72. The Pressure to Be Everywhere

Stephanie Royer (: 00:00

When it comes to marketing your teacher business, do you feel the pressure to be everywhere all the time? Let's chat about it.

Welcome back to the podcast. It's an exciting day because it's our very first episode with a video version on YouTube.Now, if you prefer to listen to your podcasts, don't worry, everything should sound pretty much the same. You might notice that the audio is a little bit different as we work out some of these kinks, but overall, it should be the same Pay Less for Traffic that you remember.

But you might occasionally be listening to an episode and think, "It would be nice if I could see what she was talking about." Well, now you can head on over to YouTube and check out the episode there. And there will likely be a video walkthrough of whatever it is I'm talking No matter where you're enjoying the podcast today, if you're watching on YouTube or listening on your favorite streaming platform, welcome. I am so glad you're here. So let's go ahead and dive into this episode.

Because when the calendar turns to November, I don't know about you, but I immediately feel pressure. Back when I was in the classroom, that pressure was even bigger. We had parent-teacher conference to prepare for, report cards to fill out, holiday concerts to practice for, gifts for students to figure out, and then gifts for parents that we had to help our students create. It all just started piling up really fast.

And now on the business side of things, there's this different kind of pressure, need to hit my year end goals pressure or the, I should be doing more before the holidays pressure. So here on the podcast, I've decided to dub this month, No Pressure November. Each week we'll talk about a common pressure you might be feeling in your teacher business, especially this time of year. And we're going to look at ways to take a little bit of that weight off your shoulders.

We're going to do that by talking about small doable things that you can do to just relieve a little bit of that pressure instead of adding more to your plate. This week we're starting with one of the biggest hurdles that we feel in organic marketing. And that is the pressure to be everywhere. This pressure is especially common in the teacher business space. But honestly, the drive to be in more places is rooted in good intentions.

If you've ever checked out my course, Bring Your Own Traffic, there is a lesson in there that talks about being in more places than just the TPT search bar. Because yes, you can make plenty of sales through TPT search alone. That really is a pretty straightforward way to reach your audience. But when you only have one way for people to find you, it really is risky. If the algorithm changes, and we've seen that happen before, your traffic and sales can take a nosedive. So it just makes sense to want multiple ways to connect with your audience. That is a smart business strategy. But the problem becomes when we start to look around and think, "Oh, maybe I should start a YouTube channel" or "I really should be on Instagram and TikTok" or "Wow, I really need to get my Pinterest account up and running again," And before you know it, that good idea, has turned into just this mountain of pressure.

But I think it's important to think about where this pressure is actually coming from. I don't think it's the same for everyone. So when you're feeling weighed down, it's a good idea to just take a pause and figure out where this source of pressure is coming from.

And doing this can actually give you some good clues about what's going on in your business to make you feel that way. I think that the majority of the pressure we feel as teacher business owners comes from three main places. First, you might be feeling pressure from the platform itself. When you start posting somewhere new, you start to see quick wins because the platform is rewarding you with likes, views, and reach. But then, when you take a break,

you might feel punished when you're not seeing those likes and views and you have this fear of falling off that keeps the pressure on. If this is a source of stress for you, it can be a big clue about the status of your workflow.

If you're constantly feeling the pressure to add more content to a particular platform, it could mean that you're stretching yourself thin. There might be something in your content creation workflow that is starting to feel unsustainable. Second, you might feel pressure from your audience. Maybe someone emails you and asks, "Hey, do you have a YouTube channel?" Or you realize a question that you keep getting in your customer Q &A would make the perfect Instagram reel. Before long, you're adding yet another thing to your mental to-do list.

If this is happening to you, it could mean that the current places where you're spending your time and effort aren't necessarily the places that are serving your audience. Maybe you've been spending a lot of time on YouTube videos, but you're getting a ton of Instagram DMs. So that could be a clue that your audience would be better served on that platform instead.

But most often, I think the pressure to be everywhere is really just coming from ourselves. We look at other successful teacher business owners who seem to be everywhere. Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, blogs.

And we think, "Well, if they can do it, I should be doing that too." But that's not always realistic or necessary. I think that if you're feeling this type of pressure, it's likely a clue that there is an ROI imbalance. You're likely feeling that you're not seeing the sales that you need in order to make the math math in your business, even though you're putting in all of this time and effort.

So now that we've identified the source of the pressure and gathered some clues about what that might mean for your business, it's time to lighten your burden a bit. The best way to do that is to answer these four questions. First, ask yourself, which platforms are actually bringing me results? Because the numbers don't lie.

Dive into your analytics and see which platforms are helping you reach the goals that you have in your business. This doesn't have to be solely sales on TPT. It could be email signups, monetized engagement, or affiliate income. If you find yourself spinning too many plates, focus your efforts on the ones that would impact your business the most if they were to suddenly crash to the floor. Those are the plates that need to keep spinning. The second question to ask yourself is, which platform gives me the most flexibility, including the potential for some passive income? If you're looking for a little breathing room in your life and you want to relieve some of that pressure, focusing on more passive and evergreen traffic sources is a really great idea.

Now, obviously, I'm a huge fan of blogging, because if I'm going to pour two hours into a piece of content, I want it to have the longest lifespan possible. So for me, blogging is absolutely worth the effort. And that is a traffic source I will never get rid of. I would definitely drop something else if I was starting to feel spread thin. But you might decide that YouTube is that platform for you. The important thing is to focus on where you will see the most long-term results for your efforts. The third thing to ask yourself is, which platform will serve my audience the best? Serving your audience will help you build a strong relationship with them. So it's important to consider what platform will best support your potential customers as you try to connect with them.

I have really enjoyed my podcast, but I often receive emails and Instagram DMs with follow up questions, which I do love, by the way. But I discovered that many of the questions I'm asked could be answered best with like a video walkthrough. So that is why I decided to start a YouTube channel for this business, because I will be better able to serve my audience with the video podcast and then additional video tutorials in the future.

The fourth and final question to ask yourself when you're feeling too much pressure to be everywhere all the time is which platform do I actually enjoy? Because even if something is working, even if it's bringing in revenue for your business, if you dread doing it, you'll burn out. So continue to show up in the places that fill your cup as a business owner because you will be able to maintain those platforms for a longer period of time. If you're burnt out and you drop all the plates, you'll be starting back at square one. So to sum it up, if you've been feeling that pressure to be everywhere, take a breath. You do not need to be in every corner of the internet to grow your business. You just need to be where it matters most for you and for your audience.

Thanks for joining me today. Be sure to subscribe to the Pay Less for Traffic podcast wherever you're listening so that you don't miss the rest of No Pressure November. I'll see you next

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