Episode 171

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Published on:

19th Sep 2024

Building a Steady Stream of Potential Customers through SEO and Pinterest with Kara Duncan [Marketing with Intention Series]

Marketing takes up a lot of your time and for businesses that are planning to be around for a while, finding sustainable strategies that generate passive traffic and run on longevity is key for long-term success. For many of us, search engine optimization and Pinterest seem to feel like a lot of work, yet the long-term impacts of the efforts on those two platforms is unmatched. In today's episode, Kara Duncan joins us to share the value of blogging and pinning your content to Pinterest, along with a few tips to getting the most out of your content as a business!

Today’s episode is brought to you by DIY Template Shop! Grab the exact email, form, and workflow templates that I include inside the CRM Blueprint Course. Steal my templates and customize them to match your brand and process. Use the code PODCAST for 10% off.

Mentioned in this Episode

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Connect with Kara

Website: thekarareport.com

Instagram: instagram.com/thekarareport

Podcast: thekarareport.com/podcast

Transcript
Colie:

Hello, hello, and welcome back to the Business First Creatives Podcast.

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You are listening to episode number two

in the Marketing with Intention series.

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And it's because so many of

us Think that Instagram is

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specifically what marketing is.

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And so you guys will figure out

in this series, there is no one

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talking about Instagram, like no

one, especially today's guest.

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So today I have Cara

Duncan of The Cara Report.

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She is an awesome copywriter.

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She also has her own podcast.

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So if you're looking for a little

inspiration with your marketing,

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it's a good podcast to listen to.

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But in addition to all that,

Kara is my blog writer.

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And so I know that she has a lot of

good things to say, mostly because

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I pay her to do these things for me.

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Kara, hello, and welcome to the podcast.

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Yes,

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Kara: I'm so excited to be here because

I love listening to your podcast, so

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it's so fun to be on the other side.

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Colie: yes, yes.

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All right.

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So last week we chatted with

Taylor and she told us all about

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strategic marketing in your business,

how not to market by accident.

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And so, because you know for a fact that I

am putting so much of my marketing energy

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currently into blogging, I was like, Oh

my gosh, Kara has to come on and talk

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about all things blogging and Pinterest.

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Yes, guys, she is a two for one.

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We are going to talk

about both of these today.

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The care first to start me out,

like what gave you the push to

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blog and pin for your own business?

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And then what made you do it for others?

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Cause I mean, you do it so well, but I

mean, everybody's got an origin story.

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What's yours.

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Kara: Yeah.

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Oh, it's such a, like a fun typical,

like not a straight line journey.

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Actually, I started my like OG moment

was like, I started a blog when I

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was planning my destination wedding.

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'cause I was like, oh, there's

no information on planning

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destination weddings at the time.

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So then that blog turned into

a destination wedding planning

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business for other people.

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And then during.

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Like COVID, I obviously business for

destination weddings was a little slow.

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And so I was like, okay, what can I do?

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You know, like looking at it and I'm

like, you know, what works really well

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for me that I always get asked about is

like how I get clients for my destination

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wedding business, which was almost

exclusively blogging and Pinterest,

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which honestly was a wake up call.

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Because if you asked me where I was

spending the most time, it was Instagram.

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And I was like, Oh, there's

really something here with

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this blogging and Pinterest.

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So basically, yeah, since 2020,

I've been doing it for other

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people and it has just been so fun.

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Yeah.

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Working with other business

owners is the best.

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Colie: Oh my gosh.

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So that's so interesting

because I didn't really know.

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So you were doing like more

B to C and now you do B to B.

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Oh my gosh.

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We could go off on like

a whole tangent on that.

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Okay, so how long have you been offering

blogging and Pinterest marketing B2B?

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Kara: Four years.

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Yeah.

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Just over four years.

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Colie: As your client,

I know what happens.

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I hire you, you end up making

a fabulous blogging plan

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where you have sent it to me.

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But I'm really interested, like,

how is it that you go about

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choosing topics for your clients?

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Because I will admit, it isn't that you

haven't picked any topics yet where I was

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like, uh, hell no, that is not for me.

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As you know, there were a few

that you sent me and I'm like,

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no, I've already got a blog post.

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It's really similar to that.

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Or I've got this podcast episode

that I've already recorded.

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And so that doesn't need to be like

an original research blog post, but

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in general, like, how is it that you

come up with ideas for your clients?

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Kara: Yeah, so I always think one

of the things people struggle with

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with the marketing is you kind

of have two types of marketers,

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even if they're business owners.

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It's like you have the creative type

and then you have the data type, right?

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I'm more the data type.

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I feel like I struggle to have

a creative idea in my body.

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So that's also another reason

why I love blogging and Pinterest

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is like, it is 100 percent me.

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keywords.

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Like I'm looking at like what is going

to rank on Google, what is, you know,

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related to content that you already have.

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And I'll just like go down those

rabbit holes, find like keywords

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that I think will be best, and

then kind of create a topic around

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that really solid starting point.

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So, and you, Colie, are like

a good example because you

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have a ton of content already.

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Right.

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So I feel like for anyone like

listening, that is just kind

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of like dabbling their toes.

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It's really easy to find

the first 30 keywords.

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Like it really is.

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And then as you go, it's

not that it gets harder.

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It's just sometimes you then have

to get a little more creative or how

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do you combine topics or collaborate

with people or stuff like that.

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But really like if you're just looking

at keyword, um, And you could use

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something free like Uber Suggest or

something paid like SEMrush or Ahrefs.

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And yeah, just start with keywords

and just go rabbit holing from there.

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Colie: Okay, I feel like we

have to bring up Instagram.

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Not that you and I want to focus on

Instagram marketing, but I do feel

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like there is a significant portion of

creatives in particular that are like,

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no, like Instagram is where it's at.

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Like I love conversing with my people

and maybe we'll talk about threats.

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But I wanna focus on Instagram right now.

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What would you say to someone

that's like, okay, but I'm, you

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know, I'm marketing on Instagram.

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Why do I need to blog?

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Like, I feel like we need to have a

conversation about the benefits of

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blogging so that more people will be

like, oh, that's why I should blog.

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Kara: Yeah, for sure.

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So, so many reasons.

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And yeah, it's kind of like, I kind

of like think about blogging as like

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investing in the stock market where

like everyone kind of knows they should

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do it, but not everyone is making it

a priority for many reasons, right?

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So, The reason I think people are so

attracted to Instagram is it is like

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such a quick win kind of platform.

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Even if you're not getting like the

ROI you used to from your Instagram

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marketing, you're still getting

the likes and the conversations.

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And it really makes you feel good.

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And like you're moving the

needle in your business, right?

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Versus blogging, where let's be honest,

you're like sitting in a room by yourself.

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You're hitting publish.

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You don't even know if anyone's

going to read it in the near future.

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So The reason that blogging is

so important is one is so much

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longer lasting than Instagram.

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So like I have blog posts from like

two, three, four years ago, they're

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still on page one, still ranking very

well, still bringing in new clients.

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So that's like, if you're going to

focus on creating content, Why not

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invest in something that is going

to have that longevity versus like

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some people have like 1000 Instagram

posts that they posted over 5 years.

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And it's kind of like, I don't

want to say useless now because

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you can always repurpose it, but

like, it's done a majority of what

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it's ever going to do for you.

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And so that's the 1st reason is

just the longevity is so much.

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Stronger on blogs.

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And then the other reason

is that it really compounds.

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So like, like I was saying with a thousand

Instagram posts, let's say you have that.

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It's really hard to like, I don't know,

make lemonade, lemonade out of that.

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But like with blogs, every single time

you blog, you have a new chance to

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rank for your keyword and not just one.

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One keyword, but sometimes

multiple keywords.

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So like if you blog once a week

for the next year, you have 52

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blog posts at the end of the year.

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So even if then 2025 is crazy and

you slow down, like you still have 52

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that are potentially working for you.

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Colie: Yeah.

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I mean, with SEO, your blog

posts continue to work for you.

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next year, the year after and so forth.

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But you actually said something

that was really interesting that

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I've never really thought about.

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So in terms of Instagram,

it is very visible.

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Like you, you in one way

are building a community.

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You're often having a conversation

with the people who are actually

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interacting with your content.

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Like they're posting, they're

liking, you can like them.

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If it's someone that's never

posted on anything before, I

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don't know about anybody else.

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But the first thing that I

do is click on your name.

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And go look and see what else you've done.

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I mean, Sarah, my virtual assistant.

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If she is listening to me,

I actually said way back.

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And I think episode 25,

that's why I hired her.

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She randomly like

followed me on Instagram.

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And I think she posted on like

one of my posts and I was like,

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Oh, she's a virtual assistant.

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So I clicked on her name.

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And then I went to her Instagram

and I was like, Oh, and then I think

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I went to her, like I clicked on

her website from the link in bio.

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And then when I got there, one of

my photography friends was like

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one of her first, um, testimonials.

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And I was like, Oh, I'm immediately in my

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Kara: she's the one.

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Yeah.

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Colie: Yes.

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What does Sarah do for you?

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Can you, can you give me the download?

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I mean, but so that is a very

like specific rabbit hole that I

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went down, but I am also one of

those people that takes action.

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I mean, I saw something on Instagram.

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I went to the website.

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Hello, everyone needs a website.

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I didn't read any blog posts

that she had, but maybe I would

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have if I hadn't seen Carolyn.

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So, you know, front and

center on her homepage.

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But if you think about blogging, I feel

like blogging has so much more data that

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you can actually track versus Instagram.

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So on your blog post, I mean,

you could have different links.

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that take them to the contact page.

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You know, you're using your, your

links to your UTMs that come after.

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And then you would actually know

like, Oh, this person specifically

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came from this blog post.

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Like, I think it's much easier

to specifically attach an ROI.

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to a blog post.

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If you're doing the right things versus

Instagram, where you don't really

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know which one of your posts it was

that like caught their eye and they

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came to your website or they DM you.

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Now, the only way that you could

actually do that would be like

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with many chat automations.

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Cause hello, if they DM you a

word and it's a word that you've

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only used on like one post.

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Hello.

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That's where they found you.

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But I just, I've never really thought

about the instant gratification that you

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get from Instagram versus a blog post.

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But then that blog post, it

works so much harder for you.

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And I think some people are like,

Oh, but you know, I'm doing all this

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blogging and I'm not getting anything.

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Yeah.

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You got to wait at least.

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Well, actually you are the expert,

so I'm not going to give my opinion.

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Hey Cara, how long does it normally

take for someone to see a return on

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investment for a single blog post?

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So if I wrote one today, like you

gave me one last night and I have not

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published it yet, but if I published it

today, Like how long does it start to,

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how long is it going to take until that

blog post starts to get some traction?

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And also, what are the things

that we should look out for that

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may help it get traction earlier?

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Kara: Yeah, definitely.

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So it's, it's one of those

things that's hard to say.

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So on average, it takes 90

days for a blog post to get

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Colie: I was going to say three months.

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Kara: Oh, did you?

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Yes.

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However, if Google trusts your

website, like if you're being

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consistent and putting out like

weekly blog posts and stuff, Google

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scans your website a lot sooner.

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It gets ranked a lot faster versus

if you have like this one singular

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amazing blog post, Google might find

it at 90 days, but it's not shooting

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you straight to the top because it

doesn't like trust your website.

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the blog post or the source yet.

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So it is kind of one of those things,

but yeah, on average, when somebody

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is like looking to make blogging a

strategy, I always tell them like

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six to 12 months of consistency,

which I know feels like forever,

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Colie: So long.

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Kara: so fast though.

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Like it really does.

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I feel like, cause you've been

in business a long time, right?

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It's like a year feels like nothing now.

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When I started my business,

it felt like forever.

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Colie: Yeah.

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Well, I will say I have a lot more SEO

juice on my photography website, even

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though I have not updated anything on

that website in at least four years,

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like, like pre pandemic, like nothing,

no switching of the images, no switching

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of no writing new blog posts, nothing.

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And the funny thing was,

you know, we work together.

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I go, I'm looking at the analytics now

to see how my blog posts are doing.

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And when I look at referrals, My

photography website is still referring

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the most people to my new systems website.

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And I think that's absolutely bananas.

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But I also think that it's just a true

testament to how well all of that work

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that I put into that photography website

is still doing to bring me leads.

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Because of course, the one thing that

I did, okay, I guess that's a lie.

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I have updated in four years, but

only one particular page and that's

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the Dubsado page that Dubsado

page on my photography website.

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I changed it.

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So that instead of people booking Dubsado

services off of that, it's basically foot.

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Well, 1 page is forwarding

you to my new website.

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Another 1.

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It's just every time they click a link.

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It takes you from the photography

website to the version.

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That's on my systems website.

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But, I mean, it's.

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That is still like a good chunk

of my traffic every single month,

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which I just think is bananas.

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But if someone doesn't want to wait six

to 12 months, Cara, and they don't want to

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just pray to the Google gods to crawl my

website and find me, what are some things

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that we can do to kind of help that along?

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Kara: Yeah, for sure.

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So always, so getting more backlinks,

which that's like more of a, I don't

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know, it can be hard to get backlinks.

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When you're looking at like other

websites quoting you, but you can always

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create black backlinks on Pinterest.

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Even if you're not using Pinterest as

like a Pinterest marketing strategy,

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having links to your website from

Pinterest will automatically boost

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your kind of authority of your website.

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And then also just like heading

to Google search console and

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submitting your blog post.

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is a key.

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Yeah, exactly.

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Cause then you're like telling

Google like, hello, I have a

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new blog post, come find it.

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And it's also a good way.

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Then you can kind of check back like a

week or so later and sometimes like you'll

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get data there where Google will be like,

I found this, but I didn't index it.

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That's typically a sign that you need to

make some updates and like add more value.

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Quote unquote.

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Because it's like,

okay, Google found this.

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Google's not interested.

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Not so harsh, but like,

you know what I mean?

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Like, you know, like this is

okay, but it's not necessarily

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what we want or whatever.

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And you can add value in so many ways.

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Like it doesn't necessarily

mean more and more text.

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It can be like Adding more resources,

like if you're writing a blog post about

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Dubsado and you're like linking at the end

of your blog post to more Dubsado posts,

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or it can be something like updating your

images, or it can be something like just

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submitting it again and trying again.

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If you're like, no, this,

this is my best work.

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Try again.

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Um, but it's just so helpful to know,

like, or if Google hasn't discovered

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yet, like, is there some sort of tech

problem that needs to be addressed?

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Colie: I mean, that's so interesting.

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Cause number one, I've never

had something that was rejected.

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And so I'm going to be

looking for that now.

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I will say one of the things that

I discovered that was like a whole

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section of my pages, and it's not

really related to blogs, but a whole

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section of my pages, most of my shop

pages were not indexed and it was I

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had asked Google not to index them.

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Like I was using a template and

it must've been that like, I

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was using my Black Friday one.

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Which I didn't want it to index.

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And then I duplicated it and

made it something else and didn't

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realize that I had that checked.

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So, Hey, everybody, if you're a show it

user and you ever check that box that

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says, ask Google not to index, make sure

that every time you duplicate or you write

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something new, that you have taken that

off because learn from my mistakes guys.

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But.

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One of the blog posts that you wrote

for me last month, I believe it was

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when, cause usually for you, like

I'm in there, I'm reviewing it.

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If I make a change, I do.

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But then when I hit publish,

I'm immediately going to

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console and just putting it in.

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And then every once in a while, when I'm

doing that, I'm like, Oh, I should check

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to see if my last few podcast episode

show notes were automatically indexed.

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And a majority of the time they are like,

so, and that, that's, that's, The last

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one that I checked, it had only been

like two days and it was already indexed.

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So I was like, yes, Google

is indexing my shit fast.

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This is awesome.

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Kara: Google knows that you're

updating your content regularly,

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which is such a good sign.

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Colie: Yay me.

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Okay.

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I didn't realize that, but it's awesome.

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I mean, cause right now I am

technically blogging about twice a week.

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It's the podcast show notes and then

either something that you've done or

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something that I've let me, let me Doing

quotes whipped up because I mean that

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air table blog post that I did recently.

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It wasn't really me whipping it up,

but I'm very proud of that blog post.

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It's

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Kara: Oh, it's so good.

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Colie: So you mentioned Pinterest.

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So now I feel like we

should kind of switch gears.

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We've talked about blogging.

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We've talked about the benefits going

on to Pinterest because Pinterest

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is something that I 100 percent

know that I need to do now that I am

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really trying to do my system stuff.

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But I think one of the things

that stopped me in the past.

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As a photographer, I will say this,

you have to make sure that someone's

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local to you, or it doesn't matter

how many hits you're getting unless

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you're a traveling photographer.

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And I was a traveling photographer.

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So that part didn't bother me, but my

most viral pins are fresh, 40 eights.

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And so I don't, I almost don't

care how much you pay me.

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I am not going to fly to you at the drop

of a hat when you've had a baby to get

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into the hospital before you check out.

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Like that's just not a thing.

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So I was just like, as a photographer,

like pinning just never really made sense

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to me because I was getting all sorts

of Pinterest traffic from those pins,

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but everyone was immediately bouncing.

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because I'm not located

anywhere near them.

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So that's like my little, my

little tale of why Colie doesn't

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really do a lot in Pinterest.

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But Kara, I'm going to kind of ask you the

same question I asked you for blogging.

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Like, why should we care

about Pinterest marketing?

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And what does it give us that perhaps,

Instagram, I know I said that word again,

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Instagram or blogging doesn't give us.

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Kara: Yeah.

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So Pinterest is kind of like,

it's such a unique platform in

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:

that it is very top of funnel.

375

:

So like before you start Pinterest,

you need to make sure your website

376

:

is set up to convert in some way.

377

:

So like you said, if you're

converting Fresh 48 sessions.

378

:

It's a little tricky, but I always

find like this is like where we always

379

:

have to like check our vanity, right?

380

:

Because so many times people are

like, I want to grow my Pinterest.

381

:

I want 100, 000, a million

monthly impressions, whatever.

382

:

And especially like with local

businesses, it's so hard.

383

:

Like you just have to get

comfortable seeing smaller numbers.

384

:

And being like, but those are

the people that I want, and

385

:

that can be so challenging.

386

:

And then the other thing to remember

is that pins show up on Google.

387

:

One, your boards will show up on Google

if people are searching for stuff.

388

:

And two, they'll show up literally

in the image tab on Google.

389

:

So sometimes people If you have a

solid Pinterest strategy, sometimes

390

:

people are finding you on Pinterest,

but they're not attributing Pinterest

391

:

to like the source of how they found

you, so it can be tricky to track.

392

:

Like you kind of mentioned earlier, UTM

codes can help with that if you're like

393

:

trying to track where people are finding

394

:

Colie: you can put UTMs on Pinterest.

395

:

I did not know that.

396

:

Kara: yeah, you sure can.

397

:

So that's a good idea.

398

:

And then just keeping in mind.

399

:

One, you have to have fresh content,

whether that's like blog posts or

400

:

podcast show notes, or like new products

being added to your shop or something.

401

:

Pinterest doesn't want you to

just like keep pinning to the

402

:

same link over and over again.

403

:

And Pinterest traffic

doesn't like that either.

404

:

They want to like binge your content and

like have something there to consume.

405

:

And then you as a business owner

need to realize that they are

406

:

brand new cold traffic and you need

to like get their email address.

407

:

Or if you're not great at email

marketing, I always like to include

408

:

like a come find me on Instagram.

409

:

Like if you're great at nurturing

people on Instagram, even though, you

410

:

know, we talked about how Instagram

is like for growth, but Instagram

411

:

is a great nurture technique.

412

:

Like if you are an extrovert, especially,

and you love having your conversations

413

:

on Instagram, having something to

like help you drive cold, fresh eyes

414

:

onto a platform that you like, that's

already working for you is a great idea.

415

:

It's also like.

416

:

easier to outsource because

it's not your personality.

417

:

Outsourcing Instagram is hard.

418

:

Colie: Mm hmm.

419

:

I agree.

420

:

I mean, I find it difficult.

421

:

Like, I've never really considered

myself to be a picky designer, right?

422

:

But when someone does something,

I'm like, instantly, I'm like,

423

:

no, I wouldn't have done that.

424

:

And it's not even like, It's

not even like I can explain it.

425

:

Does that make sense?

426

:

Cause like every time it's like this

one tiny thing that's different and

427

:

I'm like, I can't, I don't know.

428

:

So yes, I'm

429

:

Kara: And if it feels like

wrong, it can't be on Instagram.

430

:

Like people have like a little

bit more like on Pinterest.

431

:

Like I didn't love every

graphic, but like who cares?

432

:

Cause nobody's binging somebody's

like Pinterest feed, right?

433

:

It's like, okay, we

tried different designs.

434

:

Maybe like some, maybe

you don't, but like.

435

:

The point is to get people to

the website where it can be a

436

:

perfectly branded experience, et

cetera, versus like Instagram.

437

:

You're like, Oh no, that one piece

of content will bother me forever.

438

:

Cause like, I wouldn't have said it

like that or designed it like that.

439

:

Colie: I mean, girl,

there is something to say.

440

:

I think I've realized

something about myself.

441

:

I like content that I

can update my podcast.

442

:

If I've recorded an episode and

I, there's a little bit in there.

443

:

Like, for example, one thing that has

been really difficult is in so many

444

:

episodes, I'm talking about how my CRM

blueprint course is just for Dubsado

445

:

users or just for photographers.

446

:

And so I'm like, if this is a podcast

episode that I'm actively sending people

447

:

to, because the rest of it was great,

I might want to go back into script.

448

:

edit the part out where I say

it's just for photographers

449

:

and then update the podcast.

450

:

And then anybody going forward that

gets the new podcast episode, like the

451

:

link is the same, the description could

be the same, or I could change it.

452

:

But like I have updated that episode to

where no one going forward will mistake

453

:

it for only being for photographers.

454

:

Same thing with blogging.

455

:

And I've told you this, and I don't

know if anybody else agrees with

456

:

me, but half the time I tell Karen,

no, I don't, I don't even care.

457

:

We hit publish.

458

:

And if there's something that I want

to change later, I will change it and

459

:

then I will just resubmit it to console,

to Google, because there are things

460

:

that I am going to want to change.

461

:

For example, you know, our

HoneyBook versus Dubsado blog post

462

:

that was so amazing that you wrote.

463

:

I already had to update it because in

there we said that Dubsado's mobile app

464

:

was in beta and it released last week.

465

:

So I already had to go and update

it to say, no, this is no, I mean,

466

:

it's still not as feature rich as

HoneyBooks, but it is now not in beta.

467

:

Anybody can get it from the app store.

468

:

I mean, that was already, and it took

me like five seconds to update it.

469

:

And then I resubmitted it to Google

console, even though I really don't

470

:

think that I had to, because I didn't

change all of it, but I didn't want

471

:

like that one bit about the app

being in beta to be the thing that

472

:

like Google latched onto because.

473

:

You know, remember we don't get to control

what Google latches onto in a blog post.

474

:

Like it gets to decide what it thinks

is most important, but I just love

475

:

content that I can go back and update.

476

:

And on Instagram, you

can update a caption.

477

:

You can't swap out images on YouTube.

478

:

You can't swap out the

video like you can on Vimeo.

479

:

If anybody's listening, I

would really like to be able to

480

:

swap, swap out YouTube videos.

481

:

Like that would be on my Christmas list,

482

:

Kara: Yeah, the fact that you can do

it on podcast episodes is like great.

483

:

Colie: It's so fantastic.

484

:

I mean, just think about it.

485

:

If it's an episode where you now have

a new perspective and it was like a

486

:

short, because I used to do short 10

minute episodes and I wanted to just

487

:

re, you know, re record so that it

was updated for my current feelings.

488

:

If something has really changed, I

love just being able to swap that

489

:

audio file and go on about my business.

490

:

Kara: Yeah, and I also think to hop

on what you were saying with updating

491

:

stuff for anyone like listening that's

like struggling with Perfectionism or

492

:

anything like that It's so nice to be

able to like put blog posts out into the

493

:

world and like you said update them later

But also just not spend eight hours on

494

:

every single one See which ones rank and

start performing and then update those

495

:

ones and like put your effort there Like

actually to your point about Pinterest.

496

:

I had a real go Go viral about

like five wedding packages under

497

:

5, 000 for my wedding business.

498

:

And it's like, it was bringing

me a bunch of American traffic.

499

:

I'm in Canada.

500

:

I can only work with Canadians

and that I don't do it anymore.

501

:

Obviously I have a team that handles

it, but it was like, I have this blog

502

:

post that's getting a ton of traffic.

503

:

So I like whipped up a little ebook for

like 17 started selling it and like, I'm

504

:

not getting rich on it or anything, but

it's like a few hundred bucks a month.

505

:

Like it was well worth my time to

like Do it once three years ago.

506

:

Do you know what I mean?

507

:

Be like, this blog post is doing well.

508

:

It's doing well on Google and Pinterest.

509

:

I'm going to like focus on just updating

that one to see like how I can kind

510

:

of get whatever I can out of it.

511

:

Versus like if I tried to make every

single blog post perfectly, I don't

512

:

know, like not that you want to put out

garbage, but I just mean like put it

513

:

out and then as things do well, look

at how you can make them even better.

514

:

Colie: Yes.

515

:

Okay.

516

:

I'm going to ask you a few really

specific Pinterest questions.

517

:

These are like questions that I've

had in my brain, and I just know if I

518

:

have the question someone else does.

519

:

Kara: Yeah.

520

:

Colie: I feel like Pinterest, like a

couple of years ago, just exploded.

521

:

They tried to be more like Instagram

or YouTube and the YouTube shorts.

522

:

Like now you can do the videos,

you can do the idea pins,

523

:

and you can do regular pins.

524

:

If someone is coming into Pinterest

for like the first time, they're a baby

525

:

person, you know, well, not a baby person.

526

:

If someone is coming to Pinterest

for the first time and they are brand

527

:

new to Pinterest marketing, what

kind of pin should they focus on?

528

:

Or is it really the best strategy to

kind of diversify and get different

529

:

kinds like you would on Instagram?

530

:

Kara: Yeah.

531

:

So Pinterest has made a bunch of changes.

532

:

They have a new CEO.

533

:

That's kind of like, I feel like

simplifying it because it was getting

534

:

to like trying to compete with the other

platforms and it really is its own thing.

535

:

So they got rid of idea

pins or story pins.

536

:

And now it's really just like

standard pins or video pins.

537

:

And here's what I would

say about that video pins.

538

:

Similarly to Reels, they might get seen

more, but they rarely get clicked on.

539

:

So like, I might post like

one or two video pins a week.

540

:

Usually it'll be a repurposed Reel

of like, face to cam, usually.

541

:

Because anything with music, the

music's gonna get taken down, so

542

:

like, voiceovers don't really work.

543

:

Be real, like, eh.

544

:

Like, if you think about Pinterest users

buyer behavior, They're, they're not

545

:

really looking for that kind of content.

546

:

So like definitely 95 percent of my

effort is going toward static pins.

547

:

Colie: Okay.

548

:

Kara: Yeah.

549

:

Which are easy.

550

:

They're the best.

551

:

Really?

552

:

Colie: Now I'm going to follow

up with the second question.

553

:

The thing about static pins

that I can never decide.

554

:

So you write this amazing blog post

and I don't know if you noticed, but

555

:

I created, well, my designer created,

I told her what to do and she did it.

556

:

Great.

557

:

Delegation it basically had two

columns and it was comparing

558

:

and contrasting the different

things for HoneyBook and Dubsado.

559

:

Now I went directly to the blog

post and added that to the end.

560

:

And then I pinned it directly

from the blog post onto Pinterest

561

:

versus going to Pinterest and

like making a pin from scratch.

562

:

Kara, does it matter which one you do?

563

:

Kara: No, no, it doesn't matter.

564

:

Yeah.

565

:

Sometimes like people argue either way,

but to me, it's kind of like when people

566

:

think Instagram prefers one thing or

the other, like we're just guessing.

567

:

And really like I've

had success with both.

568

:

Colie: Okay.

569

:

So it is totally okay to like use

the schedulers and make the pin.

570

:

And as long as you're putting in

the appropriate URL to direct that

571

:

traffic back to the blog post that the

content is related to, it's the same

572

:

as if you go to the blog post, you

hit pin and you send it to Pinterest.

573

:

Kara: Yeah, yeah, you bet.

574

:

Easy.

575

:

Colie: Okay.

576

:

When it comes to marketing, I feel

like we've already, we kind of said it,

577

:

but I'm going to say it very bluntly.

578

:

If you have the bandwidth, I'm

pretty sure your recommendation

579

:

is one blog post a week.

580

:

Is that right?

581

:

Kara: Yeah, yeah,

582

:

Colie: Okay, let's talk about Pinterest.

583

:

It seems like that takes

way more effort, Cara.

584

:

How many pins do you recommend

that people do each week?

585

:

And then how many pins should

people do from one piece of

586

:

content, like a blog post?

587

:

Kara: Yeah, okay, let

me do some math here.

588

:

I'm like, I usually say like, anywhere,

depending on how much content you have,

589

:

it can be like 5 to 20 pins a day.

590

:

Colie: Oh!

591

:

Kara: just don't want to Yeah, I know,

I'm like, how much is that a week?

592

:

But it can be like, When I think of

a pin, it can be like one image to

593

:

like three to four different boards.

594

:

So it's not necessarily like you

need to create 20 new graphics a day.

595

:

You can kind of repurpose them.

596

:

that is usually what I would

recommend just because Pinterest

597

:

is always like blogging.

598

:

It's already slow.

599

:

Like I say, six to 12

months of consistency.

600

:

So if you're doing like one to two

pins a week, it's just going to be

601

:

very, very slow to see results for you.

602

:

and yeah, I just don't want that for you.

603

:

That's basically it.

604

:

So I will try to on average do

five and usually about five.

605

:

Colie: okay.

606

:

So if you're telling me to pin

five different pieces of content

607

:

from one specific, um, blog post,

do I blog all five of those in one

608

:

week or should I spread it out?

609

:

Like, what's your, what's your, what's

your idea on like a publishing calendar

610

:

cadence, if you will, from one blog post?

611

:

Kara: Sure.

612

:

So like without making it too

complicated, I would say you want to

613

:

pin like, let's say have five and I'm

just going to pin like one Monday,

614

:

one Tuesday, one Wednesday, et cetera.

615

:

And then the next week I would pin

the same pins to different boards.

616

:

If that makes sense, and do that for

like three or four weeks, depending

617

:

how many relevant boards you have.

618

:

You don't necessarily want it.

619

:

It's like one of those things where you

don't want it to seem too formulaic,

620

:

but also we need systems for everything.

621

:

So,

622

:

Colie: that's super interesting.

623

:

I have always just re pinned the

same pin to a different board.

624

:

Clearly, that sounds like that is

not what I'm supposed to be doing.

625

:

When you say, when you say pinning it to

an, I'm, I'm assuming you mean re upload

626

:

it as a different upload, or is it just

that I'm taking it from one board and

627

:

basically adding it to another board?

628

:

Kara: So in Tailwind, and I think

Tailwind is the only one that you can

629

:

do this, you would just pin to like

multiple boards at once, and then you

630

:

can like, it in essence turns that

into let's say four different pins.

631

:

On other schedulers, I think

you have to upload it manually.

632

:

Colie: Okay, well, I use metrical,

so I can't automatically send it to

633

:

different board to different boards.

634

:

Yeah, I was trying to make sure I was

using the correct terminology, but what

635

:

I could do is after I pinned it one time.

636

:

I could then duplicate it and

make it the exact same thing.

637

:

And then I would just

choose a different board.

638

:

And then for the next week, I

would choose a different board.

639

:

So I can do that manually.

640

:

I mean, guys, if we're talking about

how long after you create the one pen, I

641

:

think it would take me less than a week.

642

:

It would take less than two minutes

to get it duplicated and repinned and

643

:

scheduled to different boards, in

future weeks, it would take less than two

644

:

minutes to like duplicate it five times.

645

:

We're not talking about a lot

of time and energy, but I have

646

:

been mostly doing video pins.

647

:

So now that Kara has given us her

wisdom, you guys are probably going

648

:

to see a lot more static pins from me.

649

:

Um, in the future,

650

:

Kara: Yeah.

651

:

Yeah.

652

:

I mean, video pins are good

for sometimes getting reach.

653

:

It's just most people are not listening

to Pinterest like with volume.

654

:

Right.

655

:

So

656

:

Colie: we'll have captions.

657

:

Does that help?

658

:

Kara: Do you ever like sit

and watch a video with just

659

:

captions with your sound off?

660

:

Colie: Oh, I, sometimes I do if I'm

somewhere that it's inappropriate

661

:

for me to be watching a video.

662

:

I can't really think of any, I mean,

like, if I was at my kid's school waiting

663

:

for her, orchestra performance to start.

664

:

You're damn right I'm looking

at it with some captions.

665

:

Or, I mean, I, I think the listening

audience will enjoy this one.

666

:

My husband, like, if I get up in the

middle of the night and I can't go

667

:

back to sleep, I am too lazy to get

out of bed, so I will pick up my phone.

668

:

I will turn the brightness all the

way down to the lowest setting and

669

:

I will just have it muted and I will

be like scrolling through my reels.

670

:

And yes, I am just reading

the captions at that point.

671

:

But I've never done that on Pinterest.

672

:

I just want to say good point.

673

:

Good point.

674

:

Kara: Yeah.

675

:

That's funny.

676

:

Colie: right.

677

:

So I think we've talked about like the

intersection of blogging and Pinterest,

678

:

but if someone was going to jump into

both those markets at the same time,

679

:

like what kind of time commitment are we

talking about someone setting aside in

680

:

order to start going on both platforms?

681

:

And maybe we're not talking

about like full force.

682

:

Like, what if I just want to dip

like one toe into the water and

683

:

see what it's like on both sides?

684

:

Kara: I would say like two hours, two

to three hours a week, realistically.

685

:

Colie: And, I mean, how much

energy, how much time and energy

686

:

do you spend on Instagram, Cara?

687

:

Kara: Oh god, very little.

688

:

I feel like I go through phases like other

people, but like, Instagram is not a huge,

689

:

you marketing channel for me, honestly.

690

:

So it's like, if I'm on there more,

it's just like, cause I have extra time

691

:

and I'm, yeah, having like fun with it.

692

:

But yeah,

693

:

Colie: So it's not the

marketing channel for you.

694

:

That's all right.

695

:

Do you have any closing tips?

696

:

Just, I mean, cause your, your brain is

just so awesome and amazing for marketing.

697

:

So do you have any tips for anyone

about marketing with intention

698

:

versus throwing spaghetti on

the wall and seeing what stick?

699

:

Like how can we all be more

intentional with our marketing?

700

:

Kara: Yeah, I feel like kind of the

whole topic of this episode was just

701

:

like putting maybe not all your energy

into things that don't pay off right

702

:

away, but like some of it, right?

703

:

And like it will pay off and just like

being mindful, I guess, of like your

704

:

time spent on other platforms before

you're like, I don't have time for

705

:

another platform because chances are

we all have time that we could scale

706

:

back on other things that are like, you

know, the feel good feel good platforms.

707

:

I'm like, I just want to like.

708

:

I beg every single person to

take blogging seriously because

709

:

it makes such a difference.

710

:

And like I said, if you can

stick to it for like six, 12

711

:

months, I know it's a long time.

712

:

Uh, but once you see the momentum,

you're like, I'm never stopping this.

713

:

And if I do stop this,

I'll still see the results.

714

:

So it's like a really, a true win win.

715

:

And I would also say if you're like,

I can't give up those like quick

716

:

win platforms right now because I do

need clients, you know, immediately,

717

:

and I'm not in a position to

necessarily invest in the longterm.

718

:

Starting with like just blogging and

using that as like a cornerstone piece

719

:

and then using the content that you

create on your blog post to create reels

720

:

and to pull carousels from is such a

good way to like, reuse that energy,

721

:

Colie: I wish people could see my

face when you said that because I

722

:

was literally, guys, going to come up

behind her and say, and listen, every

723

:

single minute that you spend creating

content for your blog, you are saying

724

:

probably some pretty important shit

that you could then take and reuse.

725

:

Repurpose, Recycle, whichever

word it is that's the word of the

726

:

day, you could totally take that

and use it for Instagram Reels.

727

:

And we haven't talked about email

marketing, but I do have a conversation

728

:

later in the series where I am

really going hard on email marketing.

729

:

And so.

730

:

Just remember, whatever content you

are creating for a channel, there is a

731

:

way for you to either repurpose it or

use that idea to create more content

732

:

about that topic for another channel.

733

:

So nothing that you do

is going to be in vain.

734

:

I mean, I was already thinking to myself,

Hey, any new static pins that I make,

735

:

because Kara told me to, I'm going to be

able to just reuse those on Instagram.

736

:

I mean, you know, Especially in my

stories, guys, you can reuse all of this.

737

:

So I just personally, the purpose of me

creating this series was to get you to

738

:

be more strategic and more intentional

on where you are spending your time

739

:

in order to market your business and

your services, Cara, Thank you so much

740

:

for joining me for this conversation.

741

:

It was amazing.

742

:

And, you know, I will just,

I love to chat with you.

743

:

I love our little boxer chats.

744

:

And so this was just a good

opportunity to get you on my screen.

745

:

So I could be like,

746

:

Kara: Yeah, no, thank you

so much for having me.

747

:

I can't wait to tune

into the whole series.

748

:

I think it's going to be so good.

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Colie: it's going to be so good.

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All right, everybody.

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And as Cara said, this

is only episode two.

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:

In what is many more to come.

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So please make sure that if you have

not subscribed to this podcast, that

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:

you do so now so that all of the

future episodes in the marketing with

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intention series are downloaded directly

on your podcast device of choice.

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:

All right.

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That's it for this episode.

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See you next time.

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About the Podcast

Business-First Creatives

Every creative deserves to turn their craft into a business that brings them joy and profit. Here you'll find a no-BS approach to what it takes to put the business first, prioritizing the systems and strategies that will actually move the needle and ensure your creative business is profitable rather than an expensive side-hustle. Your host is Colie James, a Disney-loving family photographer, and filmmaker turned Workflow and Automations Guru who helps creative service providers automate their sh*t, reclaim their time and get back to living!