“I take collaborations pretty seriously, which is why I asked you, like, do you have any prep you want me to do? You know, what kind of things can I be in for? And, I don't just treat it like another event in my day or another calendar invite, which I would say is like, my number one thing with collaborations. Like, approach them from a give, give mentality.” - Emily Aborn
Joe Casabona: My brothers and I were really excited to see the movie Catwoman starring Halle Berry. After all, we loved Batman, but the movie was bad, like real bad. Lost nearly $20,000,000 bad despite having a respected actress, a big budget, and a solid franchise. That's because no matter what, you need a good product. While you can tweet or post as much as you want, there are better ways to attract customers. That's why I'm excited to talk to copywriter, speaker, and absolute delight, Emily Aborn, today. She gives us 4 marketing tactics that don't rely on social media. And for members, we talk about why you need a strong personal brand. So let's dive into it.
Welcome to the Streamlined Solopreneur, a show for busy solopreneurs to help you improve your systems and processes so you can build a business while spending your time the way you want. I know you're busy, so let's get started.
Alright. I'm here with Emily Aborn. Emily, how are you today? Great. Thank you.
Emily Aborn: I'm great. Thanks for asking and starting with that question and also having me.
Joe Casabona: So stoked to have you on. We had a great preshow. We're gonna have an even better post-show for members, so stay tuned for or sign up for that. But let's let's dive in to the first question here. This is something that's been a constant struggle for me if longtime listeners will know.
I believe that you need something good, like a good product or service or content for it to do well, but that doesn't seem to be like, the whole, like, fields of dreams, if you build it, they will come, doesn't seem to work. Why do I need to market my work?
Emily Aborn: Well, the reason we need to market our work is because if you create something and then don't tell anybody about it, they're not gonna know where to find it. And I would say that that has always been the case. Like, if you think even to kinda, like, brick and mortar and the stores that it's it was location, location, location. Right? So now marketing kind of acts as our new location, location, location. Like, we have to position ourselves to be in front of people that want said product or service.
However, I wanna say, I'm super glad that you started there because I think that is a really important place to start with your marketing is having a really, really good product or service and also being the kind of person that, like, follows through with the delivery of that product or service. So, thetwo2 have to go hand in hand. And when I saw you have that in, like, our little prep notes, I was so excited because I was like, that is a 100% Like, that's where we all have to start internally before we start projecting what we offer outl into the world.
Joe Casabona: Oh, that's awesome. I'm really glad that you agree with that, because it's really, like so I'm I mostly help podcasters, and they're like, how do I grow my show? And I always say, like, the first thing you need is a good mission statement. Like, if you could spend a $1,000,000 on ads, but, like, if you're not reaching the , your core audience, you'll get a lot of first downloads, and then everybody will leave because it's not for them. So, like, you need to make sure that you have something that's for the people you're trying to reach. So, yeah, so thank you for that. Also, location, location, location. Spot on analogy. Right? Like, people wanted that spot in the mall, right, or, like, near Macy's or whatever because, like, they'd get a lot of foot traffic. Awesome.
Emily Aborn: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: So, okay. So with that, have a good product. You need to tell people about it. How would you define marketing? And I'll do, like, a couple of, like, is it something let's start here. Is it something that I need to pay for? Like, it does it is it marketing because I'm paying for it, or what's your general definition?
Emily Aborn: Okay. That's a great question, and I don't always think that it involves paying for something. So there are gonna be, of course, cases where that is different. I had a retail shop at one time, and a lot of my marketing was paying for, like, Facebook ads and paying for print advertising, and paying to sponsor things. So different I mean, there are, so marketing is a huge term.
However, I think that what we miss is that marketing is really a conversation. So it's twofold. First, it's really understanding where the person is who you're trying to speak to. Before Joe and I recorded this interview, I asked, like, who is the person that we're speaking to in this conversation? Because I wanna make sure that the information we're sharing applies directly to them. And then it's just sharing, like, what you've created, what you're really excited about what you have going on, but it has to be like a two way street. So it's like, okay. I'm really excited about this thing, but why does it matter to this person? You know?
So marketing is kind of I like to think of, like, content, marketing, all that stuff. It's a bridge. It's a bridge from what I have or how I can help to what that other person needs on the other side. And my, I guess that's, like, the broadest definition. And then you can think of all of the little pieces that fit in there. Right? There's digital marketing. There's in person marketing, print marketing, like I said. So, I mean, I'm not gonna go on because we all know the general concept of marketing, but that's how I like to define it. It's really. And then once you're really good at it, it's just talking about what you're excited about. Like, it's just talking about the things you've created because you're now speaking exactly to the person that wants that and is gonna get excited about it too.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. That that first step is so crucial. Right? Like, the if we're creating our little framework here, right, it's like have a good product or service, know who you're speaking to. Right? This is advice that's come up a couple times. I interviewed, Nikki Rauch,
Emily Aborn: Yeah. love her.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. She's great. Right? And then, Gia and Claire from, forget the, they wrote the book, forget the funnel. And they all say the same thing. Like, you need to talk to your target audience. You need to understand their problem. And finally, the bridge thing you said, like, my friend Chris Lema has this thing called the Bridge Framework, oh, he calls it. Right? Where it's like, he basically talks about how there's a river, and on the other side of the river, there's a record store, and there's a bunch of people who wanna get to the record store. And you're standing on the other side, and you're like, hey. You can't cross here, but I can show you where the bridge to get across is.
And so, like, that what you said really resonated with me because it's like it's a very concrete way of looking at it.
Emily Aborn: Yeah. I sometimes say, like, you wouldn't if I were to ask you, like, how do I get to your office? You wouldn't start by describing the inside of the office. Right? You'd start by you'd start by saying, well, where are you coming from? Like, where are you starting? And then I can help you get to where I am.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. So good. As a former Programmer and someone who has seen countless landing pages who are like, this was built with React. I'm like, no one cares.
Emily Aborn: Yeah.
Joe Casabona: No one.You are excited about how you built it. The only thing that your potential customers wanna know is, will this solve my problem?
So, okay. Not necessarily something we need to to pay for, but, like, I've been hearing a lot. Actually, especially a year or so ago, people are coming on my show and like, you need to be on Pinterest. You need to be on TikTok. And I've like, I've resisted TikTok for a long time because I'm an elder millennial, and it scares and confuses me. Right? But I've started putting videos on TikTok, and, like, they're fine. They get views. They get comments. I don't see the path from TikTok to, like, $2,000 a monthcoaching client, though. So, like, is making is, like, just the the virtue of making social media content, can we consider that marketing? Is it something else?
Emily Aborn: I do think that is a piece of our marketing. And to your point, like, I actually don't think that everybody should be on every single platform. I think you should find, it's important to find the ones that your ideal clients are on, for sure. And to be truthful, like, yours and my ideal clients are probably on TikTok. So then, like, the next piece of that equation is where do I actually like showing up, and where am I gonna be able to show up consistently? Because I don't think that showing up on all of the platforms inconsistently is really beneficial to your marketing at all. Like, I say pick, like, your top three favorite places to show up and do those with as much consistency as you possibly can.
When I say consistency, and I know we're gonna get into this a little bit later, but I don't mean frequency, so I don't mean you have to show up every single day on Instagram. I actually do tend to show up. I think if not everyday on Instagram, 5 days a week. But that's the frequency I've chosen for myself, and that feels really good.
I don't email people every day. I email people once a week. I don't do a podcast every day. I do a podcast once a week. So consistency looks different depending on, like, what you're choosing and where you are. But I would say, like, pick your top 3 where your ideal clients are there and you also, like, actually enjoy being there because there's so much to choose from, and it gets so overwhelming, like, actually kind of sickening sometimes when I think about all the places that we could be, or “should be” showing up.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Thank you for mentioning the consistency is not frequency thing. This is something I say all the time. Like, you know, my clients will say, like, well, don't I have to do a someone said I should do a daily podcast or 3 times a week, or do I need to be weekly? And I'm like, no. You just need to show up predictably so that your audience can form a habit around what you're doing is at least with podcasting. Right? With TikTok, it might just be like, it might be different. That that scares and confuses me. I nudged…
Emily Aborn: I’m scared and confused by it too. I'm also an elder millennial.
Joe Casabona: I nudged somebody accidentally, and I was like, is this, like, Facebook poking? Am I, like, gonna get in trouble? I was like, I'm sorry. I didn't know what that meant.
Emily Aborn: Oh, no.
Joe Casabona: They were very cool about it, though. I still don't really know what it, my Gen z brother-in-law was like, oh, this just means that, like, you're letting them know you're online. And I'm like, oh, okay. Okay.
Emily Aborn: But, why?But, why?
Joe Casabona: Why? Right.
Emily Aborn: That's funny.
Joe Casabona So that's fantastic. I'll just, I'll say, like, LinkedIn felt like that to me for a while, And then, like, they changed something, and now all I see is, like, I was teaching my daughter how to ride a bike. Here's what that taught me about multilevel marketing schemes. And I'm like, why don't you just hang out with your daughter instead of, like, trying to make it a lesson.
Emily Aborn: That's actually a really good example. And the way that I've noticed my own LinkedIn like, I went at the beginning of this year, I was like, I'm gonna go super heavy into LinkedIn, and I tried. And then I was like, I really hate this. Like, I'm actually just agitated by it. I'm agitated by reading the content on it. So I changed the way that I was using it entirely, and I now only take my podcast and turn like, I'm backtracking. So I'm going back to, like, I started at the beginning and I'm going forward. So I'm taking old episodes and just repurposing them into LinkedIn articles, and then I get tons of engagement.
And it's, like, more enjoyable for me. I don't have to show up regularly. I just do one whenever I'm, like, feeling like it, and it's changed the experience. So that's the other way to think about it. You don't always use every platform the same. You know, like, I'm not always gonna, I'm certainly not gonna write an article on Instagram. Right? Because people be like, boring. I want the flashy graphics.
So it's all, that's another thing that's important. Like, what kind of content, A, do I enjoy consuming? B, do I enjoy creating, and, C, is gonna resonate with people? So you really have to think, like and that's the weeds that I don't really want us to get into in this conversation because marketing is a lot more than social media.
But a lot of entrepreneurs I speak to, and I'm sure you've heard this too, podcasters, we get in our heads thinking digital marketing is, like, the only thing we have. Right? Like, so online, social media, that's all we got. And that's kind of the the message that keeps getting delivered over and over and over again, which I think then marketers just market to us, their services.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. I'm really glad you said that because, like, for a while, I joined Twitter on April Fools' Day 2007. It is not lost on me that I joined it on that day. But I remember, like, in the early, early days, like, pre Oprah talking about it days, me and, like, just random people with live tweet Yankee games, and it's, like, the most community I felt in, like, like, like, not being on a college campus. I used to be able to, like, tweet links to stuff, and it would get traction, and people would join my mailing list, or they would sign up or whatever. And it's just not, it's not like that anymore. And I think, like, part of the like, part of what solopreneurs and small business owners struggle with is, like, that felt like the easy button for a while, but it's not. So, like, I mean, should we really be don't we need social media to promote our work, or should we really be using social media to promote our work? It sounds like maybe there's a different way to leverage social media.
Emily Aborn: I don't wanna throw it out entirely. It is it is valuable. I think it's really good for showing brand presence and also, like, kind of keeping yourself current with what other people are doing in your industry as well. And not to compare, but I think it is important to be aware of what's going on in the world, in your selected industry. Right?
But I just don't like to see us putting all of our weight on it. And, like, to your point, when I when I had my retail shop in 2014, I could do a Facebook post saying I was having a sale, and it would actually work. Like, I didn't have to pay for an ad. It just could be a post, and it would work and get people into my shop.
Nowadays, I can't even tell you. I don't use it to try to, like, get one-to-one clients. It sometimes works for local events or workshops or, like, free offerings. Right?
Joe Casabona: Yeah.
Emily Aborn: But it doesn't tend to work for me getting one-to-one clients. I will say, though, that, like, having a brand presence on social media over time shows people, like, I'm still here. I'm still taking clients. I'm still in business. Like, that's what it's kind of about for me. It's, like, about having a little, as they call it, there, there. But it's gotten harder, and it's gotten noisier, and it's gotten more you have to do it this way, and you can't do it that way. So I think that's why we all are struggling a little bit more because it's been changed over time drastically. Like if you think back to Blogger or Blogspot, that was, like, the first thing I did.
Joe Casabona: Yeah.
Emily Aborn: It was so easy. I just write a little blog and, like, all these people are reading my little day in the life of a 16-year-old or whatever. Yeah. Now, that is, nobody is reading my blog in the same way. I guarantee that.
Joe Casabona: My, my blogger, Blogspot, I think I, like, I tried Zynga and LiveJournal too. It was all very sad, but I'll talk about that more in the pro show. The other thing I wanna mention in the pro show, right, which if you wanna get ad-free extended episodes early, you can sign up over at [streamlined.fm/join].
But you talk about good for showing brand presence on social media. I've had, like, a little bit of beef with, like, you need to pick one thing to talk about on social media. And in the pro show, we're going to talk about the importance of a strong personal brand. And so, again, I'm really excited for this conversation. So, if you wanna become a member, again, that's over at [streamline.fm/join].
But to drive your point home, Emily, it's I recently read an article, an interview with Sarah Koenig, the host of Serial, and she said it's really it's gotten really hard to promote Serial. Like, it's not the way it used to be. There's a lot of noise out there. And, you know, I would have said, well, Serial, going back to your consistency point, just kinda happens when it happens. Right? And so people don't know when to expect new episodes. But brands have said the same thing. Right? Like, they've had a hard time promoting shows on social media, and then they've had to cancel shows. And so you said things have changed, and I don't wanna belabor this point because I wanna get to the real, like, juicy, actionable advice.
But I think you're right. I can't. The only thing and let me know what you think about this is there's just, like, ads and algorithms are maybe the, they're like, prioritizing certain things and showing us what they want us to see instead of our natural timeline.
Emily Aborn: I also think people, I mean, I think we think that the algorithm is more controlled than it is, but the algorithm is learning what people's eyeballs are fixating on for longer periods of time and then just showing more of that.
So, that's particularly why I think it's hard for business owners because people don't want, I'm not looking at ads for long periods of time. Some of them get me. I will say this because they're really good at what they do. But I'm certainly not that level of, like, ad creation over here in my little entrepreneurial world, and that's the problem. Like, we're just trying to capture attention, and we're up against, like, some steep competition. You know? People that are creating, like, full videos to capture people's attention. So I think that the algorithm, “that we're up against” is actually just, like, what people are interested in. And sometimes that's not what we're interested in sharing with them. Right?
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Yeah. That's a really good point. Especially because, like, I guess it's kind of like promoting your business on social media, going back to, like, are you aligned with the right person? It's just kinda like running into the middle of Central Park and being like, hey. I can help you with podcasts. And people feel like, I'm just trying to walk my dog.
Emily Aborn: Like great. Show me a cat meme.
Joe Casabona: Right. And to your point, I will say that last week, my Facebook feed was, like, all recommended, like, recommended pages, which, like, kills me. I'm like, am I following did everybody block me and now I'm just seeing memes. But I will say I would, like, linger on it and read it, and then I'd be like, don't show me this anymore. And I'm like, I wonder which of these signals is stronger. The fact that I actually spent my time here or the fact that I'm telling it I don't wanna see it anymore.
Emily Aborn: Yep. And I did the same thing with my face. I'm like, stop showing me notifications of when this person posts, but I actually look at it when they post. So Facebook is like, hello. Who are you?
Joe Casabona: Yes. Yeah. We, your eyes say one thing, and your brain says something else.
So, with that, let's talk about kind of what are some better ways to market my work. And to recap what we've talked about so far, it's you want a good, you want a good offering, you wanna have conversations with people to know where they're at. So, assuming I have those two things, what's next?
Emily Aborn: I wanna start right out of the gate with one that I don't think that we put enough attention on, and that is collaboration, which you and I are doing right now.
So, podcast guesting and podcast hosting is an excellent example of collaboration. If you are a podcaster, being a guest on other people's podcast is like, one of the best things you can do because so, right now, Joe has given me a great gift. I am in this guesting seat, and he has said, here's access to other people's ears. And not just other people's ears, but I have put in time and hours and consistency with these people. And, like, now I'm inviting Emily in to come share that with me. And so your listener is like, oh, we trust Joe. He's never steered us wrong. Right? He always brings us great guests. So this is, like, a huge gift for me.
Now, in my seat, I will also want to give a huge gift back to you and to the people listening. Like, I don't want them to walk away and be like, that was terrible, and I did not learn anything. So, like, I take collaborations pretty seriously, which is why I asked you, like, do you have any prep you want me to do? You know, what kind of things can I be in for? And I don't just treat it like another event in my day or another calendar invite, which I would say is, like, my number one thing with collaborations. Like, approach them from a give give mentality where and I know that you and I have talked about this, but a lot of people just promote approach it from a take take. Like, okay. Here's what I wanna share with people so I can sell them this this this this this.
So collaboration is a fantastic way to start. Podcast collaborations are not the only opportunity, like, doing an event with somebody else. It something as simple as and I love doing this with my own social media. Shouting out like another business owner that you love or that you collaborated with in some little tiny way. Like, even your hairdresser is a great way to give to kinda, like, shine the light on somebody else and give back. Right? So collaborating with other people in whatever that looks like for you, and we can chat out more ways if you want, but I think that is, like, such a missed marketing opportunity, and people don't, they also don't approach it with the weight that I would just love to see them approach it with. You know? Like, it's a super important part of our marketing, and it's one of those pieces that I think kinda went away during the pandemic when everybody was, like, by themselves.
So, coming back together and, like, how can we how can we, like, work together to create something new, to create something exciting and big for people?
Joe Casabona: Yeah. This is I'm gonna say I love that. I love that. Because first of all, over the summer, it worked for me like gangbusters. Right? I did a few collaborations or, like, talked at virtual events, and I really brought it. And I usually add, like, 1 to 2 email addresses a day to my email list. And over that period, I added, like, 200 which was, like, all within a couple of weeks.
It was doing collaborations, working with people, and like you said, give, give. Like, be generous with your time and your knowledge, and that's gonna be way better than being, like, stingy or, like, oh, well, you know, you have to pay me for that part or whatever. Like, that doesn't that doesn't work anymore. That I can tell you. Right? If you're like, pay me for the secret sauce. There's enough not secret sauce on the Internet that you need to give people a reason to work with you or come into your audience in orbit.
Emily Aborn: And some other, like, little ideas for especially if speaking is is exciting to you, there's lots of local organizations like your Chamber of Commerce or SCORE or, like, we have a local entrepreneurship organization that's always looking for, like, speakers, and they want either free or very low-cost speakers because they're nonprofits. Right?
So I love being able to opt, like, step in in that way. And, actually, I don't expect clients or business from it, but a lot of times, it helps get me clients in business. So, I think that just, like, thinking outside the box and what collaboration ideas sound exciting for you, but, like, partnering up, I mean, you think about it. You're taking 1 plus 1 and you're just, like, increasing your impact a lot. You're creating something totally new and it's like a ripple effect.
Joe Casabona: Yes. Yes. So I wanna put a bow on everything you just said with this one example. I do a local podcast with my friends, Liam and Eric, where we interview people in Chester County, Pennsylvania. That's where I live. And and so, we interview nonprofits and business leaders about how we can improve business and improve the county and and do more for the community. And those episodes maybe get, like, 30 downloads per episode, which, someone just starting out, that sounds amazing. I'm comparing it to, like, my past work, and so it's lower than I'd like it to be.
But we host, like, quarterly in person networking events where 50 to 75 people sign up and show up. So, like, the don't underestimate local. Right? I work on the Internet. I can work with anybody anywhere. I don't know. There's something about being you know, there's like an there's an immediate bond or kinship with someone when you have, like, some sort of shared background. One of my biggest clients right now found me online, but is actually local to me, which is pretty wild. So, everything you said there, I, like, cosign 100%.
Emily Aborn: Okay.
Joe Casabona: So not that, I mean, not that you you need me to cosign. You know? You're
Emily Aborn: No. I do, actually. Actually do. So that's why I'm glad you did.
Joe Casabona: Okay. So, let's get into some actionable advice. When we first talked about this, which I wanna shout out PodMatch on this. Right? You talked about, collaborating and podcast guesting. I've been using PodMatch for the last 6 months, like, almost exclusively to find guests and go on podcasts, and it's been great. Like…
Emily Aborn: Okay. I cosign on that. I have started using PodMatch, and I love it. And I also yeah. It's very awesome, and it has a great community feature too.
Joe Casabona: Yes. Yes. And so, if you wanna do podcast guesting or find more guests like PodMatch, I'll have a link in the show notes. It'll be in the description for this episode. And then the episode number, which I don't think I've said yet, all the show notes will be over at [streamline.fm/437].
So, when we kinda hash this idea out on Podmatch in the chat, we talked about kind of 4 out of the box marketing ideas. Now I don't wanna put you in a box by limiting you to 4, but I I do wanna talk about we've talked about collaboration and shouting out and local stuff. But what are give us a few options that we can get into Like, how do we decide what to do first?
Emily Aborn: Okay. So we started with collaboration. I think the next one we spoke to a little bit, which is, like, having really good customer service. And I'll tell you why this has anything to do with your marketing, because people talk, and they talk about you. And if you, they had an a great experience with you, they're going to tell their friends.
So, I think that customer service is, like, one of those under like, one of those pieces of our marketing that tends to fly under the radar, and I don't think that we should be doing that. Like, we're, like, focusing all on this digital marketing and forgetting that, like, actually, the customers, we need to actually, like, deliver on the work and do a great job for them.
So, what I did with my customer service, I think it was last year ago last year, like, maybe at the beginning of last year. I sat down and I mapped out what it looks like when a customer actually comes to work with me from, like, beginning, from when they fill out that contact form at my on my website, or even before that. How do they get to my website? Right? Did someone tell them to go to my website, and what's that experience like?
So I kinda, like, mapped it out from beginning to end and making sure that it's, like, consistent from client to client and that I'm also tailoring it to, like, how their brain might be different. Right? Because, like, some people do really well with written explanations. Some people do really well with video explanations. So I kinda, like, thought all that through, even, like, gifting and thank you cards and, like, every little piece to make my customer experience exceptional. And it's one of the things I get, like, complimented on the most. Like, I'll give you a tiny little example. I like to say, like, how can you think of ways to hug your customers? That was a book I read, oh, I don't know, when I was, like, 15 years old, and it stuck with me. So I think Jack Mitchell is the author of that book. How can you think of little ways to hug your customers? And it really comes down to, like, listening to what they say and then, like, sending them some little spark from the conversation.
So one of my clients recently, she actually is in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Joe Casabona: Nice.
Emily Aborn: Yeah. And I asked her, like, what her animal was. Like, not spirit animal, just, like, what animal do you, like, feel like you associate yourself with? She said a manatee, and I was like, okay. That's funny. She said she drew this big mural on her wall when she was a kid that was a manatee and she's just, like, been obsessed with manatees. So I'm at the post office one day and I find a book of I'm buying stamps, and don't you know they had a book of manatee stamps? And I was, like, oh, I'm buying her a book of this manatee stamp. So I sent her, like, a little card with a book of manatee stamps, and she's, like, I don't know how you remembered that, but that was amazing. And it, like, really stuck out to her.
So I'm not saying you have to go, like, buy somebody a book of stamps. But thinking of ways to infuse your process with, like, those little pieces of customer service, that's what helps people to tell about your products and services and the experience they had, and, like, that is a huge piece of marketing.
Joe Casabona: Yeah. It's about surprising and delighting. Right? Like, When when I have a client who says something, like, off the cuff and personal to me, Not like to not like TMI, but, like, oh, yeah. No. I can't do it that night because my son has a football game or whatever. Right? Write that down because next time I talk to him, I'm gonna be like, hey. Did your son win the football game? And, like, that little, like, oh, man. I'm like an actual human being to you and not just like a bag of money is like, goes such a long way.
Emily Aborn: Yeah. I love focusing on our customer service, and I love those little human touches. Like, sending them a a dog treat that's specifically addressed to the name of their dog because you asked. Right?
Joe Casabona: Yeah. Yeah. Nice. I need to, I need to become more of an animal, I'm not an, this is the worst. Most people will tell tell you this is, like, the worst thing about me is that I don't like animals, but I need to remember that most I know, I know and I did research on you until I know you you have a pup.
Emily Aborn: And No hard feelings because, actually, I don't know if before I had a dog, I was as obsessed with dogs. And now every single one, every animal, and, like, touch me.
Joe Casabona: Alright. So collaboration, good customer service. What's next?
Emily Aborn: Okay. We talked about this one, but I think, it's I think it's a part of our marketing, and it is consistency. And I don't actually just mean you know what? I don't actually just mean consistency in, like, where you show up in your marketing and how.
I mean consistency in when you say you're gonna do something that you do it. So, for example, I'm sure you've had this experience with a podcast guest where they cancel once and then they cancel again, and, like, 3rd time, you finally get on the interview. Right? I get it. Life happens. But the when you're, like, thinking about planning everything out and putting all these appointments in your calendar, making sure that you're gonna be able to show up for what you've committed to, or if you join a group, like a networking group or an organization, making sure that you are being consistent in going to those after hours or those breakfasts or those luncheons.Like, what you say you're going to do, do.
I'll tell you what. I used to have a community, like a membership community, and I knew I could tell you if I looked at a list of attendees, I could be like, oh, these 5 people are not gonna show up. Like, I could tell you the names of the people who constantly would not show up, but would sign up for everything. So consistency is about, like, not of like I said, life happens, but being the person where that's the exception, not the rule. Right? So that a little bit looks like not taking on more than you can actually feasibly do too. Like, being really realistic with yourself. Like, okay. Maybe I can't do 10 Zoom calls in one day. Right? And feel good at the end of the day.
So I think that consistency and then you apply that to, like, your digital marketing, right, and your collaborations, and just, like, it needs to be the current of your business. And it really does, I think, like it's kinda like the motor of your marketing. Okay?
Joe Casabona: Yes. Yeah. And I don't wanna sound too much like an Italian stereotype here, but I grew up in New York. I'm Italian. My brothers and I would all say to each other, word is bond. Like, if we are gonna say something, then we better do it because that's your word's so important. So I love that.
Emily Aborn: And you know how they say, you know, consistency isn't showing up a 100% every day. It's if you're feeling 50%, it's showing up that a 100% of that 50%. I do agree with that. Like, we don't all have unicorn fantastic wonderful days. So but when you do show up, like, show up with the best you got no matter if that's 20% or if that is a 100%. I really do. And I also think being honest and upfront with people, like, if you're not showing up a 100% goes a long way because people give you a lot of grace. You know?
Joe Casabona: Yeah. For sure. I mean, just to, I wanna be cognizant of our time here. But, like, one of my coaching clients, like, we wanted to meet before this thing, and I was like, hey. I'm really sorry. I can't meet at this time because my wife is working and my kids are home. And he was like, dude, I'm a dad. I get it. Like, let's pick a time that works best for both of us. And so don't, like, don't feel like you need to hide stuff to room like, to look professional. Right? Like, that was a mistake I made in my youth. Being professional is being honest. Right?
Emily Aborn: Right.
Joe Casabona: So, awesome. Okay. And number 4. I'm seeing, I'm sensing a theme here that I'll state explicitly after you say the 4th one to make sure it's right.
Emily Aborn: Yeah. It you're right. It also starts with a C. But I think we're gonna keep this one as a little bit of a teaser because I wanna talk about cohesion and how your branding and, like, just creating a really cohesive look and feel for your whole business is super important to your marketing. It is very confusing when somebody is all over the map, and it honestly is shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to your marketing because people don't know which way is up,nor do you know which way is up. You're promoting something new every week and talking about something different every week.
So, cohesion is something I really, really find important, and it doesn't come overnight. So, sometimes you do have to throw spaghetti at the wall, kind of feel out where you're going with your business or with your podcast, and then start building that, like, cohesive aligned message over time.
Joe Casabona: Yes. And as somebody who has suffered from throwing spaghetti at the wall and not just when he's cooking dinner, I don't know if this is, that a thing that you know what to do? Like, you know, the spaghetti is ready if you throw it at the wall and it sticks?
Emily Aborn: I used to do it on the ceiling. But, yes.
Joe Casabona: Yes. So, I think the difference between constantly promoting something every week and, like, doing stuff to see what works is I know people who will make a grand announcement every time. Hey. I'm switching lanes. I'm planning to do this. And then the next blog post they write, they're planning to do something else. And I'm like, what happened to the thing you were doing? Right?
Emily Aborn: I am so with you. I like to just do a thing and then be like, oh, look. I did this thing. Here you go. But, yes, I'm a big, like, experiment behind the scenes a little bit, if you can. And then when you're ready to bring it all together with cohesion, you can throw it out into the world. Not perfection. Not to be confused with perfection.
Joe Casabona: Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. We never see, like, the first version of a medication. Right? We see, like, the one that's working. Right? Imagine. Right? Okay. Awesome.
As we wrap up our time here, in the main show, at least, how do we, how do I decide what to do? First of all, the theme that I sense is that all of these things are within your control. They don't require a huge budget or, like, a social media strategy or anything Like, these are things that you can just do to give yourself a better business that people are going to want to refer other people to, it sounds like.
Emily Aborn: Yeah. And I think they all start from within a little bit. Right? So, I would say I know you're gonna ask, like, what the first step is.
I think the first step is going, looking at who your ideal client is or ideal customer, and looking at what you offer and making sure that is what they actually want. I think that's, like, first step. But then, I think, look at these different these 4, collaboration. We talked about collaboration, customer service, cohesion, and consistency. And look at those. Yeah. And decide which one in your business you kind of, like, wanna focus on first. Like, which one just excites you? Because you know what? Anything that excites you is gonna help you to get a little bit of steam for the the ones that are not so exciting. Right? So sit down and ask yourself, like, which one excites you most? If it's collaboration, who can I start, like, reaching out to to collaborate? Can I maybe join PodMatch and just see what it's all about? Or do I need to talk to Joe and ask him who would make good podcasts for me to collaborate with? So look at those, see which one sounds most exciting, and then just take, like, one little step in the right direction.
Joe Casabona: This has been amazing, Emily. Emily Aborn. This has been amazing. In the pro show, we're going to have what I am confident is an equally as amazing, if not more amazing conversation. I don't wanna say more amazing. I don't want to make, like, the nonmembers feel left out. This is a very complete show. I'm just really excited to keep talking to you.
If people want to learn more about you, where can they find you?
Emily Aborn: Well, since they're already listening to a podcast, I think it's an easy jump over to my podcast, which is Content with Character. And I think our 2 podcasts go hand in hand very nicely, so that's what I would invite them to do.
Joe Casabona: Excellent. I will, well, you should find it wherever you're listening to this right now. I will link it in the show notes, in the description, wherever you're consuming this content, as well as everything we talked about and a link to become a member. You can find all of that over at [streamlined.fm/437].
Emily, thanks so much for joining us today.
Emily Aborn: Thanks, thanks for having me, and thank you for listening.
Joe Casabona: Yes. And thanks to our sponsors. Everyone has been thanked now,
So, I'm gonna sign off. Thanks so much, and until next time, I'll see you out there.