Produced By - Your Life Is The Content Strategy: If You Let It Be | 154: Jessica Turley

Starting point is 00:00:00 I think every single person can start just as they are. Like, everybody has their own unique story, their own unique journey. And even if you feel like you don't have enough experience, you still have more experience than the person who's two years behind you, maybe hoping to be in the space you're in or hoping to be in the job you're in. Or maybe they want to pursue the same thing that you want to pursue. And maybe you haven't achieved it yet, but you're going to share your journey as you're learning and going and how you're doing it.

Starting point is 00:00:27 Like there's always something you can talk about. and your unique perspective is always valued by somebody. I really disagree with the whole, oh, well, I need more experience before I can start posting there, or I haven't really worked in that role for a lot. I don't care. Like, you can definitely talk about it. And we bring it back to being authentic again, right?

Starting point is 00:00:44 Even if your first ever post is like, oh my gosh, I'm posting on LinkedIn. Scary. I'm going to be starting this journey. There are so many people that would relate to that first post. They would be like, oh, my gosh, wow, they did it. Like, I feel the same. I feel scared to post.

Starting point is 00:00:57 You can talk about being scared. Before we dive into today's episode, please hit that subscribe button. Your support helps us grow and inspire more people on their journeys. Thank you. Hello, Jess. Thank you for joining us today and welcome to the show. Thanks so much for having me, Thomas. I'm really looking forward to this.

Starting point is 00:01:18 So, Jess, for those who don't know you, can you please introduce yourself? Yeah, so my name is Jess Turley. I run a social media agency and I help people with their personal branding. as well. I've been in the content world for so many years since I was about 18 years old. It all kicked off for me. I used to, so I'd just like go straight into my story and how we got going or I wouldn't mind, but let me then ask you because you mentioned I also read it on your LinkedIn. You started when you were 18. So why did you actually start in this specific area? So I was working in a job on a receptionist. I was a receptionist in a hotel and I, I was a receptionist in a hotel.

Starting point is 00:01:57 And I really wasn't for me. I really didn't want to do it. So I was trying to find other things that I wanted to do. I just knew I was creative. And at the time, I loved photography. So I was thinking about going into wedding photography. And I started training with a local wedding photographer. I built my own photography website in that time.

Starting point is 00:02:17 And I was reading about how to like bring in more like clients and get more bookings. And I read an article about how you should have a blog attached to your website to you know, for good SEO and all of this stuff. So I was like, okay, I'm going to build a blog. And at the time, a friend of mine was also doing wedding stationery. And I was telling her about this. And then we basically decided we were going to start a blog together. We'd never even really heard of the word blog before this.

Starting point is 00:02:42 Like, it was a new concept to us, but we were like learning as we were going. So we would meet up after work in the evenings and write blog posts together. We built a whole blog based around like weddings, colorful weddings, like DIY style. and what happened was the blog really took off and ended up being far more successful than the wedding photography and the wedding stationery. And we were both able to go full time on that blog. It was this amazing experience for us

Starting point is 00:03:11 because we had never really worked for ourselves before and we couldn't quite believe that you could sort of support yourself online. Like we're talking like years ago. It's for the context before a sub-second and all these platforms, right? Yeah, exactly. These days it's more common and more popular, but before?

Starting point is 00:03:30 Totally. It was before TikTok. Even like Instagram stories didn't exist. Like it was a while ago. So we were like sort of learning on the go, which was an incredible experience because it really gave me all of the skills I need to like own a business now. Like we were doing our own newsletter. We were doing our own marketing.

Starting point is 00:03:47 We handled all our own social media. We wrote all the content to the blog. We handled the advertising side of things. and eventually after having that for 10 years, I flew out to Mexico for a friend's wedding and I ended up getting stuck during COVID. I couldn't get back to the UK. But it was amazing because I worked remote anyway

Starting point is 00:04:07 so it really, you know, it wasn't a hardship to be stuck in Mexico. And we, me and my business partner, Emily, we basically were having like some big talks during that time. I then decided that I wanted to stay in Mexico longer and we came to the conclusion that we would sell the blog or at least try to. And we had a successful exit. We both walked away from that business and we were both really excited to have sold a business, you know, before turning 30. And then I was

Starting point is 00:04:34 kind of like, okay, what now? What should I do? You know, I was back in this situation of I was living abroad. I knew I wanted something where I could work remote at. And here was the downside. We built up that entire business and it's socials. And we didn't have our own socials. And we didn't have our own socials at the time. So when we sold the business, we sold all the socials along the side of it and then was left with like no online presence at all for ourselves. So this was a really big lesson for me to learn. And it's something why I'm so, why I'm so passionate about personal branding now and building

Starting point is 00:05:09 a personal brand is because I failed to do that before. So when I sold my business, I was then, yeah, left with no online presence at all starting from scratch. So I had to then start my own personal Instagram because I was just using the business one. set up LinkedIn and head on this journey. During that time, a friend of mine saw a wedding photographer advertising for somebody to handle their social media for them. And I was like, oh, that's perfect for me because I've worked in weddings. I grew all the socials for our own wedding business. And I ended up working for her freelance. And I was like, oh, I can do this. I'm going to start

Starting point is 00:05:43 building up more clients. And yeah, the rest was kind of history. I ended up building clients over that side of the world, which was obviously Mexico. I got clients over in the States as well at that time and was just freelancing through social media management. And then I lived in Mexico for four years, decided to move back to the UK. And I've been here a year now, kind of. Technically, because I could fall over the place, really.

Starting point is 00:06:12 I was waiting for a plot twist that you are planning to move back to Mexico again. Maybe. Who knows? Definitely on the card at some point. I'm actually going to visit my sister in Australia this Friday. And she works for me now too. She's the agency. So it's a work, it's a work trip, but also a nice personal trip. And I love that.

Starting point is 00:06:33 I love the freedom. No, it sounds exciting. And before this recording, I was doing a bit of research and I actually read about the bespoke bride, more about how you built it, what you did before. And I was really impressed. And now listening to this, it sounds like coincidences, you know, that you started the blog, then it took off,

Starting point is 00:06:53 then the business, then COVID and everything. And so that's what I find interesting or cool, because you never know what's the whole story and where it takes you in the end. And now you are building on a thing. And to be like so honest with you, I kind of felt like it had always been a dream of mine to live in Mexico. Like I used to visit Mexico every year with my family from like the age of 12 years old. So I really built up like a connection with that country.

Starting point is 00:07:15 But I never had the never had the. never had the balls really to move myself. I was, I can't do it. It's a huge deal. And I felt like the universe kind of pushed me into it, you know? Like I got stuck. And then I was like, okay. I'll stay for a few months then until I can get my flights back.

Starting point is 00:07:33 And then by the time the flight paths were back open, I just was like, actually, I really like the lifestyle here. So I'm going to stay. Yeah. Imagine if you are stuck in some, I don't know, destination, that is not as your favorite or says glamorous but Mexico beautiful. I don't know whether or beach is food and everything sounds nice. And I think it's obviously been a while,

Starting point is 00:07:57 but do you know what were maybe like factors or reasons that helped you to succeed with when starting the block that it was just side project but it was successful? So was it, I don't know, unique because the way you wrote it or? I think it was a mix of things. first of all, I think it was timing. Like, blogs were not that big when we very first started. Like, they were just kind of up and coming. And there weren't that many wedding blogs.

Starting point is 00:08:25 Like, when we first started it, I will say there was maybe like five or six in the UK. And that grew to hundreds by the time we sold. So first of all, that was something. Second of all, all of the weddings that you saw online were very pastel bays. You're very traditional weddings for the most part. there was only a couple of blogs showing like different out there weddings and we were one of those. We really loved like weddings full of personality, full of color, full of, you know, bride's handmaking details to make it personal to themselves. And that was really like the niche that we

Starting point is 00:08:59 focused on, which again, I think gave us a good angle because it was so, it was so different, first of all. And we also put a lot of our own personalities in there. Like we would share our own personal stories on the blog, which ties back into why personal branding is so successful now. You know, we all want to relate to people's stories and feel like we know them more, build that connection with them. We did that from the start with the wedding blog too. We would share a lot of personal stuff going on. My business partner got married during that time and we shared that whole journey, her whole process. Whenever we traveled, we would share that on the blog too and on the social media. So I think that really helped us because, yeah, people felt like

Starting point is 00:09:40 they knew us because we were so open, vulnerable, and yeah, sharing our personal lives on the blog too. It's really interesting because I feel like it very much relates to personal branding on LinkedIn these days because people keep looking for secrets and you mentioned like many great points such as need to stand out, be human and personal, there is competition out there so we need to find some kind of unique edge. And you did it with different area of expertise years ago and see how. how important it is this day. It will play through. Yeah, like I'm really a firm believer in that.

Starting point is 00:10:15 Like the platforms will change, right? Like a few years ago, we didn't even have TikTok. LinkedIn is now definitely an up-and-coming platform again. And who knows in five years' time what the next platform will be. And back then it was blogging that was having a moment. But the core principles are always the same. You know, you need to find a way to, first of all, you need to be yourself and be authentic.

Starting point is 00:10:37 That's what people connect to. And people can see straight through you if you're fake. it or like that they, how you're, you know, copying somebody else. I think be human. That's important now more than ever

Starting point is 00:10:47 with so much AI content coming out. We want to feel that human connection. And yeah, regardless of which platform you're doing that on, that's always a winning strategy. Because the right people will find you that way. I agree. And I think it will be fun.

Starting point is 00:11:02 Maybe, who knows, five years in the future when maybe we find this podcast episode and we see how period shifted again. it's maybe new platform, new stuff, but I'm pretty sure that the principles are still going to apply. I think it will be too. If anything, it might even be more important in five years' time, because with the rise of, you know, technology and AI and how it's going, I just think we're going to crave more and more personal connection as time goes on.

Starting point is 00:11:27 That's not hoping anyway. Oh, yeah, it will be only robots everywhere who knows what's going to happen. Better not to predict. It will be more needed. And then just when you started building your brand, or actually when you decided to build your own brand, was LinkedIn actually your first choice as a platform? And if so, why LinkedIn? Yeah, technically yes. I was always sort of, I was posting on Instagram and TikTok, but far more personal stuff. Like never really anything related to business. It was just like my personal life. And then I basically ended up meeting a girl who I went to college with for a lot. We hadn't seen each other for like 10 years. And she was like, oh, it would be great to catch up.

Starting point is 00:12:12 She was doing really well in the business world. And I was like, I would love that. We went for a lunch. We sat down. And she was like, why are you not on LinkedIn right now? And I was like, this was probably about a year and half ago. And I was like, I mean, isn't Instagram and TikTok where it sat? And she was like, no, you need to get on LinkedIn like right now.

Starting point is 00:12:31 Start building your personal brand over there. And I was like, really? Okay, interesting. Okay, I'm going to start doing that. but I'm going to start sharing some like social media advice. I want to position myself in that space over on that platform. And I'll still share like personal things too because I do believe that's important. But I'll start off by posting like three times a week.

Starting point is 00:12:49 And thank God I had that lunch with her and she told me that because it genuinely has been so beneficial to me and the agency and the business and everything. It's not just for business, but even like the connections I've made on there. I've made some really great friends through LinkedIn, people who I genuinely love hanging out with just for fun. And that would have never happened if I didn't start posting on that platform, you know, it's incredible the conversations you can have and the people you can reach on there. I agree. And like people are literally from all around the world, all kinds of areas of expertise from everywhere. And the potential is huge. And especially you see how it's growing

Starting point is 00:13:26 with new people coming in and the potential. And still, the number of people who are there, who post-actively compared to other platforms, it still feels like untapped potential. It's, there's a huge potential there still. Like, I'm not sure on the exact stat now, but a year ago, it was only like one to two percent of people who were LinkedIn users posted. So that content gap is huge. I mean, you've got like 98% of people just watching. So that's why sometimes you'll open up LinkedIn and you'll see content from like four or five days ago because there's still a huge content gap. They need more content on there.

Starting point is 00:14:03 And there is, yeah, a huge potential for Grog's on. there right now still and I think over the next few years it's really going to boom as a platform. I think so too and it's always worth reminding because I feel like that maybe you share the same view as well but I feel like almost everyone thinks I wish I started earlier. So the perspective of how many people there are, how many people post shows you that I know it's cliche but it's never late to start. It's never too late to start. Yeah, there's no better time than right now basically and like the time's going to pass anyway right? So yeah yeah exactly and I think I think people have a real fear around starting.

Starting point is 00:14:40 I think there's so much pressure for that first post. You know, if you've never posted, like, I need to say something monumental here. And it's really not the case. Like, you learn so much by just doing. And just like, honestly, it's all data in the beginning. Like, just smash out three posts a week for like three months. No one's really going to see them in the beginning.

Starting point is 00:15:01 To be so honest, like my first post got like two likes or something like. And that's great. You want that because you're still finding your way and learning what works. And after a few months, you start to get the data then of like, oh, okay, that post performed really well. Why? Like, what hook did I use there? Or was I extra personal in that post?

Starting point is 00:15:20 Did I share a good story? Was I being really helpful? What are people saying in the comments? And that's when you can really start to build out a good strategy for your personal brand. But you can't do that without starting. Yeah, I completely agree. Remember that even starting and doing it. bad, it still step forward over the person who's overthinking and waiting for

Starting point is 00:15:40 perfect moment or perfect post or something. Absolutely. You're always going to be ahead than somebody that's not doing anything. And do you then just feel like that when you started, you had maybe a bit of advantage thanks to your previous experience or was it like entering new space? So what did you feel like, Ashley? I feel like maybe just in the terms of like having a journey within the content world that I could share. But I think, Every single person can start just as they are. You know, like everybody has their own unique story, their own unique journey. And even if you feel like you don't have enough experience, you're still, you still have

Starting point is 00:16:19 more experience than the person who's two years behind you who's maybe hoping to be in the space you're in or hoping to be in the job you're in. Or maybe they want to pursue the same thing that you want to pursue. And maybe you haven't achieved it yet, but you're going to share your journey as you're learning and going and how you're doing it. Like there's always something you can talk about. And your unique perspective is always valued by somebody, I think. I really disagree with the whole, you know, oh, well, I need more experience before I can start posting there.

Starting point is 00:16:48 Or I haven't really worked in that role for a lot. Don't care. Like, you can definitely talk about it, you know? Yeah, I think it's going to work much better if even you don't have experience, but you have some kind of unique angle. And just the reason for people to follow you, like your content and make a recognizable, compared to someone who's got lots of experience, but maybe the posts sound like someone else are over-polished

Starting point is 00:17:11 or maybe doesn't post at all. So don't overthink it and just... Don't overthink it. And we bring it back to being authentic again, right? Even if your first ever post is like, oh my gosh, I'm posting on LinkedIn. Scary. I'm going to be starting this journey.

Starting point is 00:17:27 Like there are so many people that would relate to that first post. You know, they would be like, oh, my gosh, wow, they did it. Like, I feel the same. I feel scared to post. you can talk about being scared to post as a post. You know, there's so much you can do. And it just comes down to sharing how you really feel. And yeah, like you said, your perspective, your unique angle,

Starting point is 00:17:46 that's what people want to read. Yeah, I agree. And did you just mentioned before that you started roughly a year and a half ago, if I remember correctly? Yeah, a year and a half, I'd say it was. Because I always like to remind just kind of time where a person started because I think people also look for shortcuts or the thing that it just takes a few weeks or, I don't know, months or something, but it actually takes time to build your brand. It really does. Yeah, you've got to play the long game here. But like we said earlier, the time's going to pass anyway. And I think, I don't think you need to be posting seven days a week. I know there are a lot of creators that do that. And I think fair play. Like, that is good going. It is hard. I personally post three times a week. I know some people would do four. I think it's all about four.

Starting point is 00:18:33 finding like a rhythm that works for you that you can maintain really long term because you do need to be in the game long term like there's no point going okay I'm going to start posting on LinkedIn I'm going to smash out seven posts a week and then after a month you're like no I can't do this anymore I'm bored it's not working it's so much better to do three a week for a year then again it's probably going to sound cheesy but quality over quantity was the point of putting posts seven times per week if just to feel fill the feet or I don't know why. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:19:06 Yeah, quality over quantity every single time. And I think also as we are discussing kind of the frequency and showing up, what's impressive to me that as we discussed before the recording, you travel or traveled a lot. So for me, it's actually great to see that you enjoy the life, make experiences, memories, and everything. At the same time, have time to post and put out the content. So, you know, don't compare yourself to others because you manage

Starting point is 00:19:32 of course, work, enjoying the life and posting on top of it. So it takes some time management, organization and everything. And you never know what's like other people doing on side of it. Totally. Yeah. My one tip with that is to just have like a calendar and be organized. Like I think having a good workflow with LinkedIn posts like specifically, I find it easier to sit down and getting the flow of writing

Starting point is 00:19:59 and maybe spend like a few hours doing like five or six. or seven posts in a row, rather than every single, you know, three times a week every morning going like, oh, no, I need to say, what am I going to say? And then you're just throwing stuff together and you're not in the zone. Do you know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:20:15 So I feel better when I've got things prepared in advance. And then, yeah, no matter where I am when I'm traveling, I used to actually post three times a week at 8 a.m. UK time. That was always my posting schedule. And that worked really well for me because I could just be, you know, having my coffee. doing LinkedIn before I sat down to start my day, my working day.

Starting point is 00:20:38 But then I went to Mexico again for a couple of months at the start of the year. And I was like, oh, no, I'm going to lose my 8 a.m. posting schedule because that's like 3 a.m. in the morning for Mexico, I need to change it. Oh, my God. Yeah. So while I moved to 12.m. UK time, which was like 7 a.m. Mexico. So I was fine. Oh, okay.

Starting point is 00:20:57 The time zones can be tricky sometimes, I must admit. That is true. But it's still impressive. that of course you keep on top of it. And it's also a great reminder that there is life outside of LinkedIn as well. And not to forget to make memories and enjoy your life. Enjoy your life because at the end of the day as well, that's more stories you can talk about. You know, like if I go and travel somewhere, I will always try and meet people while I'm there

Starting point is 00:21:22 who are in the space. Like I just said, I was just in Mexico. I ended up meeting a few people from LinkedIn whilst I was over there. And that was amazing because I'm traveling, but I'm still building connections. I'm still living my life. I'm having cool experiences. I'm building relationships with people. I'm building the business at the same time.

Starting point is 00:21:42 And I'm really a big believer in like your most creative, expansive work comes from when you're kind of in your downtime or when your brain is like a little bit more relaxed, you know? Like you don't get your great ideas when you're staring at a laptop screen and the plus lights. And it's like, come on, ideas. That's calm. It doesn't happen. Exactly. And I think it takes going for a walk or being in a new environment or something to unlock that level of creativity in your brain.

Starting point is 00:22:09 I remember being at a conference once. And there was a guy who was speaking there from Google. And he said that, no, was it Google or was it Disney? I'm not sure which company it was. It was either Google or Disney. But the whole point of his message was that they gave their team one day a week for a thinking day where they didn't have to do any work. They let them go and do whatever they wanted, whether it was go and work out or go for a walk or hang out with their friends. And it was like

Starting point is 00:22:37 their day to like come up with ideas, but being out and about. And it worked like incredibly for like their creativity. And that was such a huge takeaway for me. And I'm the same with my team. I think I read it in in a book somewhere as well or somewhere online. And I think it might be Google. There's like one, I don't know, one day regularly. or something to work on kind of side projects or passion projects and don't underestimate it because sometimes people might actually come up with some cool ideas that then might take off, which is really smart and good. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:23:08 And I have like a completely remote team who work with me at the agency now. And they are so incredible and so creative. Like I can't fault them. And like I don't care where in the world they are. I have no cares. I don't need to know as long as the work gets like delivered by the deadline that we need it for the clients, which it always does. to me it doesn't matter where they are.

Starting point is 00:23:29 And I really do believe that they deliver incredible work because they are often enjoying their lives at the same time. They're not glued to like an office Monday to Friday and just living for the weekends. Like for me, that's not life. I accomplish. I agree. And out of Christ, as we discussed this, did you have same or similar mindset before the COVID?

Starting point is 00:23:52 Because I know that obviously COVID was a big change where people moved from offices to work. from home or remotely. So did you have this mindset even before? Was it switch during the COVID? I did have it before, but that was just because I was like very, and I'm speaking from like a place of privilege too, right? Like not everybody has the chance to leave a job Monday to Friday that they're in. But we we built up the blog to be able to do that. And the moment we went full time on the blog, that was when my mindset really changed. So like, wow, oh my gosh, it's, I feel so much better not having these, you know, set hours needing to travel into work every single day. And of course,

Starting point is 00:24:30 COVID was the catalyst for a lot of people to realize that. And everybody's different, right? Like I've got some friends who hate working from home and they don't want to work remotely. They prefer to go into the office because they feel like they get more work done. And again, that's no problem. And the same with my team. Like if they prefer to be working in offices all the time or from coffee shops, that's totally fine too. I just think it's finding the rhythm that works for you, especially in the creative space, when your job requires you to churn out creative work, I think it's important to know what environment does that for you.

Starting point is 00:25:04 Yeah, I agree, and I share the same view that it might work for you, for someone else, something different might work. So as long as the person does the work is happy and does the best job, I think this was the most important. Yeah, exactly. And we want our team members and ourselves to be happy and living their lives too. Agreed. Quick one, before we get back to it.

Starting point is 00:25:26 If you like this kind of conversation, I've started sharing short videos on YouTube, where I break down what I've learned from more than 150 episodes. Content, podcasting, personal brand, no fluff, just what actually works. Just search Produced Buy on YouTube or don't. And keep figuring out the hard way. And just my favorite kind of question is that I'm sure that you get a lot of DMs like this and people ask. So have you got any advice, ideas, how to grow your brand on LinkedIn? I don't want to say the word viral because, you know, people want to ask about it, but how to build your brand, following, etc.

Starting point is 00:26:11 Totally. So first of all, we already touched on this, but like finding a consistent posting schedule really important and sticking to it. Because I'll find now that like you'll find that you'll find that you're growing. relationships with people on LinkedIn as the time goes on and they will look forward to your post or they'll know the time that you're supposed to be posting. So that's always very nice to like be consistent with that. Secondly, be organized with the things you want to say. I find it helpful to sort of have three content pillars that I kind of work from. That's for me, that's like social media strategy, like personal life and then like building connections with people. I will like

Starting point is 00:26:48 toggle between those depending on what I'm posting about. So find core pillars that you know you want to like speak about quite often that you can pull from each time. Spend a lot of time commenting on other people's posts too. It's so important. Without the AI.

Starting point is 00:27:04 Yeah, without AI on my God. The AI comments kill me. They kill me. Do you himself, you know? I think we spend so much time on our phones and we automatically like open up Instagram to start scrolling through. I actively tried to do that on LinkedIn instead. Just scroll through the feed a few times a day and and leave meaningful comments on people's post. Like if someone's post really

Starting point is 00:27:22 resonates with me, I'm going to leave a comment. Don't bother writing like great post with like a thumbs up. That's getting you nowhere. You know, like leave something meaningful. And I would also say your hook is really important. That first line of your post, it's the most important part of your whole post, to be honest, because that's people are scrolling through. You've got like a second to hook them in. So if you spend a lot of time writing your post, make sure you spend extra time on that very first sentence. And put a call to action at the end of your post. I have that at the end of every single one of mine. Like I say, hi, I'm Jess. I share social media advice and tips on how to grow your personal brand. If you want more advice,

Starting point is 00:28:08 hit that follow button. Because I think people do need a reminder to do that, you know, like we're sucked in, we're reading the pose and then we scroll onto the next one. But if someone sees that call to action at the end. I think that makes a huge difference to building up a following. That's actually, sorry to interrupt us, but it's a great point because sometimes I feel like with my content or sometimes when I was posting something that I was repeating myself. And I thought, okay, I say this again, people are going to be bored and they must know it already. But then I forget that there are so many people who see your content for the first time, then other people that don't read the whole thing, and people who simply forget.

Starting point is 00:28:46 So when I hear this, it always reminds me to change my thinking about this, which is very true. Yeah, and I think like when it comes to repetition, like we notice that so much more than anybody else, right? Like, we feel like, oh, I said that before. I'm repeating myself. But I genuinely couldn't tell you like three posts from a creator that I read two weeks ago. So nobody is going to feel like that about our own posts either. Like, it's just us. And you really do need the repetition to be known for something, you know? like if you want to be considered an expert in that space,

Starting point is 00:29:20 you need to constantly talk about that topic at least once or twice a week to become the go-to in that area. So it can be repetitive to ourselves, but it won't be for anybody else. And yeah, I recommend having the exact same hook at the end of every single one of your posts. Agreed. And sorry, I interrupted you if there was something else you wanted to share.

Starting point is 00:29:40 Was there anything more about building on LinkedIn? I find it helpful to at least For me, this is like the method that tends to work. Like, I'll always use a photo of myself or from my life because I think that's the most personal. I was actually about to mention it too because I see that in your content that you've got great photos, like from traveling or beautiful colors, which I guess makes sense. Since you've got the background in photography and traveling, it kind of mixes really well. I was going to say, you must have so many because it's, you know, high quality, interesting,

Starting point is 00:30:14 catches your attention, which to me just. looks really good and it's a great strategy. That's really kind of you. Thank you. Yes, I would say that like a good strategy for that for people is to capture, not create. So I think it's so much harder to be like, oh, I need to take photos for LinkedIn this week, go somewhere and take them. Like I can't be dealing with that. So like whenever I'm going anywhere, like if I'm out for the day, I will always try and get a picture.

Starting point is 00:30:42 And if I don't use it that week, whatever, I've got like a Google drive and I just upload It sounds so like self-absorbed narcissistic, but like I do. Like that's just the easiest way for me to do it. It's just have a bank of images of myself in places that I can just pull from and use in the post. But I just think it builds a personal connection with people straight away. You know, we've heard it for years, people buy from people. Like it's a face-to-face interaction.

Starting point is 00:31:08 That's the reason why we have profile pictures in the first place. We want to see the face behind who's talking. But having said that, like, it's not the only strategy. Like I know a lot of LinkedIn creators who will just post text-based posts with no image at all, and they still find success. So I wouldn't let it hold you back if you're the kind of person that's like, oh, I hate having my picture taken or I never take pictures. That's absolutely fine.

Starting point is 00:31:32 And it comes down to being authentic again. But what's authentic for you? Like for me, it's authentic to grab pictures while I'm out and about. Maybe that's not the same for everybody. I do think it's easier to grow a following if you are sharing your photos. and then I think it becomes easier to have success with just the text-based posts because people already know you by that point. But it's not impossible.

Starting point is 00:31:52 People do do it. So it's all about finding the rhythm that works for you. I agree and I like it. And I think it's especially smart as we discussed before AI. When in the future it's usually helpful to see the real person behind it and reminder that there is also life out there. Yeah, exactly. There's a life to be lived outside of the confusing.

Starting point is 00:32:12 Get out there. I've always really enjoyed traveling as well, but the truth is that I haven't done that as much recently or lately. But when I see pictures like this, it honestly reminds me to do it more as well because, you know, it's like I don't want to say hustle culture, but you're trying to do your best, keep posting, I don't know, improve this and that. But kind of forget to actually take a break and enjoy life. So when I see photos like this, for at least for me, it's a good reminder that go out there, make us experiences as well. Absolutely. Yeah, 100%. And I think I'm kind of the opposite in that like, I travel a lot and I'm really lucky to be able to do that. But I have this like toxic

Starting point is 00:32:54 hustle culture mindset of still doing it whilst I'm traveling. I am on all the time, which is good because it allows me to have the lifestyle that I lead. And I'm lucky to be able to travel and work at the same time. But I'm always quite mindful of that, especially on Instagram, because I think I do share a lot of images out and about. And it looks like, oh, my God, she's just traveling all the time. She's never working. But the reality is, like, we are glued to laptops most of the time. And late at night and we're just working whenever and wherever we can.

Starting point is 00:33:28 But I wouldn't have that any way in any other way, you know? Like, I love being in a new place and being like, okay, I'm going to go out and experience a new place for breakfast. I'm going to take my laptop and I'm going to work like four hours from there. I'm going to come back, work a few more, and then we'll go out in the evening and explore kind of thing. And I think that that's a privilege and I'm really lucky to be able to do that. But I equally think so many of us work remote and don't take advantage of that lifestyle, you know, and being out and about, even if that's just getting outside of your house and getting out into the world. You meet so many people. You have so many experiences that way.

Starting point is 00:34:06 And yeah, I'm a real advocate for that. Get out there. I'm glad you said that because I think that from social media it may seem like that, oh, she's got beautiful pictures from holidays or somewhere. So she's just injuring the life, you know, just lying on a beach or something like that. But you never see the whole picture until you don't know that that person is working hard in the background. And you just see, you know, part because no one is going to. It's boring and not glamorous for me to share me sitting at a laptop at midnight in bed in like a hotel room, you know.

Starting point is 00:34:36 But that is the reality a lot of the time too. It just doesn't work to share that on Instagram all of the time. On LinkedIn, I think that kind of post would be successful. Like, you know, midnight, laptop, hotel room. It's relatable. And a lot of people who travel for work would get that. But yeah, that's something I'm working on over on Instagram, to be honest. Trying to share more of the reality of the like work, travel, lifestyle, remote life.

Starting point is 00:35:04 Yes. And of course, for the people, make sure to check Jesse's Instagram. some great stuff there also. And as we are actually discussing this topic, just what we discussed Mexico before, but what are some other of your favorite destinations or places that you visited? Good question.

Starting point is 00:35:22 You know, I really, I love Italy and I love Spain. Those are like two of my other favorite countries, Grand Canaria. The thing about Mexico, Mexico will always have my heart, it's my number one country forever. And living there for four years, it brought me some incredible friendships and friendships of people who no longer live in Mexico. So I feel really blessed that I had friends there that then moved back home, which was across Europe.

Starting point is 00:35:47 So I've got friends in Gran Canaria or in Spain. I don't have any friends in Italy yet. I need to make some of there so I can go and stay over there. Anyone from Italy in the audience. That's a lovely thing because then I get to go and visit them. And a lot of them work remote too. so we'll often do like co-working while we're there. So those, yeah, I love being in Europe in the summer and exploring there.

Starting point is 00:36:12 And I'm going to visit my sister in Australia this Friday. That'll be my first time visiting Australia. I'm sure that's going to end up there in one of my favorites too, but mostly just because she's there. So, I mean, it's a different thing to travel across the Europe, but to Australia. Oh my God, it's like across the whole world. I know.

Starting point is 00:36:32 I'm dreading that flight, to be honest. this is the first time for me. We'll see how it goes. But there's Wi-Fi on the plate so you can carry with my laptop hustling on route. And are there then any destinations that are still on your list and you'd like to visit? Oh my gosh. Yeah, there's loads. I really want to see more of Japan. I went to Japan last year and that was really an incredible, unique experience. I was absolutely floored by that country. I feel like the culture there is incredible. How organized and clean. it is like it really blew my mind and I feel like I only just scratched the surface

Starting point is 00:37:09 of there. I really want to go to Singapore as well. Bali, I've never been to Bali. I know that that's like a hot spot for remote workers. Yeah, I was going to say that popular. I've never been. I would love to. And yeah, just generally more of Europe. Prague, we briefly

Starting point is 00:37:24 spoke about that beforehand. Finally. I would love to visit there. See that like famous clock that everybody talks about. Oh yeah, yeah, Arloy. Yeah, exactly. I think it's a huge world out there. And every time I travel anywhere, I always have, I always end up like meeting people in similar work spaces or who are doing things online that's really interesting.

Starting point is 00:37:48 And I will actively try to meet people from those countries because I really believe that your network is so valuable. Not just in business, but just in life. Like who you spend your time with is so important, not only to your mindset, but to, you know, your lifestyle, but I really, I don't want to say lucky because I think I've like intentionally built friendships this way, but I have like a lot of great people around me, whether they are in other countries or close by, but they're always, you know, close by in my phone, that build me up, you know, and like encourage me to dream bigger and no, no dream is ever too small.

Starting point is 00:38:25 And I love being around people like that who have like this expansive way of thinking. And, you know, I can say like, oh, you know, I really want to hit this target. and they're like, more, why not go for this target? And I love that, you know, and I really think that's important. And that's not always easy to find on your own doorstep, which is why the begin is great, because like we were saying, you can connect with people from all over the world on that platform. And people who think like you or who are building things even in their spare time,

Starting point is 00:38:52 it's just, it's amazing to be connected to so many cool people. I agree. It reminds me that there is this saying, I guess it's true that you are like, average of five people that you surround yourself with. And as you just said, it really makes a big difference that they influence you. And I can see it on myself as well if I'm in one location or the other one. And even if it's not like a physically, because I might be somewhere, so those people are not around me. But still, if I'm, for example, connected with them on LinkedIn and engage or see their content regularly, it really makes a difference. It's really helpful. It opens up your mind a lot.

Starting point is 00:39:29 if you're constantly surrounded by people who were saying like, oh, I don't know if that's a good idea or how many people have really done that. Like, I'm not sure if that'll be a success. That is inevitably going to keep you small, you know, or as if you're surrounded by people who say, like, go for it. Why not? What have you got to lose? Let's see.

Starting point is 00:39:44 Oh, I know somebody that can help with that. And, you know, everyone's got their own networks and know people as well who, why don't you have a chat with this person? And it's really incredible when you actively find people or take the time to engage with people who live a life that you want to live or maybe a few steps ahead of you, how much help you can receive and yeah, even just for your mindset, it's amazing. Yeah, totally agree. And just I'm curious, like, we discussed Mexico a lot.

Starting point is 00:40:12 So what is it that specifically you like about it or makes it favorite for you? I love the culture there. I think it's really beautiful. The people from me are like the top. I've never met such like warm, friendly, happy, you know, just. fun-loving people. Like, I think that us Brits are kind of famous for having like a good sense of humor. And I feel like Mexicans have such a good sense of humor. Like I spent so much time laughing there. They really also, or the country in general, kind of helps me to not, I don't

Starting point is 00:40:47 want to say slow down, but be present. Like they're very good at being disconnected from their devices. It's not a normal to be like, you know, I feel like in the UK, we sort of finish work around five, six o'clock, and then we sit in front of the TV. Because the weather's so bad, we don't go out that much. It's very expensive to go out nowadays. So we spend a lot of our times inside, especially during the winter when it gets dark at like half house three, four clock. Whereas Mexico is the total opposite, you know, everyone is out of their houses and everybody seems to have like this open door policy of like, yeah, come over today. Like, oh, do you want to pop around for like a drink or a tea or whatever it is? Like it's, it's,

Starting point is 00:41:27 It's very like fluid everything. And I love that like the moment people finish work is like, okay, should we go, you know, grab a frozen yogurt or let's head to the beach for a couple of hours or whatever it is. It's a more outdoorsy lifestyle, which I think is also really great for my mindset, at least, like it makes me feel more balanced with everything. Yeah, I love their culture and their traditions.

Starting point is 00:41:51 Their food, such good. I was going to mention it when it comes. It's delicious. I like it as well. Yeah, it's great. I'm like, God, there's so much. The beaches are obviously so beautiful. It's just a really, it's a really incredible country. And I think anybody who's lucky enough to visit should go.

Starting point is 00:42:09 Yeah, I love it. Lights me up. All valid points you sold it to us. Yeah. So everybody goes, look, I should start, I should start on the commission here and start. I'm basseller. And just to be aware of time, I want to ask you kind of lighter questions. So I guess we kind of discuss it, but what are some of your hobbies or the things that you like to do in your free time?

Starting point is 00:42:34 I love traveling. That's obviously one of my biggest ones, eating. I'm a Fuji. I love trying out like new restaurants. That's something I really... And a favorite cuisine, if it's Mexican or something? And I do top three? Yeah, first.

Starting point is 00:42:50 I'm going to say Mexican, Italian and Thai. Those would be my time. It sounds good, I think. Yeah. I also love like I'm a really creative at heart. Like I'm a creative person and I don't do this enough. I love to paint and I love to draw. And like when I was a kid, I used to spend all my time like drawing and sketching and painting. It was like my favorite thing to do. And I think there's definitely something in revisiting your hobbies that you had as a child as an adult. I think it really helps us and it's something that we need. And whenever I do get chance to like paint or sketch, my brain really does. switch off and I love it. It's something I want to do more. Anything with my hands I really like doing, like if there's a pottery class

Starting point is 00:43:34 or whatever's going, I'll always sign up for those sort of things. I find it great. I love playing paddle, like paddle tennis. Oh, I see. I think I've never played it, to be honest. It sounds interesting.

Starting point is 00:43:45 It's like a big up and coming thing. It started in Mexico, which is where I like love it, but now it's really big across Europe. It's so fun. It's like a cross between like tennis and squash, I guess. And yeah. That's great. Again, like it disconnects me because I can't be on my phone. I have to be like focusing on the ball and like hitting it. Like it's something that brings me into like the present. So obviously do that for me, eating in restaurants where I'm like really focusing on the taste of the food. That's what I really love because I am chronically online otherwise. I actually, I'm glad you said it because I feel the same that I try not to of course be online all the time.

Starting point is 00:44:27 sometimes it's part of the work because you are like checking, you know, the trends or doing on social media, but then actually doing, for example, exercise or going out with someone for dinner or something. It actually forces you to put that phone down and either do that exercise or be with that person, enjoy the meal. So it's very relatable for me. Totally. I know what it's like. I like.

Starting point is 00:44:49 Yeah. I love reading as well. That helps me a lot too. Like reading books will always be a good disconnection for me. See, that was my next question. if you have any recommendations. For books, oh my gosh, that's tricky, you know, because I read fantasy books.

Starting point is 00:45:05 Like, I really like fiction. I mean, I do read a lot of nonfiction too. Like, business-based books are great. My most recent one was What's Stopping You by Timothy Armil? I read that book recently and I thought that was fantastic. That's a good one. As for fantasy, I'm on like the final, I'm on the last book.

Starting point is 00:45:25 It's like an eight book series. called Throne of Glass and I'm on the last one now and that's been incredible. Very like Game of Thrones vibes. Oh, I see. It's a good one. Yes. I've never heard of it. I'll have a look.

Starting point is 00:45:37 Oh my gosh, you have to. Yeah, that I find really good. So I'll use fiction and like fantasy books like really disconnect. But then sometimes I'll have like a nonfiction book on the go to to keep my business brain active. Yeah, of course. And it's important to have some kind of hobby or exercise or something outside to switch off and enjoy Lafess. Absolutely. Can you then just please summarize where people can find you, follow you and promote any of your services?

Starting point is 00:46:05 Yeah, absolutely. So I'm Jessica Turley on LinkedIn and on Instagram my handles Jessica underscore Turley underscore. It's a bit of a mouthful, but that's what it is. And I'm in the middle of building a website for the agency. So that will be launching soon, but I'll be sharing that across socials and everything, which will have more of the information. But yeah, for the most part, socials. Of course. I will put any links to the show. notes. And then just have you got any like a plan or goals, whether it's in weeks, months or even longer that people can be excited about and you are willing to share? Good question. That is a great question. At the moment, I'm just looking at like building out the agency.

Starting point is 00:46:43 To be honest, I'm expanding the team, which is something I've been really excited to do for a long time. I've got on my list to launch a newsletter because believe it or not, I don't have one this whole time. So that's coming up soon. And then I would love to basically do something along the lines of like a course or more coaching or we'll see. We'll see what's coming up. But right now it's focusing on the agency. Yeah, of course. I would it be related to branding if you did some kind of course or something?

Starting point is 00:47:16 Yeah, it would be around personal branding for sure. Yeah. Sounds exciting. Stay tuned. And of course, curious to see how you manage everything. We already discussed it, that you do a lot of things. so glad that they are goals. It was like about a little thrill.

Starting point is 00:47:33 Excited to follow. And then just, last question, if there is anything that I should have asked you and did not or any final message or anything you would like to leave the audience with? My gosh. I would say my final message would be

Starting point is 00:47:47 live your life and then make content about it. Get out there, experience some things and then share your stories, learn as you go, share as you go and take people on the journey with you because that's authentic and that helps people get to know the real you. That's a very nice message and I think fits perfectly to what you

Starting point is 00:48:07 do. Again, I'll tell people to make sure to check your content because it's not only valuable because of what you share, but it also inspires as I said, to enjoy your life travel and make those memories. Totally. Oh, thank you so much for your time, Tom. It was so nice to speak to you. it was my pleasure Jess I want to say a big thank you I of course enjoyed it and it was great to meet you at least virtually like this but I like your positivity your mindset not only to of course live your life to the fullest but even it was really positive and nice chat had really fun so thank you appreciate it I'll wish you all the best to what you're doing and we'll be happy to catch up anytime in the future again 100% thank you very much thank you so much too

Starting point is 00:48:55 with the moment. Check the show notes for all the links and don't forget to subscribe, like and share your feedback. Speak soon.

Produced By - Your Life Is The Content Strategy: If You Let It Be | 154: Jessica Turley

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