She's On The Money - Marketing 101 (Part 1)

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

How many of you are relying solely on social media for your marketing? Maybe you’ve thrown some cash at ads, hoping they’d work miracles? Well, in today's Business Bible episode I’m here to drop a bomb... social media alone is not a marketing strategy. But don’t stress, because, as always, we’re here to give you the real scoop on what it takes to build a successful marketing plan that actually works. We’ll cover the essentials, from defining your brand identity to understanding the power of your owned media, so you can get off that content wheel and start seeing results. SIGN UP FOR THE INVESTING MASTER CLASS! Use the code PODCAST for a cheeky discount. Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

hello and welcome back to the business bible your go-to guide for building a business that thrives I want to kick off things by asking, how many of you are relying solely on social media for your marketing? Maybe you've thrown some cash at ads hoping to see a miracle. Well, I am here to drop a bomb. Social media alone is not marketing strategy. I know, right? I am Victoria Devine, an ex-financial advisor who has a background in psychology and I currently run, this is weird, but several successful businesses. As always, I am joined by my beautiful friend and one of the hardest working side hustlers I know, Miss Jessica Ricci. Hello. I'm so excited about today's episode because it's easy to get stuck on just like the content treadmill where you're

pumping things out and you're putting out posts, but you don't necessarily have a real plan. So I'm excited to talk about how marketing isn't just posting on Instagram and hoping for the best. It's about having that solid strategy behind you. And I'm excited to hear how you think it works, Phoebe. I'm really excited about this. But before we jump into any marketing activities, it's really important to get your brand strategy and messaging in place. My friend Phoebe, who grew the blow and now has grown the memo, she really talks a lot about brand DNA. And I think it is so important. But this means that you're really defining your brand identity. You're going to nail down your unique selling proposition and you're going to craft what your core messaging

is that is true to you, right? These elements are going to guide all of your marketing efforts and really help connect you with your audience in a meaningful way. Gone are the days where you could just stick up a for sale sign and it's not how it works anymore, guys. So firstly, your brand identity is actually the backbone of absolutely everything you do in marketing. Your brand is so much more than just a logo or a really catchy tagline. It's the complete experience that you offer to your consumer. It's how your business looks and feels and sounds and makes people feel, right? A strong brand is going to help you stand out in a very crowded market. It's going to build some good trust and it's going to create an emotional connection with your audience. It's

what makes people choose you over your competition. So before you dive into any marketing tactics, Jess, let's take some time to define your brand. Let's use Cheese on the Money as like a little user case because I mean, you're on our podcast now, but what are your values? So your values are the things that are core to you and your individual being, right? But your mission is what you are trying to achieve. So like at She's On The Money, we really value trust. We really value authenticity. We really value transparency. But what's our mission, Jess? It's to create financial literacy. So like our values aren't financial literacy. Our values are, you know, sharing and empowering and all of those things that help other people but our mission is what

we're trying to achieve in the long term but our values is kind of what carries that mission like you could have a mission but if you've got terrible values like you're going to go in the wrong direction right you also really need to identify your ideal audience so it's not spicy but I don't think people like hearing that you can't be everything to everybody like you're going to want to resonate with your ideal consumer instead of just being like oh we're great for everybody oh Jess do you like it oh great you know Emma do you like it oh Shane down the road he loves it like you're not going to be everything to everybody and when you do you actually dilute your value like you're not a carton of milk where everyone just buys it because it's a staple like

more often than not if you've got a business you have a unique selling proposition and you really need to know your market to go I'm actually for Jess and if Shane doesn't like me that's okay because I want to attract more Jesses because Jess is going to be obsessed yeah like Jess is going to be so connected she's going to be so engaged instead of hey Jess what brand of milk do you buy at the shops yeah like you haven't got that connection it's just what you've always bought like the cheapest one yeah right like we're not going for a unique experience we're not going for engagement with something like that but when it comes to our ideal audience we really need to understand that. We need to understand how we want people to feel when they interact with

your business. Do you want them to feel empowered? Do you want them to feel luxed? Have you got a clear brand identity that's going to guide all of your marketing efforts? So from the tone of your social media posts to the design of your website, something that's really important is to have that be cohesive. And that's something that over the last few years I've tried so hard to do that hopefully now, Jess, when you see our bright pink and you see our orange, you kind of go oh that feels like a she's on the money post emma our producer the other week wore a really cute jumper in and we were like oh that's so she's on the money coded because it was those colors and that's what we want people to see we want people to see our color or our fonts or our tone and go

that feels very she's on the money yeah i want you to see that in our newsletter i want you to see that when you visit our website i want that on our social media so that if you're scrolling you're doing the doom scroll and something that is ours passes you you knew it was ours without reading our name when we first started I had literally no budget and I created our first logo on Microsoft PowerPoint and screenshot it and I didn't know anything about the power of brand I just started and I think that that's something that we all do but this for me has been a learning along the journey and I'm not expecting you to have started with a perfect brand or started with this idea of, okay, cohesiveness. I mean, it would have been nice if at the start I

had those tidbits because I feel like everything would have felt a little bit more cohesive and gelled. I feel like it was a bit of a dog's breakfast. If I scroll really far back on my Instagram, I was like, that quote's cute. Were all the fonts matching Jess? Absolutely not. Like it was just what I thought was cute in the moment. But now I know more. It's really about that customer experience. Totally. I think it's an interesting point as well that you can totally market something that isn't perfect to make it sell like if your brand is not you know fully optimized if it's in its startup phase the way that she's on the money was when it very first began you still marketed the brand well which is what largely I would say lead to its success like

you don't have to have something perfect for marketing to be successful that's the whole point of marketing is it not yeah and I feel like now I look at it in retrospect we did a really good job it didn't feel like that at the time because I felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants. But I think the reason that it worked and I think the reason that it did well, Jess, was because we actually always had the consumer at heart. It wasn't me doing stuff because I looked good. It was me going, oh, they're going to love this or they're going to want this tip on super or they're going to want to know about this about tax or, you know, Jess is really going to think that this money wins cute. And I think having that idea, even though I didn't know that

that's what I was doing at the time of this is my ideal customer and I kind of don't care about the fluff if you don't resonate with she's on the money that's cool there's actually other places on the internet that you can visit to resonate with money in a way that makes sense for you but this is for me this is for my community I think operating in that way has built she's on the money into what it is and like I'm proud of that but I would be lying if I said that was intentional all right so you've nailed down your branding and everything what just falls into place yeah magically it's actually magic what you need to remember here is that you don't want to forget your secret sauce. So that's also known in marketing as your unique selling proposition,

which I touched on just before. This is what's going to set your business apart from its competition. It's that really special element that makes your product or your unique service more valuable or more appealing to your target audience. Whether it's superior customer service or a unique product feature or just a distinct approach to solving a problem, your USP is what's going to convince customers to pick you over someone else. And you know what, Jess? Sometimes your product isn't different. Sometimes you are your unique selling proposition. So to nail down your USP, you need to think about what makes your offering different and how it specifically addresses your particular customer's needs better than the competition. It's not just about what you

do, but why you do it and why you are standing out and what that means. So once you've identified what your USP is, you need to make sure that it's woven into all your messaging. That is your brand's superpower, Jess. And it's what should be front and center of basically everything that you communicate. So you know how I always use candle businesses? I don't know why I just default to it, but take two candle businesses, for example. They might both be selling candles. Great. But their USPs can set them worlds apart. So brand one, it might be really around sustainability with USP like our candles are made with 100% sustainable ingredients, including natural soy wax. Maybe they've got like lead-free wicks and some recyclable packaging. They might say something

like we are really committed to leaving a lighter footprint on the planet so you can enjoy your favorite scent guilt-free, Jess. But meanwhile, brand two might be zeroing in on personalization. So instead of that sustainability focus, they offer a really customizable candle experience where you can choose your own scent and you could like add some personal touches like initials or messages and this is what's going to make them perfect for personalized gifts so same product different appeal different reasons you might purchase that product and they both sound really cool for their own different reasons like I can see myself loving either of those brands for different things and they might be identical Jess like literally the second company that is like you

know we offer unique touches they actually could be like soy wax lead-free candles they could basically be in the same packaging but like you're purchasing for different reasons and their selling points are so different that you're not really thinking about that are you could you say they're being marketed differently oh wow there you go one's focusing on those eco-conscious buyers who care about sustainability while the other is looking for those who want the personal touch for their candles the same thing but as you said just positioned differently makes all the difference to me as a prospective buyer on why I might want to purchase one 100% and that's why I say like it could just be you. Like it could be like, oh, Jess made my candle. I've got one of Jess's candles on

my shelf. And every time I look at it, like I remember that I bought into a small business. It could be so many different things, but it is really important to remember marketing isn't all about you, as I keep saying, and your brand. It's actually about your customer. It's about understanding their needs, what their pain points are, what their desires are, and then positioning your brand as the solution to these things. So your messaging should speak directly to your audience, addressing what matters to them, not just what you want to say, which sometimes can be hard to do, Jess. This means really shifting your focus from here's what we offer to here, Jess, is how we can help you. I want you to be talking to the benefits to your audience rather

than just like features. So show empathy by acknowledging challenges. So for example, instead of being like, hey, Jess, we offer really fast shipping. You might go get your favorite products delivered to your door in no time so that you can enjoy them sooner. Like it's shifting the way that you articulate the exact same thing to make it more attractive. It's a really subtle shift, but it makes a very big difference in how your audience is going to connect in with your brand. It's getting right click synonyms when I was writing an essay and I was like, oh, I've used the same word like five times in a sentence. Oh my gosh it literally is but like isn't that important because you just know that if you handed that essay in your teacher would have like circled

the word and be like Jess you've used the word exquisite five times. Yeah. And you'd be like yeah I know it's a good word. Yeah. But like people are bored of that. A little creativity goes a long way. Yeah. Also we want to make sure that our messaging isn't too messy. We want to make sure that it's really clear and straightforward. So we're going to avoid overly technical terms and jargon that might confuse or even, unfortunately, alienate some of your audience. So there's a saying in marketing, if you confuse, you lose, which I think is quite helpful. Catchy, gonna remember that. Catchy, yeah. But if your audience doesn't understand what you're saying, you're probably going to lose the sale, which makes sense. But too many times we get a little bit

too complex and then we're trying really hard to look intelligent or look attractive. And then all of a sudden we've lost the customer because they're like, wait, what's she on about? I can't be bothered with this except back to doom scrolling on TikTok. So let's go back to my favorite example, candle business. Instead of saying something like it's infused with complex olfactory compounds, Jess, which is kind of confusing and a little bit. Not very appealing. I mean, it's legitimate. Like that is factual. Instead, you might go, it smells just like fresh linen. You laugh, but like I love fresh linen and it's quite straightforward. It's really relatable and it immediately tells you what you're going to get. You don't want to sell the feature. You

actually want to sell the benefit. Another way that you can do this is by leveraging social proof, which is so important. So you're going to share testimonials. You're going to share case studies or real life examples of how your product or service has made a difference. So according to BigCommerce, just 72% of consumers say that positive reviews and testimonials make them trust a business more that makes sense 72 the first thing i do before i buy something is i go to tiktok or instagram or google and i type in the name and review and i see what comes up i do exactly the same thing i'm not buying anything without seeing what other people that i don't know have said about it yeah isn't that weird i'm like oh this random person i've never

met made a video on it she says she likes it i must love it that's why i say i'm a marketer's dream like all it takes is a positive word from someone it's like the time that you almost bought hydrogenated water yeah shout out to the girl who explained that to me it's not just about telling people what you offer Jess it's about showing them through the voices of others who have actually experienced it firsthand social proof makes your messaging more relatable more authentic it helps potential customers see themselves benefiting from your product always keep your customer at the heart of your communication as well and use your stories to create genuine connection Can I just go on a little tangent?

Of course you can. I'm built for the tangent, the hydrogen water thing. I feel like that's such a good, perfect example for this episode of marketing because for those who don't listen maybe to every Friday episode, we spoke about it a couple of weeks ago, I was scrolling on TikTok and it was late at night and this was when I realized I truly am a marketer's dream is because I saw someone promoting and it was a disclosed sponsored ad for a company that does hydrogen water and they were talking about how it fixed all of these health problems for them or like helped ease some of their benefits talking again

to the benefits of the product not the complex science yeah yeah yeah you know they just use the name hydrogen water which made it sound fancy and i was like oh my god i need to buy this and then i came in on friday and we were talking about it and you said jessica there is two hydrogens per one oxygen bond in water you really have hydrogen in water and you're like oh but you're a smart woman you are so smart and you're still like oh oh yeah oh but that's what good marketing does it sells me something it gotcha that i have access to from my tap and yes it might be ever so slightly different but it's them showcasing as you're saying got sold water yeah it's basically the same thing as selling ice to eskimos completely you did it because they had a testimonial they

spoke to those benefits they did all those things and i as a consumer went i have those problems That hot fitness model who did Pilates and then drank that water, I could be her. That's it. It's crazy how powerful you were down, Jess. They got you. They truly did at my 1am doom scroll. But that's the thing. That's what good marketing can do.

And if you're keeping that customer front of mind, it's going to be easier to sell to them. 100%. What would Jess do? By the water, obviously. Now that we have that solid foundation, I hope everyone listening kind of has that good understanding ready to go. Should we talk through all of the different types of marketing that are available?

Yeah. So I like to break it down for me personally, because like it needs to be simple for me to get it. But also I like to break it down into four different categories. So we've got owned, rented, earned, and paid. And that simplifies things for me in a really nice way. So it makes it hopefully really easy and clear so that you're also able to figure out where your business fits in and what might need a little bit of TLC.

So owned, that's all about the channels that you actually have full control over. So for me, that's my email list. It's my website. It's my podcast. It's basically your own turf where no one can change the rules on you. Like I own those things. No one's going to swoop in and take my website off me because I actually own it and I have full creative control of what's on that and how it works, right?

This is where you can really build those deeper connections without worrying about like a surprising, I don't know, algorithm overhaul, which if you're a small business, you're always like, oh my God, I don't know how that algorithm works. Like it's always changing. Me either girl, me either. The next is rented. And this is usually, I guess, the first thing people think of when they hear marketing, especially in 2024. This is your social media. So this is your Instagram, your Facebook, your TikTok, you name it. It's someone else's platform that you're then using to drive leads. And while it's great for visibility, you're just borrowing space. You might not be renting it with cash but like it's borrowed space Jess you're at the mercy of those pesky

algorithm changes and platform whims like at the moment I don't know if you're on this side of TikTok Jess but a whole heap of people who are American content creators are really worried at the moment because they're talking about TikTok maybe being banned there and they're like but I have a million followers on TikTok like what's going to happen to my business and it's like well actually you need to diversify your marketing channels and build something that's owned because you don't own your followers yeah like you don't have their number you can't call them if your instagram or your tiktok got deleted they're gone like they were never yours to call up yeah that's why we talk about it so you can't just get taylor on the phone can't get taylor on the phone as much

as we wish that we could that's why we do talk about how it's so important to funnel those people from social media to a platform that you do own yeah because like what happens if the she's on the money instagram gets deleted tomorrow hopefully my community like our content enough that they're a bit sad about that. Well, I can email you Jess and be like, Hey, here's our new handle. Here's where to find us. Like, I don't have to be reliant on me begging Instagram for my username back. Like it's stressful. And I'd be heartbroken if that were the case, but like, I know that I still have my business in the background. Totally. It's scary if you're not relying on multiple sources. What are the two? So we've got earned and that's all about what you gain through reputation and

relationships. So things like PR, user-generated content, like you looking up reviews, Jessica, and even like a shout out from a happy customer. This is where your business earns attention because people are talking about you. They're sharing your content and they're singing your praises without you having to pay for it. Okay. Important distinction there. Important distinction. You earned it. You didn't buy it, which is the next topic that we're talking about, which is paid. And it's exactly like what it sounds like. You're paying to be seen. So this might be like your Facebook or your Google ads or even traditional stuff like a full page magazine spread. It's a quicker way to get your name out there, but you've actually got to keep a close

eye on that ROI so that you're not burning cash. And also, Jess, it costs cash and lots of small business owners don't have a lot to throw at paid. So it's not until you're often further down the track or you really want to invest in the business that you might be looking into this option. And you'd also put paid UGC and influencer under that same category, right? Because you're paying to be seen. Yeah. Like you didn't earn that. You paid for that.

You're paying for the advertising. That makes total sense. So which one should our audience be focusing on the most? All of them. Oh, sorry. Sorry. You've always heard me, Jess, on the She's on the Money podcast bang on about diversification when it comes to investing, right?

I mean, our investing masterclass just came out. So you should be across how important diversification is. but marketing is thankfully no different. So I haven't had to like reinvent the wheel here, but relying solely on one channel, like just your social media might feel really simple and it's really easy and it's familiar, but it's really risky. So algorithms can change. The platform could evolve. It might be banned in your country at some point. And what works today might not work tomorrow. Like think about historically, I don't know if you remember like triangle bikinis. Oh, triangle bikini that I have beef. That's a story for another time.

Oh my gosh. That's a story for another time. Like beef with the actual business or like beef in the way that I had where triangle bikinis were built for, I don't know, side note, a 12 year old prepubescent boy's body. And I didn't have that. And so never looked good in them and therefore crucified myself for not looking cute. But remember triangle bikinis, they got really big on Instagram at a time when it was so easy to build an audience. Like you just kept posting and you got followers and it was really simple, their marketing strategy today would not work. Like you can't just start posting on Instagram. You can't just expect the people to come in the way that it did when Instagram was founded. Like things have changed and that's a very good example

of what worked today might not work tomorrow, right? So by spreading and making sure that you're diversified across rented, paid, owned and earned marketing, you're kind of creating a safety net for your business. You're doing all of it. This diversified approach makes sure that if one channel slows down or changes unexpectedly, your overall strategy remains really strong and adaptable. It's about being prepared and being flexible and maximizing every opportunity to reach your audience in really different ways. And I feel like so many times people think it's like down to followers, like, oh, you've got a million followers. You must be really good at this or you must have a really successful business. Some of the most successful businesses, Jess, I've seen,

they don't have heaps of followers. They just have a really good diversified strategy and a good funnel set up to get that consumer in, get them really engaged and get them buying, but often getting them buying multiple times. I don't need a million followers if none of them are buying, Jess. Yeah. You need to be nurturing them so they do want to buy what you're putting out. Exactly. We're going to create that engagement. Now, I know that this might sound like a lot, but don't stress because this isn't something you have to tackle all at once like you don't need to go oh Jess I need a four-point marketing strategy tomorrow building a marketing strategy is kind of like running a marathon probably a really bad analogy because yourself yes but like we're also

not going to run a marathon Jess so I can't relate no no like we are going to do the marketing strategy it's a marathon we want to do but start small take it one step at a time and focus on what you can realistically manage today. It's obviously a really big topic. In fact, so much that I have made this episode a two-parter. Oh, we love a follow-up. We love a two-parter, but let's go to a really quick break. And then on the flip side, we can dive even further into own strategies. So guys don't go anywhere. All right, Jess, we are back. And as I said before, like if you are on socials and that's your base and you don't have an email platform, this is probably true for everybody, but I really want you to start in that owned category because I want you to own

everything that you've created. So let's start there because like why pay people if then they're coming back to a platform that you don't own? Silly. But I want you to start in owned because it kind of sets the groundwork for absolutely everything else. And it might seem like a kind of obvious one, but a website in 2024, Jessica, is a non-negotiable for your marketing strategy. amen it is your online digital storefront it is your business card it is in a way social proof like jess if a company doesn't have a website i'm like do you even exist you were scammed yeah i'm immediately thinking i'm immediately like what why don't you have a website like it's so easy to do it doesn't matter i also get confused when i'm like looking up a business

and i'm trying to work out if they want to want to engage in like tell me more about you it's the one place that you not only have full control over your brand your messaging and how you present yourself. But it's kind of like that central hub where all your marketing efforts converge and come together and hopefully capture your client to go, oh, these are the people I want to get involved with. Yeah. And it's where you can also showcase what makes you and your business unique without some of the limitations that maybe other platforms put on you. You can do whatever you want. You totally can. You're fully in control whether you want really detailed product pages without the character limits or you want to share lots of testimonials. I do. I'm a

yapper we are born to gap in this podcast that's why we have a podcast can you imagine if they were like yeah so you're gonna have to limit it I'd be like I'm gonna have to find a different outlet totally or you want a blog that highlights your expertise your website is where you can really tell your story and guide visitors through the journey that you want them to take and it's all yours a hundred percent and could be like really passive or really active like if you want a blog that you update every day you do you boo but I don't have time for that like that's not something that I can commit to so it's not just about I guess looking professional having a website boosts your credibility but that doesn't mean you need to update it every day like if you

want to you can and I mean I now just log into the back end and change things when I'm like oh that kind of looks cool let me try that feature let me do this like I love it it annoys the team though because I like change things and I'm like why is the URL different I'm like so hear me out but consumers today expect businesses to have a good online presence and a really well-designed website can make a strong first impression like if you're a new business as well and you have a strong website I'm like oh this business has its stuff together like even if you don't have any social proof yet Jess I look and I go oh they're legit maybe I don't need the social proof or I haven't gone looking for it because the website was enough yeah plus it's a space where you can

capture leads you can collect emails and ultimately drive conversion in a way that's fully within your control and I mean historically I really focused on socials it's not about socials Jess it's really about getting that engaged customer in your door I know getting a website up and running it can feel like a really huge task and it was for me but trust me there are super easy solutions out even for beginners, Jess, you know, and I've said this a million times, I DIY'd my website. I spent literal weeks, Jess, building my website on Squarespace without any tech background. And it used to be really complicated. I wish I'd started today because now it's just like drag and drop. I'm really glad that when I was growing up, I thought I was a MySpace hacker and I learned

how to HTML code so that I could have the glitter mouse, but it's literally now just drag and drop and you don't even have to code. So I think that there's that mentality in the background. Like some people are like, oh, website's really hard. It's not like it used to be. It's so easy. And Jess, as you know, at the moment, they have stunning templates. So you don't even have to start from scratch. You can like get a good template, customize the colors, change the photos, you know, drag and drop things around. So it looks custom. It looks like your brand, but you're online and you're online quickly and in a super professional way. Yeah. And I'm currently judging one of those very templates as we speak,

because I know I've been saying for ages, I'm working on my website and I'm documenting it. So maybe we'll share it on She's On The Money at some point. We need to, because it's so much easier. But I think the problem being a business owner is you want everything to be perfect. And I keep telling you, just get it up. It's like the She's On The Money website. I still think that website is a work in progress, but I'm pretty sure if anyone went to that website, they'd be like, it's immaculate. Hopefully they're like, oh, it's really good. I'd be like, yeah, okay. But like, I don't really love this part. That doesn't mean don't publish it, publish it. And you can keep changing and updating. And I think that that's

the best way a website exists now because it's no longer like a set and forget like sign. Yeah. It's like an ever moving platform that is consistently changing in the same way that your consumers are. And I guess another thing I want to note here while we're talking about it is Jess, did you know that once you create your business website, you don't actually automatically appear in Google. That seems hard to do. And it's all about SEO. And this isn't sponsored. I just think it's really important. But Google actually has a free fundamentals of digital marketing course that's going to show you how to get found when people search. And as a small business, and I used to be a very small business. Jess, do you remember that time that I spent a whole

heap of money on marketing? Oh, yes. We don't talk about those days. No, but like I spent upwards of $50,000, I think, on marketing and it went nowhere. Through an agency. Yeah. I would say they definitely did the wrong thing by us and took advantage of it, but I didn't know what I didn't know. And it turns out I could have done a lot on my own and courses like this are what has helped me get to where I need to be. And I'm very lucky that now I'm in the position where I can hire people internally to help me and we can build it that way but like I also started here and being able to do a free fundamentals of digital marketing

course so that I can nail my own SEO like money win especially as a small business owner because you feel so overwhelmed all the time so the course is about SEO which is search engine optimization and it shows you how to make sure that you're getting listed on Google and it also teaches you strategies to increase your visibility in search results making it easier for potential customers to find you. It's honestly all about actively managing how your business appears online rather than just leaving it up to chance. And I mean, just small things. Like one thing I learned, Jess, that I didn't even know it was a thing. So on your website right now, you're probably like just uploading the images that you want. What are you naming them? Whatever those

names in my camera are. Yeah, they're probably like IMG 4402 or something, right? Change the name of that so that if people are looking up Jessica Ricci, they're going to go to images maybe. Those images are coming up because they're saved like Jessica Ricci at the beach or Jessica Ricci and use like your search terms in your image captions because it's saved in the back end of your website. But Google picks up those words and then serves it to your potential customer. So I can almost guarantee that all the images on the She's On The Money website are like She's On The Money investing for beginners. And like if you looked at the name of the image, you'd be like, what? But no one's looking at the name of the image. And it's like a little hack

that can get you more visibility without spending anything. Genius. Also, just another one is make sure that you're setting up your Google My Business profile. So that I would say is a really critical step. So, you know, when you search for a business on Google and that little box pops up to the right with all of the important dates. So it's like the hours and the address and the photos and reviews. You can go look up Zella money. Like we've got one set up at the moment and it kind of has all the information that you would need at a glance without having to go to our website. So that's Google My Business working its magic without setting up your profile. I would say you're actually missing out because it's free. So this will make sure that you're coming up when

you need to come up. And all of this is actually covered in that course that I mentioned. That is free and it's one of the easiest and most impactful ways to boost your visibility on Google. Also, according to Google, businesses with a verified My Google Business profile are twice is likely to be considered by reputable customers. Isn't that wild? There you go. You just get a little Google badge for free. Plus they're more likely to show up in local search results, which means that you're putting your business right at the front if people are actively searching for what you are offering. It was explained to me that like a website, Google doesn't know how to find it. Like it's like kind of creating a book and then throwing it into the library and not categorizing

it. Like people aren't going to walk in and be like, oh, immediately I know how to find this book or, you know, I'm looking for this topic. I'm going to go to this section. Like they can't find it. You actually have to categorize it. And the Google My Business actually gives all your information to Google so that they can go, oh, that's what Jess does. No worries. Jess will keep you in mind for when someone's looking for you or looking for a service similar to you. It's the Dewey Decimal System of the internet. Yes. I love a library reference. It's huge, especially for small businesses who are trying to get noticed without having that massive ad budget behind them. And once you've got your

profile set up, you can start collecting those reviews on Google reviews, right? Like I went and got a massage recently and I said, oh, if you enjoyed it, we'd love a Google review. I always enjoy a massage. So 10 out of 10. So you can have a review. And like reviews are a really big deal when it comes to building trust and credibility. I mean, a whopping 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. So if you think about it, when's the last time you booked a service or bought something online without checking your reviews first? That's what we were saying. To add a personal anecdote in here, I run a mortgage business called Zella Money and I see it as such a privilege, Jess, to work with people to get them

into their first homes. But it is not beyond me understanding that, you know, Jess, if you come to Zella, which you do, you're kind. I do in fact. You do in fact. But if you come to Zella, I'm talking to you about your life savings. I'm giving you advice on how to spend it. You might come to me with a property and I'm telling you whether that's a good idea or not. I'm talking you through these things. That's a big deal. So for me, reviews are so important because just if you're like a little bit unsure about spending your life savings on a property, but you know it's in line with you, I want you to be able to Google and see that so many other people have bought their houses with me and they're super happy and had a really positive experience because that's just going to

add to you being like okay cool I trust them like they know what they're talking about like it's a process you've never been through so it makes sense that you might be a little bit confused you might go I don't really know what's going on but with that level of social proof you're a little bit more settled you're feeling a little bit safer and I think that that's really important especially for me and I think that's why it's so important that all businesses do that I look up reviews on everything i want to know and if the reviews are bad i'm like oh interesting positive reviews obviously not only help you stand out in search results but also give like potential customers the extra nudge to choose you over the competition because they can see people are like

oh my god i loved buying my house with zella money you know jack was amazing and victoria really helped like i want that yeah and i want you to see that from other people in a way that's not paid because like the reviews on Google are not paid. You see it and go, she could have written anything. Yeah. And Jess, the cool thing here is if you're sending people to Google, you can also use these testimonials in your other marketing content to make them extra valuable. Yeah. And you can even send past customers an email afterwards, you know, after they've used your service or bought from your business, maybe they didn't think to leave a review straight away. But more often than not, if you ask someone and they really liked your product, people are often

happy to say something good about it, especially if you just send them something with a little link saying, hey, like if you liked it, use this. Sometimes I know businesses will say, oh, if you leave us a review, you get 5% off on your next purchase or something. Yeah, that's smart. It's something I actually need to be better at. Like we do have some reviews, but I'm not as good at asking for them as I should be. Because I don't know, as a small business owner, I often feel like it's a burden. I don't want to be like, hey, so Jess, I had a really nice time working with you. Can you leave me a review? That's probably something that I need to get over because I love seeing them. Not just because it's validation that I'm doing the right thing and my business

is on the right path, but like, I want to see your sold sticker. I want to see you buying your first home. And I guess speaking of being really proactive and I should be more, but being proactive with emails, one of the next things that you need to consider is setting up your email list. So start collecting those email addresses from day one. Maybe you're offering a freebie or like a discount or something valuable to get people to sign up. Email marketing is an absolute powerhouse. For every dollar spent, Jess, the average return is reported to be around $35 to $45, which is an insane return on investment. So unlike social media, where posts just get lost in the feed, emails land in your customers' inboxes, making it one of the most effective ways to connect and

communicate with your audience. But Jess, sadly, it's actually not all about sales. It's also about relationship building. About 60% of consumers say they've made a purchase because of an email that they've received. And with average open rates between 20 to 25%, email engagement is actually way higher than what you typically see on social media. Plus, you actually own your email list, Jess, but no algorithms, no platform chains, just a direct line to your consumer, which is arguably from my perspective, very sexy. So if you're just getting started, you need to prioritize your email list. It for me is a no brainer. And if you're just starting Jess, there are so many free email platforms. It's not going to cost you anything. It's like social media, just set it up

and you can work it out later. It's one of those small steps that can lead to really big lasting results for your business. And what kind of email should people be sending? It could be a plethora of them, but I also just want to touch on that platform thing before. We just use the standard one through our website, but there are so many out there. Like have a look, choose what's right for you. One of the first things you should be sending to your email list is an automated welcome sequence. So you know those emails that you get when you subscribe, like you go onto a website, you hit subscribe. They're more than just a nice gesture. They're actually a really serious money maker. Jess, did you know that welcome emails can drive up to 320% more revenue per email

than typical promotional ones? That's crazy. That's actually insane. Plus, they have higher open rates and click-through rates because you're catching your audience while they're most engaged. Like they've just said, oh, Jess, I love your website. Sign up. Oh, I just got an email from Jess. Like it makes sense. It's all about striking while the iron's hot and a really well-crafted welcome sequence does exactly that, turning fresh subscribers into loyal customers right from the get go. And then going beyond that, consider maybe adding automated emails like abandoned cart reminders. They get me all the time, Jess. Yeah, the ones with the discount code always. They're like, hey, we saw you left something in your cart. And I'm like, oh,

that was really rude of me. Let me go buy it. Post-purchase follow-ups to thank customers for engaging with your business and like suggested related products or asking for feedback, Re-engagement emails are also a really good way for reconnecting with inactive subscribers through exclusive offers or fresh content. And each type of email plays a role in strengthening your relationship with your audience and then guiding them along the journey, boosting their lifetime sales value to you. That all sounds really good. And I know we still have so much more that we could talk about.

I know, I could go on and on. It's like one of those things that I didn't know what I didn't know. And now I know I need you guys all to know too. Absolutely. So I feel like maybe we pause things right here and then we come back with a part two next month. Another deep dive. I'm very excited about it.

So focusing on getting those brand foundations in order and starting with getting the owned under control is, I would say, the best first step before trying to tackle rented, earned and paid strategies, which I'll get onto next time. But reiterating, from my perspective, owned is the most important and it's all about building that strong base and taking it one step at a time so that you don't end up overwhelmed, which Jess, as we know, can be really, really easy. Yeah. I'm going to overcome my overwhelm and I'm going to get my website done. I'm feeling inspired. Done is better than perfect, Jess. Just get it done. It's super easy. And basically I'm an expert. So like call me, like I think Squarespace is about

timing as like an industry expert. They're going to be like, oh, Victoria Devine, website builder of the year, 10 out of 10. Perfect. Before we go, I think everybody knows about the She's On The money Facebook group, but did you know that we also have a business Bible community full of side hustlers and startups just like you? In it, our community shares heaps of tips and tricks around all things starting and growing your business. It's like having your own squad of business festies cheering you on every single step of the way. So to join us, just search Business Bible on Facebook, and we cannot wait to welcome you to the Business Bible fam. See you next month, guys. the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your

individual circumstances she's on the money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision if you do choose to buy a financial product read the pds tmd and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.