Shownotes
The Cedar & Rush Story
The “cliche” blog start … so she says! [3:18] The vision and development of Cedar & Rush. [5:56] The extension of Cedar & Rush into social media services. [17:28]Candle Flickering Moments
The two biggest struggles her social media clients face. [21:20] Reality sets in after six months of business startup bliss. [25:42] Learning how to sell. [27:52]Business Building Insights
You can be credible and a professional in a topic when you research and share. [7:41] The value of asking your audience what they want to know and read. [8:59] Proper interaction within a Facebook Group. [11:12] A big idea for YOU about monetizing through affiliate links. [13:20] Using influencers is a great way to attract attention. [31:10]Building Your Blog
Ways to share content without having a blog. [33:57] What is the benefit to having a blot? [41:08] 3 initial steps to setting up your blog for success. [35:54] Where to go for content inspiration. [43:38]Resources Referenced in this Episode
Reward Style – Invitation-only end-to-end content monetization platform for top-tier digital style influencers and brands around the world. Shop Style – A global monetization platform for fashion and lifestyle influencers.Contact Links
Website Facebook Instagram TwitterIf you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
You're listening to gift biz on rapt episode 141.
Speaker:It's what other people want to read,
Speaker:not what you're interested in Attention.
Speaker:Gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow your gift.
Speaker:This here is your host gift biz gal Sue Mon height.
Speaker:Today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Nicole Regan
Speaker:of Cedar and rush Cedar and rush is a Chicago based
Speaker:style and entertaining wog,
Speaker:empowering women to feel confident in social settings and have the
Speaker:courage to stand out.
Speaker:After graduating from the university of Iowa,
Speaker:with a degree in business finance,
Speaker:Nicole found herself at a crossroad with no map or clear
Speaker:direction. She moved to Cedar and rush the intersection of her
Speaker:first Chicago apartment.
Speaker:She spent the first seven years of her career in finance,
Speaker:but through her blog made the leap founding her own social
Speaker:media business.
Speaker:And this gift,
Speaker:his listeners is why I wanted to get Nicole on the
Speaker:show because many of us had conversations about a blog.
Speaker:And what can that possibly do to enhance or lead you
Speaker:with your career?
Speaker:And Nicole has definitely done it.
Speaker:So we are going to get the scoop from her.
Speaker:Nicole, welcome to the show.
Speaker:Thank through.
Speaker:It's such a pleasure to be here.
Speaker:I like to start out every podcast.
Speaker:You may or may not know this already by having you
Speaker:describe yourself in a little bit of a different way.
Speaker:We're all creators here.
Speaker:So I like to talk about you in line with a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to create your own candle,
Speaker:that really tells us all about you,
Speaker:Nicole, what quote would you have and what would be the
Speaker:color on your candle?
Speaker:I would say I would choose a small,
Speaker:white and simple candle,
Speaker:and this would just be to serve as a reminder that
Speaker:even the smallest candles can radiate a lot of light.
Speaker:The reason behind that is I feel like a lot of
Speaker:times, especially as business owners,
Speaker:we feel like we're spinning our wheels and nothing's happening,
Speaker:but in reality,
Speaker:our everyday choices add up to something bigger.
Speaker:So I would love for my candle to say small changes,
Speaker:eventually add up to huge results.
Speaker:I love that you look at people who have achieved so
Speaker:much, and you think that somehow miraculously,
Speaker:they've gone from nothing to this whole big thing.
Speaker:When in reality,
Speaker:it's one little thing upon little thing that builds up into
Speaker:something. Great.
Speaker:Absolutely. Let's talk about you putting one small thing on top
Speaker:another and a top of another and a little bit of
Speaker:a clue for gift biz listeners.
Speaker:It's actually even more than what we've talked about already.
Speaker:So we're going to get into that,
Speaker:but let's start right at the beginning.
Speaker:You are in finance.
Speaker:Yes. And what happened?
Speaker:How did the blog start?
Speaker:How did everything get going?
Speaker:So I'm glad you asked,
Speaker:it's such a cliche story.
Speaker:I feel like with how people start blogs,
Speaker:but I graduated the university of Iowa with this finance degree.
Speaker:And my goal was just to find a job.
Speaker:And I found a wonderful job in corporate America,
Speaker:but something was just missing my heart hurt.
Speaker:I felt like I'd fallen into the wrong career.
Speaker:So I found out about this whole blogging thing that was
Speaker:so weird and not very many people knew about it at
Speaker:the time.
Speaker:This was several years ago.
Speaker:And luckily I had my now husband,
Speaker:but at the time boyfriend,
Speaker:Sean, his friend told me about this blog.
Speaker:And so I started a blog and I didn't tell anyone
Speaker:because again,
Speaker:it was so weird.
Speaker:And I think I blogged for a year and didn't tell
Speaker:anyone. So you were just blogging and not promoting the blog.
Speaker:So you're just putting content out there.
Speaker:And that was it.
Speaker:So almost like a little personal journal.
Speaker:And if someone saw it,
Speaker:they saw it.
Speaker:Yeah. And actually not a lot of people know this,
Speaker:but my blog used to be called great dates in the
Speaker:city. And I was just dating my,
Speaker:like I said now has been,
Speaker:and we were doing all these fun things.
Speaker:So I wanted to give people ideas and suggestions of things
Speaker:to do in Chicago.
Speaker:That's a great idea and a great topic.
Speaker:And then boy,
Speaker:it just means you guys have to go out and party
Speaker:because I take those maps.
Speaker:You have to try everything in Chicago,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:That's pretty much what I did in my twenties.
Speaker:My house things have changed.
Speaker:So with great dates in the city,
Speaker:were you seeing that people were finding you and reading?
Speaker:Yeah. Well,
Speaker:what happened is I didn't tell anyone.
Speaker:I didn't even tell my boyfriend.
Speaker:And then probably a year later I finally confessed to my
Speaker:friends and they read it and they were like,
Speaker:Nicole, I love it.
Speaker:And they would read it.
Speaker:And my husband's friends would text me and be like,
Speaker:I'm going out on this hot date?
Speaker:Where should we go?
Speaker:So it just all happened through that little aspect of my
Speaker:life. And then it just picked up traction from there.
Speaker:People would tell their friends,
Speaker:then social media came out,
Speaker:there was Twitter and then I would tag the restaurants and
Speaker:then they would see it.
Speaker:So it just over the years gained traction and then people
Speaker:started finding it Does great dates in the city still exist.
Speaker:Well, I eventually,
Speaker:after I got married,
Speaker:rebranded it to Cedar and rush and I wanted something that
Speaker:was a little more classy.
Speaker:I had just gotten married.
Speaker:I wanted to talk about so much more than dates.
Speaker:And then one of the interesting things that happened with my
Speaker:blog is I would take pictures of where I was eating.
Speaker:And then I started including photos of myself and then people
Speaker:would become interested in what I was wearing to these restaurants
Speaker:and stores.
Speaker:And then it kind of has morphed into more of a
Speaker:fashion role.
Speaker:I don't see anything about fashion in this area.
Speaker:Yeah. My blog has morphed.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I've been blogging for probably four or five years now,
Speaker:and that is the biggest takeaway.
Speaker:And I just recently rebranded my blog for more entertaining purposes.
Speaker:But if you go back just maybe a few months ago,
Speaker:there's a huge style fashion component to it.
Speaker:But it's not just all about fashion either,
Speaker:but that's how it's morphed.
Speaker:Okay. So that's interesting because you clearly had an interest in
Speaker:fashion, not necessarily education in fashion,
Speaker:but the point being you can create and promote,
Speaker:I'm thinking of our listeners who might say,
Speaker:well, I like this,
Speaker:but I don't have a degree in this.
Speaker:You had a professional degree and clearly a tendency to imagery
Speaker:and fashion.
Speaker:You can see because your branding is absolutely so classy,
Speaker:spectacular, beautiful,
Speaker:consistent, everything it's supposed to Be.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:But you were finding,
Speaker:you were getting traction.
Speaker:People were following you because you had the interest.
Speaker:Yes. And that's an important point,
Speaker:I think,
Speaker:Right? It is so important.
Speaker:And honestly,
Speaker:as soon as you research something,
Speaker:even if you're not a professional in it,
Speaker:people love to know how you got from point a to
Speaker:point B.
Speaker:Even if,
Speaker:especially if you're just a normal person,
Speaker:I started blogging.
Speaker:I have not been the most fashionable of any of my
Speaker:friends. If you go back in the archives of my blog
Speaker:and my pictures were terrible,
Speaker:this has been a four year journey.
Speaker:My photography did not always look like this.
Speaker:It's something I have worked on day after day after day.
Speaker:And if I can do it,
Speaker:literally anybody can do it.
Speaker:I liked that.
Speaker:You said that because you didn't wait until you knew you
Speaker:would get the most perfect pictures you started and then you
Speaker:evolve from there.
Speaker:Absolutely. If you've been,
Speaker:go back to my blog a year ago,
Speaker:you can tell a huge difference in my photography,
Speaker:Continue on within Cedar and rush.
Speaker:How do you decide on your articles,
Speaker:your photography bring us further along in the story here?
Speaker:Absolutely. So the interesting thing about blogging is you can choose
Speaker:anything you want to write about any day,
Speaker:any time.
Speaker:But the best thing to do is have a niche or
Speaker:kind of like your own perspective that you bring to the
Speaker:table that other people aren't blogging about.
Speaker:But the way I've chosen my blog in the past is
Speaker:just write whatever I feel like to be honest.
Speaker:But over the past year,
Speaker:I've really tried to hone in on what my perspective is,
Speaker:what I'm different at and be more intentional with my content.
Speaker:And that is key to blogging success.
Speaker:I would say it just builds on your brand.
Speaker:So one of the things that I've been doing recently,
Speaker:it's a great tip for all of you out there.
Speaker:But when I moved to the suburbs two years ago,
Speaker:I've found how there's all these mom,
Speaker:Facebook groups out there,
Speaker:and they are just a wealth of information.
Speaker:So one of the things I've been doing is asking questions
Speaker:and these moms,
Speaker:Facebook groups.
Speaker:So for example,
Speaker:my holiday content on my blog that is all inspired by
Speaker:a mom Facebook group in my town.
Speaker:And I just said,
Speaker:Hey guys,
Speaker:what are you looking for for help this holiday?
Speaker:And I did it back in October and I mean,
Speaker:I probably got 30 suggestions or ideas and I wrote all
Speaker:of them down.
Speaker:And I planned out in October what I was going to
Speaker:blog about for this season.
Speaker:And it's been amazing.
Speaker:The feedback has been incredible.
Speaker:Let's talk about this a little bit more in terms of
Speaker:going into the groups.
Speaker:So you found the groups,
Speaker:were they private groups,
Speaker:public groups,
Speaker:Groups, yeah.
Speaker:They're private groups.
Speaker:I had joined them prior to even thinking about this.
Speaker:It's not like I'm going around joining groups.
Speaker:It was just a place that I am and just thought
Speaker:I'd ask people because at the end of the day,
Speaker:it's what other people want to read,
Speaker:not what you're interested in per se,
Speaker:Such an important point.
Speaker:It's what other people want to read,
Speaker:not what you're interested In.
Speaker:Exactly. So when You were in the group,
Speaker:were you commenting and making connections?
Speaker:So people were familiar with your name before you asked the
Speaker:question? No,
Speaker:not at all.
Speaker:I didn't even promote my blog.
Speaker:I didn't even include a link to it,
Speaker:which I don't know if was a good move or not,
Speaker:but I just genuinely wanted to know what people need help
Speaker:with. And I prefaced it.
Speaker:Hey guys,
Speaker:I have a blog and I'm writing some holiday content and
Speaker:I would just love to know what you guys would like
Speaker:to see for the holidays.
Speaker:I think that was good that you didn't put the link
Speaker:because then that's showing you're not there making the statement just
Speaker:to promote yourself.
Speaker:Exactly. Really Kept the focus on them and truly helping them.
Speaker:Exactly. Here's another great tip.
Speaker:You'll see some other bloggers or this is amazing,
Speaker:but they'll ask their following.
Speaker:Hey guys,
Speaker:what do you want to see for the holidays?
Speaker:And I actually,
Speaker:then all of their followers would comment on what they want
Speaker:to see and I would save those posts and use that
Speaker:as data points too.
Speaker:Interesting. So research online to truly understand what your readers would
Speaker:be interested in.
Speaker:So you're not just taking a stab in the dark in
Speaker:terms of,
Speaker:Oh, maybe they'll like this topic.
Speaker:You have concrete evidence of what you should be writing about.
Speaker:Exactly. And there's one caveat to that.
Speaker:One blogs following is not going to be interested in the
Speaker:same thing as your blog following.
Speaker:So for example,
Speaker:your following Sue may have a total different interest than another
Speaker:business. So make sure if you are taking content from other
Speaker:people that you have a similar audience,
Speaker:Very good point.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So there are a couple of ways I want to take
Speaker:this. I'm kind of deciding which way I want to go
Speaker:first. But if I look at your blog today,
Speaker:I'm seeing an,
Speaker:we are recording this in December.
Speaker:So right near the holidays,
Speaker:you just put out an article about,
Speaker:I think it was the black Friday sales,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:With lots of links,
Speaker:to lots of different things.
Speaker:Tell me about how you're using links.
Speaker:And are you monetizing any of that or where are you
Speaker:at now with the blog?
Speaker:Absolutely. So I use affiliate links whenever appropriate.
Speaker:And do people know what an affiliate link is?
Speaker:Let's explain it to everybody.
Speaker:Okay. So there are several affiliate programs out there,
Speaker:but basically if you use an affiliate link.
Speaker:So if I find a candle at Nordstrom that I like,
Speaker:I can create an affiliate link.
Speaker:And if anybody clicks on that link and buys the candle,
Speaker:I get a small commission from that candle.
Speaker:It does not affect the price of the candle.
Speaker:It's just,
Speaker:I get a cut of it because I referred them to
Speaker:Nordstrom. Right?
Speaker:I think affiliate marketing online has become a big deal.
Speaker:I know more about it from online courses,
Speaker:that kind of thing,
Speaker:but you're offering another opportunity.
Speaker:And this is something to think about gift biz listeners,
Speaker:not only for you,
Speaker:if you start thinking about blogging and we'll talk about that
Speaker:possibly a little bit later in this show,
Speaker:but also what about the products that your making,
Speaker:this is an opportunity to get your products in front of
Speaker:other people,
Speaker:such as let's say you were in Chicago with the Nicole,
Speaker:right? Maybe bloggers who are more on a local level who
Speaker:are near you.
Speaker:You could do affiliate type programs with them where they're showing
Speaker:your product on their site.
Speaker:So they're giving you visibility to their audience.
Speaker:And for that,
Speaker:when something sells,
Speaker:you get a portion of that sale.
Speaker:Absolutely. And one thing I know a of business owners do,
Speaker:I know a furniture company,
Speaker:they are styling their furniture with other furniture companies,
Speaker:which is very interesting and they will link.
Speaker:Maybe they sell dressers,
Speaker:but then they'll use their affiliate links to share where they
Speaker:got the lamp from and the vase on their desk and
Speaker:the pencils that they're using to style their product collaboration.
Speaker:You got it,
Speaker:The big word,
Speaker:these days question.
Speaker:So some of these bigger stores let's take Nordstrom since you
Speaker:brought it up.
Speaker:Do they have an affiliate program that you sign up for
Speaker:online? Or how does that work?
Speaker:Yeah, so a lot of retailers have their own affiliate programs.
Speaker:I personally work with a third party affiliate program who does
Speaker:all that for you.
Speaker:So it's kind of a one-stop shop.
Speaker:It's called rewardStyle and it is fashion focus.
Speaker:You do have to be accepted,
Speaker:but if you can't get accepted to that,
Speaker:there's also shop style.
Speaker:That's amazing.
Speaker:You get paid per click and it's super functional.
Speaker:I used them before I was accepted to shop style.
Speaker:And then I think there's a few others.
Speaker:I'm just not familiar with them,
Speaker:but there are tons of options out there,
Speaker:no matter who you are,
Speaker:whether you're just starting out or very experienced.
Speaker:I think more as I'm thinking of our listeners,
Speaker:it's more positioning.
Speaker:We're talking about blogs here,
Speaker:but it's a great,
Speaker:really a great creative thought of how you can get your
Speaker:products in front of other people.
Speaker:So you would be the Nordstrom's in this example,
Speaker:offering out affiliates to people who would then promote you on
Speaker:their blogs,
Speaker:social media sites,
Speaker:wherever it might be.
Speaker:Oh yes.
Speaker:I want to get into what's happened in how you've gone
Speaker:into social media also,
Speaker:but I don't want to miss any parts of the story
Speaker:of Cedar in Russia.
Speaker:Is there anything else you'd want to add here before we
Speaker:No, not at the moment.
Speaker:Okay. So you're doing the blog.
Speaker:You're getting traction,
Speaker:it's evolving,
Speaker:your photography skills are getting better.
Speaker:Everybody has to go and look at this blog because first
Speaker:off Nicole is super cute,
Speaker:but I really want you to see also is the images
Speaker:she's taking.
Speaker:I want you guys to look at the photo angles and
Speaker:what she's actually photographing and the style,
Speaker:because you're going to see that the style throughout,
Speaker:whether it's Instagram or her blog articles,
Speaker:all is consistent.
Speaker:And that's really important in terms of branding,
Speaker:but let's move on.
Speaker:So Cedar and rush moves into social media.
Speaker:How did that happen?
Speaker:So it fell in my lap,
Speaker:which is amazing.
Speaker:Darn I know,
Speaker:but with blogging,
Speaker:especially three years ago,
Speaker:Instagram had just come out there,
Speaker:social media,
Speaker:which I think still is,
Speaker:it was such the wild,
Speaker:wild West back then.
Speaker:And I,
Speaker:through my blog had made all these local connections with restaurants
Speaker:and hotels and shop owners.
Speaker:And I had a hotel reach out to me and they
Speaker:asked me,
Speaker:Hey, we are looking to get into social media.
Speaker:You seem to have your hand locally.
Speaker:And a lot of pots,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:and have your pulse on the city,
Speaker:we would love it.
Speaker:If you would come work for us and help us with
Speaker:all that.
Speaker:And like I said,
Speaker:I had still,
Speaker:after all these years in the corporate world felt this Boyd.
Speaker:And I spoke with my husband.
Speaker:He's been so supportive throughout this.
Speaker:And he said,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:This is the time to do it.
Speaker:And I had a three month contract.
Speaker:I had a great corporate job,
Speaker:but with his help and just kind of going for it
Speaker:and really having nothing to lose,
Speaker:I quit my job and took this three month contract with
Speaker:this hotel and helped them with their social media.
Speaker:And it's been three years since that day.
Speaker:And I'm still here today.
Speaker:So are you still working with that hotel?
Speaker:No. So that was a short-term project.
Speaker:I did get renewed.
Speaker:And then I've since been working with all kinds of clients
Speaker:who need me for short terms or long-term projects.
Speaker:It just really depends.
Speaker:That's interesting because it's really valuable to us.
Speaker:And like you said,
Speaker:you fell into it in a way,
Speaker:but you are able to really then set up your systems
Speaker:while you were being paid during that three month contract and
Speaker:then further,
Speaker:and then saw that there was opportunity for you out there
Speaker:with social media.
Speaker:Yeah. How do you start attracting other clients?
Speaker:I am probably the only social media company out there.
Speaker:That's not on social media,
Speaker:which is interesting,
Speaker:but my blog has brought me so many opportunities and networking
Speaker:opportunities online and in-person,
Speaker:and I've had a great renewal rate.
Speaker:So I get a lot of behind the scenes word of
Speaker:mouth and referrals.
Speaker:And so what Is your social media business?
Speaker:What are the Types of services you offer?
Speaker:Sure. So my social media business is very custom to each
Speaker:client and I don't actually have packages it's specifically geared and
Speaker:designed to what my clients need.
Speaker:And my typical client is a lifestyle creative client.
Speaker:I only take on two to three clients at a time
Speaker:and I do a ton of work for them,
Speaker:from photography,
Speaker:to creating content for blogs,
Speaker:all their social media,
Speaker:scheduling it,
Speaker:basically creating much content in the smallest amount of time as
Speaker:possible. That's on brand and valuable to their audience.
Speaker:I'm thinking about social media and how it relates because to
Speaker:hear you say that you are the only social media company
Speaker:that you know who is actually doing social media in a
Speaker:way that is cool because you're not focusing on yourself.
Speaker:You're focusing on all your customers.
Speaker:Yes, two or three clients at a time.
Speaker:What are you seeing is the biggest challenge that people are
Speaker:having when they come to you?
Speaker:What are they struggling with and need the most help with?
Speaker:I would say there's two things.
Speaker:One, they know they need social media,
Speaker:but they just don't have the time to do it.
Speaker:And one of the great things about me is I work
Speaker:highly integrated with companies.
Speaker:So I understand their brand and what they want to get
Speaker:out there.
Speaker:We have a whole month of strategy prior to working together
Speaker:and they just want me to take it off their plate
Speaker:so they can focus on what they're good at because it's
Speaker:time consuming.
Speaker:And you feel like you put all this time into social
Speaker:media, but nothing's happening.
Speaker:So I take that over help you do it,
Speaker:right? Attract the right audience and grow your brand.
Speaker:And then they'll take it on from there.
Speaker:Once it's set up,
Speaker:right, it's gotten some traction,
Speaker:then they'll take it back in house or something.
Speaker:Most of my clients have me do it for them after
Speaker:a while because they just I'd say the number one problem
Speaker:is they don't have the time to do it.
Speaker:The second problem or biggest challenge is people and businesses feel
Speaker:like they need to have this huge social media following to
Speaker:be successful.
Speaker:Even I fall into that trap and I know better.
Speaker:It's very challenging.
Speaker:Looking at all.
Speaker:These other businesses are bloggers with thousands of followers.
Speaker:But what people don't understand is you do not have to
Speaker:have a huge following to get results.
Speaker:I know so many bloggers and so many businesses who have
Speaker:a ton of following,
Speaker:but is that converting to sales,
Speaker:you would much rather have a hundred Instagram followers that want
Speaker:to actually buy your product or your service than 20,000
Speaker:followers that nobody even really cares about your business or what
Speaker:you're selling.
Speaker:I am so glad you brought this up,
Speaker:Nicole. It's so true.
Speaker:And I've actually written a blog article about this too.
Speaker:Great. It's called numbers.
Speaker:That lie.
Speaker:Exactly. And because it's nice to see somebody who has 200,000
Speaker:followers, if you will,
Speaker:because it's social credibility,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there's a lot of people who know about them like their
Speaker:pages, but you would mentally think that that follows through to
Speaker:people are buying something from them.
Speaker:People are following them all the time.
Speaker:But think about it.
Speaker:When you like a page,
Speaker:you can just like a page and you're done,
Speaker:or you may never even at it again.
Speaker:So what you talk about in terms of getting a smaller
Speaker:group who is really interacting with you really understands what you're
Speaker:about and resonates with it or needs what you're promoting back
Speaker:to the point about you were asking them before you wrote
Speaker:articles, you were asking people what they needed before you wrote
Speaker:the articles.
Speaker:You don't need that big a number.
Speaker:It's like everyone take a fresh,
Speaker:deep breath release that stress like you have to get your
Speaker:numbers up.
Speaker:Exactly. And one thing I can tell you,
Speaker:there has been a huge shift.
Speaker:This year brands are getting smarter.
Speaker:Your customers are getting smarter.
Speaker:They know,
Speaker:and can see fluff a mile away.
Speaker:So don't buy followers,
Speaker:put your blinders on and just stay in your lane because
Speaker:you will not get anywhere.
Speaker:If you fall into the trap of I'm not getting followers
Speaker:or I need to buy more or yeah,
Speaker:I've talked to people also who bought followers in the beginning,
Speaker:again, just to get their numbers up.
Speaker:But then you can't do anything with Facebook ads.
Speaker:If you want to do lookalike audiences or anything,
Speaker:because the numbers you're working with,
Speaker:aren't really your true customer.
Speaker:Ooh, that's a great point too.
Speaker:So, right.
Speaker:But it's hard though.
Speaker:Well, Right.
Speaker:Do it organically and grow slowly and correctly.
Speaker:And in the long run,
Speaker:a lot of us talk about it.
Speaker:I think businesses,
Speaker:the same,
Speaker:you growing your career as you've been blossoming through your blogs
Speaker:and now social media is the same.
Speaker:Is it smaller growth?
Speaker:You're in it for the long haul.
Speaker:And so you want to set yourself up to do it
Speaker:properly? Absolutely well said.
Speaker:Well, thank you.
Speaker:You're welcome.
Speaker:So I want to move On to something that was challenging
Speaker:for you in this whole evolution that you've had,
Speaker:where was a struggle point?
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Where wasn't a struggle point.
Speaker:One of the biggest things I can say is when I
Speaker:first went out on my own for social media,
Speaker:I felt high on life.
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:I made it.
Speaker:This is awesome.
Speaker:And then six months later,
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:Holy crap,
Speaker:what did I just do?
Speaker:Why did you have that response?
Speaker:I felt like I was like,
Speaker:people are paying me money.
Speaker:And I feel like the whole,
Speaker:I was great at social media.
Speaker:I'm great at blogging,
Speaker:but running a business is a whole nother animal.
Speaker:And I guarantee you,
Speaker:all of us can agree with that.
Speaker:And I was like finding how to invoice people,
Speaker:contracts. I mean,
Speaker:you're a one person show and you're doing everything.
Speaker:You're the assistant,
Speaker:the CEO,
Speaker:you're the marketing guru.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you're everyone.
Speaker:And it's very overwhelming and I did not enjoy corporate America.
Speaker:And I thought everything they did was too uptight.
Speaker:And now I would do anything to have all their processes
Speaker:in place.
Speaker:And I just had a great appreciation for all that.
Speaker:I think this is a really big comment for our listeners.
Speaker:I just want to stop and mention that right now.
Speaker:And then you're going to tell me what you've done to
Speaker:work with that.
Speaker:But so often people who are creators,
Speaker:they love making candles or jewelry or chocolate think that that's
Speaker:going to be what their job is.
Speaker:If they start their own business.
Speaker:But what you're just presenting is exactly the problem that comes
Speaker:up. You transition from creating your product only to then having
Speaker:to do all of these other business things that you really
Speaker:don't think about in the beginning.
Speaker:It's insane.
Speaker:And I still feel like that sometimes,
Speaker:but with it,
Speaker:my husband,
Speaker:who is a phenomenal sales person and very business savvy,
Speaker:I'm very lucky to have him on my team.
Speaker:The biggest struggle I had with running my business is I
Speaker:am horrible at sales.
Speaker:I do not feel confident or comfortable talking about myself.
Speaker:I do not feel comfortable,
Speaker:bragging about everything I can do and what I've done.
Speaker:Luckily I've gotten better.
Speaker:So that was a huge struggle.
Speaker:I was scared to reach out to people when people would
Speaker:ask me what I do,
Speaker:I'd be very coy because I didn't want people to think
Speaker:I was into myself.
Speaker:So that was something that I just,
Speaker:my husband was like,
Speaker:Nicole, it's a numbers game.
Speaker:And you just have to fall on your face.
Speaker:Like you have to,
Speaker:there's no other better way to learn.
Speaker:So I started practicing when I'd go to parties or networking
Speaker:events, I would just practice my speech.
Speaker:And I would stumble a lot.
Speaker:I would sound like a knucklehead a lot of the times,
Speaker:but that's really what pushed me to get outside of that
Speaker:comfort zone and talk about myself and learn what I do
Speaker:differently amongst these huge PR and social media companies.
Speaker:What sets you apart?
Speaker:What makes you different from everybody else?
Speaker:Exactly. So if anyone else feels that way,
Speaker:and this took me a couple years to finally figure it
Speaker:out, and one of my clients,
Speaker:she happens to be a sales coach.
Speaker:I don't know if it was fate or whatnot,
Speaker:but I have learned so much from her,
Speaker:her name's Maria Baier.
Speaker:She's a sales coach for creative.
Speaker:She's phenomenal.
Speaker:But one of the biggest things I learned from her is
Speaker:take some time on your calendar every day and just think
Speaker:about what sets you apart.
Speaker:And it's really intimidating because I'm like,
Speaker:how am I supposed to compete with these huge PR social
Speaker:media firms?
Speaker:And just after some digging,
Speaker:I realized we'll being small and one person that can be
Speaker:an advantage to a lot of people.
Speaker:So when you start with what sets you apart and do
Speaker:some digging,
Speaker:then you're going to feel more confident when you're spreading that
Speaker:message versus stumbling around,
Speaker:trying to sell people on anything and everything And give biz
Speaker:listeners. We also talk about when you are adding in services,
Speaker:you don't have to hire people to do some of these
Speaker:services. You can outreach and have a bookkeeper,
Speaker:or have somebody running payroll when you have employees and you
Speaker:don't have to bring them in house necessarily.
Speaker:And they can be very reasonable.
Speaker:So as you grow,
Speaker:not in the beginning,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:but as you grow,
Speaker:you can bring in services to help you versus you trying
Speaker:to figure it all out.
Speaker:And that way you as a business owner can stay as
Speaker:much in what you started your business for,
Speaker:what you love the most as you possibly can.
Speaker:So true.
Speaker:So, all right,
Speaker:so Promotions and events that make a difference for you,
Speaker:have you seen like certain types of blog articles in terms
Speaker:of themes that really get more engagement than another?
Speaker:And I know everyone's audience is different,
Speaker:but I'm just curious for yours For my blog.
Speaker:So this is pretty interesting and goes against everything we're probably
Speaker:talking about.
Speaker:But one of my most successful blog posts is about the
Speaker:Kim Kardashians salad recipe that has gone viral on Pinterest.
Speaker:And that is one of my most successful blog posts.
Speaker:And then my second most successful blog posts are actually interviews
Speaker:with other people,
Speaker:people who I have interviewed in the past,
Speaker:well known people,
Speaker:well known people in Chicago or just who have an interesting
Speaker:story. The Kim Kardashian one I get because I probably your
Speaker:SEO on that was fabulous.
Speaker:People found you because of her name,
Speaker:the Power of the Kardashians fabs.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:It's kind of like getting on Oprah's list,
Speaker:right? Same type of thing.
Speaker:And then what can you equate?
Speaker:Or what are you thinking is the reasoning behind the interviewing
Speaker:of other people?
Speaker:So if you all have a blog out there,
Speaker:one of the best things you can do is interview other
Speaker:people. And I think their reasoning behind it is people love
Speaker:to promote themselves.
Speaker:So for example,
Speaker:I'm on your podcast.
Speaker:Do I,
Speaker:of course am going to be so excited and tell everyone
Speaker:to come listen to me on your podcast.
Speaker:So it's a lot of organic and authentic natural promotion to
Speaker:your or podcast or whatever you have.
Speaker:I think that's why they're very successful and people love to
Speaker:hear other people's stories.
Speaker:Our conversation is going to continue in a minute.
Speaker:Nicole is going to talk with us about how you can
Speaker:start your own blog.
Speaker:If you don't have one already or how you can share
Speaker:information about your business without even having a blog.
Speaker:But first,
Speaker:a quick message from our sponsor.
Speaker:This podcast is made possible.
Speaker:Thanks to the support of the ribbon print company,
Speaker:create custom ribbons,
Speaker:right in your store or craft studio in seconds,
Speaker:visit the ribbon print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:So a lot of them,
Speaker:If our listeners don't have logs,
Speaker:I know that for a fact,
Speaker:kind of the reverse of you because you have the blog
Speaker:and then that went into your social media business.
Speaker:So a lot of our listeners have the product.
Speaker:And I wanted to bring you on to talk about,
Speaker:should you think about,
Speaker:and if you should,
Speaker:what would you do with a blog?
Speaker:Can we talk about that a little bit in terms of
Speaker:what would be the value of someone has a product for
Speaker:them to start a blog and then maybe three steps on
Speaker:what would be the first actions that they would take?
Speaker:Sure. So I have so many tips on this.
Speaker:I don't even know where to start,
Speaker:but I wanted to just take a step back too and
Speaker:address the people out there who don't have a blog.
Speaker:You don't have to have a blog to share valuable content.
Speaker:I still recommend having a blog,
Speaker:which I will quickly jump in there.
Speaker:After I shared this tip,
Speaker:you can interview people on your Facebook page.
Speaker:You could do like a mini little interview through posts.
Speaker:You can do it on Instagram.
Speaker:You could have one of my clients.
Speaker:We would host a Facebook live on their Facebook page,
Speaker:having a professional share tips or wisdom on their Facebook page.
Speaker:So just because you don't have a blog,
Speaker:doesn't mean you don't have a platform to share valuable tips
Speaker:or do fun things.
Speaker:That's a great point.
Speaker:But the one thing that you should do,
Speaker:I think you'll agree with this is if you're doing that,
Speaker:you need to make sure to have some type of a
Speaker:call to action that brings people back to you.
Speaker:Absolutely. There's A reason why you're doing it at the very
Speaker:end to you and whoever your interview.
Speaker:Excellent point.
Speaker:So I truly believe having a blog is so important.
Speaker:And the reason it's important is when you are bringing daily
Speaker:or weekly or even monthly valuable advice,
Speaker:you are staying top of mind.
Speaker:So when someone does need your service or product,
Speaker:you are the first person that pops in their head to
Speaker:go to you.
Speaker:Okay? So let's talk About if we've convinced people that or
Speaker:peak their interest,
Speaker:they want to do more than Facebook lives and they want
Speaker:to put a structure together,
Speaker:more of a true blog.
Speaker:How do you get started?
Speaker:What's the first thing that they should do.
Speaker:Let's start with people already have a website for their product.
Speaker:Okay, let's go with that.
Speaker:So I would implement a blog on your website,
Speaker:and I don't know if you did this on your own
Speaker:or hired a web designer,
Speaker:but they should be able to add one already to your
Speaker:website. We'll keep everything together in one place.
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:And you can do blogs on your own,
Speaker:but it's a lot of work.
Speaker:So I highly recommend hiring someone to do it and you
Speaker:can get something called pre-made blog templates for $75 and they
Speaker:look stunning.
Speaker:So I would highly recommend going that route versus spending 20
Speaker:hours trying to figure it out on your own.
Speaker:And it will not look good.
Speaker:I promise you,
Speaker:Are you talking about the structure of the page then?
Speaker:Yes. And so it's kind of a hard question to answer
Speaker:because there's so many different platforms or maybe a lot of
Speaker:your followers already have a website,
Speaker:but if you don't,
Speaker:I would just recommend working with someone to make sure it
Speaker:looks nice.
Speaker:Okay. So in terms of the platform,
Speaker:keep it with your own website.
Speaker:So everything is in the same place,
Speaker:which helps out tremendously take it from someone who didn't do
Speaker:that way at first,
Speaker:because you're directing someone to one central place,
Speaker:regardless of whether they're going to look at your blog,
Speaker:look at your product,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:And then how we get that done.
Speaker:We'll leave that there for now.
Speaker:What are you doing in terms of starting to think about
Speaker:what type of content you should be creating?
Speaker:Sure. I know that everyone's busy out there running their business.
Speaker:So it's going to be very difficult to just all of
Speaker:a sudden start blogging every day.
Speaker:So I would recommend starting with two to three main messages
Speaker:that you want to get out there.
Speaker:So let's say for example,
Speaker:you're a caterer.
Speaker:So you want to talk about your food.
Speaker:You want to talk about maybe your organic say,
Speaker:you want to express the organic,
Speaker:the importance of organic and then the third thing.
Speaker:And it can be whatever those three main messages are to
Speaker:you, or just pick one or pick two and plan out.
Speaker:Let's just say blog once a month,
Speaker:pick 12 blog ideas for the year and just write them
Speaker:down on a piece of paper.
Speaker:Okay? I like this part about defining the theme,
Speaker:your two to three messages then become your overall theme so
Speaker:that when people come,
Speaker:they know the type of content that they're going to be
Speaker:reading. It's not haphazard one articles way off in one side
Speaker:than others articles way off in another.
Speaker:Yes, you were talking earlier about niching down and really defining
Speaker:who you are.
Speaker:And I think this reinforces it in terms of two or
Speaker:three messages or themes that you'll be writing about.
Speaker:If you just need to start with one start there,
Speaker:or if you have two or three messages that is a
Speaker:great place to start.
Speaker:All your blog posts should have this underlying theme that directs
Speaker:people back to your business,
Speaker:but that gives you a ton of creativity.
Speaker:And in terms of content,
Speaker:are there a couple of things structurally that should always be
Speaker:included in a blog post I'm thinking of things like links
Speaker:to other articles or photos?
Speaker:What are you finding should be part of a true article?
Speaker:Best practice is to link to two other blog posts,
Speaker:if not three of your own or other people's of your
Speaker:own. And that just kind of keeps people going through your
Speaker:content. And it's helpful.
Speaker:So linking two to three other articles on your blog,
Speaker:if you're just starting out,
Speaker:you'll get there.
Speaker:Eventually. I also think an image is very important.
Speaker:The layout of how you do those,
Speaker:Should they be consistent post to post by structure?
Speaker:Like how it looks on physically on the page?
Speaker:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker:I think a lot of people are very visually driven.
Speaker:So for example,
Speaker:if you go on my blog,
Speaker:you'll see all the images are the same width.
Speaker:So I think that's really important just how it looks,
Speaker:but that is a whole nother animal in itself.
Speaker:Okay. So we're getting into some really good tips on what
Speaker:once you have a blog and where it goes from there,
Speaker:and I'm going back and adjusting a couple of things in
Speaker:my blog,
Speaker:Nicole call.
Speaker:Now that we've been talking good,
Speaker:but let's back up again,
Speaker:just as a final summary here.
Speaker:Can you give some ideas if someone's pondered and says,
Speaker:okay, that all sounds good,
Speaker:but I don't know if I really even need a blog
Speaker:for my business.
Speaker:Can you share your thoughts on whether you should,
Speaker:whether you shouldn't,
Speaker:what questions somebody should ask to determine whether they should start
Speaker:any way?
Speaker:Because we were just talking about how there's so much to
Speaker:do as a business owner.
Speaker:How does someone decide if it makes sense for them to
Speaker:start a blog or not?
Speaker:So I'm biased,
Speaker:but I think every business should have a blog.
Speaker:My blog changed my life,
Speaker:but it's not all about me.
Speaker:The reason you should have a blog is a one you're
Speaker:offering valuable information to potential customers.
Speaker:It can serve as a pipeline.
Speaker:You, it builds trust.
Speaker:It's a place where you can share information about your brand
Speaker:and the benefits and what differentiates you,
Speaker:where you can't anywhere else,
Speaker:really on your website.
Speaker:It builds trust.
Speaker:And even if you just have 10 blog posts that will
Speaker:help to share more of your story and let customers connect
Speaker:with you.
Speaker:Yeah. You know,
Speaker:it's credibility to it positions you as a professional in whatever
Speaker:chosen field you have.
Speaker:Absolutely. We Were talking about sales and selling.
Speaker:I think a lot of people are similar to you,
Speaker:Nicole, and that it's not so fun having to sell,
Speaker:having a blog is kind of an indirect way of selling
Speaker:because you're presenting information that people want to know.
Speaker:Again, in our case with our listeners,
Speaker:it could relate back to the products that they also sell.
Speaker:Absolutely. So you're not out there saying,
Speaker:buy this,
Speaker:buy this,
Speaker:buy this.
Speaker:You might be saying the history behind the gems that people
Speaker:use in their jewelry,
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:And it directly naturally leads into what your products are.
Speaker:Another reason to have everything on the same platform too.
Speaker:So I couldn't have said it better.
Speaker:It gives you also a reason just to promote yourself out
Speaker:there and keep yourself top of mind.
Speaker:So if you're selling shoes,
Speaker:like you said,
Speaker:you don't want to be like,
Speaker:Oh, we have new Brown shoes and new purple shoes.
Speaker:And that gets odd.
Speaker:If you're saying,
Speaker:Hey, five amazing places to walk in your shoes around Chicago.
Speaker:Oh, that's so good.
Speaker:That gives you an excuse to share that.
Speaker:And a reason for people to click on it when they
Speaker:normally wouldn't.
Speaker:Oh, I love that.
Speaker:That is so good.
Speaker:The possibilities are endless.
Speaker:You have to just have to twist your mind a little
Speaker:bit and think a little bit differently in terms of how
Speaker:you would connect your product with whatever the article would be.
Speaker:Yes. And if you're having trouble,
Speaker:I know it can be so difficult to get creative.
Speaker:Sometimes a great place to look are name a company that
Speaker:you love bigger,
Speaker:small. They probably have a blog and see what they're doing.
Speaker:There's this slipper company who I love and they have a
Speaker:blog and it's all about hostessing.
Speaker:Ooh, care to share.
Speaker:I like hostessing.
Speaker:Yeah. They're called birdy slippers and they kind of reinvented the
Speaker:slipper if you will.
Speaker:And you can just get amazing inspiration on other websites and
Speaker:brands that you love.
Speaker:Kate spade has a cute blog.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:J crew,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:anything you think of has a blog.
Speaker:So just go there and see what they're doing.
Speaker:And that'll give you tons of inspiration and ideas.
Speaker:And the point here is exactly the word that Nicole just
Speaker:used. Inspiration,
Speaker:not copying.
Speaker:You're not taking what they're doing,
Speaker:doing it exactly the same,
Speaker:but looking at it and making it an extension of how
Speaker:it relates to your brand and your product.
Speaker:Exactly. As we're winding down here,
Speaker:Nicole, I'd like to invite you to dare to dream.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable
Speaker:Heights that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:Inside my box is to always have the courage to put
Speaker:myself out there.
Speaker:And I think we,
Speaker:most of us struggle with that,
Speaker:but this past year it's been such a huge eye-opener to
Speaker:me to be vulnerable and share what I struggle with.
Speaker:Because one thing I've realized is people love to help.
Speaker:They just don't know that you need it.
Speaker:And it's opened so many amazing doors for me,
Speaker:but it's scary to put yourself out there.
Speaker:So I just hope I always have the courage to do
Speaker:that. The rest of my life,
Speaker:whether it's personal or business,
Speaker:You go.
Speaker:And I would say that that gift to that you would
Speaker:want for yourself that we are now giving you,
Speaker:right. You've just given to us too,
Speaker:because if you were to go and look at your site,
Speaker:you would not think that that's the mindset,
Speaker:the questioning,
Speaker:or needing to reach for that courage.
Speaker:You don't see that on your site at all,
Speaker:which tells me you are clearly stepping out and doing it.
Speaker:And you've just talked about the rewards you get,
Speaker:which is so great.
Speaker:I want everyone to go back and listen to that again.
Speaker:Thanks Sue.
Speaker:This has been so fun.
Speaker:So yeah.
Speaker:Tell our listeners how they can reach out to you and
Speaker:see everything you have going on.
Speaker:Absolutely. So the best place to reach out is my blog
Speaker:and the website is www.cedarandrush.com.
Speaker:And on my blog,
Speaker:you can find my email.
Speaker:You can also find me on Instagram.
Speaker:It's Nicole,
Speaker:a Regan.
Speaker:You can DM me.
Speaker:You can tweet me.
Speaker:You can email me.
Speaker:You can smoke,
Speaker:signal me,
Speaker:whatever floats your boat.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:I would love to hear from you guys.
Speaker:And if you have any questions or just want to say
Speaker:hi, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:Wonderful. Thank you so much for that.
Speaker:And give biz listeners,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there'll be a show notes page.
Speaker:I will link up all of the different things that we've
Speaker:referenced here through the show.
Speaker:So you can also go there and get links and direct
Speaker:yourself over to Nicole.
Speaker:So Nicole,
Speaker:thank you so much.
Speaker:I didn't know exactly where this was going to go.
Speaker:We kind of left it really loose so we could talk
Speaker:about blogs.
Speaker:We could talk about social media and you just gave us
Speaker:such great information.
Speaker:And you were just in the start of your career.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you have so many years ahead of you.
Speaker:It's going to be really interesting and exciting to watch you
Speaker:progress because you already are on such solid ground in terms
Speaker:of what you're presenting out to the market.
Speaker:So I look forward to watching you grow,
Speaker:and I know that your courage candle is always going to
Speaker:burn bright.
Speaker:Thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:It was such an honor.
Speaker:This episode is all wrapped up,
Speaker:but fortunately,
Speaker:your gift biz journey continues.
Speaker:Are you eager to learn more?
Speaker:Our gift biz gal has a free download just for you.
Speaker:Head over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com/twelve steps to get your copy of the 12 steps to
Speaker:starting a profitable gift biz don't delay,
Speaker:head over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com/twelve steps today.
