Shownotes
Show Notes
Feeling pressure to be everywhere online? In this episode, Krystal and Wendy unpack the myth that more visibility always equals more value—and show you how to shift from frantic content creation to aligned, on-brand visibility that actually supports your goals. We break down why mimicking influencers backfires, how to choose platforms that fit your energy and consistency, and why knowing your ICA matters more than going viral. You’ll leave with a practical litmus test for every post and fresh ideas for off-social visibility.
Resources & Next Steps
- Need clarity in your business? Whether it’s marketing strategy, funnels, or just getting past the overwhelm, SAVOUR™️ Coaching is here to help. Learn more at serendipitousrebel.com/savourcoaching.
- Want more behind-the-scenes conversations? Join the waitlist for our private SAVOUR™️ Podcast launching this spring: serendipitousrebel.com/savourpodcast.
Meet Your Hosts
We’re Wendy & Krystal—two travel entrepreneurs turned business and marketing coaches. At Serendipitous Rebel, we help female entrepreneurs build aligned, purpose-driven businesses that create more impact and more joy.
On this podcast, we cover it all: from juggling motherhood and entrepreneurship to navigating the ever-changing world of online business.
Connect with Us
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating—it helps more entrepreneurs and online business owners like you find the show!
Transcripts
Krystal Eicher: Welcome everyone to this week's episode of the Serendipitous Rebel Podcast. My name is Crystal and I am here with,
Wendy Guth: my name is Wendy. Yeah, she
Speaker: is.
i, but I'm not gonna say hi. [:Speaker: that
Wendy Guth: all we could do.
Speaker: All the things.
Wendy Guth: I know
Speaker: this week we wanted to talk about the hustle culture, and especially as it pertains to marketing and content creation.
Speaker 3: Hmm.
Speaker: Because when you are an online business owner, so much of what you have to do is marketing related. Mm-hmm. And then also I think a lot of the pressures that. Business owners feel comes from marketing, right? Yes. And I think it's so funny because we joke behind the scenes because our partnership is built around, , this amazing combination of holistically looking at your business.
es and she, but the laugh is [:And,
Wendy Guth: and then that's a whole fight, tooth and nail. But that's another story, which is a whole
Speaker: other podcast probably is what? Right. But I think that you get so caught up in this, I need to market my business and. When we work from home in our silos, what are the things that we see? Well, we see the social media marketing, we see the content creation and posting that comes with that.
And so there's a huge difference between being aligned in your visibility. Mm-hmm. And putting content that is on brand in alignment.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. With
Speaker: a clear goal, direction call to action, understanding how that plays into your marketing strategy and what I like, what we like to call just frantic content creation.
The, the, I have to show up [:Such important piece that a lot of times we overlook, like who authentically are we and why am I on a bro channel trying to talk about messy middle women?
Speaker: Well, yeah, there's definitely that. 'cause it's definitely like the alignment of like where you're showing up, right? Yes. So I think that a lot of people when they think about, okay, I'm going to create content, okay.
lot of professional content [:Mm-hmm. But the reality of it is, is that I think that all entrepreneurs have to take a step back. Ask themselves why and how does social media play into your marketing strategy, which is such a different thing for everybody.
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. There is
Speaker: no one size fits all answer to that. Right. If you should follow every influencer on social media, , for the last 10 years.
That it should be the top of your funnel. It should be how you're getting coal people into your world. Right? And in order to do that, you either need to dump a ton of money into social media to advertise and push your stuff out there, or you have to be hustling so hard, so fast. Yes. And for some of us that, you know, we talk about it all the time.
like doing TikTok. You have [:Wendy Guth: And I, I, I actually like Instagram,
Speaker: right?
Wendy Guth: Oh, isn't that a good fit?
Speaker: Ah, look. Serendipitous if you'll, or very aligned. Right, exactly. So it, and so it's, but I think that when we.
Look at other people and what it is that they're doing. So much of what we do in our content creation strategy is trying to mimic other people. Mm-hmm. And flow into their footsteps, and that ends up getting us out of alignment. It's in, it puts us outside of our brand, and then we sit here at the end of the day.
putting out the posts? Am I [:And so it becomes this frantic creation cycle
Wendy Guth: that you get outta Yes. , But I keep thinking about in this whole thing is that how we've been taught, and I think this is just my brain articulating what you said a little, you know, just in my own brain, but that hu Hu hustle culture has made us believe.
g. If you look at the likes, [:Speaker: Oh, I, so when we were both working in the travel space, that would happen a lot. , I don't know about you, but when I was running my travel agency, most of my likes and followers were other travelers. Well, they're
Wendy Guth: travel agent, which, which I love
Speaker: the comradery and the right, the, the, the feeling of that.
But it missed my ICA completely because it's Right,
Wendy Guth: exactly. All of the
Speaker: algorithm and results of what I needed. I didn't need them to show my travel post to other travel advisors. I needed them to show my post to, in my case, people that wanted to go on girlfriend getaways, right? Which there was a Venn diagram of overlap there, don't get me wrong, but it was not, it was hitting the wrong.
Thing.
that it not only disconnects [:Speaker 3: Yeah.
.
Wendy Guth: I, I tend to think it's, , it, it ends up, it's not really funny. I shouldn't laugh because ultimately it's like you dread showing up. You're, you're obviously. Programmed that you have to do this, but it's true in some extent. You can't just, it's like sitting in a brick and mortar and waiting for people to wander in.
We can't just put up a webpage or a website and just figure, oh, people will wander it. No. You have to go out and find your people. Mm-hmm. Um, and I think the best way to do it is not to mimic others, other voices.
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
Wendy Guth: And really [:, And I know we, we talk about this so much, but. We talk about missions and visions and purpose and values, but it's not really a, but it's an, and these are critical pieces of your business. This is the foundation of who you are and why you wanna do what you do. So that's where you really need to get out there and, and communicate that.
this song with this hook in [:Right. You
Wendy Guth: know, I don't follow the, the, the same creators. I've never heard of that. You'll have to share that. That. Yeah. So I, I
Speaker: get those on and it's on TikTok especially, but there's a lot of things of like, how do you grow your TikTok? Which of course is like stuff as a marketer, I'm always curious to follow, right?
But I think that there's like a dime a dozen content creators that are like, match this trending audio with this hook and, you know, put it to your niche. And while there's like some value into some of that, some of the time, if you're doing it just for the sake of doing it. And again, you're missing that mission, vision, value, purpose, yeah.
And alignment piece to it. You'll end up getting really, really skewed really, really fast. Right. And then you, what you have is just the illusion of productivity and not actual progress.
Wendy Guth: Yeah.
which we've talked about on [:Prioritize different things. Yes. In your world, it's really understanding is frantic content creation and creating content just for the sake of content, the best use of your time and.
Wendy Guth: No, I, well, I answered it. Yes, correct. It was a rhetorical question, Wendy. Correct.
Speaker: Um, but if you can simplify and align, take a step back and have those foundational pieces and then put out a authentic content.
social media content is not [:Wendy Guth: That's correct.
Speaker: When we put out, I know
Wendy Guth: that.
Speaker: Yeah. Well we know that, right? We know that that's very middle of the funnel. Yeah. I'll sometimes bottom more towards the bottom of our funnel. Mm-hmm. Uh, in that we know that we use our content to stay connected with Audi, with current audiences, to reinforce messages, to connect with audiences.
Yes. Yes. And build relationships with audiences. But I don't very often put out content. Organically on social media with the hope that this reel goes viral so I can gain a thousand more followers.
Wendy Guth: , Yeah, and it's interesting because I think I used to want that Steve taught me well, oh, sensei.
the forward face really. You [:Mm-hmm. Which I guess if I could make my mouth move on the picture, that would be stupid, but fantastic. I'm gonna have to play. There's way we can
Speaker: do that. Guess what we get to work on, on the cruise, by the way? I, oh my God. We could
Wendy Guth: make our mouths work.
Speaker: Um, well, we can animate, you can use AI now to create video content for
Wendy Guth: yourself.
can I, what can I pull out? [:Um,
Speaker: yeah. But if you could, but you know, when we took the step back and shifted it, 'cause all of us, I think, start out in online business that way by the way. Right? Yes. Marketing is an obligation and a box that we need to check. And we do so often very begrudgingly because it's not comfortable to put our face out there.
And you know, here's the thing. Visibility is incredibly important in your business. Oh yeah. There is no there, but there is more than one way to be visible. Okay. You have social media platforms, which some of you are just gifted on social media and can leverage. Mm-hmm. That really well. And then you should lean into that strength.
now? Mm-hmm. Course creator, [:Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Owner, all of the things that is your gift, not the social media presence, right?
Yes, yes. And like if you're anything like me, I'll be completely honest, I didn't even have an Instagram account before I started a business. Because it was just not a big part of my world.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: And so I had, but you jump in on it again because somebody told me you should as a market.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: And but so much of online business is understanding that you need to be visible and figuring out where that aligned visibility is.
And for some of you, it's going to be guest speaking in other summits or on other Sure. Right. It's gonna be launching a podcast of your own and gaining visibility in this way, which this sure is very much a top of or
Wendy Guth: face-to-face or, or face-to-face. Yeah.
cal service provider, having [:Paying for visibility if you're gonna be on social media. . There's so many different ways to cultivate visibility beyond just the ti. Social media Yes. Is such a small, small piece of it. Yeah. So, but again, when we work in our silos, what is it that we see? Yeah. We see social media, it's right in our face and start to feel this pressure that we must duplicate that in our own efforts at home.
Wendy Guth: Yeah. You know, I think that, I think we all need to have like a post-it. That's right in front of us that says, these are like the three things that I think are critical, especially in this, you know, to be authentic, , and for aligned visibility.
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
Wendy Guth: You have to know your message.
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
Wendy Guth: And you [:In a couple different ways in in the, whether it's one sentence, a few words, whatever is the tagline, you have to, and then you have to know in a couple sentences and then maybe in a full paragraph. But you have to know your message, and you have to be able to use it in different ways. You also have to know your energy.
Know what the pace you can sustain consistently if you cannot. And this is like, oh my gosh, this is like, so gives me little tingles because it's me. Um, consistency is unbelievably critical and that means if you don't think you can post every single day, don't. Don't commit to doing it at the pace that you're comfortable with.
Mm-hmm. And let [:If you are not excited about TikTok, hey, it doesn't, it doesn't, it's not gonna work. Now there are ways of repurposing that. You don't actually have to go there. But you were about to say that, were you?
Speaker: No, I was actually gonna add another layer to it. Okay. But it's a big other thing that has to go through a litmus test of all this uhhuh and it, you have to understand your audience.
ient and what it is. They're [:Yes. Or you need to change your content messaging, but if those things are not in line, and then once you know your ideal audience mm-hmm. Okay. And your ideal client avatar or ICA and you know what your. Mission, vision and offer is, the content creation piece of it actually comes very easily because it mm-hmm.
There's just this natural flow
Speaker 3: mm-hmm.
Speaker: Where your audience is telling you exactly what they wanna hear. They're, they're telling you the problems that they're having. They are telling you. We don't have a hard time coming up with content for this podcast, to be honest, or even content talking to our ideal client because I think we know them so well.
st issue often is choosing a [:And even so far as they're gonna tell you where they, how, and where they're gonna consume that content. Mm-hmm. They're gonna tell you and show you.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Are they on Instagram? Are they on TikTok? Are they on Facebook? Mm-hmm. Are they not on any of those platforms at all anymore? Are they on,
Wendy Guth: are they, do they want a newsletter?
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. They want a podcast. Are they Exactly, like are you sending out emails and, and putting them on your email list?
Wendy Guth: Sure.
Speaker: In a really, , aligned way. Yeah. Are you showing up at networking events and again, speaking to what it is that you do that gets other people gravitated towards you and excited.
retreats primarily, is that [:So, but if the thing that you do, if you're not showing up in the, so I guess that's two things. Okay. If I were to go talk about business retreats on Virgin Voyages to like my mom, PTO group, it probably wouldn't get the, Ooh, tell me more.
Wendy Guth: They're not your ideal client
Speaker: a hundred percent, but if you are, but if you are showing up in the right room with the right offer that gets Yes, it, it's not gonna take very much.
Yeah. Before you're like, Hey, I do this before somebody's like, Ooh, I really need to know more about that. And then everything that, so
also, I think that sometimes [:Speaker: I think that it helps you test your messaging in certain ways. Okay. Um, if I'm understanding the question correctly, it's. If you can run Facebook ads or meta ads, right? Mm-hmm. Which we do a lot, obviously, and we help clients do that. The it's, it's both terrifying and incredibly fascinating how much social media knows about us
Speaker 4: Yes.
Speaker: And how granular you can get,
Speaker 4: okay. In
lidate an offering, there is [:Yes. Yeah. And testing out different messaging or different things. Again, and this is where it becomes that aligned visibility, excuse me. People will test out different headlines or hooks or things in your content to see what is resonating with the audience and what's falling on deaf ears. Yeah. I think all of these things in these platforms are great ways to test
Wendy Guth: Okay things.
Yeah.
Speaker: Um, but again, not the only way, and I think, right. No, no.
ine space, I was looking for [:It's like, do you drive a Subaru? No. Well, and you know, do you like travel? Which we both, which we both do,
Speaker: by the way. Um, yeah,
Wendy Guth: exactly. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, do you love Lululemon leggings? , You know, it's just. It, it's so, this world is so detailed and I guess one of the things that, , I would advocate for, for, , people who are looking for their ideal client is look inward.
Look at yourself. What are the, what are the things? And, and this isn't. I guess this isn't relevant for everyone, but for those who kind of struggle and there is so much struggling, that I think lends itself to looking for the hustle culture.
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. But,
Wendy Guth: [:People like you because you obviously have a special sauce mm-hmm. That can help others, but nonetheless, anyway, I, I think I digressed there and I do apologize, but
Speaker: Well, I, I do have a theory that most people's ideal clients, most people, ideal clients are themselves.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: , Or I used to joke when we were, especially when we worked in the travel space, , and.
We used to run a membership and I would teach marketing to travel agents specifically, and I used to, I used to tease that oftentimes our ideal clients were ourselves with more money and well, I think that's very accurate and I think, I think it's pretty, I think it's really dead off. Yeah. But I think what's interesting is that most of us come into the online space because we are solving a problem.
[:Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. And
Speaker: have, we have worked with divorce coaches, we have worked with other relationship coaches. We have worked with. People who are service providers, who are therapists, who are, you know who, yeah, it, that is a common theme with a lot of people. It was like, I also had this problem. I have figured out and mastered a solution, and now I wanna share that with the rest of the world.
re so close to the solution, [:In our marketing, in our messaging, in what we do, and so that other people can see it the same. And I think some people will shy away from that in their marketing and in messaging. And probably we have digressed on this, but this is such an interesting topic. Why not? Um, well, yeah, that we have digressed in that a little bit because sometimes I think marketers want to separate themselves from the problem because they think it establishes their authority and expertise.
also being vulnerable. Yes. [:Wendy Guth: Well, and I think just to add one little piece to that is when you are authentic and you show that you are vulnerable, I think that means that people trust you.
Speaker: I agree, and I, I would not trust anybody who ever said that they had all the solutions or they had all the answers.
Wendy Guth: And they never had a hiccup.
Speaker: And they never had a hiccup. And that happens. Well, and you know, it's interesting. Online space I think was built on gurus with that messaging.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: And I think it's so interesting to watch the online space from a marketing angle right now.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Watch how the cracks are showing up so hard in all of these people's little mini empires because for one, the stuff they're teaching doesn't work anymore.
f alignment because it, one, [:Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Two, in a culture of AI and everything else that is coming down the pike at warp speed. Okay.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: . More content is getting created using ai, and I'm not knocking that We help, we use AI to help create a lot of our content, like that's just full disclosure.
But in a world where so much is being created and driven by ai, having those authentic personal touches and pieces in your marketing and in your messaging, yes, be more important now more than ever in creating trust. Yes. Into building authority and building authenticity. Yeah. In your stuff, because that's what's gonna differentiate you.
coach, like chat G Right. Be [:Yeah. Yeah.
Wendy Guth: And , it's interesting because I think about even some clients that we've had, like you have to know your story.
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
Wendy Guth: You have to have those authentic pieces. You know, it's your messaging, it's, it's your vision, it's your mission, it's your. Tagline, whatever. Mm-hmm. It's, it's not necessarily, oh, I just need a strategy.
before you can try plugging [:Speaker: Well, and I can tell you from experience, I have used AI and used Chacha GB to help, you know, articulates my thoughts. Can you help me clean up this messaging, you know, as the jumping off point. It. More often than not, I feel like waters down our messaging when we work at things, I feel like AI is this great start point when you guys do things.
But again, to your point, if you don't know what to feed it, and then if you don't, it's gonna give
Wendy Guth: you crap.
Speaker: It's gonna give you crap. And then if you don't know the details to enhance it. Yep. It's always gonna water it down to the most common denominator. And then when you add that to this constant.
Content, frantic content creation is what I keep going back to. It's that, mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: We
a post out today, and we are [:I'm gonna go to cha EPT, I'm gonna ask it for some, just some suggestions and some prompts, and I'm going to just get something up, right? Mm-hmm. Well, that's all well and fine. You know? And I, you know what? I think if you're doing that every once in a while, you do what you gotta do to keep your head afloat.
Wendy Guth: But she's looking at me right now when she says it. I'm, I'm not talking.
Speaker: Well, I was, I'm, I was more like giving myself the, it's okay. No, I'm just kidding. But, but if you don't, but if you can't take the time to slow it down
Speaker 3: mm-hmm.
Speaker: Pause it to. You know, have the checks and balances of this. Like, is this accomplishing the goals that I need?
ic way that also connects to [:'cause we're not part of that conversation between you. Yep. Mine is Charlene and yours as pip, but Charlene and I can have conversations back and forth, but if you're not part of that chat, GPG thread, this doesn't make any sense to anybody else on the outside world. Right. And so it's understanding, you know, how do you slow that down and.
We're all, I think, you know, the other thing of it too is I think we're all subject to this, and with the advent of ai, there's like this ebb and flow into it. But again, filter the content through. Is this in alignment with who I am and the messaging I wanna get across? Does this support or is it relevant to my ideal client?
inably, do I have the energy [:And then so much of content creation honestly should be a little boring and mundane. As much as that is not what we always wanna hear, especially as entrepreneurs because we, we like bright and shiny. We really do.
hen really it's much more, , [:Yeah, as we said, the foundational pieces. Know your, know your purpose, know your vision, your mission, , know your story and. Again, know how much, yeah. Know the time you need to commit, as you just said. Um, yeah, I think that that's, this has kind of been turned into a, a fun episode. It really has. I think we've gone off on some tangents, but why the heck not?
Well, yeah. No, but again, that,
Speaker: that, that indulged all your bright, shiny squirrel moments, talking to the listener, but it like, 'cause we all do it. As online business owners, I'd think that it. Are you even an entrepreneur if you don't have a squirrel moment, like at least a dozen times a day or maybe Oh yeah.
Wendy Guth: Squirrel. Squirrel.
es this solidify? Like, what [:Right. Um, or is this just busy work that you're doing for the stake of saying you did something? Mm. And sometimes it can be both, but like, yeah, you know,
Wendy Guth: done. So I will think about this as I create content,
Speaker: but not frantically.
Wendy Guth: No, never.
See
Speaker: you later. Bye. Bye.
[:
