortless content creation for new coaches
I knew I needed to find an easier process to get it done. I did some research, talked to some colleagues, got some coaching and realized that I was making it harder than it needed to be.
- Ericka Thomas
Transcript
Effortless Content creation for new coaches
Weekly newsletters, social media posts, blogs, podcasts, Youtube videos… None of it is rocket science. If you can get your kids to school with both shoes on, the pets fed, dinner on the table and brush your own teeth, you can totally do this. And if you’re in business for yourself, you should. Because you don’t have to know how the tech works in order to use it efficiently and I’m going to show you today how to set up a simple system to produce your unique branded content, every week, in 4 hours or less even if you’ve never done it before and are starting from scratch.
By the end of this episode you’ll know how to create a consistent content stream that saves time, has the flexibility to grow with your brand, gives you effortless social media content at your fingertips week after week for a consistent online presence and authentic organic marketing that keeps you front and center for your audience.
One of the toughest things for women wellness entrepreneurs when they get started is to develop their “authentic voice” There’s a lot of fear of being seen in this space #1 the obligatory imposter syndrome and then there’s always the new coach question “what do I post about?” And inevitably “Do I have to be on social media?”
So let’s speak to that. First you don’t have to. This isn’t about followers. In fact # of followers on SM doesn’t = $ conversion to customers or clients. But let’s face it. We live in an online business world even if our business isn’t online. Do you not google new businesses or people you see on IG? Of course you do. It’s a way to vet businesses and the fitness industry is very much founded in what you know, like and trust about your coach/instructor. People are looking for authority in the field beyond looking good in yoga pants. So having some content out there that reflects who you are and what you can offer is a good thing.That’s why it's important to create content. There’s a lot of ways to do it though like a podcast or a blog or Youtube channel or a book.and if you don’t want to do one of those regularly you could do it as a guest.
I’ll be honest, I resisted regular content creation for a long time in my online business.I didn't want to blog or podcast. I’m not sure why looking back. It seemed too hard, complicated, time consuming etc. Maybe because for fun, back in 2000 teens I started a blog called the Savvy Bluebell and it was kind of a crafting blog. It was a little of everything that I like to do in my free time but mostly cake decorating and sugar work. I deleted it because it was more work on the website than actually doing the fun cake stuff. Word press is not really beginner friendly iit was making me crazy.
Fast forward a few years and I have taken my fitness business online and was getting the coaching and encouragement to build an email list and start creating content somewhere. What does that entail?
The first thing you need in an online business is an email list. An audience. How do you get one of those? You have to build it of course. That process is it’s own podcast or 6 . I want to skip ahead and assume you already have an email list of some kind even if it’s small because this is where people get stuck with what to do with your list .
The people on the email list are your audience. You need to nurture them. Talk to them regularly so they don’t forget about you.
This is the dreaded weekly newsletter. What, you mean I have to write a newsletter EVERY flippin week! What am I going to talk about every single week? Nobody wants to hear what I have to say every week!
I’m not gonna lie, this was a struggle. I had some mindset issues about joining the spam society. But what my coaches helped me see was that Just like in a group fit class, there might be someone out there who needs to hear what you’re saying. I would never censor myself in front of a yoga or spin class so why do it with my list? Plus there’s a formula that you can use that makes it not feel “salesy” And that’s 3:1 Give, give, give, and then ask.
But it was still very difficult writing those weekly letters. It took way too much time. I knew I needed to find an easier process to get it done. I did some research, talked to some colleagues, got some coaching and realized that I was making it harder than it needed to be.
I thought you had to create original content everytime I posted an image, everytime I sent an email. Because I was working so hard I absolutely refused to even entertain the idea of a blog or podcast for about a year. It took me a long time to realize that other people weren’t doing that and I could stop reinventing the wheel.I needed to work smarter not harder.
I needed to give myself something to talk about. I needed to tap into my signature content. My coaches inside The Luminaries program call this the content pillars. Basically it's 3-5 topics that are your things to teach or talk about. It took me some time to figure these out. One of them is fitness professional development. That’s where this is going.
Anyway, the key to effortlessness in content creation is exploding it. You create ONE thing and then blow it up. Share the juicy bits all over the place and direct people back to the ONE thing.
So for example, if you like to write, maybe a blog is a good way to start. It’s written content, pretty simple. Maybe you love to travel with your dog so you write the top 10 vacation spots for people with dogs.
You need to have a place to post your blog so you might want a simple website of some kind. But if you prefer you could get it published on someone else's website.
But with that one piece of content you could create 10 social posts- 1 per vacation spot with simple copy paste. You can highlight one vacation spot in your weekly emails for 10 weeks and link back to that post. Again copy + paste.
Now there is usually a bit of editing with blog posts. The more you do it the faster you get. And it can get even easier if you want to let AI help you. I recommend using AI sparingly because this content is supposed to be YOUR voice. You want to know it like the back of your hand.
I didn’t want to do any of this originally because I had a bad experience with my first blog.So I went with a podcast because I didn’t feel like I was a strong writer but what I quickly learned is you still need the written word if you’re going to take advantage of SEO. So now I write out my solo podcasts first and then use that as an outline for my recording. Sometimes I stick right to it and sometimes I don’t. When I first started I did a lot of audio editing. Now I do almost none. Mostly just cleaning up the background noise. (there’s a lot of motorcycles around here) And I’m thinking about taking even more fluff out (like the intro music) because most people fast forward all that stuff. I do anyway.
Podcasts are nice because you can have guests too. And then just have AI do the transcript for SEO and pull quotes or juicy bits out from there.
So I write the podcast or the outline, record it in audacity (you can use garage band). Download it to my computer. Upload to Buzzsprout. Hit publish. Copy and paste the transcript/outline into Buzzsprout for SEO and also into my show notes page on my website.
Then I pull quotes from the transcript and use them as posts or in posts for all my social media for the week, always directing back to the website.
I have several podcast post templates that I reuse each week and just change my brand colors.
When I write my weekly newsletter to my list I always include links to the podcast. Sometimes the episode is the topic of the email, but not always. One of my main content pillars is my yoga life on Main Street, so I write a lot about the strange things that happen around here just for fun.
But that process of taking one piece of content and splattering it all over using bits and pieces of it over and over has really simplified my work process.
Something that used to take days is now compressed down to 4 hours or less per week. Now I could spend longer on cleaning up and editing the written transcript but for me perfection never comes and done is far better than perfect anyway. Plus I am talking to real people. This is a conversation exactly like I would be having with you in the room.
If any of what I shared today sounds overwhelming to you, I want you to pause a moment. You don’t have to struggle to figure this stuff out the way I did. I had coaches and it still took time for me to figure out the process that worked best for me. You are going to find your process eventually too.
Because you already have what it takes to succeed. If you’re bootstrapping your business and doing it alone is feeling a little paralyzing. I’d love to help. I created Bespoke C3 to be a customized virtual head start for the newest coach on the block. YOU. I want you to be around for a while. Your dreams deserve direction without distraction, purpose without procrastination and encouragement without the BS. Bespoke C3 takes you step by step from kitchen table checklist to tech savvy CEO in one year. That can be you. Go to Savagegracecoaching.com/clarity to get some.
Hey there!
I’m your host Ericka Thomas. I'm a resilience coach and fit-preneur offering an authentic, actionable realistic approach to personal and professional balance for coaches in any format.
Savage Grace Coaching is all about bringing resilience and burnout recovery. Especially for overwhelmed entrepreneurs, creators and coaches in the fitness industry.
Schedule a free consultation call to see if my brand of actionable accountability is right for you and your business.