The Ultimate Blog Podcast - 140. How Community Connection Can Increase Your Impact as a Content Creator

Episode Date: August 20, 2024

It’s Amy here and I have a solo for you on my review of Joe Pulizzi’s book “Content Inc.”. I’m really emphasizing the impact of community and how it can increase your impact as a content creator. It’s important to build a loyal audience and community over chasing vanity metrics like social media followers. I share more about understanding your audience needs, genuinely connecting with others, and leveraging your email list for deeper engagement. Tune in to hear more!Thanks for listening! Let us know your thoughts on Instagram: @sparkmediaconceptsSign up for our newsletter here at  www.theultimateblogpodcast.com/newsletterCheck out the show notes (link below) for more information including links and resources mentioned in today's episode!SHOW NOTES: www.sparkmediaconcepts.com/episode140**We want to thank you for being a listener of The Ultimate Blog Podcast for the last 2.5 years! Join our new podcast newsletter and receive a FREE Blogging Essentials Guide HERE!**

For the last two and a half years, we have shared weekly podcast episodes with you every single Tuesday, and we just wanted to share even more with you. So launching now is the Ultimate Blog Podcast email newsletter, and we want to just personally invite you to join us on the inside. You already know that you get episodes each and every Tuesday whether you listen on Apple or Spotify or any other podcast player but we want to take it a step further. We really do want to connect with more of you who are listening each and every week or more of you who are learning how to blog or learning more

about blogging as you go. So as our gift to you, we would love to invite you into the podcast newsletter. It is specifically for podcast listeners. So if you have been an avid listener of the podcast, you are definitely going to want to join us. As a way of saying thanks for joining us in the newsletter, we want to give you this free resource called the Blogging Essentials. And it's going to talk about your niche and categories and how you can define those. All you need to do is go to theultimateblogpodcast.com backslash niche.

And that is where you can sign up for that freebie and get to know more about your own niche, learn more about the categories that you need to have on your blog. And this is a great resource whether you have started your blog or you are on the front end and thinking about it. It's just a good way to understand if you have the right scope and the right foundation for your blog. Once again, go to theultimateblogpodcast.com backslash niche to get that freebie today. We cannot wait to share more with you in the newsletter each and every week. We are going to be building these connections and helping you really become as successful as you possibly can. So thank you for being a listener of the Ultimate Blog Podcast.

We can't wait to learn and grow with you more. Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Podcast with Amy Reinke and Jennifer Draper. We're on a mission to empower women who want to start or grow their own blog. This podcast is for women who want to learn blogging basics and who crave inspiration and encouragement. Whether you are just getting started or have been a blogger for years, we are excited to welcome you into this space where we are passionate about creating community over competition. We are bloggers who want to encourage you to believe in your potential, step outside

the norm and step into a life where you create your own schedule, your own success and your own story. Join us for weekly episodes as we navigate blogging and work from home life, all while raising a family and having some serious fun along the way. Hey and welcome to episode 140 of the Ultimate Blog Podcast. It's just me here today.

And before we get things kicked off, I wanted to make sure that you got signed up for our new email newsletter. If you have not done that yet, just head on over to the show notes and click the link. And when you sign up today, you are going to get something super special. Jennifer and I have actually created a freebie for you

called Blogging Essentials, and it's finding your niche and categories. And it kind of goes in line with the podcast episodes from last week and this week as well. And I know that whether or not you've been blogging for a long time or you're just getting started, sometimes we just need to like go back to the basics and think about that, think about your niche and who you're just getting started. Sometimes we just need to go back to the basics and think about that. Think about your niche and who you're talking to and also the categories

and what people are coming to your blog for. And so if you would like to get that, we would love to give it to you for free. You will just go to theultimateblogpodcast.com backslash niche and For today's episode, I am diving into my key takeaways from the Content, Inc. book that Jennifer mentioned last week. It's by Joe Pelousy and this was such an impactful book. I love to read a lot. I read a lot of books and And I love fiction books, to be honest. But I do love to read a good self-help or business book here and there. And this one in particular is one that I actually downloaded and listened to the audiobook and I actually

bought the book. I did both because I think that it has a lot of principles in this book that we can carry with us for a really long time. Honestly, just like good business knowledge, things that I think as content creators, it's good to kind of freshen up and ask ourselves, why are we doing this? What's the point of all this? So I really do think that this book, Content, Inc. is a book that every content creator should read because I think there's just really important things in there that we can all learn from.

It has a lot of different perspectives and mindset shifts that I think can be really beneficial, especially for those of us who are sitting in front of a computer all day by ourselves. And you can kind of feel like we get in this rut of like, just doing what we're supposed to be doing. And sometimes we just need something to kind of like, I don't know, flip the switch and help us just maybe think about our business in a different way. So Jennifer last week talked about the content tilt and what that looked like. And so if you want to listen to that one, go to episode 139 of the podcast to learn

more about really why this content tilt is a really key foundation of this book. So I think a lot of times when people start blogging, they're like, well, I can't talk about that because somebody else is already doing it. And in reality, you can, but you need to figure out what that tilt is. And Jennifer kind of dives into that. So if you're curious about your specific niche and how you can make it different and make sure that it's going to impact the people that you want it to, go and check out that episode and read the book.

Today, I want to talk about something that impacted me as I listened to it. And a lot of it is just my personality and my desire for connection with people. And it's about this idea of creating an audience, creating a community and why this is so important. Back when I started, it was about 2015. And I feel like back then everybody was so, so focused on just like, I got to get to 10,000 Instagram followers. Because if you got to 10,000 Instagram followers back then, you got the swipe up. And that was just like, Oh my goodness, we've arrived. But nowadays, you know, everybody gets that we all get a click on things like that. And so the shifts have changed. And I think a lot of people can still

chase those numbers, a lot of like, you know, social media, like vanity metrics and things like that. But today, I kind of want to turn that over on its head. And instead, I want to ask you about your impact and it not being for popularity sake, but by building an audience that is loyal to you, and that is going to be committed when you create a product or a service. These are people that you know you can help. As bloggers, we are helpers. We are building these communities. We're building these connections with people who truly need what we are sharing, what we

are teaching, what we have learned in our own journeys, what helps us in our day-to-day life. And I think sometimes we can get very lost in that and this idea that we just have to like build, build, build, grow, grow, grow. And while there is definitely a need for that, many of us are doing this as our full-time job. I do want you to make sure that we stay focused on what brought us here in the first place. And that is to, usually it's to use our story or something that has impacted us for the greater good

and make some money. Because that's just be honest, that's why a lot of us are doing it. But we are living in an era where I think people are just craving connection so, so much. They want to feel seen, they want to feel heard, they want to connect with other like-minded people and that is what the difference truly is. Blogging is no more about just sitting behind your computer, pumping out a bunch of SEO optimized content anymore. We have to be willing to take that step a

little bit further and create that connection. It's about actually talking to your ideal reader. It's about finding out what is keeping them up at night. What is the solution that they just cannot seem to find? What is the perspective that they need in order to put something into play? I think that that's where a lot of us are missing the point and that we get so wrapped up in like, well, I am not ranking on Google or I'm not getting these keywords or yada, yada, yada, because we spend so many hours focused on just that, that we miss this idea of what about the connections that you're making? What about the impact that you're making? We can make more of an impact on people when we are willing to help others. But we

have to be brave enough to ask that question, which means you have to be brave enough to step out from behind just the computer. And you actually have to start asking your audience those questions, asking your community those questions. If you have an email list, that's a great way to do it. That's what I would recommend. Everybody should have an email list. We have multiple podcast episodes about creating an email list and why that is so important. So I don't want to harp on that in this particular episode. But if you find that you're spending a lot of time just on social media right now and asking these questions, I just want to encourage you to make sure that those people are getting over onto your email list as well as another way that you can communicate with them.

I think sometimes an email too, we can communicate in a deeper way than we can on social media because that can be a more personal connection and that can be a way that you can really get to understand and know somebody. You get to see who's clicking on what, you get to see what kind of emails people are actually resonating with. On social media, I don't know if those metrics kind of like stand up as much as it does on email. On email, you know, depending on your different categories that you have, you can see like

what categories are actually getting, you know, more engagement. What do people really want to know about? When I write an email about this, they are very engaged, or they are very curious about what I'm creating. Take it a step further and ask some questions around that. Maybe you're going to create a survey. Maybe you're going to have 10-minute Zoom calls and you're going to say, Hey, I want to book 15 calls. So the first 15 people who are willing to sign up and do a 10 minute call and get to know their pain points, get to know what you can help them with, understand where they're coming from. And then you can use that information

and you can create content around it. I believe, and obviously so does Joe Pelousy from the book, that when you understand at the core of what your audience needs, you will understand what kind of content to create. You don't have to sit at your computer and wonder like, hmm, I wonder what this person could need today because you are going to have those conversations. You're going to look at the stats.

You're going to understand like this is what they need. This is how I can help them find it. Then you're going to understand what type of products you could potentially sell as well. What kind of courses you could potentially sell as well, what kind of courses you could create, what kind of free content can you create that then would strengthen that relationship because when you understand what they need, that makes your job as a content creator,

as a blogger so much easier because you know exactly the questions that you do need to answer. Something else that Joe talks about in the book is looking for the sweet spot. And that's this intersection of knowledge or a skillset that you have with a specific audience desire. So I want you to think about what kind of skills

that you have that you could intersect and help your audience learn more about. So I kind of brainstormed just a couple things that just to kind to get your wheels turning, meal planning with a large family, or it could be meal planning just for two, navigating a medical diagnosis, could be about organizing a small space, homeschooling, could be how to plant a garden in the Midwest. When we're talking about the content tilt and getting really niched down in a way, think about once again, what's going to make your content different than somebody

else who might be writing about something fairly similar. When you truly help your reader navigate something that they might be struggling with, it's not just a game changer for them. It's a game changer for you. Nothing feels as good as when a reader reaches out and is like, you really helped me through this. Or you finally helped me understand that if I do this, this and this, this is the outcome that I get. And that is just, that's what we're in this for. Yes, to make a profit.

Yes, to build a business, all of that. But it's also to know that when we're sitting down and we're asking ourselves, how can I help the people who are showing up for me each and every day, that it's actually helping them. You can make a big impact, but I think that we have to get back into this idea that we are creating communities. We are not just chasing traffic, but there is more to the story. There is more to who you are and what your blog is. And the impact goes far greater than just, you know, so many Instagram followers or so much traffic

or so much in revenue. And while all those accolades are really exciting and they can allow you to do different things in your life, you know, I would just ask the question of like, what impact do you really want to have? Do you want to be known as the person who just made a boatload of money?? Do you want to be known as a person who just made a boatload of money or do you want to be known as the person

who really made a true and lasting impact on people and created a community that potentially, you know, changes things, that changes the world in different aspects? And so that was just a key takeaway, I think, from this book. I'll put a link in the show notes as well so you guys can check it out on Amazon. And as I've talked, like I said, when I first started this book. I'll put a link in the show notes as well so you guys can check it out

on Amazon. And as I've talked, like I said, when I first started this episode, if you are kind of struggling with your niche, I'd really love for you to take advantage of the freebie that we have for you. Again, that link is just theultimateblogpodcast.com backslash niche. It is totally free to you. And it's also going to put you on the podcast newsletter. That's a new thing that we are starting. So if you are an avid listener here of the podcast, first and foremost, thank you for doing that and for being part of this each and every week. But we want to make sure that you are getting exactly what you need in your email as well

and that we are connecting with you on a deeper level as well. We want to do more than just show up with you every Tuesday and give you the latest blogging advice, but we truly do want to know how can we help you? How can we create and foster that relationship with you guys as well as our listeners? And one way that we're going to do that is through our email newsletter. So be sure to sign up and we can't wait to connect with you in a deeper level there and continue just to build this awesome, supportive, amazing community of bloggers who are all, you know, lifting one another up and helping this industry as a whole. So hope today's episode was impactful for you. If it was, I'd love for you to share it.

And don't forget to grab your freebie there in the show notes. for you to share it and don't forget to grab your freebie there in the show notes. Thanks so much for tuning in today. If you'd like to continue the conversation about blogging with us, please find us on Instagram at Spark Media Concepts. You can also sign up for our weekly newsletter where we share blogging tips and inspiration. You can sign up by finding the link in the show notes. For those of you who are ready for the next step and want to start your own blog, join the wait list for the ultimate blog bootcamp.

The link to join the wait list is also in the show notes. Go out and make today a great day.